MacNejll — Notes on Irish Ogham Inscriptions. 355 



rather than contemporary, is indicated by concomitant late forms and by 

 the inequalities in the internal vocalization of words. 



o-stems. 



2. o-stems have genitive in -1, which disappears in late forms. Since 

 Ogham orthography ignores palatal and other glides, and thus does not note 

 palatalization of consonants, late forms which have lost final -i appear as if 

 uninflected. This appearance has led Ehys, whom Macalister follows, to think 

 that inflection is absent, whereas it is only the orthographical notation which 

 is defective. Even the MS. device for expressing palatalization is not always 

 adequate in Old and Middle Irish. Thus the genitive mis and the 

 dative mis are spelled alike. For the MS. form ainm, with the palatal 

 glide expressed, the oghams have anm. There is one earlier instance of 

 [a]nme in no. 32, as read by Macalister in vol. ii, p. 8. Necessarily, after 

 the final e disappeared, the preceding consonants must already have acquired 

 their palatalized sounds, so that anm is the Ogham spelling of ainm. This 

 being established, the assumption of non-inflected t>-stems falls to the ground. 

 The occurrence of forms with -i and forms without -1 in the same inscription 

 offers no difficulty when it is seen that other stems also appear side by 

 side in various stages of genitive inflexion. We may perhaps assume three 

 stages of -i — an early long -i, a transitional short -i, and a late form in which 

 -i has disappeared, leaving its trace in palatalization which is not expressed. 

 The transitional form seems to be indicated in the spelling mucoe J, 1895, 

 p. 351, where short 1 loses its definite quality through the influence of the 

 preceding o. 



3. G-enitives in -i from o-stems are too numerous to cite. The obsolescent 

 -1 of o-stems must be distinguished from the persistent -i of ■io-stems, which 

 is preserved in the latest Oghams as in early MS. Irish. 



4. In the following instances, the words marked with (*) are o-stems from 

 which final -i has disappeared. Numerous examples of maq, mac, = maqi, and 

 muco = mucoi, are here omitted. 



27. Luguqritt*- maqi ftritti. 



32. Erc^' maqi Maqi-Ercias. 



44. Anm Colombagan*^ alitir-'^. 



56. Q,rimitir^" Ronann'^ maq'" Comogann^'. 



69. Cattuvvirr*' maqi Rittavvecas mucoi AUato. 



72. Anm Vuroddrann*- maqi Doligen. 



73. Anm Tegami'^' mac*' Deglaml■^ 

 82. Corbagn'^' maqi mucoi C 



91. Maqi-taF maqi Vorgos maqi mucoi Toicac'% 



[52*'] 



