ᚦᚨᚿᛆ᛬ᚢᚠ᛬ᚢᚠᛆᛁᚴ᛬ᚠᛆᚢᚦᚢᚱ᛬ᛌᛁᚿ᛫ᛁᚿ᛬ᚴᛆᚢᛐᚱ᛬ᚴᛁᚱᚦᛁ᛬ᛌᚢᚿᚱ᛬
[ᛒᛁᛆ]ᚱᚿᛆᚱ᛬ᚴ᛬᛬᛬
Literally, þana uf ufaig fauþur sin in gautr girthi sunr ... rnar g ... orthog. (N. N. reisti kross) þenna of Ufeig föður sinn, en Gautr gerði, sunr Bjarnar g.... N. N. raised this cross over Ufeig his father, but Gaut made [it] the son of Björn.... Another of the Kirk Michael crosses, which has been more frequently and diversely translated than any British Runic inscription, consists of an upright square slab, with a cross cut on both sides, according to the usual style of the Scottish memorial stones, and decorated with a variety of sculptured figures and animals, representing a stag hunt. One of the edges is ornamented with interlaced work, as shewn in the annexed illustration, and along the opposite edge is the legend, surmounted with a small incised figure of a warrior in simple costume, with his arms extended, holding a spear in his right hand, and bearing a round shield on the left arm. The letters are sharply cut, and the author of "Ecclesiological Notes on the Isle of Man" refers to this as the most perfect Runic inscription in the three kingdoms:—
ᛆᚢᚮᛚᚠᛁᚱ᛬ᛌᚢᚿᚱ᛬ᚦᚢᚱᚢᛚᚠᛌ᛬ᚼᛁᚿᛌ᛬ᚱᛆᚢᚦᛆ᛬ᚱᛁᛌᛐᛁ᛬ᚴᚱᚢᛌ᛬
ᚦᚨᚿᚨ᛬ᛆᚠᛐ᛬ᚠᚱᛁᚦᚢ᛬ᛘᚢᚦᚢᚱ᛬ᛌᛁᚿᚨ
Kirk Michael Cross.
Its literal rendering is:—Auolfir sunr þurulfs hins rauþa risti krus þana aft friþu muþur sina; betraying like the others the variations of a provincial dialect, or a foreign use of the old Norse tongue. More correctly it is:—Eyolfr sunr þórolfs hins rauða reisti kross þenna eft Friðu móður sína; i.e., Eyolf, the son of Thorolf the Red, raised this cross after (or in memory of) Frida his mother. This exceedingly simple memorial of affection, contrasting in its brevity so strikingly with the inflated extravagancies of modern monumental inscriptions, affords a good example of the most usual style of the Manx Runic legends. One cross at Kirk Andreas is raised by Sandulfr suarte, or Sandulf the Black, in memory of his sons and wife; while on another imperfect fragment of a cross may still be traced the words:—Oskitil uilti i trigu aiþsuara sinn; i.e., Oskitil betrayed in truce his sworn friend. The precise object of this unusual memorial cannot now be guessed at with any degree of certainty, though the fragment preserves sufficient that is peculiar to excite our regret at its recovery in so imperfect and dubious a state. Another mutilated cross at Kirk Michael is interesting as an additional example of a Runic inscription containing names essentially Celtic in character. Part of the inscription is so much defaced by the weather as to baffle any attempt at a consistent rendering of its meaning, but of the portion copied below no doubt can be entertained. It is presented here in fac-simile, as an illustration of the style of engraving of the Manx inscriptions, though it differs in the use of ᛋᛏ for the more common Runic characters introduced on the other crosses as equivalent to the s and t.
ᛘᛅᛚᛚᚤᛘᚴᚢᚾ᛬ᚱᛅᛁᛲᛏᛁ᛬ᚴᚱᚢᛲ᛬ᚦᛆᚾᛅ᛬ᛂᚠᛏᛁᚱ⁝ᛘᛅᛚ᛫ᛘᚢᚱᚢ᛬ᚠᚢᛲᛏᚱᛅᛲᚢᚾ