--- title: Ogham author: Jenni Irving source: https://www.worldhistory.org/Ogham/ format: machine-readable-alternate license: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) updated: 2024-05-07 --- # Ogham _Authored by [Jenni Irving](https://www.worldhistory.org/user/jenni.irving/)_ One of the stranger ancient scripts one might come across, Ogham is also known as the '[Celtic](https://www.worldhistory.org/celt/) Tree [Alphabet](https://www.worldhistory.org/alphabet/)'. Estimated to have been used from the fourth to the tenth century CE, it is believed to have been possibly named after the Irish [god](https://www.worldhistory.org/God/) Ogma but this is debated widely. Ogham actually refers to the characters themselves, the [script](https://www.worldhistory.org/script/) as a whole is more appropriately named *Beith-luis-nin* after the order of alphabet letters BLFSN. ### Description The script originally contained 20 letters grouped into four groups of five. Five more letters were later added creating a fifth group. Each of these groups was named after its first letter. There are some four to five hundred surviving ogham inscriptions throughout [Britain](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/Britain/) and [Ireland](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/Ireland/) with the largest number appearing in Pembrokeshire. The rest of the inscriptions were located around south-eastern Ireland, [Scotland](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/Scotland/), Orkney, the Isle of Man, and around the border of Devon and Cornwall. Ogham was used to write in [Archaic](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/Archaic/) Irish, Old Welsh, and Latin mostly on wood and stone, and it is based on a high medieval Briatharogam tradition of ascribing the name of trees to individual characters. The inscriptions containing Ogham are almost exclusively made up of personal names and marks of land ownership. ### Origin Theories There are four popular theories discussing the origin of Ogham. The differing theories are unsurprising considering that the script has similarities to ciphers in Germanic [runes](https://www.worldhistory.org/runes/), Latin, elder [futhark](https://www.worldhistory.org/runes/), and the [Greek alphabet](https://www.worldhistory.org/Greek_Alphabet/). The first theory is based on the work of scholars such as Carney and MacNeill who suggest that Ogham was first created as a cryptic alphabet designed by the Irish. They assert that the Irish designed it in response to political, military, and/or religious reasons so that those with knowledge of just Latin could not read it. The second theory is held by McManus who argues that Ogham was invented by the first Christians in early Ireland in a quest for uniqueness. The argument maintains that the sounds of the primitive Irish language were too difficult to transcribe into Latin. The third theory states that the Ogham script from invented in West Wales in the 4th century CE to intertwine the Latin alphabet with the Irish language in response to the intermarriage between the Romans and the Romanized Britons. This would account for the fact that some of the Ogham inscriptions are bilingual; spelling out Irish and Brythonic-Latin. The fourth theory is supported by MacAlister and used to be popular before other theories began to overtake it. It states that Ogham was invented in Cisalpine [Gaul](https://www.worldhistory.org/gaul/) around 600 BCE by Gaulish Druids who created it as a hand signal and oral language. MacAlister suggests that it was transmitted orally until it was finally put into [writing](https://www.worldhistory.org/writing/) in early Christian Ireland. He argues that the lines incorporated into Ogham represent the hand by being based on four groups of five letters with a sequence of strokes from one to five. However, there is no evidence for MacAlister's theory that Ogham's language and system originated in Gaul. Mythical theories for the origin of Ogham also appear in texts from the eleventh to fifteenth centuries. The 11th-century [Lebor Gabala Erenn](https://www.worldhistory.org/Lebor_Gabala_Erenn/) tells that Ogham was invented soon after the fall of the tower of [Babel](https://www.worldhistory.org/babylon/), as does the 15th-century *Auraicept na n-eces* text. The *Book of Ballymote* also includes 92 recorded secret modes of writing Ogham written in 1390-91. #### Editorial Review This human-authored definition has been reviewed by our editorial team before publication to ensure accuracy, reliability and adherence to academic standards in accordance with our [editorial policy](https://www.worldhistory.org/static/editorial-policy/). ## Bibliography - Carney, J. "The Invention of the Ogam Cipher." *Ériu*, 22/1975, pp. 62-63. - Macalister, R. A.S. *Corpus inscriptionum insularum celticarum. First edition.* Dublin, 1945 - Macalister, R. A.S. *The Secret Languages of Ireland.* Cambridge University Press, 1937, 27-36. - MacNeill, E. "Archaisms in the Ogham Inscriptions." *Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy*, 39, pp. 33-53. ## Timeline - **c. 350 CE - c. 950 CE**: Estimated use of the [Ogham](https://www.worldhistory.org/Ogham/) in [Ireland](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/Ireland/) and southwestern [England](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/england/). ## External Links - [Gardner Discovers Ancient Ogham Stone in His Yard](https://mymodernmet.com/ogham-rock/) - [Ogham in the British Museum – OG(H)AM](https://ogham.glasgow.ac.uk/index.php/2024/01/24/ogham-in-the-british-museum/) - [Activity Sheet: Ogham Code | Archaeology | National Museum of Ireland](https://www.museum.ie/en-IE/Museums/Archaeology/Engage-And-Learn/Museum-at-Home/Ogham-Code) ## Cite This Work ### APA Irving, J. (2012, May 11). Ogham. *World History Encyclopedia*. ### Chicago Irving, Jenni. "Ogham." *World History Encyclopedia*, May 11, 2012. . ### MLA Irving, Jenni. "Ogham." *World History Encyclopedia*, 11 May 2012, . ## License & Copyright Submitted by [Jenni Irving](https://www.worldhistory.org/user/jenni.irving/ "User Page: Jenni Irving"), published on 11 May 2012. The copyright holder has published this content under the following license: [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/deed.en). This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon this content non-commercially, as long as they credit the author and license their new creations under the identical terms. When republishing on the web a hyperlink back to the original content source URL must be included. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms.