1899] 



on Runic and Ogam Characters, etc. 



177 



or hicjacet. The anm is at present a puzzle, but a puzzle that no 

 doubt will soon be conclusively solved. On the companion stone to 

 this, which I describe next, it is a worse puzzle, appearing in the form 

 ancm. I show in illustration of this word, slides from my rubbings 

 of two stones at Lismore, with minuscule inscriptions (Fig. 10), 

 bendacht for anm Martan, " a blessing for the repose (or for the soul) 

 of Martin," and (Fig. 11) bendacht for anmain Colgen, " a prayer for 

 the repose (or soul) of Colgan." In both of these cases the word 

 might well be understood as an adaptation of the Latin anima, the 

 soul, as bendacht for benedictio ; but that use would give us no help 



ftp 



*=*%. 



Fig. 10. 





^ 



Fig. 9. 



Fig. 11. 



in the mac deglenn case, where " the soul " must have been followed 

 by the genitive maqi. It has been suggested that anm may be taken 

 either as a verb or as a substantive, so that we might read " may 

 Teagann mac Deglann rest," and in the next case [" a prayer for] 

 the repose of Farran." 



But it seems to me that these are relatively late ideas. The 

 Lismore inscriptions which I have shown in illustration of the word 

 anm or anmain are later than the dates assignable to Ogam in- 

 scriptions. The Colgan (irreg. genitive Colgen) named m the earlier 

 of the two was an eminent ecclesiastic who died at Lismore in the 



Vol. XVI. (No. 93.) » 



