Written In Stone

      If you were asked to write in a few words what you would want placed on your own tombstone, what would you write? "A good person", "a friend to all", "smiled a lot", etc., etc., etc., might be examples. What would you want future generations to remember about you? My Celtic ancestors began to write their examples many years ago. This was a giant leap into the known world since writing was taboo, and memory was the only way to transmit the past into the present. [see post 5 November] It must have been difficult to get this writing thing going since no pen and paper, and no experience! What would you do, and how would you do it? Let's see, make up your own alphabet, use this iron chisel, and put it all on stone starting from bottom to top, sounds like a good set of ideas.  Today it is called Ogam, and this is a photo of such a difficult task.

      It is a carving on stone written in notches diagonally across one edge. Can you believe it, what a group of doodlers! The language has 15 consonants in three groups of five, and 5 vowels. It appears to be a ceremonial stone, and read from bottom to top. The following is my attempt to understand what is written.

      It translates "degomacimocoidoetoi", or as I would understand, Dego Mac Imoco Idoetoi, meaning this Dego was the son of (mac), Idoetoi. A son writes a memorial to his father. What a deal, the first written Celtic script was genealogy. It fits in my pocket.

      The Alphabet is given in a text titled Celtic Languages And The Beginning of Literature , (chap. 9, p.207). The picture of the stone is from The beginnings of  Christianity , p. 4. It is gleaned from these texts, that about 300 inscriptions exist, with 40 in Wales, a few in Scotland and Isle of Man. Genealogy from the start and, written in stone.