212 Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. 



no place here : and I entirely withhold my assent from your suggestion 

 that the genitive of the proper name occurring in the beginning of this 

 and other Ogham inscriptions might he regarded as grammatically de- 

 pending upon a nominative case following it. 



As for glunlegget, your first analysis of the epithet is clearly 

 right. It means "akneeler;" and here again I venture to speak 

 with more confidence than you do; not believing that the Latin lego 

 will give us any help in the interpretation of the word. On the other 

 hand, we find the double g in the words meaning to lie or lay in many 

 of the Teutonic languages. 



In ancient times there were four classes of penitents who were 

 subjected, under the discipline of the Church, to different degrees of 

 penance, as an atonement for great and notorious crimes. They were 

 named, respectively, (1) Weepers; (2) Hearers; (3) Kneelers; and 

 (4) Bystanders. The (1) "Weepers (Flentes, irpo.7ickcdov7e<i) used to lie 

 in the church porch, weeping and begging the prayers of all who 

 entered. The (2) Hearers (Audientes, atcpo&vTes) were allowed to stand 

 in the narthex at the reading of the Scriptures and sermons; but were 

 forbidden attendance at common prayer or communion. The (3) 

 Kneelers (Gemcflectentes, <-/owic\ii>ovTe$) knelt in the nave, near the 

 ambon, and joined in the prayers. The (4) Bystanders (Consistentes, 

 owiG'rafi.evoi) were admitted .to stand amongst the faithful, though they 

 were not allowed to partake of the Eucharist. Audientes and Genuflec- 

 tentes were also the names of classes of catechumens who were going 

 through a course of instruction preparatory to their baptism. 



It appears, then, that the epithet Glunlegget points either to a per- 

 son who had not yet been baptised ; or, what seems more probable, to 

 one who, for some great crime, had been subjected to the severities of 

 Church discipline. Canonical penance was in general imposed only in 

 cases where persons had been found guilty of idolatry, homicide, or 

 adultery. 



I need not direct your attention to the fact that the backward 

 mode of writing used in this inscription is essentially cryptic. It 

 shows an intention to perplex decipherers by placing an additional dif- 

 ficulty in their way ; and we have had occasion to observe that this 

 end has actually been attained. 



Neither is it necessary for me to notice the conclusion to be drawn 

 as to the date of this inscription, if my explanation of the meaning of 

 the epithet of Glunlegget be correct. 



