Transactions. 127 



scrolls, each representing a vine with its branches alternately 

 recurved, and bearing grapes in symmetrical clusters, a bird or 

 beast lodging in each of the branches and feeding on the fruit. 

 The vine is the most ancient subject of Christian ai't. It appears 

 in the Catacombs, treated with all the grace and freedom of 

 classic naturalism botli in painting and sculpture. The Byzan- 

 tine formalism reduced it to a mere running scroll, and in this 

 conventional form it always appears on the monuments of this 

 country, sometimes with and sometimes without the adjunct of 

 the birds and beasts lodging in the branches." 



The Runic inscriptions which are incised on the raised borders 

 surrounding the scroll work on the two sides of the Cross are in 

 the older variety of alphabet known as the Anglo-Saxon, which 

 consisted of upwards of forty letters, and in which seem to have 

 been embraced, more nearly tlian in any modern alphabet, the 

 actual sounds of a language. 



" The inscription is arranged in vertical columns on either side 

 of the panel of scroll work, extending from the top to the bottom 

 of the narrow sides of the shaft of the Cross, with the exception 

 of the first line, which runs horizontally across the top of the 

 panel. Consequently it reads from left to right, across the 

 first line in the usual way, then continues in a vertical line down 

 the whole of the right hand border, returning to the top of the 

 left hand border, and reading vertically again to the base. As 

 the lower part of the Cross is more wasted than the upper, there 

 are places where the reading fails towards the bottom of each 

 border, thus making four gaps in the continuity of the inscrip- 

 tion." 



We come now to the story of the translation of the Runes, 



"which is in the highest degree interesting and instructive." 



The first who attempted to read the inscription was Mr Thorleif 



Gudmunsen Repp, a learned Icelander and sub-librarian of the 



Advocates' Library. He assumed the language to be a mixture 



of Icelandic and Anglo-Saxon, and translated accordingly. The 



value of his translation may be judged from tlie following. The 



lines which are now rendered — 



" Christ was on Rood, 

 Whether there readily 

 From afar there came 

 The Prince to aid 



Sore I was 



With sorrow troubled," &c. 



