d in this way we can be tolerably sure of the
correct readings.

The two quotations in front are as follows: it will be seen that the
cross itself is supposed to be the speaker.

1. [on]gered{ae} hin{ae} god almechttig
tha he walde on galgu gistiga,
modig fore all{ae} men; buga [ic ni darst{ae}.]

2. [ahof] ic riicn{ae} kyningc,
heafun{ae}s hlafard; h{ae}lda ic ni darst{ae}.
bism{ae}radu ungket men ba {ae}t-gadre.
ic w{ae}s mith blod{ae} bistemid bigoten of [his sidan.]

The two quotations at the back are these:

3. Crist w{ae}s on rodi;
hwethr{ae} ther fus{ae} fearran cwomu
{ae}ththil{ae} til anum; ic th{ae}t al biheald.
sare ic w{ae}s mith sorgum gidr{oe}fid;
hnag [ic hwethr{ae} tham secgum til handa.]

4. mith strelum giwundad
alegdun hi{ae} hin{ae} limw{oe}rign{ae};
gistoddum him {ae}t his lic{ae}s heafdum,
bihealdun hi{ae} ther heafun[{ae}s hlafard.]

The literal meaning of the lines is as follows:

1. God almighty stripped Himself
when He would mount upon the gallows (the cross),
courageous before all men; I (the cross) durst not bow down

2. I (the cross) reared up the royal King,
the Lord of heaven; I durst not bend down.
men reviled us two (the cross and Christ) both together.
I was moistened with the blood poured forth from His side.

3. Christ was upon the cross;
howbeit, thither came eagerly from afar
princes to (see) that One; I beheld all that.
sorely was I afflicted with sorrows;
I submitted however to the men's hands.

4. wounded with arrows,
they laid Him down, weary in His limbs.
they stood beside Him, at the head of His corpse.
they beheld there the Lord of heaven.

In the late MS. it is the cross that is wounded by arrows; whereas
in the runic inscription it seems to be implied that it was Christ
Himself that was so wounded. The allusion is in any case very obscure;
but the latter notion makes the better sense, and is capable of being
explained by the Norse legend of Balder, who was frequently shot at by
the other gods in sport, as he was supposed to be invulnerable; but he
was slain thus one day by a shaft made of mistletoe, which alone had
power to harm him.

There is also extant a considerable number of very brief inscriptions,
such as that on a column at Bewcastle, in Cumberland; but they
contribute little to our knowledge except the forms of proper names.
The _Liber Vit{ae}_ of Durham, written in the