Airy Plumeflights by Timothy O'Neill

Author:Timothy O'Neill [Timothy O’Neill]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781843513407
Publisher: The Lilliput Press
Published: 2012-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

WRITING

It has always been said that there was no writing in Ireland before the coming of Patrick and the first missionaries. This is true if writing is taken to mean the twenty-six letters of the alphabet which is used every day. There was, however, another form of writing in the country long ago. It was invented by the Druids and called ogham after the pagan god Ogmios. Today one only sees it carved on the stones which mark the graves of the ancients.

The ogham alphabet is composed using four sets of up to five strokes which are placed on a straight line, or diagonally across it, or on either side of it; the straight line was usually the edge of a stone. Ogham inscriptions begin at the bottom and read upwards.

One can try out an Ogham inscription by scratching on slate with a sharp point. Sometimes the name of the owner was scratched on the back of a gold or silver brooch, or very occasionally a scribe signed his name in this script. Ogham is an awkward and not very practical way of writing and was rarely used after the introduction of Roman letters. It is also true to say that its connection with the Druids and the old religion led to its decline.

What was the writing style of the first books which were brought to Ireland? Was it the same as the script of the great Gospel book of Durrow? Yes, similar, but not exactly the same: the basic shapes of many of the letters are identical while some forms have changed, and so the old Roman script is not difficult to read. However, most of our oldest books were inaccessible as they remained sealed up in beautiful shrines and kept with saints’ relics in the monastery sacristies.

When written out in its simplest form, the old alphabet looked like this:

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