| Corpus Refs: | Macalister/1949:953 |
| Site: | MVILE |
| Discovery: | first mentioned, 1840 inc |
| History: | Macalister/1949, 120--121: `found in the cemetery of Moville, Newtownards, and removed to an adjoining garden: but afterwards restored to its proper place and now set against the N. wall of the Abbey church'. Macalister/1949, 120, credits W.H. Patterson with the first publication of the stone in 1873, however Petrie/1878, 71--72, cites an article by Patterson from 1869, and also states that the published drawing `was made by Dr. Petrie many years ago'. Hamlin/2001, 56: `the inscribed slab was dug up in about 1840 in this graveyard'. |
| Geology: | Petrie/1878, 72: `hard greenstone'. Macalister/1949, 120: `micaceous sandstone'. |
| Dimensions: | 1.21 x 0.52 x 0.08 (converted from Macalister/1949) |
| Setting: | in ground |
| Location: | on site Macalister/1949, 120--121: `set against the N. wall of the Abbey church'. Hamlin/2001, 56: `It is now set with a group of Anglo-Norman coffin-lids into the north wall of the ruined Agustinian Abbey church at Movilla'. |
| Form: | name-slab Petrie/1878, 72; `The stone is...flat on the surface, but irregularly shaped below: the lines of the cross and the inscription are very sharp'. Macalister/1949, 120: `a slab'. Hamlin/2001, 56: `irregularly shaped rectangular slab'. |
| Condition: | incomplete , some Petrie/1878, Plate XXXVIII, shows the stone missing a piece on the top right hand side, which Macalister/1949, Plate XLVI, also shows. Hamlin/2001, 56: `damaged'. |
| Folklore: | none |
| Crosses: | 1: latin; outline; straight; plain; round holl; none; inner curv; none; plain |
| Decorations: | Petrie/1878, 72: `The cross cut on this stone is of the Irish type'. Macalister/1949, 121: `A Latin wheel cross with a long stem, and rolls on the inside edge of the ring: the arms of the cross hollowed'. Hamlin/2001, 56: `bears an incised cross. The cross-head has a distinctive feature found on many free-standing crosses: the semi-circular projections on the inner circumference of the ring. The only other Irish example I have noted on a slab is at Kilbrecan on Inishmore in the Aran Islands [KBRCN/8]. The very precise geometrical construction of the cross-head is also unusual'. |
| Petrie, G. (1878): | O~R~DODERTREND Expansion: OROIT DO DERTREND Translation: Pray for Dertrend (PN). Petrie/1878 72 reading only |
| Macalister, R.A.S. (1949): | O~R~DODERTREND Expansion: OROIT DO DERTREND Macalister/1949 121 reading only |
| Hamlin, A. (2001): | O~R~DODERTEND Expansion: OROIT DO DERTREND Translation: A prayer for Dertrend (PN). Hamlin/2001 56 reading only |
| Orientation: | vertical down |
| Position: | ind ; broad ; beside cross ; undivided Macalister/1949, 121: `runs downwards, alongside the stem'. Hamlin/2001, 56: `the placing of the inscription, from top to bottom, parallel to the stem of the cross [is very unusual]'. |
| Incision: | pocked Hamlin/2001, 56: `the letters pecked'. |
| Date: | None published |
| Language: | Goidelic (rbook) |
| Ling. Notes: | none |
| Palaeography: | Hamlin/2001, 56: `The letters decease in height, from beginning to end, as in some manuscripts'. CISP: Half-uncials with majuscule R, contraction mark over the OR, two forms of E, one open, the other closed, and Ds, two examples open-bowed, with the ascenders bending to the left over the bow. |
| Legibility: | good Hamlin/2001, 56: `The inscription is very clear'. |
| Lines: | 1 |
| Carving errors: | 0 |
| Doubtful: | no |
Hamlin/2001, 56: `the name cannot be identified and is difficult to make sense of etymologically'.