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Ogham ()

omniglot.com /writing/ogham.htm

Ogham is an alphabet that appears on monumental inscriptions dating from the 4th to the 6th century AD, and in
manuscripts dating from the 6th to the 9th century. It was used mainly to write Primitive and Old Irish, and also to
write Old Welsh, Pictish and Latin. It was inscribed on stone monuments throughout Ireland, particuarly Kerry, Cork
and Waterford, and in England, Scotland, the Isle of Man and Wales, particularly in Pembrokeshire in south Wales.

The name Ogham is pronounced [om] or [om] in Modern Irish, and it was spelt ogam and pronounced [am] in
Old Irish. Its origins are uncertain: it might be named after the Irish god Ogma, or after the Irish phrase og-aim
(point-seam), which refers to the seam made by the point of a sharp weapon. Ogham is also known as or ogham
craobh (tree ogham) beth luis fearn or beth luis nion, after the first few letters.

Ogham probably pre-dates the earliest inscriptions - some scholars believe it dates back to the 1st century AD - as
the language used shows pre-4th century elements. It is thought to have been modelled on or inspired by the
Roman, Greek or Runic scripts. It was designed to write Primitive Irish and was possibly intended as a secret form
of communication.

While all surviving Ogham inscriptions are on stone, it was probably more commonly inscribed on sticks, stakes and
trees. Inscriptions are mostly people's names and were probably used to mark ownership, territories and graves.
Some inscriptions in primitive Irish and Pictish have not been deciphered, there are also a number of bilingual
inscriptions in Ogham and Latin, and Ogham and Old Norse written with the Runic alphabet.

Notable features
Type of writing system: alphabet
Number of letters: 25, which are grouped into five aicm (sing. aicme = group, class). Each aicme is named
after its first letter. Originally Ogham consisted of 20 letters or four aicm; the fifth acime, or Forfeda, was
added for use in manuscripts.
Writing surfaces: rocks, wood, manuscripts
Direction of writing: inscribed around the edges of rocks running from bottom to top and left to right, or left to
right and horizontally in manuscripts.
Letters are linked together by a solid line.
Used to write: Primitive and Old Irish, Pictish, Old Welsh and Latin

The Ogham alphabet


The letters are shown in their vertical and horizontal variants. The pronunciation is for Primitive Irish, the language
used in the majority of Ogham inscriptions. The names and sounds represented by the letters uath and straif are
uncertain. There are many different version of the letter names - the standard ones are used here [with the Primitive
Irish ones, where known, in bracketts] - others can be found at: evertype.com.

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Downloads

Download the Ogham alphabet chart (Excel)

Sample texts in Ogham

Texts in Primitive Irish

Transliteration

LIE LUGNAEDON MACCI MENUEH

Translation

The stone of Lugnaedon son of Limenueh

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From: Inchagoill Island, County Galway, Ireland

Ogham stone form Mount Melleray in County Waterford in Ireland.

Transliteration

Na Maqi Lugudeca Muc Cunea

Translation

The Sons of Lugudeca, Son of Cunea

Source: http://www.prehistoricwaterford.com/news/the-stones/

An Old Irish Joke in Primtive Irish (translation by David Stifter)

Transliteration

Tengws werijonk
Tut raddassodd trs dtrebk dslondetun do bit.
Tgoddit in wsskan do atareregiy esyan kenutan writ dwan.
Bddar kina labartun writ alaliyan qos qennan bldaniys.
Issit andan esset brt wiras d bis writ alaliyan diyas bldniyas: mati ad tyomas.
Bowet samali qos qennan bldaniys.
Issit mati sodesin, esset brt aliyas uiras.
Bddar andan ran sodes qos qennan bldaniys.
Tong wo m brattan, esset brt trissas uiras, ma nt lggtar kiyunessus do m, imbit gabiy wsskan oliyan d
swi.

Old Irish (Sengodelc) version

Trar manach dorat dultad dont aegul.


Tagait i fsach do aithrigi a peccad fri da.

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Btar cen labrad fri araile co cenn bladnae.
Is and asbert fer diib fri araile dia bladnae, Maith attaam, olse.
Amein co cenn bladnae.
Is maith n, ol in indara fer.
Btar and ar suidiu co cenn bladnae.
Toingim fom aibit, ol in tres fer, manilicthe cinas dom co n-imgb in fsach uile dib.

Modern Irish (Gaeilge) version (by Dennis King)

Trir manach a thug dilt don saol.


Tann siad ins an fhsach chun aithr a dhanamh ina gcuid peaca roimh Dhia.
Bh siad gan labhairt lena chile go ceann bliana.
Ansin dirt fear dobh le fear eile bliain amhin ina dhiaidh sin, Timid go maith, ar seisean.
Mar sin go ceann bliana.
Is maith go deimhin, arsa an dara fear.
Bh siad ann ina dhiaidh sin go ceann bliana.
Dar maibd, arsa an treas fear, mura ligeann sibh cinas dom fgfaidh m an fsach uile daoibh!

English version (by Dennis King)

Three holy men turned their back on the world.


They went into the wilderness to atone for their sins before God.
They did not speak to one another for a year.
At the end of the year, one of them spoke up and said, "Were doing well."
Another year went by the same way.
"Yes we are," said the next man.
And so another year went by.
"I swear by my smock," said the third man, "if you two wont be still Im going to leave you here in the wilderness!

Source: http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/sengoidelc/donncha/tm/ilteangach/

Texts in Latin

Transliteration

Numus honoratur sine. Numo nullus amatur.

Translation

Money is honoured, without money nobody is loved

From: The Annals of Inisfallen of 1193

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From: The Book of Ballymote (Leabhar Bhaile an Mhta), written in 1390 or 1391.

Books about the Ogham alphabet

Links
Information about Ogham
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ogham
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ogham_inscriptions
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scholastic_ogham
http://www.evertype.com/standards/og/ogmharc.html

Ogham transliterator
http://nuacht1.com/ogham/

Free Ogham fonts


http://www.evertype.com/celtscript/ogfont.html
http://www.csupomona.edu/~jcclark/ogham/

Photos of Ogham stones with transliterations of the inscriptions


http://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/ogam/ogsing.htm

Examples of Ogham inscriptions


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ogham_inscription

Details of the Book of Ballymote


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Ballymote
http://www.ria.ie/library/special-collections/manuscripts/book-of-ballymote.aspx
http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/bb.html
http://staffweb.itsligo.ie/staff/jforan/Irish_project/Alt14/alt14a.htm

Translating Ancient Ogham - an introduction to linguistic archaeology in Ireland


http://www.celticgrounds.com/chapters/ogham_translat.htm

ALPHABETUM - a Unicode font specifically designed for ancient scripts, including classical & medieval Latin,
ancient Greek, Etruscan, Oscan, Umbrian, Faliscan, Messapic, Picene, Iberian, Celtiberian, Gothic, Runic, Old &
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Ugaritic, Linear B, Anatolian scripts, Coptic, Cypriot, Brahmi, Old Persian cuneiform:
http://guindo.pntic.mec.es/~jmag0042/alphabet.html

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Celtic languages
Breton, Cornish, Irish, Manx, Scottish Gaelic, Welsh

Alphabets
Adlam,
Armenian,
Avestan,
Avoiuli,
Bassa (Vah),
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Borama / Gadabuursi,
Carian,
Carpathian Basin Rovas,
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Greek,
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Korean,
Latin,
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Lycian,
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Manchu,
Merotic,
Messapic,
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Ogham,
Old Church Slavonic,
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