Gone Medieval is a history podcast from History Hit that focuses on the medieval period — broadly defined. Episodes range across European history, covering everything from Viking raids to medieval cuisine to the lives of ordinary people in the Middle Ages.
Recently, they turned their attention to Ogham.
The Episode
The episode — titled “Ogham: A Forgotten Medieval Alphabet” — covers the inscription, application, and maintenance of Ogham throughout its history. It’s a solid introduction to the subject for anyone coming to Ogham for the first time, drawing on current scholarship to trace the script’s development from its earliest stone inscriptions through to its use in medieval manuscripts.
The discussion of Ogham’s “forgotten” quality is particularly interesting. Unlike Latin, which remained the prestige writing system of European scholarship throughout the medieval period, Ogham was always peripheral — used in specific contexts, by specific communities, for specific purposes. It was never the dominant script of a major literate tradition. That marginality is part of what makes its survival remarkable.
What They Get Right
The episode is accurate on the basics: the direction of reading (bottom to top on traditional stones), the tree-letter names, the geographical distribution of inscriptions, and the shift from stone inscription to manuscript use in the later medieval period.
The characterisation of Ogham as “forgotten” is a little overstated — it has never entirely disappeared from Irish cultural consciousness — but it’s a reasonable shorthand for the script’s obscurity outside Ireland and Celtic studies circles.
Worth Your Time
If you want an accessible audio introduction to Ogham history, this episode is a good starting point. It’s about 30-40 minutes long and is available on all major podcast platforms.
For a deeper dive, our What Is Ogham? and History & Origins guides cover the subject in more detail.
Or jump straight in with our Ogham translator and stone database.