74 
A.D. 1380, and being nearly the whole time under the same 
or closely connected sovereigns, and several kings of Man 
(Scandinavians) being buried at Iona, it does appear singular 
that there should not be a single cross, with a Scandinavian 
Runic inscription, in this latter island. But neither m Eng- 
land nor Scotland are found Runic stones with Scandinavian 
inscriptions, so that these Manx crosses appear unique for 
Great Britain. The inscriptions on the Manx crosses are all in 
Runic characters, and in the ancient Scandinavian or Icelandic 
language. There is a peculiarity, however, m the Manx runes. 
The symbol which in ordinary Runic writings stands for ‘0’ 
in the Manx represents ‘b,’and the Manx have a symbol of 
their own for ‘0. The Manx have no symbol for ‘W’ or ‘ y.’ 
It is interesting to note that this fact holds good even in the 
inscription on cross No. 4, where, excepting in the instances 
of ‘b’ and ‘0,’ the runes agree with the ordinary Runic writ- 
ings, and differ from the older Manx. We may, perhaps, get 
a key to this variation by observing that all the names in the 
inscription on No. 4 are Gelic, and not, as on the other stones, 
Scandinavian. 
«No. 1.—This cross stands in the centre of the churchyard 
of Braddan. It is the most elegant and highly finished of any 
in the island, but has been broken in the middle and otherwise 
defaced. Its age is probably the end of the twelfth or begin- 
ning of the thirteenth century. The ordinary cable-work is here 
converted into interlacing dragons, or monstrous scale-covered 
animals. It is sculptured on three sides, the fourth side 
being occupied by the following Runic inscription, some- 
what imperfect in the middle :—‘ Thurlabr Neaki risti krus 
thana aft Fiak sun in bruthur sun Jabrs,’ i. e. Thorlaf Neaki 
erected this cross to Fiak, the son of his brother, a son of 
Jabr. 
« No. 2.—This cross stands near the south porch of Brad- 
dan church. It is probably of a later date than the last, and 
in the same style as that at Onchan, No. 11. The monstrous _ 
j 
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