Runic Inscriptions 255 



Norse influence, as we seem bound to do for ceit. The a\t Fripii of 

 Kirk Michael V, among the inscriptions of the Isle of Man (see p. 38, 

 note 4), will at once suggest itself. That such a feminine proper noun 

 is not unexampled in the Germanic tongues is shown by Forste- 

 mann's^ 41 Old High German feminines in -frida (besides 8 in -is), 

 as against 220 masculines, the 3 instances of Asjridr (fern.) which 

 Wimmer finds ^ in Old Danish runic inscriptions, and the 11th cen- 

 tury Ecferd [for Ecgfrith], Eadhunes 'dohtey^ of Old English. That 

 there is no celebrated historic woman of this name does not militate 

 against the conclusion that Alcfripu, if so we must read, is the name 

 of a woman, and not of a man. All arguments for the 7th century, 

 derived from an identification of the person named on the cross 

 with the under-king of Deira, accordingly fall to the ground. 



As the border between the two lowest panels on the north side 

 of the Bewcastle Cross has been generally assumed to bear the name 

 Cynnburug (or Cynihurug), I will touch briefly upon this name. 



Cynnhurug} 

 Nicolson's letter in 168.S already records the form. Victor is certain 

 that he can read Cyniburug ; but any one can see from the photo- 

 graph that the letter just before the (angular) B is a vertical crossed 

 by a bar, and not a mere vertical — hence an N, and not an I. Cynn- 

 burug is compounded of cynn and buriig, and each of these may be 

 examined separately. 



As the first element of a compound, Cyni- is the predominant 

 early form, followed by Cyne- and Cyn-. Thus in the early part 

 of the Liber Vita (ca. 800) there are 114 instances of Cyni-, and only 

 7 of Cyn-, Cyniburg occurring three times (once also in Bede's 

 Ecclesiastical History). As to Cyne-, it appears as early as 692, but 

 is much less frequent than Cyni- for a generation or so after this. 

 Cyn- (in Cynulfus) is found in 758, but occurs far less frequently 

 in the early period than the other two forms ^. On the other hand, 

 cynn is not only the prevailing form for the simple word in the Lin- 

 disfarne Gospels of ca. 950, but occurs three times in that text as 

 the first element of compounds, while cyn- is found but once. 



^ Althochdeutsches Namenbuch, 2d ed., col. 527. 



2 Wimmer 1. 35, 57, 63, 66; 4^. xxxix. 



3 Kemble, Cod. Dipl. No. 925 (4. 263), Thorpe, Diplomatarium, p. 621 ; 

 Earle, Land Charters, p. 275. 



4 See p. 26. 



5 Cf. F. Tupper, Jr., ' The Philological Legend of Cynewulf,' Pub. Mod. 

 Lang. Assoc, of America 26. 240 ff. 



(48) 



