Pillar of Eliseg

The Pillar of Eliseg also known as Elise's Pillar or Croes Elisedd in Welsh, stands near Valle Crucis Abbey, Denbighshire, Wales, at grid reference SJ204442. It was erected by Cyngen ap Cadell (died 855), king of Powys in honour of his great-grandfather Elisedd ap Gwylog. The form Eliseg found on the pillar is thought to be a mistake by the carver of the inscription.

History

Whilst the pillar itself dates to the 9th century, the mound is thought to be significantly older, possibly prehistoric. Certainly the mound can be dated to the Bronze Age.

Inscription

The Latin inscription consisted of some thirty-one lines of insular script. It not only mentioned several individuals described in the Historia Britonum, but also complemented the information presented in that text.

The Latin inscription was as follows:

A generally accepted translation of this inscription, one of the longest surviving inscriptions from pre-Viking Wales, is as follows:

[the column is broken here. One line, possibly more, lost]