Corpus Refs: | Huebner/1876:82 Macalister/1945:360 Nash-Williams/1950:139 |
Site: | CNWYL |
Discovery: | first mentioned, 1693 Gibson |
History: | Macalister/1945, 344: 'At one time on the field known as Maes Llanwrthwl or Pont y Polion: afterwards lying prostrate across a gutter. Later the inscriptions was rather barbarously broken away for removal, and was long preserved at Dolau Cothi House: now in Carmarthen Museum'. Anon/1919a, 24b, states that the stone was given to Carmarthen Museum in 1919 by Lady Hills-Johnes. Thomas/1994, 104, has the stone still in this museum. |
Geology: | |
Dimensions: | 0.86 x 0.77 x 0.2 (converted from Nash-Williams/1950) |
Setting: | in display |
Location: | National Museum of Wales (Cat: Cast no. 14.306/15.) The stone is now in the Carmarthenshire Museum. |
Form: | plain Macalister/1945, 344: 'at one time a tall pillar-stone'. Nash-Williams/1950, 107: 'fragmentary slab'. Thomas/1994, 104: 'it was once a thin (c. 7 in.) natural slab measuring about 3ft. by 3ft. as an off square or rhomboid...it may have roofed one half of a large cist grave; and have been thus legible from above, at ground level'. |
Condition: | incomplete , poor Macalister/1945, 344: 'the surviving relics are in three fragments, which do not fit together, intervening portions being lost...what remains is in good condition'. |
Folklore: | none |
Crosses: | none |
Decorations: | no other decoration |
Lhuyd, E. (1694): | SE/RV/ATURFIDA/EI | PATRIEQSEMPER | AMATORHICPAULIN | USIACITCU/LTORPIENT{I} | SIMUSA/EQUI Expansion: SERVATUR FIDAEI PATRIEQUE SEMPER AMATOR HIC PAULINUS IACIT CULTOR PIENTISIMUS AEQUI Westwood/1876 79 reading only |
Westwood, J.O. (1856): | SE/RV/ATVRFIDA/EI | PATRIEQSEMPER | AMATOR[H]ICPA/VLIN | VSIACITC[V/LT]ORPIEN[T{I}] | SIM[VS A/EQVI] Expansion: SERVATUR FIDAEI PATRIEQUE SEMPER AMATOR HIC PAULINUS IACIT CULTOR PIENTISIMUS AEQUI Translation: Preserver of the Faith, constant lover of his country, her lies Paulinus (PN) the devoted champion of righteousness. Expansion: SERVATUR FIDAEI PATRIEQUE SEMPER AMATOR HIC PAULINUS IACIT CULTOR PIENTISIMUS AEQUI Translation: Keeper of the Faith, constant lover of his country, here lies Paulinus (PN), a faithful supporter of Justice. Anon/1893 91--92 reading only Anon/1919a 24b reading only Westwood/1856 249--250 reading only |
Macalister, R.A.S. (1945): | SE/RV/ATVRFIDA/EI | PATRIEQSEMPE[R] | AMATO[RH]ICPAVLIN | VSIACITCV/L[T]ORPIEN[TI] | SIMV[SA/EQVI] Expansion: SERVATVR FIDAEI PATRIEQUE SEMPE[R] AMATO[R] [H]IC PAVLINVS IACIT CVL[T]OR PIEN[TI]SIMV[S] [AEQVI] Macalister/1921 21 reading only Macalister/1945 344--345 reading only |
Nash-Williams, V.E. (1950): | SE/RV/ATVRFIDA/EI | PATRIEQ SEMPER | AMATORHICPA/VLIN | VSIACITCVL[T]ORPIENT{I} | SIM[VSA/EQUI] Expansion: SERVATVR FIDAEI PATRIEQUE SEMPER AMATOR HIC PAVLINVS IACIT CVL[T]OR PIENTISSIM[VS] [AEQUI] Translation: Preserver of the Faith, constant lover of his country, her lies Paulinus (PN), the devoted champion of righteousness. Nash-Williams/1938 40-41 reading only Nash-Williams/1950 107--109 reading only |
Thomas, C. (1994): | SE/RV/ATVRFIDA/EI | PATRIEQSEMPE[R] | AMATO[RH]ICPAVLIN | VSIACITCV/L[T]ORPIEN[TI] | SIMV[SA/EQVI] Expansion: SERVATVR FIDAEI PATRIEQUE SEMPER AMATOR HIC PAVLINVS IACIT CVLTOR PIENTISIMVS AEQVI Translation: A guardian of the Faith, of his homeland always a lover, her Paulinus (PN) lies; most conscientious observer of all that is right. Thomas/1994 104 reading only |
Orientation: | horizontal |
Position: | n/a ; broad ; n/a ; undecorated Thomas/1994, 104: `the five horizontal lines of lettering occupy the lower half [of the stone]'. |
Incision: | cut Macalister/1945, 344: `the letters are chisel-cut'. Nash-Williams/1950, 107: `neatly incised'. |
Date: | 550 - 550 (Nash-Williams/1950) [CISP] It is worth pointing out that this date depends on a particular identification of Paulinus which others have not accepted. See for instance Jackson/1953, 159, note 2. 520 - 540 (Thomas/1994) 500 - 566 (Jackson/1953) |
Language: | Latin (rcaps) |
Ling. Notes: | Jackson/1953, 191--192, cites, amongst others, the spellings of SERVATVR for servator, PATRIE for patriae, and FIDAEI for fidei found in this inscriptions to argue that some of the developments in Vulgar Latin were also taking place in British Latin. Thomas/1994, 104; `Application of scansion allows this to be verse; two hexameter lines (break after Amator). The wording and short phrases stand close to those in the Continental corpus of inscriptions, some take over from Classical poetry'. |
Palaeography: | Nash-Williams/1950, 107-109: `the lettering is Roman capitals with a free use of ligatures, and an alleged horizontal final -I (now missing) in l. 4. The form of the F with down-curved lower bar in l. 1 is abnormal'. Westwood/1856, 249: `a tendency to the character termed rustic by palaeographers, which is essentially visible in the letter F in the top line. The conjunctions of the letters E and R, V and A, and A and E, in the top line, and A and V in the third line...especially the reversed form of the first E, to accomodate it for conjunction with the next letter, R. Moreover...the V and L in the word Cultor, the M and V in the word 'pientisimus', and the A and E in the last word Aequi, are represented as conjoined, the second stroke of the V in Cultor forming the down stroke of the L, and the first and last strokes of the M being oblique so as to adopt the last stroke of the adjoining V. In addition...the form of L and I at the end of the third line, and the prostrate form of the I at the end of the fourth line...merit notice, the whole being of a debased Roman character, free from the slightest admixture of British or Saxon forms'. |
Legibility: | some Macalister/1945, 344: `what remains is in good condition'. |
Lines: | 5 |
Carving errors: | 0 |
Doubtful: | no |
Jackson/1953, 159 note 2, doubts the identification, as does Thomas/1994, 104.