WRHAM/1

Corpus Refs:none
Site:WRHAM
Discovery:in/on structure, 1840 workmen
History:Stone found built into the old nave during the demolition of 1840.
Geology:
Dimensions:0.0 x 0.0 x 0.0 (Unknown)
Setting:in struct
Location:on site
RCHAME/1970, 308: `In S.W. porch, reset in E. wall'.
Form:architectural fragment
RCHAME/1970, 308: `classical architrave of Romano-British date. The stone has two fasciae, the upper one projecting in front of the lower; it was later reused as a door jamb and the slot for the bolt is cut to the left of the inscription; the reuse is late medieval. The upper fascia has been dressed back flush with the lower after the last surviving letter of the first line'.
Condition:incomplete , some
RCHAME/1970, 308, notes that the stone was damaged when reused as a door jamb, for which purpose it was re-cut in the late Middle Ages with the probable loss of some letters as a result.
Folklore:none
Crosses:none
Decorations:no other decoration

References


Inscriptions


WRHAM/1/1

Readings

RCHAME (1970):VID{C}V[-- | F/IL/IVID{A}[--
Expansion:
VIDCVMI FILI VIDAR
Translation:
Vidcvmi (PN) [son of] Vidar (PN).
RCAHME/1970 308, 311 substantial discussion

Notes

Orientation:Indeterminate
Position:n/a ; broad ; n/a ; undecorated
Written along the two stepped surfaces of a reused Roman architrave.
Incision:inc
Date:600 - 699 (RCAHME/1970)
RCHAME/1970, 311: `Probably 7th century'.
Language:Incomplete Information (rcaps)
Ling. Notes:none
Palaeography:RCHAME/1970, 311: `The letters, which vary remarkably in size, are Roman capitals with uncial D and Insular L. The C is square. The final letter in the second line is imperfect; it can only be an A with angular cross bar. The strokes of the C and the Vs are crossed at their junction and several of the letters have prominent forked serifs.

The closest parallels in Britain are the inscription from Llanfihangel Cwmdu, ascribed to the late 6th or early 7th century [Nash-Williams/1950, no. 54], and the St. Peter stone at Whithorn, probably of the late 6th or 7th century. Both show the crossed junctions of the strokes and the variation in size of the letters. The forked serifs are used more consistently on the St. Peter stone.

The forked serif is widely found in Continental inscriptions of the 6th and 7th centuries. The square C is characteristic of the same period in Gaulish inscriptions. The uncial D does not occur in the earliest group of Welsh inscriptions, dating from the 5th to the 7th centuries, though it is found in group II, e.g. at Llanlleonfel [Nash-Williams/1950, no. 62]. The insular L at Llanddewi Brefi may be rather earlier [ibid. no. 116], but the form is characteristic of group II, from the 7th to the 9th century'.

Legibility:some
The surviving letters are clear if of unusual form in some cases.
Lines:2
Carving errors:0
Doubtful:no

Names

References