King Doniert’s Stone, Cornwall

9th-century AD

This stone is one of the only surviving examples of a 9th-century stone cross in Cornwall, and is especially significant thanks to its inscription:

Doniert rogavit pro anima

King Doniert’s stone is one of just two inscribed stones bearing the names of Cornish Kings, and the only known example to feature someone also referenced in a documentary source.

English Heritage tranalate the inscription as follows:

Doniert has asked [for this to be made] for his soul[’s sake’]

The inscription is thought to refer to the local ruler Dumgarth (or Dwingarth), who is referenced in an early Welsh chronicle known as the ‘Annals Cambriae’. He is recorded to have drowned in the sea around AD 875.

English Heritage

Illustration from ‘Old Cornish Crosses’ Arthur G Langdon, 1896

Model simplified for upload.