184 The Bishop of Bristol [May 19, 



little question that the date is not far off that of the departure of 

 the Romans, and the style of the Latin letters is free from Welsh 

 and Irish influence. 



The Cilgerran stone (Fig. 17) had sunk in the soft ground of 

 the churchyard when I visited it. Some years before it had been 

 raised, and both of the inscriptions had been read in full. My slide 

 shows each of the two Latin lines cut off : — 



Trenegussi f 

 Macutr 



and the Ogam appears to begin with sgus or egus. The full Latin 

 inscription is Trenegussi fili macutreni hie iacit. It is usually said 

 that this form of inscription, of which there are several in this island, 

 is ungrammatical. I am not inclined to defend in all cases the 

 grammar of the inhabitants of Wales, who could inscribe on a monu- 

 ment Carausius hie iacit in hoc congeries lapidum, or Veracius hie iacit 

 cum multitudinem fratrum, and could very seldom indeed rise to the 

 use of iacet. But my impression is that we may render the Cilgerran 

 and other like inscriptions as " the memorial of Trenegus son of 

 Macutren ; he lies here." The full Ogam reads Trenegusu maqi Maqi- 

 treni, " the memorial of Trenegus son of Macitren." The Latin " son 

 of Macitren " seems to make it clear that the Ogam Maqitren is meant 

 to be the patronymic, and that we are not to read it as maqi maqi 

 Treni, grandson of Tren. This opens up some very wide questions. 



Fig. 18, from the left-hand gate post of the lane leading to the 

 farm of Cwm Gloyn on the high road from Cardigan to Nevern, 

 need not keep us long. The Latin reads Vitaliani emerito, " the 

 memorial of Vitalianus, emeritus," that is, we are told, a Eoman 

 soldier with an honourable discharge. The Ogam is only one word, 

 Fitaliani, " the memorial of Vitalianus." This seems to show that the 

 ogam cutter knew the second Latin word to be no part of the man's 

 name. The correspondence of the Ogam f with the Latin v may 

 remind us that there is supposed to be no v in modern Welsh, / being 

 properly always used where v is meant, and ff being used when the 

 sound of our / is wanted. 



We now come to two stones in the British Museum, from Fardell 

 in Devonshire (Fig. 19), and Llywell in Brecon (Fig. 20). The 

 Fardell stone and some very fine ogam stones from Ireland are 

 in the room immediately on the left hand as you first enter the 

 Museum ; the Llywell stone is on the first floor, near the head of 

 the stairs. 



The Fardell stone has its ogams nobly cut. They are only 

 much too clear, for they do not satisfy any ordinary experience or 

 theory, except indeed, a theory of my own, which I will propound 

 shortly. The Latin reads clearly enough Fanoni Maquirini. This 

 ought to mean " the memorial of Fanon, son of Maquirin " ; it seems 

 impossible to import a Gaelic maqui into the middle of a Latin 

 inscription, and translate " the memorial of Fanon, son of Rin." 

 But it is not quite inconceivable that both the Latin letters and 



