Ogham

Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 27. Chapters: Ogham inscriptions, Ogham letters, Scholastic Ogham, In Lebor Ogaim, Bríatharogam, Forfeda, Lunnasting stone, Auraicept na n-Éces, Buckquoy spindle-whorl, Lang Stane of Auquhollie, Beith, Nion, Ceirt, CIIC 504, Ifín, Straif, NGéadal, Ailm, CIIC 500, Uath, Onn, Luis, CIIC 193, Iodhadh, Eadhadh, Dair, Fearn, Gort, Sail, Coll, Úr, Muin, Ruis, Tinne. Excerpt: Ogham (English pronunciation: or ; Old Irish: , pronounced , Modern Irish or ) is an Early Medieval alphabet used primarily to write the Old Irish language, and occasionally the Brythonic language. Ogham is sometimes referred to as the "Celtic Tree Alphabet", based on a High Medieval Bríatharogam tradition ascribing names of trees to the individual letters. There are roughly 400 surviving ogham inscriptions on stone monuments throughout Ireland and western Britain, the bulk of them are in the south of Ireland, in Counties Kerry, Cork and Waterford. The largest number outside of Ireland is in Pembrokeshire in Wales. The remainder are mostly in south-eastern Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and England around the Devon/Cornwall border. The vast majority of the inscriptions consist of personal names. The etymology of the word ogam or ogham remains unclear. One possible origin is from the Irish og-úaim - 'point-seam', referring to the seam made by the point of a sharp weapon. Aramaic 8 c. BCE Brahmic abugidas Hebrew 3 c. BCEThaana 4 c. BCEPahlavi 3 c. BCE Palmyrene 2 c. BCESyriac 2 c. BCE Old Uyghur Nabataean 2 c. BCE Mandaic 2 c. CEGreek 8 c. BCE Coptic 3 c. CEGothic 3 c. CEArmenian 405Georgian 3 c. BCEGlagolitic 862Cyrillic ca. 940Paleohispanic 7 c. BCEEpigraphic South Arabian 9 c. BCE The earliest inscriptions in ogham date to about the 4th century AD, but James Carney believes its invention is rather within the 1st century BC. Although the use of "classical" ogham in stone inscriptions seems to have flowered in the 5th-6th centuries around the Irish Sea, from the phonological evidence it is clear that the alphabet predates the 5th century. A period of writing on wood or other perishable material prior to the preserved monumental inscriptions needs to be assumed, sufficient for the loss of the phonemes represented by úath ("H") and straif ("Z"), as well as the velar nasal, gétal, all of which are clearly part of the system, but unattested in inscriptions. It appea