| Corpus Refs: | Macalister/1949:937 Okasha/Forsyth/2001:Lismore 5 |
| Site: | LISMR |
| Discovery: | in/on structure, 1851 builders |
| History: | Macalister/1949, 107: `found about 1820 in excavating for the foundations of Lismore Cathedral tower, and for a time lay loose on the nave floor'. Okasha/Forsyth/2001, 344: `The stone was found in 1851 during the digginf of the foundations of the cathedal library ... Windele visited Lismore on 5 July 1851 but did not mention the stone ... The stone might not have been found by then or, if found, had not by then been placed in the cathedral. On 7 November 1855 Cotton sent the stone to be exhibited at the Society of Antiquaries in Dublin, apparently reassuring the Society that the stone would subsequently be restored `to its proper locality' ... The stone was described as `at Lismore' in 1863-64 ... Along with stones 1, 2, 3 and 4 it has been fastened to the cathedral wall since some time before 1912'. |
| Geology: | Macalister/1949, 108: `Grit'. |
| Dimensions: | 0.165 x 0.185 x 0.05 (Okasha/Forsyth/2001) |
| Setting: | in display |
| Location: | on site Okasha/Forsyth/2001, 344: `The stone is fastened to the west interior wall of the cathedral nave by means of two metal pins supported on metal struts. This arrangment allows the cross-head to be rotated and the viewer to examine both faces'. |
| Form: | Cramp head 1a Macalister/1949, 108: `The central fragment of a small free-standing wheel-cross: on both faces the ring is recessed below the face of the cross, and the openings between the ring and the angles are deepened but not perforated'. Okasha/Forsyth/2001, 344: `The stone is part of a small free-standing cross-head with a solid ring'. |
| Condition: | incomplete , poor Okasha/Forsyth/2001, 344: `The cross-head has broken off just under the transom. The head is substantially intact except for some damage to the ends of the arms, especially the right arm'. |
| Folklore: | none |
| Crosses: | 1: wheel cross; inc; inc; inc; inc; inc; inc; inc; inc |
| Decorations: | Okasha/Forsyth/2001, 344: `The cross is carved in relief on both sides. On the reverse it has an edge moulding, but the face is plain except for the text'. |
| Macalister, R.A.S. (1949): | [O]~R~DO:COR | MAC: | [.P.BR] Expansion: OR DO CORMAC PRESBYTER Macalister/1949 108, Plate XLIV reading only |
| Okasha and Forsyth (1998): | O~R~:DOCO/[R] | MAC: {P} | [-- Expansion: OR[OIT] DO CORMAC PRO [--] Translation: A prayer for Cormac (PN) [--. Okasha/Forsyth/2001 345 reading only |
| Orientation: | horizontal |
| Position: | n/a ; broad ; on cross ; undivided Okasha/Forsyth/2001, 344: `The text is incised in two complete horizontal lines with traces of a third line visible beneath. The first line runs the full width of the transom while the second line runs across the shaft immediately under the arms. Comparison with the reverse shows that the shaft has been kept unnaturally broad here to support the text. The third line would have run across the narrowing shaft. In addition, there is a trace of what might have been another letter above the final letters of the first line'. |
| Incision: | inc |
| Date: | None published |
| Language: | Goidelic and Latin (rbook) |
| Ling. Notes: | Okasha/Forsyth/2001, 346: `Although it is difficult to account for the switch to Latin part-way through, it is possible that the text read or(óit) do Cormac pro .... Abbreviation marks above OR and the BR of PBR; there is an extraneous L above COR. |
| Palaeography: | Okasha/Forsyth/2001, 345: `The text uses half-uncial script'. CISP: The lettering is Insular half-uncial. The D has an ascender which bends to the left over an open bow. The first R is majuscule with an open bow, the second is ligatured with the preceding O. The A has a square opne bow and a short extension to the right from the bottom of both vertical strokes. The final letter is the standard Latin abbreviation for p(ro). Abbreviation marks above OR and the Br of PBR; there is an extraneous L above COR. |
| Legibility: | some Macalister/1949, 108: 'only the extreme tops remain of [BR]'. |
| Lines: | 3 |
| Carving errors: | 0 |
| Doubtful: | no |