Kingmoor Ring
Encyclopedia
There are seven known ring
s of the Anglo-Saxon period (9th or 10th century) bearing runic inscriptions.
The most notable of these are the Bramham Moor Ring, found in the 18th century, and the Kingmoor Ring, found 1817, inscribed with a nearly identical magical
formula read as
A third ring, found before 1824 (perhaps identical with a ring found in 1773 at Linstock castle in Carlisle), has a magical inscription of a similar type, ery.ri.uf.dol.yri.þol.wles.te.pote.nol.
The remaining four rings have much shorter inscriptions.
, West Yorkshire
before 1736 (now in the Danish National Museum, no. 8545). It is made from electrum
(gold with niello
), with a diameter of ca. 29 mm.
The inscription reads
Where k is the late Futhorc calc rune of the same shape as Younger Futhark
Yr. he n͡t is written as a bindrune.
It was discovered in June 1817 at Greymoor Hill, Kingmoor, near Carlisle (54°55′0"N 2°58′30"W).
By 1859, the ring was in the possession of the British Museum
(ring catalogue no. 184) who has received it from the Earl of Aberdeen. A replica is on exhibit in the Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery in Carlisle.
The inscription reads
The final tol is written on the inside of the ring. The inscription amounts to a total of 30 signs.
Where k is the late Futhorc calc rune of the same shape as Younger Futhark
Yr, and the s is the so-called "bookhand s" looking similar to a Younger Futhark
k, ᚴ.
, perhaps dating to the 9th century, found before 1824. Now British Museum ring catalogue no. 186.
The inscription reads
Page (1999) takes this to be a corrupt version of the inscription of the Kingmoor and Bramham Moor rings.
The location where this ring was found is unrecorded, but Page (1999) suggests that it is identical to a ring found at Linstock Castle in 1773.
A note found among Thorkelin's archive documenting his travels to England between 1785 and 1791.
The paper records an obscure inscription, "ERY.RI.VF.MOL / YRI.VRI.NOL / GLES.TE.SOTE.THOL", identified as "found in 1773 at Lynstock Castle near Carlisle, & not far from the Picts Wall in Cumberland".
Page adduces a note from a
sale catalogue of 1778 which lists "An antient Runic ring, found near the Picts Well, 1773".
(i.vii, fol. 20v). For this reason, the entire inscription is likely a protective or healing charm
or spell with the ring serving as an amulet
.
The charm in Leechbook s also found in Bodley MS:
The Leech book has the instruction: "to stop blood, poke into the ear with a whole ear of barley, in such a way that he [the patient] be unaware of it. Some write this:", followed by "either for horse or men, a blood-stauncher".
While the charm is "magical gibberish", there are a number of elements that can clearly be identified as Irish
: struth fola corresponds to Old Irish sruth fola "stream of blood". arȝrenn, ær grim etc. may be for ær greann "for irritation". Other parts sound clearly Anglo-Saxon such as onnhel, on hæl for unhæl "unhealthy". The .lll. has been taken as a corruption of the ogham
letter ᚃ (w) "alder", the ffil. crondi. ƿ. following it as the gloss fil crand .i. w[eorn] "it is a tree, i.e. 'alder'"
In the interpretation of Meroney (1945), the original text gave a list of ingredients for staunching blood, alder
(weorn), curds (ȝroth), etc., with a gloss explaining one of them having slipped into the text. cron aer crio is taken as Irish for "prohibition against bleeding", ær leno as "against afflictions" (Old Irish ar léunu).
Ring (finger)
A finger ring is a circular band worn as a type of ornamental jewelry around a finger; it is the most common current meaning of the word ring. Other types of metal bands worn as ornaments are also called rings, such as arm rings and neck rings....
s of the Anglo-Saxon period (9th or 10th century) bearing runic inscriptions.
The most notable of these are the Bramham Moor Ring, found in the 18th century, and the Kingmoor Ring, found 1817, inscribed with a nearly identical magical
Runic magic
There is some evidence that, in addition to being a writing system, runes historically served purposes of magic. This is the case from earliest epigraphic evidence of the Roman to Germanic Iron Age, with non-linguistic inscriptions and the alu word...
formula read as
- ærkriufltkriuriþonglæstæpontol
A third ring, found before 1824 (perhaps identical with a ring found in 1773 at Linstock castle in Carlisle), has a magical inscription of a similar type, ery.ri.uf.dol.yri.þol.wles.te.pote.nol.
The remaining four rings have much shorter inscriptions.
- Wheatley Hill, Durham, found 1993, now in the British Museum. Late 8th century. Inscription: [h]ring ic hatt[æ], "I am called a ring".
- Coquet Island, Northumberland, found before 1866, now lost. Inscription: + þis is - "this is…".
- Cramond, Edinburgh, found 1869-70, now in the National Museum of Scotland. 9th-10th century. Inscription: [.]ewor[.]el[.]u.
- Thames Exchange, London, found 1989, now in the Museum of London. Inscription: [.]fuþni ine.
Bramham Moor Ring
The Bramham Moor Ring, dated to the 9th century, was found in Bramham cum OglethorpeBramham cum Oglethorpe
Bramham cum Oglethorpe, more well known as just "Bramham", is a village and civil parish in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough, West Yorkshire, England.- Overview :According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 1,715...
, West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
before 1736 (now in the Danish National Museum, no. 8545). It is made from electrum
Electrum
Electrum is a naturally occurring alloy of gold and silver, with trace amounts of copper and other metals. It has also been produced artificially. The ancient Greeks called it 'gold' or 'white gold', as opposed to 'refined gold'. Its color ranges from pale to bright yellow, depending on the...
(gold with niello
Niello
Niello is a black mixture of copper, silver, and lead sulphides, used as an inlay on engraved or etched metal. It can be used for filling in designs cut from metal...
), with a diameter of ca. 29 mm.
The inscription reads
- ærkriuflt | kriuriþon | glæstæpon͡tol
Where k is the late Futhorc calc rune of the same shape as Younger Futhark
Younger Futhark
The Younger Futhark, also called Scandinavian runes, is a runic alphabet, a reduced form of the Elder Futhark, consisting of only 16 characters, in use from ca. 800 CE...
Yr. he n͡t is written as a bindrune.
Kingmoor Ring
The Kingmoor Ring (also Greymoor Hill Ring) dates to the 9th or 10th century. It is of gold, with a diameter ca. 27 mm.It was discovered in June 1817 at Greymoor Hill, Kingmoor, near Carlisle (54°55′0"N 2°58′30"W).
By 1859, the ring was in the possession of the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
(ring catalogue no. 184) who has received it from the Earl of Aberdeen. A replica is on exhibit in the Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery in Carlisle.
The inscription reads
- ærkriufltkriuriþonglæstæpon/tol
The final tol is written on the inside of the ring. The inscription amounts to a total of 30 signs.
Where k is the late Futhorc calc rune of the same shape as Younger Futhark
Younger Futhark
The Younger Futhark, also called Scandinavian runes, is a runic alphabet, a reduced form of the Elder Futhark, consisting of only 16 characters, in use from ca. 800 CE...
Yr, and the s is the so-called "bookhand s" looking similar to a Younger Futhark
Younger Futhark
The Younger Futhark, also called Scandinavian runes, is a runic alphabet, a reduced form of the Elder Futhark, consisting of only 16 characters, in use from ca. 800 CE...
k, ᚴ.
Linstock Castle Ring
A ring made of agateAgate
Agate is a microcrystalline variety of silica, chiefly chalcedony, characterised by its fineness of grain and brightness of color. Although agates may be found in various kinds of rock, they are classically associated with volcanic rocks and can be common in certain metamorphic rocks.-Etymology...
, perhaps dating to the 9th century, found before 1824. Now British Museum ring catalogue no. 186.
The inscription reads
- ery.ri.uf.dol.yri.þol.?les.te.pote.nol.
Page (1999) takes this to be a corrupt version of the inscription of the Kingmoor and Bramham Moor rings.
The location where this ring was found is unrecorded, but Page (1999) suggests that it is identical to a ring found at Linstock Castle in 1773.
A note found among Thorkelin's archive documenting his travels to England between 1785 and 1791.
The paper records an obscure inscription, "ERY.RI.VF.MOL / YRI.VRI.NOL / GLES.TE.SOTE.THOL", identified as "found in 1773 at Lynstock Castle near Carlisle, & not far from the Picts Wall in Cumberland".
Page adduces a note from a
sale catalogue of 1778 which lists "An antient Runic ring, found near the Picts Well, 1773".
Interpretation of the ærkriu charm
The sequence ærkriu found on both the Kingmoor and Bramham Moor Rings is interpreted as a spell for staunching blood, based on comparison with a charm containing the sequence ærcrio found in Bald's LeechbookBald's Leechbook
The Leechbook of Bald is an Old English medical text probably compiled in the ninth-century, possibly under the influence of Alfred the Great's educational reforms....
(i.vii, fol. 20v). For this reason, the entire inscription is likely a protective or healing charm
Magic (paranormal)
Magic is the claimed art of manipulating aspects of reality either by supernatural means or through knowledge of occult laws unknown to science. It is in contrast to science, in that science does not accept anything not subject to either direct or indirect observation, and subject to logical...
or spell with the ring serving as an amulet
Amulet
An amulet, similar to a talisman , is any object intended to bring good luck or protection to its owner.Potential amulets include gems, especially engraved gems, statues, coins, drawings, pendants, rings, plants and animals; even words said in certain occasions—for example: vade retro satana—, to...
.
The charm in Leechbook s also found in Bodley MS:
| Leechbook i.vii | Bodley MS |
| ær grim struht fola. ær grenn tart strut onntria enn piathu Morfona onnhel. ara carn leow gruth ueron .lll. fil cron diw .X. inro cron aer crio ær mio aær leno. |
|
The Leech book has the instruction: "to stop blood, poke into the ear with a whole ear of barley, in such a way that he [the patient] be unaware of it. Some write this:", followed by "either for horse or men, a blood-stauncher".
While the charm is "magical gibberish", there are a number of elements that can clearly be identified as Irish
Irish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
: struth fola corresponds to Old Irish sruth fola "stream of blood". arȝrenn, ær grim etc. may be for ær greann "for irritation". Other parts sound clearly Anglo-Saxon such as onnhel, on hæl for unhæl "unhealthy". The .lll. has been taken as a corruption of the ogham
Ogham
Ogham is an Early Medieval alphabet used primarily to write the Old Irish language, and occasionally the Brythonic language. Ogham is sometimes called the "Celtic Tree Alphabet", based on a High Medieval Bríatharogam tradition ascribing names of trees to the individual letters.There are roughly...
letter ᚃ (w) "alder", the ffil. crondi. ƿ. following it as the gloss fil crand .i. w[eorn] "it is a tree, i.e. 'alder'"
In the interpretation of Meroney (1945), the original text gave a list of ingredients for staunching blood, alder
Alder
Alder is the common name of a genus of flowering plants belonging to the birch family . The genus comprises about 30 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, few reaching large size, distributed throughout the North Temperate Zone and in the Americas along the Andes southwards to...
(weorn), curds (ȝroth), etc., with a gloss explaining one of them having slipped into the text. cron aer crio is taken as Irish for "prohibition against bleeding", ær leno as "against afflictions" (Old Irish ar léunu).
External links
- Anglo-Saxon Runic Rings (ansax.com February 2010)