1S'J9.] on Rwiic and Ogam Characters, etc. 167 



the Britons probably followed the modern Welsh rule, "pronounce 

 the vowels." 



I show on slides and in full-size facsimile diagrams portions of 

 the following Bewcastle inscriptions : — 



(1) " Fruman gear kiiuinges ricaes thanes Ecgfrithu." 



(2) "This sigbekn thun setton Hwretred Wothgar Olwfwolthu 

 aft Alcfrithu ean kiining eac Oswiung. Gcbid heo sinna sowhula." 



(1) " The first year of Ecgfrith king of this realm." 



(2) " This slender token of victory Hwtetred Wothgar and Olwlf- 

 wolthu set up in memory of Alchfrith formerly king and son of 

 Oswy. Pray for the high sin of his soul." 



There is a similar shaft, rather longer, at Ruthwell, in Dumfries- 

 shire, which was under Anglian domination during Ecgfrith's reign 

 down to his death, in 685, when it passed away. No later period can 

 be mentioned at which a great religious poem in early Anglo-Saxon 

 could have been incised in early Anglian runes on a cross in that 

 district. Parts of the shaft, especially the upper part which is 

 socketed into the lower and may be a little earlier in character, are 

 defaced, but most part of the lengthy inscription can be read with 

 ease. It is the original poem which was afterwards developed into 

 the Dream of the Holy Rood, a poeni of more than 300 lines found 

 in a manuscript of the ninth century at Vercelli. The Cross of 

 Christ itself is made to speak and describe its agony in the part it 

 had to play. 



The portions of this great shaft which I show on slides and in 

 facsimile diagrams contain the runes of the four following passages 

 of the Dream of the Rood : — 



(1) " (On)geredaB hinse God almeottig tha he walde on galgu 



gestige " 



. (2) " Krist was on rodi hwethra3 ther fusre fearran kwomu 

 ajththilaB ti lanum ic thset al bi(hea)ld s(are) ic wa3s mith sorgum 

 gidra<fe)d " 



(3) " (Ahof) ic riicna3 cuninge hcafuncs hlafard haalda ic (n)i 

 darstas bismseraedu ungcet men ba setgadre " 



(4) "Mith strelum giwundad alegdun bias hina3 limweerigne 

 gistoddun him a3t h(is) (1) icass heaf(du)m bihealdun bias ther. . . ." 



(1) " Girded him God Almighty then he would step on the 

 gallows ..." 



(2) " Christ was on the Cross, but there in haste from far came 

 they to their noble prince. All this I saw, sorely was I with sorrows 

 harrowed . . . . " 



(3) " I upraised the rich king the Lord of heaven. I dared not 

 stoop, they scorned us both together . . . . " 



(1) " With missiles wounded they laid him down limb- weary, 

 stood by his head, there they looked upon " 



Eig. 2 shows the inscriptions (2) and (4); ("2) begins at the top 

 and reads across the top and down the right side ; (4) begins at the 

 top of the left side and reads down that side. The figure is taken 

 from my book on ' Theodore and Wilfrith ' (S.P.C.K.), p. 247. 



