244 General Discussion of the Crosses 



Henry Rousseau tells ^ of certain sepulchral slabs in Belgium 

 which bear inscriptions evidently copied from earher ones, thus 

 substantiating the foregoing statements. 



That runic inscriptions were carved in England in the 12th cen- 

 tury 2 is generally admitted. Such are those on a tympanum at Per- 

 rington (1150 or later),^ the so-called Dolfin runes* at Carlisle Cathe- 

 dral (doubtful), those on the Bridekirk font,^ and those on the Adam 

 grave-slab at Dearham.^ Of the 11th century is the Danish stone 

 found in St. Paul's churchyard, London.'^ 



The oldest runic inscriptions of Denmark date from the 9th cen- 

 tury.^ Those referring to historic personages are not found earlier 

 than 935—940.'-' According to Allen, the runic inscriptions of 

 Norway, Sweden, and Denmark date from the 10th to the 16th 

 century.^" The oldest Icelandic ones belong to the 13th century.^^ 

 The Old Norwegian ones, according to Noreen,^^ are but little, if 

 any, older than the written documents, and of these only two are 

 found so early as 900-1100. 



B. Language. 



We shall next consider the language of the runic inscriptions. 

 So far as the Ruthwell fragments of The Dream of the Rood are con- 

 cerned, I made a comparison in 1901 between their linguistic forms 

 and those of the other Northumbrian documents which could be 

 approximately dated, and came to the same conclusion as already 



^ Annales de la Soc. Archiol. de Bruxelles 16. 70. 

 ^ For the Islo of Man, see p. 38, note 4. 



^ See Keyser, List of Early Norman Tympana, pp. xxvi, Ixix, and Fig. 137 ; 

 Trans. Cumb. and Westm. Antiq. and Arch. Soc, N. S. 3. 373. 



* Trans. Cumh. and Westm. Antiq. and Arch. Soc. 6. 308 ; Early Sculpt. 

 Crosses, p. 93. 



* Early Sculpt. Crosses, pp. 68 ff . Victor calls the runes essentially Norse, 

 and the language Middle EngUsh {Die North. Runeyisteine, p. 16, note 2). 



8 Ibid., p. 123. Victor says {ibid.): 'Das nord. Runcn-M (friiher " R ") 

 ergab . . . sofort den nichtenglischcn Charakter der Inschrift.' 



' Wimmer, De Danske Runemindesmcerker V. cxxxvi-vii ; Keyser, List 

 of Norman Tympana, p. xxvi. 

 8 Wimmer P. Ixvi; cf. 2. 317. 

 ^ Wimmer P. clxxix. 

 1" Mon. Hist. Brit. Church, p. 207. 



^^ Noreen, Altisland. und Altnoriv. Oram., 3d ed., p. 8. 

 " Ibid., pp. 16-17. 



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