Ogham celtic tree alphabet

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No discussion of trees in Irish folklore and history would be complete without mention of the letters in the Ogham alphabet. This alphabet is the ancient Irish alphabet, many examples of which are still to be found on standing stones across the whole of the island. These inscriptions mainly date from the 3rd to the 5th century AD. Ogham stone photo D. The alphabet was an exception to the largely oral nature of early Irish society.

Ogham celtic tree alphabet

There are roughly surviving orthodox inscriptions on stone monuments throughout Ireland and western Britain, the bulk of which are in southern Munster. For this reason, ogam is sometimes known as the Celtic tree alphabet. The etymology of the word ogam or ogham remains unclear. Egyptian hieroglyphs 32nd c. It is generally thought that the earliest inscriptions in Ogham date to about the 4th century AD, [10] but James Carney believed its origin is rather within the 1st century BC. The largest number of scholars favour the Latin alphabet as this template, [14] [15] although the Elder Futhark and even the Greek alphabet have their supporters. The Latin alphabet is the primary contender mainly because its influence at the required period 4th century is most easily established, being widely used in neighbouring Roman Britannia , while runes in the 4th century were not very widespread even in continental Europe. In Ireland and in Wales, the language of the monumental stone inscriptions is termed Primitive Irish. The transition to Old Irish , the language of the earliest sources in the Latin alphabet, takes place in about the 6th century. There are two main schools of thought among scholars as to the motivation for the creation of ogham. Scholars such as Carney and MacNeill have suggested that ogham was first created as a cryptic alphabet, designed by the Irish so as not to be understood by those with a knowledge of the Latin alphabet. With bilingual ogham and Latin inscriptions in Wales, however, one would suppose that the ogham could easily be decoded by at least an educated few in the Post-Roman world. The second main school of thought, put forward by scholars such as McManus, [23] is that ogham was invented by the first Christian communities in early Ireland, out of a desire to have a unique alphabet for writing short messages and inscriptions in the Irish language. The argument is that the sounds of Primitive Irish were regarded as difficult to transcribe into the Latin alphabet, so the invention of a separate alphabet was deemed appropriate.

Notes 1. Scholars such as Carney and MacNeill have suggested that ogham was first created as a cryptic alphabet, designed by the Irish so as not to be understood by those with a knowledge of the Latin alphabet.

Ogh what? I hear you say. Imagine striding across moody moors covered in shades of gorse and bracken. A weathered standing stone looms out of the shifting mist, strange markings cover the edges. What is it? Who put it there? What is it saying?

Ogham was predominantly used to write the early Irish language and from the 6th century was used in the Gaelic Kingdom of Dalriada covering what is now Argyll, West Lochaber and the Inner Hebrides as well as the northern tip of Ireland. Whilst the Ogham Alphabet has 20 letters and 20 trees associated with it, the Gaelic Alphabet has 18 letters and 18 trees. These tall straight trees are associated with perspective and height. The kind of elm that grows most widely in Scotland is Wych Elm. As wood from the Elm is very flexible it consequently does not make a good material to construct buildings from. However, like Alder it does withstand water very well, so it has been popular in making boat hulls, bridges and wheels. Like Scots Pine, hollowed out Elm has previously been used as water piping before the advent of metal water pipes. Elm is also the material that coffins were traditionally made from. Welsh longbows too, were often made from Elm, whereas English longbows were more commonly made from Yew. As Birch is one of the first trees to come into leaf it would be an obvious choice as a representation of the emergence of spring.

Ogham celtic tree alphabet

There are roughly surviving orthodox inscriptions on stone monuments throughout Ireland and western Britain, the bulk of which are in southern Munster. For this reason, ogam is sometimes known as the Celtic tree alphabet. The etymology of the word ogam or ogham remains unclear. It is generally thought that the earliest inscriptions in Ogham date to about the 4th century AD, [10] but James Carney believed its origin is rather within the 1st century BC. The largest number of scholars favour the Latin alphabet as this template, [14] [15] although the Elder Futhark and even the Greek alphabet have their supporters. The Latin alphabet is the primary contender mainly because its influence at the required period 4th century is most easily established, being widely used in neighbouring Roman Britannia , while runes in the 4th century were not very widespread even in continental Europe.

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Wikimedia Commons. These tea towels measure 45 x 68 cm and are hemmed on all four sides. Macalister provides no such reason. Tags: ogham stones , ogham script , ogham letters , ogham jewelry , ogham alphabet , ogham , celtic language , ancient ogham. Elder is often seen as representing endings, transitions and maturity in terms of the awareness that comes with experience. It is reputed that the Faery Folk love music and merrymaking, and most of all they like the music from instruments made of elder wood. CE Coptic 3rd c. The argument is that the sounds of Primitive Irish were regarded as difficult to transcribe into the Latin alphabet, so the invention of a separate alphabet was deemed appropriate. A rare example of a Christianised cross-inscribed Ogham stone can be seen in St. Graves' argument is extremely complex, but in essence, he argues that the Hebrews, Greeks and Celts were all influenced by a people originating in the Aegean, called ' the people of the sea ' by the Egyptians, who spread out around Europe in the 2nd millennium BC, taking their religious beliefs with them. Internet slang variants.

With something for everyone, it boasts outdoor activities aplenty and an interesting cultural heritage.

Wikimedia Commons. University of Edinburgh. Holly wood is very heavy and hard, though fine grained, and is one of the whitest of all types of wood. Graves proposed that the ogham alphabet encoded a set of beliefs originating in the Middle East in Stone Age times, concerning the ceremonies surrounding the worship of the Moon goddess in her various forms. There was a Highland tradition of not using the wood from the Aspen for fishing or agricultural implements, or in house construction, suggesting that the Aspen was considered a faerie tree on a par with the Rowan Tree, the use of whose wood holds similar taboos. In British folklore newborn babies were often given a spoonful of Ash sap, whilst placing Ash berries in a cradle was thought to protect the child from being taken away as a changeling by mischievous Faeries. In the Spring, the sap from the Downy Birch can be used to make refreshing drinks, wines, and ales. Toggle limited content width. Connachta incl. Yes indeed, trees have been such an integral part of the human psyche that a whole alphabet was inspired by them, the ogham, also known as the Gaelic or Celtic tree alphabet. Get your monthly dose of tree facts, planting events, and green inspiration with the Trees for Cities newsletter.