[[++]] Monument: Andreas Churchyard
(The drawing of this monument, as well as those of the following inscribed stones, is borrowed from W. Kinnebrook’s “Etchings of the Runic Monuments in the Isle of Man,” London, 1841, 8vo. But the faulty inscriptions in that book are here corrected.)
[[++]] Monument: Kirk Michael
In the middle of the village of Kirk Michael, close to the northern corner of the churchyard, is a stone not less richly sculptured than the preceding one, with all sorts of figures of stags, dogs, serpents, horses, horsemen, &c., which are placed round a large cross covered with interlacings, or scrolls. The inscription on it runs thus:—
“Jualfir sunr Thurulfs eins Rautha risti krus thana aft Frithu muthur sina.” (Or, “Joalf, son of Thorolf the Red, erected this cross to his mother Frida.”)
At the end of the inscription is carved the figure of a man (probably Joalf), with a shield on his arm and a lance in his hand. (See the annexed cut.)
The language of the inscriptions, as well as the Scandinavian names which appear in them,—as Thorlaf, Arnbjörg, Frida, and particularly the names compounded after the genuine Scandinavian fashion, as Sandulf the Swarthy, and Thorolf the Red,—sufficiently prove that these monuments were erected by Northmen, or Norwegians, to their relatives who had died in the Isle of Man. A piece of runic stone in the wall of Michael’s Church bears the name of Grim the Swarthy (“Grims ins Suarta”); and in some similar fragments of inscriptions near Kirk Onchan we find the names of Thurid (“Thurith raist runir,” i. e., Thurith engraved runes) and Leif (“tra es Laifa fustra guthan son Ilan”). The well-known Scandinavian name, Asketil, is also found on the remains of a runic inscription in the museum in Douglas (“p. Askitil vilti i trigu——aithsaara siin;” i. e., whom Asketil deceived in security, contrary to his pledge of peace). At the same time, however, we may infer from names like Neaki, Fjak, and Jabr, that the Northmen must, when these inscriptions were written, have already mingled with the original Gaelic inhabitants of Man. A stone at Kirk Michael, which is ornamented with a finely sculptured cross, on the sides of which are seen a stag, a dog, a harper, and two figures apparently in an attitude of prayer, has a Norwegian inscription with purely Gaelic names, such as Mal Lumkun and Mal Muru:—
“Mal Lumkun raisti krus thana eftir Malmuru fustra sin...;” (i. e., “Mal Lumkun erected this cross to his foster father Malmor.”)
