Mên Scryfa
The menhir Mên Scryfa (also Mên Scrifa, German "stone with writing" ) is an inscribed standing stone. Mên Scryfa stands in the middle of a field at the end of a cul-de-sac, northeast of the road from Madron to Morvah in Cornwall in England . The megaliths of Mên-an-Tol are about 300 m south.
description
The stone, with a rectangular cross-section, about 0.4 meters by 0.5 meters, is 1.7 meters high. The inscription ending in the ground is on its north side. There used to be two simple crosses on the top of the lichen- covered stone. The horizontal axis of the lower cross is still visible, but the vertical line is very indistinct. The antiquarian William Borlase described the stone found lying down in 1769. It was raised in 1825 and overthrown by looters in 1849. It was face down when described by John Thomas Blight (1835–1911) in 1861 , and was rebuilt in its current position in 1862 so deep that the last word of the inscription is buried.
The inscription
The inscription in Capitalis (Roman majuscule ) reads "Rialobranus son of Cunovalus". The historically not handed down Rialobranus was perhaps a Cornish petty king or tribal leader. Rialobran (or Ryalvran) can mean "royal ravens" in Cornish , while Cunovallos can mean "famous leader" in British. This would read the inscription "royal raven son of the famous leader Cunovalus". Antiquaries identify him with the pre-Roman British King Cunobelinus , who ruled shortly after the turn of the times, but Rialobran was not one of his traditional sons.
Dating
The inscription was dated to the 6th to 8th centuries AD for stylistic reasons. However, it is believed that the stone itself is a prehistoric menhir.
Legend
Popular lore has it that a battle was fought nearby and Riverbranus was killed and buried at the site. It is also claimed that the length of the stone (approximately 2.7 m) was the height of the warrior's body.
See also
Web links
Coordinates: 50 ° 9 ′ 42.3 " N , 5 ° 36 ′ 14.8" W.