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| '''Ogham''' (] '''Ogam''') was an ] used primarily to represent ] languages that was probably often written in wood in early times. The main flowering of the use of "classical" Ogham in stone seems to be ]–]. Monumental Ogham ]s are found in ], ], ], ], and the ], mainly employed as territorial markers and memorials. The more ancient examples are standing stones, script being carved into the edge (''droim'' or ''faobhar'') of the stone, which forms a stemline against which individual characters are cut. Text is read beginning from the bottom left-hand side of a stone, continuing upward, across the top and down the right-hand side in the case of long inscriptions. Inscriptions written on stemlines cut into the face of the stone, instead of along its edge, are known as "scholastic", and are of a later date (post 7th century). Notes were also commonly written in Ogham in manuscripts down to the sixteenth century. | '''Ogham''' (] '''Ogam''') was an ] used primarily to represent ] languages that was probably often written in wood in early times. The main flowering of the use of "classical" Ogham in stone seems to be ]–]. Monumental Ogham ]s are found in ], ], ], ], and the ], mainly employed as territorial markers and memorials. The more ancient examples are standing stones, script being carved into the edge (''droim'' or ''faobhar'') of the stone, which forms a stemline against which individual characters are cut. Text is read beginning from the bottom left-hand side of a stone, continuing upward, across the top and down the right-hand side in the case of long inscriptions. Inscriptions written on stemlines cut into the face of the stone, instead of along its edge, are known as "scholastic", and are of a later date (post 7th century). Notes were also commonly written in Ogham in manuscripts down to the sixteenth century. | ||
| Ogham could also be used as a secret language: the fingers of one hand, using the nose, shin, forearm or any other 'straight' edge as a stemline could be used to secretly signal individual ogham 'letters', which could be readily read by an ogham reader, but would be quite invisible to others. This usage may have been uncommon: as with any 'secret' language, little evidence of Oghams usage in this manner has survived. | |||
| The Ogham alphabet consists of twenty-five distinct characters (''feda''), the first twenty of which are considered to be primary, the last five (''forfeda'') supplementary. The four primary series are called ''aicmí'' (plural of ''aicme'' "family"). Each aicme was named after its first character (''Aicme Beithe'', ''Aicme hÚatha'', ''Aicme Muine'', ''Aicme Ailme'', "the B Group", "the H Group", "the M Group", "the A Group"). Some of the names and all of the values of the forfeda are open to question. | The Ogham alphabet consists of twenty-five distinct characters (''feda''), the first twenty of which are considered to be primary, the last five (''forfeda'') supplementary. The four primary series are called ''aicmí'' (plural of ''aicme'' "family"). Each aicme was named after its first character (''Aicme Beithe'', ''Aicme hÚatha'', ''Aicme Muine'', ''Aicme Ailme'', "the B Group", "the H Group", "the M Group", "the A Group"). Some of the names and all of the values of the forfeda are open to question. | ||
Revision as of 19:23, 6 December 2004
| Ogham letters ᚛ᚑᚌᚐᚋᚁᚂᚃᚓᚇᚐᚅ᚜ | |||||
| Aicme Beithe ᚛ᚐᚔᚉᚋᚓᚁᚂᚃᚄᚅ᚜ |
Aicme Muine ᚛ᚐᚔᚉᚋᚓᚋᚌᚎᚏ᚜ | ||||
| ᚁ | Beith | ᚋ | Muin | ||
| ᚂ | Luis | ᚌ | Gort | ||
| ᚃ | Fearn | ᚍ | nGéadal | ||
| ᚄ | Sail | ᚎ | , , | Straif | |
| ᚅ | Nion | ᚏ | Ruis | ||
| Aicme hÚatha ᚛ᚐᚔᚉᚋᚓᚆᚇᚈᚉᚊ᚜ |
Aicme Ailme ᚛ᚐᚔᚉᚋᚓᚐᚑᚒᚓᚔ᚜ | ||||
| ᚆ | Uath | ᚐ | Ailm | ||
| ᚇ | Dair | ᚑ | Onn | ||
| ᚈ | Tinne | ᚒ | Úr | ||
| ᚉ | Coll | ᚓ | Eadhadh | ||
| ᚊ | Ceirt | ᚔ | Iodhadh | ||
| Forfeda ᚛ᚃᚑᚏᚃᚓᚇᚐ᚜ | |||||
| ᚕ | , , , | Éabhadh | |||
| ᚖ | Ór | ||||
| ᚗ | Uilleann | ||||
| ᚘ | Ifín | ||||
| ᚙ | , | Eamhancholl | |||
| ᚚ | Peith | ||||
Ogham (Old Irish Ogam) was an alphabet used primarily to represent Gaelic languages that was probably often written in wood in early times. The main flowering of the use of "classical" Ogham in stone seems to be 5th–6th century AD. Monumental Ogham inscriptions are found in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, England, and the Isle of Man, mainly employed as territorial markers and memorials. The more ancient examples are standing stones, script being carved into the edge (droim or faobhar) of the stone, which forms a stemline against which individual characters are cut. Text is read beginning from the bottom left-hand side of a stone, continuing upward, across the top and down the right-hand side in the case of long inscriptions. Inscriptions written on stemlines cut into the face of the stone, instead of along its edge, are known as "scholastic", and are of a later date (post 7th century). Notes were also commonly written in Ogham in manuscripts down to the sixteenth century.
Ogham could also be used as a secret language: the fingers of one hand, using the nose, shin, forearm or any other 'straight' edge as a stemline could be used to secretly signal individual ogham 'letters', which could be readily read by an ogham reader, but would be quite invisible to others. This usage may have been uncommon: as with any 'secret' language, little evidence of Oghams usage in this manner has survived.
The Ogham alphabet consists of twenty-five distinct characters (feda), the first twenty of which are considered to be primary, the last five (forfeda) supplementary. The four primary series are called aicmí (plural of aicme "family"). Each aicme was named after its first character (Aicme Beithe, Aicme hÚatha, Aicme Muine, Aicme Ailme, "the B Group", "the H Group", "the M Group", "the A Group"). Some of the names and all of the values of the forfeda are open to question.
See also
- Runic alphabet (a similar but distinctly different alphabetic system)
External links
- Every Ogham Thing on the Web
- Celtic Ogham - by Curis Clark