[CHAPTER X.]
Runes.
Before dealing with the Norse and Danish antiquities of Lancashire, of which we have some remains in the form of sculptured stones, and ancient crosses, it would be profitable to inquire into the origin and development of that mysterious form of letters known as Runes or Runic. How many of the thousands who annually visit the Isle of Man are aware that the island contains a veritable museum of Runic historical remains? A brief survey of these inscriptions, which have yielded definite results, having been deciphered for us by eminent scholars, will help us to understand the nature of those to be found in our own county.
We are told by Dr. Wägner that Runes were mysterious signs. The word Rune is derived from rûna, a secret. The form of the writing would appear to be copied from the alphabet of the Phoenicians. The Runes were looked upon, for many reasons, as full of mystery and supernatural power. In the fourth century Ulphilas made a new alphabet for the Goths by uniting the form of the Greek letters to the Runic alphabet, consisting of twenty-five letters, which was nearly related to that of the Anglo-Saxons. The Runes gradually died out as Christianity spread, and the Roman alphabet was introduced in the place of the old Germanic letters. The Runes appear to have served less as a mode of writing than as a help to memory, and were principally used to note down a train of thought, to preserve wise sayings and prophecies, and the remembrance of particular deeds and memorable occurrences.
Tacitus informs us that it was the custom to cut beech twigs into small pieces, and then throw them on a cloth, which had been previously spread out for the purpose, and afterwards to read future events by means of the signs accidentally formed by the bits of wood as they lay in the cloth.
In his catalogue of Runic inscriptions found on Manx crosses, Kermode says that "of the sculptors' names which appear all are Norse. Out of a total of forty-four names, to whom these crosses were erected, thirty-two are those of men, eight of women, and four are nicknames. Of men, nineteen names are Norse, nine Celtic, three doubtful, and one Pictish." This proves the predominance of Norse and Danish chiefs to whom these monuments were erected. Runes are simply the characters in which these inscriptions are carved, and have nothing to do with the language, which in the Manx inscriptions is Scandinavian of the 12th Century.
To speak of a stone which bears an inscription in Runes as a Runic stone is as though we should call a modern tombstone a Roman stone because the inscription is carved in Roman capitals. Canon Taylor traces the origin of Runes to a Greek source, namely, the Thracian or second Ionian alphabet, which, through the intercourse of the Greek colonists at the mouth of the Danube with the Goths south of the Baltic, was introduced in a modified form into Northern Europe, and had become established as a Runic "Futhork" as early as the Christian era. The main stages of development are classified by Canon Taylor as the Gothic, the Anglican, and the Scandinavian.
The Rune consists of a stem with the twigs or letters falling from left or right. This is the most common form to be found, allowing for difference of workmanship, of material, and space. The progress in the development of the Rune may be observed from the most simple plait or twist, to the most complex and beautiful geometric, and to the zoomorphic. The latter has the striking features of birds and beasts of the chase, and also of men, many being realistic; and except the latter are well drawn. The forms of the men are sometimes found with heads of birds or wings. In addition to decorative work we find on three of the cross slabs illustrations from the old Norse sagas. On a large cross at Braddan is a representation of Daniel in the lion's den; and at Bride, on a slab, is a mediæval carving of the fall of Adam, in which the serpent is absent. Both Pagan and Christian emblems derive their ornamentation from the same source, "basket work."
Long after the introduction of Christianity we find the Pagan symbols mixed up in strange devices on the same stones, which were erected as Christian monuments. In the "Lady of the Lake," Sir Walter Scott gives an account of the famous fiery cross formed of twigs.
"The grisly priest, with murmuring prayer,
A slender crosslet framed with care,
A cubit's length in measure due;
The shaft and limbs were rods of yew."
"The cross, thus formed, he held on high,
With wasted hand and haggard eye."