13th century Kabbalist ring? - Isle of Bute

Image from https://www.butemuseum.org.uk/project/silver-ring/

Under Scottish law, all portable antiquities of archaeological, historical or cultural significance are subject to claim by the Crown through the Treasure Trove system. The Treasure Trove Scotland (TSS) project records all discoveries found within Scotland and there have been a number of Medieval objects found ascribed with sacred names, many of them likely used as medical amulets. Unfortunately, the finds registered with TSS often have no archaeological context and therefore it is difficult to ascertain how or why they ended up in Scotland. Roberta Gilchrist notes that the majority of finds registered with the TTS project were likely owned by the laity but suggests that similar finds, especially objects inscribed with sacred names, have also been found at monastic sites across Scotland (2019; 117-120). However, the ring discovered at St Ninian's Bay on the Isle of Bute is to date the only Medieval Scottish find to be inscribed with the A G L A acronym.

The silver ring has been dated to the 13th century and is currently held at the Bute Museum. The ring is inscribed with the letters A G L A interspersed with crosses. The letters are a Latinised acronym for the phrase 'Atah Gibor Le-olam Adonai' ('You, O Lord are mighty forever). Katelyn Mesler explains that the magical name A G L A is common in both Medieval Latin and Hebrew magic, but admits that 'after much searching, I have yet to find evidence of such an interpretation prior to the late fourteenth or fifteenth century, a couple of centuries after A G L A begins appearing in magical writings' (2019; 88). Furthermore, Thomas R. Forbes has shown that

A G L A was a common inscription in British folk medicine and the anagram was believed to be effective against fever and shivering (1971; 294-298). Therefore, given the 13th century dating, it seems unlikely that the engravings on the ring are specifically kabbalistic in nature.

Perhaps the more interesting discussion is around how this ring ended up on the Isle of Bute given so far no other objects with the A G L A inscription have been found in Scotland with a Medieval dating. That is not to say items never existed in Scotland, but at he time of writing, no other items have been discovered with this specific engraving. The history of Medieval Bute may prove useful here.

Eilean Bhòid (Bute) was part of the Gaelic Kingdom Dàl Riata which flourished between the 5th and 8th centuries C.E. Around 850 C.E. the island became a contested land, changing hands between the Vikings and the Scots several times. By around 1000 C.E. Eilean Bhòid became an important place in the Viking held territories and is mentioned several times in the Medieval Icelandic Sagas. In the 12th century, the island, along with the island of Arran was granted by King David I of Scotland (r.1124-1153) to Somerled, Lord of Argyll, Kintyre and Lorne (r.1158-1164), a Norse-Gaelic lord who had risen in prominence creating the Kingdom of Argyll and the Isles. During the 13th century, Bute was the target of two Norwegian attempts to reassert authority in the Isles. However, ultimately, Bute came permanently under Scottish control in the 13th century, specifically after the signing of the Treaty of Perth in 1266. It is possible that Bute's connections to Norway offer some understanding regarding how the ring came to be on the island.

In research carried out by Richard Cole on runic inscriptions found in Medieval Scandinavia, Norway has by far the largest number of A G L A inscriptions that can be traced: Norway 19, Denmark 8, Sweden 3 and Greenland 1, (2015, 34). Cole observes 'the A G L A formula was by no means unique to Scandinavia. Its identity as a Hebrew acronym was doubtless originally the source of its power in the eyes of Christians' and 'its Jewish root was not necessarily knowledge by the time it came to be employed by rune-carvers' (2015, 36). It is possible that by the time this ring was created, the Hebrew knowledge behind the acronym was lost, but it was still recognised as a powerful charm. Could the ring have ended up on Bute during the two 13th century attempts to reclaim the land by the Norwegians?

It would be difficult to argue that this ring is kabbalistic in any way. The evidence suggests that the A G L A charm was well known in Medieval Christendom and often used in folk-magic as recorded in the evidence discussed above. It could be tempting to view this find as evidence of Jewish Kabbalah in Scotland but that would be anachronistic at best, and is not supported by any other evidence we currently have regarding Jews in Medieval Scotland, nor in the history of the use of the A G L A acronym itself. However, it remains a fascinating find and offers some interesting speculation around the history of items such as this in Scotland.

Kirsty Pattison

Bibliography.

• Cole, Richard. "Hebrew in Runic Inscriptions and Elsewhere", Viking and Medieval Scandinavia 11 (2015), 33-78.

• Forbes, Thomas R. "Verbal Charms in British Folk Medicine", Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 115 (1971), 293-316.

• Gilchrist, Roberta. Sacred Heritage: Monastic Archaeology, Identities, Beliefs (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2019).

• Mesler, Katelyn. "The Latin Encounter with Hebrew Magic: Problems and approaches" in Sophie Page and Catherine Rider (eds.), The Routledge History of Medieval Magic (London: Routledge, 2019), 85-98.

• Véronèse, Julian. “God’s Names and Their Uses in the Books of Magic Attributed to King Solomon”, Magic, Ritual & Witchcraft 5 (2010), 30-50.