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Transactions of the Gaelic Society of Inverness Vol XXX 1919 to 1922.
A paper presented by Mr William J. Watson, MA, LLD, Professor of Celtic Language, Literature, and Antiquities at the University of Edinburgh on 6th March 1920.
These notes are based on material collected in the course of two months spent in Strathdearn in the autumn of 1919, when I had the opportunity of seeing the places and of hearing the names pronounced in their native Gaelic form.
Strathdearn is the valley of the river Findhorn above the Streens. Findhorn Bridge stands about 1000 feet above sea-level; the Coigs, near the head of the strath, are nearly 300 feet higher. The course of the river is from south-west to north-east; consequently both sides of the strath get their fair share of sun – there is no deisear or tuaithear.
Certain negative aspects of this district deserve mention. One of these is the lack of pre-historic structures. So far as I could see, Strathdearn possesses no ancient forts and no ancient burial cairns of any size. There are, however, numerous small tumuli which may contain burials. There are also hut-circles, of which I saw some half-dozen in the lower part of the strath near Tom Beag. Another thing notably lacking is traces of the Celtic Church. I found no saint’s name commemorated, no holy well, no ecclesiastical place-name of any kind. These are rather unusual features in a Gaelic district of this size.
The list of names which I submit could no doubt be expanded, but it contains all, or nearly all, the names of any importance,–and I have put them in alphabetical order.
Ach(adh) nan Dailthean, Field of the Dales, is to be compared with Loch nan Dailthean in Gairloch. In both cases there is a distinct stress on the second syllable of dailthean, and the a is open. The place is between Milltown and Ruthven.
Ach(adh) an t-Sabhail, Field of the Barn; the name of the home-farm of Kyllachy.
Allt a’ Mhuilinn, the Mill-burn; west of Beannchar Uaine. Some relics of the mill are still to be seen. It was near the junction of the burn with the Findhorn.
Allt Casach, the Burn of Recesses or Clefts. It flows past the smithy on the south side of Findhorn Bridge, close to the public road, and at this part it has cut out a pretty little ravine. There is no cave here or elsewhere on its course, so far as I know.
Aldnakilie: according to Macfarlane, Inner Inn (Invereen) is ‘‘upon the water of Aldnakilie running out of Glen na Moy.’’ This would make ‘‘ Aldnakilie ’’ another name for the stream known as Fionntag.
Allt na Frithe, the Burn of the Deer-forest, now anglicised as Freeburn. ‘‘ Le Free,’’ the Forest, appears on record in 1507 R.M.S.
Alltt na h-Iolairig, Elrick Burn, joins Findhorn some way above Coignafearn. “Iolairig” is the dialectic form of the more correct ‘‘ Eileirig,’’ which is the Gaelic pronunciation in Perthshire. The nature and purpose of the Eileirig or Elrick are well known. It was a confined pass, natural or artificial, through which deer were driven so that they might be shot by the nobles and gentry. Each of the latter had a position assigned him, referred to in “Oran na Comhachaig” as tom sealga, corresponding to the lrish term dumha sealga, hunting knoll or station, The origin of the word has been much discussed, but it was, I think, finally settled by myself some years ago. In the Book of Deer it is recorded that Malcolum son of Mael-Bríghde gave the elerc to the old monastery of Deer (Malcolum mac Moilbrigte dorat ind elere). The elere is now Elrick in the parish of Old Deer. This, however, is not the oldest form of the word. In the Milan Glosses, ascribed to the first half of the ninth century (i.e., about 250 years earlier than the entry in question could have been made), we find in erelcaib as a gloss to explain in insidiis, in ambush (Ml. 28, c. 1). Another of the same body of glosses runs: ‘‘ ba hi temul dugníth Saul cona muntair intleda 7 [=ocus] erelca fri Duaid ’’ (it was in darkness that Saul with his people used to make snares and ambushes against David) MI. 30. a. 3). These are, so far as I know, the only instances of the occurrence of the word erelc in literature, but they suffice. Erelc means an ambush, and it is clear that in the elerc of the Book of Deer we have a later form which has undergone metathesis (compare Old Irish bélre, later bérla, speech). As to the modern form eleirig, it is clear that the final syllable has developed out of the indefinite vowel sound heard between r and g in, for instance, deirg, leirg. The correct form would be eileirg. One would naturally expect to find instances of the term preserved in Irish place-names, but Dr Joyce mentions none, and the Reverend P. Power tells me that he has never met a case of it. This may be accounted for by the fact that in ancient Ireland this particular method of deer-hunting or deer-slaying was not used: the Irish either chased the deer with hounds or trapped them in pitfalls (euithe) with a spear firmly fixed in a wooden stock (ceap) in the bottom, point upwards. (Joyce, “Social Hist. of Ancient Ireland,’’ IL., 467-469). We may infer that the eileirg method was either adopted by the Gael in Scotland from the earlier inhabitants or developed independently. It occurs with us freely in Galloway, and there is one instance in Roxburgh, near the head of Borthwick Water. It occurs also in Forfar, Kincardine, and Aberdeen shires, and is common in Perthshire. The furthest north instances known to me are Elrick near Loch Ruthven in Strathnairn and Elrick south of Loch Affric. (See further Aoibhinn an Obair an t-Sealg, “Celtic Review,” Vol. IX.).
Allt Ruighe Reubhan, the Burn of Reubhan’s Slope: Reubhan may be a proper name or nickname, with which may perhaps be compared Caol crodha mac Rèibhinn (Rel Celt.. I., 346). It comes down at Coire Mhóruigh.
Allt Shrath Nin, the Strathnoon Burn.
Aodann Chat, Edinchat; Face of the Sheepcote (cata) is the local explanation, which is doubtless correct ; near Inverbrough.
Ardachaidh, Highfield: the high-lying farm N.E, of Coire Mhóruigh.
Bad Iarrtaigh, perhaps larrtach’s Clump, from a proper name based on iarr, ask, seek. It is between Coire Mhóruigh and Dalarossie.
Badfyne 1508 R.M.S., Balfyne 1507 R.M.S.
Baile a’ Bhràghad, Stead of the Upland: Balvraid, at the junction of the waters of Gleann Seileach, Gleann Circe, and Bruachag.
Baile a’ Mhuilinn, Mill-town, on Fionntag; referred to as the mill of Sligache 1634 R.M.S.
Baile a’ Mhuilinn, Mill-town, on Bruachag, near Balvraid.
Baile nam Bodach, Carls’ Stead ; now Dell of Moirle.
Baile nan Gordanach, the Gordons’ Stead.
Beannchar, Banquharry Estir and Westir 1507 R.M.S. The latter probably corresponded to what is now called Beannchar Uaine, Banchoruan of O.S.M.
As has been pointed out by Dr Joyce and others, Beannech ar is a derivative of beann, a horn, a peak. The second part is the noun cor, a cast, a setting, and the word means literally Horn-cast, Horn-set. Words of similar formation are common, e.g., lrish cleth-chor, ‘‘a wattle-setting,’ a palisade, fence; buachar, ‘’ a cow-cast,’’ a cow’s dung; ur-chur, ‘an on-cast,’’ a throw, shot. There are many places that bear this name, or a modification of it, in Ireland and Scotland, and the reason of its application has to be considered separately in each case. Dr Joyce considers that in Ireland it is usually applied to places where there is a peaked hill or a collection of peaks, i.e., the “horn” is vertical. In Scotland the same may apply in certain cases, but it is with us undoubtedly a favourite term to denote horned lakes or horned parts of streams. There are instances to show that the application of the Celtic terms for “horn” in this way is very old. The best known example is Lacus Benacus, ‘‘ the horned lake,’’ in the north of Italy, now called Lago di Garda, where Benacus stands for Bennacus, our Gaelic beannach, horned, peaked. Several of our Highland lakes are called Loch Beannach. Similarly we find Loch Cròcach, Antlered Loch, in Sutherland. Another early Celtic word for ‘‘ horn ” was cornu, cognate with Latin cornu, and the second century geographer Ptolemy records Cornacon, on a bend of the Danube, now Sotin. The Danube makes a sharp horn-like bend there, and Cornicon means ‘‘ Horn-place.’’ Returning now to beannchar, ‘‘ horn-cast,’’ we find it occurring in the names of three considerable lochs—(1) Loch Vennachar, in Gaelic Loch Bheannchair, and spelled formerly Lochbannochquhar, Lochbanquhar (Retours), Loch Banchar, Loch Bennachar (Macfarlane’s Geog. Coll.); (2) Loch Beanncharan at the head of Strathconon, a diminutive form; (3) Loch Beanncharan in Glen Strathfarrar, also diminutive. All three are horn-shaped, with long tapering ends. Next take the case of streams. Reference to the map will show that the Strathdearn Beannchar, on the O.S.M. ‘’ Banchor,’’ is a little below Garbole, on the opposite or right bank of Findhorn. Here the river makes a right-angled bend to the north-west, then a similar bend to the north-east, runs in this direction for about half a mile, and then makes a right-angled bend to the south and another to the north-east. The result is a striking resemblance to a broad brow garnished with two short upstanding horns, and there can be no doubt that this is the Beannchar. There are somewhat similar horn-like bends on the Don near Corbanchory and Edinbanchory. At Banchory in Perthshire there is a striking collection of horn-like bends of the river Isla, and the parish is well named Bendochy, i.e., Beannachaidh, Horn-place. Bannachra (Banachran, Macfarlane) in Glen Fruin, Dumbarton-shire, is at a succession of sharp bends of the river. At Tulaich Bheannchair, Tullybanchor, near Comrie, the river Earn shows similar features. At Banchory Ternan on the Dee, the river forms two broad sweeping symmetrical horns. On Findhorn, again, there is another Beannchar, Banchor, above Dulsie Bridge: the horn-like bend of the river is at Wester Dulsie, a little to the east of the place now called Banchor. There was a place called Benchar on the river Ness: ‘‘ the salmon fishings upon the lake and water of Ness, appertaining to the lands of Beandcher, with their pertinents, lying within the castle lands of Inverness and sheriffdom thereof.’’ The name may have referred to the broad bend of the Ness below Dochgarroch, which resembles that of the Findhorn at Beannchar, near Garbole. The Beannchar of Glenbanchor, near Newtonmore, probably relates to a feature of the river Calder, but I do not know the exact position of the place so called. There are two other instances of the name, Banchory Devenick in Kincardineshire and Banchor N.N.W. of Kinghorn in Fife. In the latter case there is a long narrow outcrop of rock, now covered with grass, which forms quite a notable feature, and which is doubtless the ‘horn-cast.’ The church of Banchory Devenick, says an account dated 1725, stands just on the south side of the river Dee, one mile distant from the bridge of Dee (Macfarlane). This fixes the site of the place: it is just at a bend of the river which forms two pronounced horns that spread symmetrically from a somewhat narrow forehead. The result of this examination is that of the fourteen or fifteen instances noted, only one is not connected with water, and all the others are at or near horn-like projections of water. Sometimes there is only one horn; often there are two, spreading from a forehead or base.
A word may be said on the form Banchory. It is to be noted that the Strathdearn Beannchar is spelled Banquhary in 1507. Similarly Banchor near Kinghorn appears formerly as Banchrie (Retours). The explanation that occurs to me is that beannchar was with us declined like cathair, gen, cathrach, dat. acc. Cathraigh, and that Banchory represents an old Beannchraigh, locative-dative. We may compare urchair, which contains the same element, gen. urchrach.
Bruachag, the High-banked Stream, is the name of the burn which enters Findhorn at Inverbrough. Compare the river Bruachag at Kinlochewe.
Ceann na Coille, Wood-end, above Mid Morile.
a’ Chlach Sgoilte, the Cloven Stone, where the Findhorn rises.
a Chluain, Clune; Cloanemoir 1507 R.M.S., the Meadow. In Ireland, says Dr Joyce, “its exact meaning is a fertile piece of land surrounded by a bog or marsh, or by a bog on one side, and water on the other.’’ Our Cluain is certainly a fertile piece of land, by the side of the Findhorn, but there is no sign of a bog. Behind it is Coire ua Cluanach.
a’ Chor Mhór, the Big rounded Hill, near Corrybrough. (Cor in this sense is common in Ireland but rare in Scetland ; it is masculine, and our instance is in the dative or locative case.
an Cnocan Dubh, Knockandoo, the Black Hillcck, now used as the name of the farm above Clune.
Cóig na Fearna, Cognefairne 1634 R.M.S., Fifth of the Alder.
Cóig na Fionndarnaich. Cognofintrache 1639 R.M.S., : Cognifintiache 1634 R.M.S., explained by Dr MacBain as Fifth of the “Bronze Place” (Fionndruinich). It may be from fionndarnach, rank grass.
Cóig na Sgàlan, Cogneskellane 1639 R.M.S.: Cognescaller 1634 R.M.S., Fifth of the Huts or Tents.
Cóig na Sithe, Cogneschie 1634 R.M.S., Fifth of the Fairy Hill.
Cóig a’ Mhuilinn, Fifth of the Mill: I could not identify it.
The saying with regard to the Cóigs is well known: Tha cóig chóigimh an Eirinn agus tha cóig chóigimh an Srath-Eireann, ach is fhearr ach chóigimh an Eirinn na cóig chóigimh an Srath-Eireann. The Coigs form a compact little community at a height of well over 1200 feet above sea level. At this height the crops are late and liable to damage from frost, but in September of 1919 I observed a first-rate crop of fruit of various kinds in the garden of Cóig na Fearna, all fully ripe. Strathdearn is not the only place in Scotland that has five Cóigs: there are, or were, five in Strathallan also.
Coileachaigh, Kyllachy; Cullochquhoy 1507 R.M.S.; Kellachie 1616 R.M.S., Place of Grouse Cocks: based on coileach. Dr MacBain at one time considered it to be dative plural, coileachaibh, a locative like Gallaibh, Caithness; Cataibh, Sutherland, but the sound of the final syllable is against this, and in his last paper he wrote Coileachaigh. He probably regarded it as locative of a nominative in –ach, which termination has in some cases a collective force.
Coille na Tulaich, Wood of the Hill, near Tullochclury. Here. as usual in our place-names, tulach is feminine, as it is in Irish. In composition it is often obscured, e.g., Lochan na Fuar’laich (Fuarthulaich), Loch na Breac-laich, etc.
Coire Mhóruigh, Corrievorrie; Corriworache 1616 R.M.S.: probably Corry of the big Reach or Hill-slope. Its burn is Allt Ruighe Reubhan, which suggests that there were two ‘‘ reaches,’’ one called Ruighe Reubhan. and the other the Mór-ruighe.
Coire na Clnanach, Corry of the Meadow, behind Clune. This genitive of cluain is notable as implying an old dative cluanaigh, whence the common Cluny. We may compare cail, a damp meadow, not uncommon in Perthshire nomenclature, with genitive calach, as in Coille na Calach, east of Keltney Burn, Aberfeldy: compare Cailfhraochaigh, Heathfield, in Kilmuir Easter. Ross-shire. Similarly cairt, a charter, a card, has a genitive cartach, dative cartaigh.
Corrbhruach, Corrybrough; Estir and Westir Correbrouchy 1507 R.MLS.: Ester and Wester Correbruchty 1508 R.M.S.; Steep Bank. The primary meaning of corr is tapering to a point, e.g., corr-shleagh, corr-mheur (whence corrag), corr-bheann, cuach chorr: secondary meanings are (1) unsteady, (2) steep.
an Dail Bheag, the Little Dale, high up near the head of the Strath.
Dail an Fhraoich, Heather Dale, where Dalmigavie Lodge is.
Dail Bheannehair, Dail of Banchor.
Dail (Dul) Fhearghuis, Dalarossie; in Register of Moray Dullersy, Dolerwsy, Dulergusyn, Dultargusy (for -far- gusy), Dalergusy, Dulerus, ete. The church of Dalarossie stands on a fairly wide flat close to Findhorn, and this flat is doubtless the dol or dul which of old belonged to or was occupied by the Fergus whose name is here preserved. The old genitive of Fergus was Ferguso, Fergusa, whence the final -ie. A discussion of the term dol, dul, will be found in Dr MacBain’s paper in Vol. XXV. of our Transactions. It is clearly a survival from Old British times, and may perhaps be compared with Gaulish Rigo-dulon.
Dail Mhigeachaidh, Dalmigavie; Dale or Flat of Migavie. Migavie is elsewhere in anglicised spelling Migovie, Migvie. Its base mig is common on the east side of Scotland, from Migdale in Sutherland to Strathmiglo in Fifeshire; instances are collected and discussed in a paper in the Celtic Review, vol. vii. It is, I think, to be compared with Welsh mign, a bog, quagmire; mig-wyn, white moss on bogs. The second part varies in Gaelic pronunciation, for Migovie in Stratherrick is in Gaelic Migeaghaidh, and it is this gh, and not ch, that is represented by v in the anglicised forms. It is probably to be compared with Gaelic magh, Welsh maes, a plain; ma, a place: both from Early Celtic magos, a plain. On this supposition Migavie would mean boggy plain, which, to judge from its appearance and situation, would describe what it must have been in olden times.
an Dail Thomach, Daltemach; Dalquhemoche 1507 R.M.S,. the Dale of Hillocks: compare Dail Teamhair, Dale of Taras (i.e., eminences of good prospect), in Glencasley, Sutherland. In our place-names tom is often troublesome. In Irish it means a bush or a tuft, usually; a knoll, sometimes. In Welsh tom, toumen, mean mound. With us, tom, on the east side at least, means a rounded eminence for the most part, though we can speak of tom luachrach, a clump of rushes. In many cases, e.g., names like Tom-beithe, local knowledge is necessary to decide the exact meaning.
Dul mac Gearraidh, Dalmagarry; so Kenneth Mackenzie of Castle Leather, pp. 208, 209, 211. Old forms are Tullowch Makcarre, Reg. Mor.; Tullichnagairie, 1634 R.M.S.; Tullochmakerrie, 1661 Ret.; Tulloc Smagarre, Macfarlane (obviously for Tulloch Magarrie). These cannot be reconciled with the modern name either in Gaelic or in English, and may refer to an adjacent ridge which may have formed the original site of the stead. The dul in this case also is a level haugh by the burnside, rather elevated above it, forming a plateau. As mac is genitive plural, it would regularly in the older stages of the language eclipse the following consonant : in other words, Gearraidh may well represent gCearraidth, thus justifying the early spelling Makcarre, and suggesting a proper name or nickname Cearrach: compare cearrach, Ir, cearrbhach, a gamester, a gambler.
Dulatir, R.M.S. 1507, the Black (i.e., sunless) Slope. I did not know the name in time to try to locate it.
Easgan, Fenny or Boggy Stream, one of the head waters of Findhorn, from easg, a marsh, whence easgach, a marshy place. ‘’The river Deveron springes out of Escaiche, in the head of Glenbuickett’’ (Antiq. of Aberd. & Banff, I., 121). Thus both Findhorn and Deveron have a like origin. The rivers Esk of Forfarshire are known in Braemar Gaelic as Uisge Easg, doubtless from the same root, though not necessarily with the same shade of meaning.
Fearann a’ Bhobhsaich, Vass’s Land. some green patches, once cultivated, in the hill pasture of Baile nanGordanach, conspicuous from the public road that goes by Slochd.
Fionntag, the Little White One, the name of the stream from Loch Moy; compare Gleann Fionntaig and the personal name Fionntan. So Dubhag, the Little Black One, a common burn-name. Fionn has the secondary meaning of ‘holy, blessed,’ and if Macfarlane’s Aldnakilie stands for Allt na Cille, ‘church burn,’ Fionntag may really mean ‘ the little holy stream ’ (see Aldnakilie above).
An Garbuil, (anns a’ Gharbuil) Garbole; a hardened form of garbh-bholl “big boll,” with reference to the amount of corn seed required to to sow the cultivated part of old.
Gleann Circe, Glenkirk: Glen of the Grouse-hen: here as often the singular is used collectively: compare Cinndéis, Kindeace, from dias, an ear of corn, signifying good cornland.
Gleann Masaran, Glen Mazeran; Invermastreane. 1507 R.M.S.: Inner Mastrachan, Avon Mastrachan. Glen Mastrachan, Macfarlane. Màsaran is obviously a stream name: for s from st compare Glen Prosen, of old Glen prostyn, now in Gaelic Gleann Pràsain. It is probably British, and I have met nothing likely to throw light on it.
Gleann Seileach, Willow Glen.
Gleann Tairbhidh, or Tarbhaidh, from an old tarbda, bullish, bull-like, here probably applied to the stream: tarbh, bull. occurs in several ancient stream names, e.g., Abertarff. In Ireland there occurs also Tarbga as a place-name, e.g., cath Tarbgi (Hogan, Onomasticon), which would result in Tarbhaigh with us. Compare Tarvie near Garve, and Duntarvie in West Lothian. Other names involving tarbh are Tarves, Tarvit, Tarland.
Inbhir Bhruachaig, Inverbrough, where Bruachag joins Findhorn.
Inbhir Fhinn, Invereen; Inverin, 1634 R.M.S.; Inverine, 1661 Retours. Though the farmhouse of Invereen is situated about a mile from the junction of Fionntag with Findhorn, the farm goes right up to the junction, and as there is no other stream near, it seems clear that the “inver” must be that of Fionntag. It is worth noting that in the Gaelic of this district the term ‘‘inver” is understood to cover not only the spot where one stream joins another, but also the lower reaches of the stream that gives its name to the junction.
Leathdoch Bheannchair, the half-davach (leth-dabhach) of Banchor. From Mr C. Fraser-Mackintosh’s notes it appears that there was a Davach of Beannchar, but I could trace only the half-davach.
Leathdoch nan Cóig, the half-davach of the Coigs. The whole davach was known, I think, as the Davach of Sith-bheinne or Schifyn.
Móir’l and Móir’l Mhór, Morile; Moreweg and Moralemore, 1507 R.M.S. Dr MacBain refers it to a Pictish (or Old British) Mor-ialon, Large Clearing; Welsh ial, open space, and compares Bal-moral. We may compare also Innis Lòicheil, Monar, from lòch, black. But it is right to say that this ending occurs in Irish Deargail, red spot (Joyce, II.), so that though Móir’l may well be Old British, it is not necessarily so.
Mórcloinn, Moreclune 1507, 1508 R.M.S.: an obscure compound, apparently mórc-loinn; loinn is locative of lann, an enclosure, a field. The first part cannot be mór, for it would be followed by aspiration.
Poll-lòchaig, Pollouchy 1507 R.M.S.: Pallouchy, Pollouchty, 1508 R.M.S.: Pool of the little Black One. Lòchaig is apparently the name of the burn that joins Findhorn here from the north. Lòch, black, enters into a number of place-names, though obsolete in the language. Its earliest appearance is in Adamnan’s Lochdiae, otherwise Nigra Dea, the Black Goddess, now the river Lichy in Lochaber. The other streams of the same name are (1) Abhainn Lòcha of Gleann Lòcha (Glenlochay), Killin, at the head of Loch Tay; (2) Abhainn Lòcha from Tyndrum, a tributary of Orchy ; (3) The Lochy of Banffshire, a tributary of Avon. (Celtic Review, vol. v.).
Preas, Copse, the name of the holding west of Baile nan Gordanach. Preas now means a bush, but in place-names the old meaning cf copse is usual, if not invariable.
Rathaig Bheag, Raigbeg : Reauchbeg 1507 R.M.S.; Rauchbeg 1508 R.M.S. The little Rathlet : ràth is a circular fortification with earthen walls or ramparts, but it is sometimes applied with us to hut-circles, e.g., Cùil nua Ràtha, a small holding near Bonar-Bridge, with a hut-circle close to the dwelling-house. I did not see the structure which gives its name to Raigbeg, but as described to me it appeared to be a hut-circle.
Ràthaig Mhór, Raigmore: Rauchmore 1507. 1508: the big Rathlet. This structure is on the top of a birch-clad knoll in the fields below the farmhouse of Drumbane. It is almost or quite circular, with a diameter of about 33 feet, and is marked by a few turf-covered wall of earth and stones. It has beep used as a place of burial, and my informant, Mr Davidson, Findhorn Bridge. Judged that the last burial took place nearly a hundred years ago. A small mound within the enclosure may mark a grave. The knoll] itself is called An Sithean, the Fairy Seat. Mr Davidson had heard of another burial place situated at or near the mouth of the burn between Clune and Press, which had been swept away by the great flood of 1829. It may be added, in connection with the burials in Raigmore, that in Ireland it was not unusual to bury unbaptized children in a Rath.
Ruadhainn, Ruthven; Riven, 1634 R.M.S.: Rowan, 1661 R.M.S.; Rothuan in Stratheren, 1236, Reg. Mor. The other places of this name in Inverness-shire are Ruthven in Badenoch and Loch Ruthven in Strathnairn, the modern Gaelic forms of all three being identical. There are also Ruthven and Aber-ruthven in Perthshire; Ruthven in Banffshire, in Aberdeenshire (twice), in Forfar, and in Berwickshire. The following are some reliable old spellings, irrespective of the particular Ruthven they apply to: Ecclesia S. Petri de Rothfan, c. 1224; Rothuan, 1226, 1236: Rothvan: Rothwin, 1247; Rothewen, 1257; Rothewane, 1266; Rothfin. 1270; Rothuen, Rotheuen; Aber-ruadeuien, c. 1198: Aber-rotheven in Stradherne, c. 1199: Aber- othevin, c. 1200; Aber-rotheuin, c. 1211; Logyrethman in Mar, c. 1200. The connection of the first part with Gaelic ruadh, red, is obvious. The last syllable -ven might represent (1) beinn, peak (Blaven, Sulven, Morven, etc.) ; (2) mèinn, ore; (3) possibly Welsh maen, a stone. At Ruthven near Huntly there is no peak of any description, and the stone of the place is blueish basalt. But the water of the stream: that passes this Ruthven is noticeably ruddy, owing to the presence of iron, and the district is full of iron pan and ferruginous deposits. While this is something, more data are required for a definite conclusion.
Sith-bheinne, Schevin ; Schesyn (for Schevyn ?), 1506 R.M.S.; Schyphin, 1639 R.M.S., Fairy Hill of (the) Peak, Pointed Fairy Hill. ‘‘The great davoch of Schevin,” says Dr Fraser-Mackintosh, ‘‘ commonly called Coignafearn or the Monalia, runs at the back cf the parishes of Alvie, Kingussie, and Laggan ’’ (Antiq. Notes, Second Series, p. 428). Dr MacBain says ‘‘ Cùig-na-Sith, fairy hill, near is the Sidh-bheinn, the Schiphein of the charters’ (Gael. Soc. Trans., XXV.).
an Sithean, the Fairy Hill, on which Ràthaig Mhór is.
an t-Sleaghach ; Sligache, 1634 R.M.S. ; Sleawoche, 1661 Ret. ; Sleach, Marfarlane; ‘‘ Slyack is E. of Fintack lying besyde the milne’’; ib. The meaning is ‘‘the place of the gully or rift,’’ from the root sleg, as in sleagh, a spear. It is rather a common name, e.g., Sleaghach, Slioch, the mountain near Kinlochewe, whose distinctive feature is the numerous gullies which flute the sides of its truncated cone; Sleaghach near Onich; Sleaghach near Killin, Perthshire; Dùnan na Sleaghaich, Morvern; Sleach, Glengairn, etc.
an Soillsean, the Bright Spot, the name of a little clearing in the wood between the F.C. Manse and Raigbeg, occupied by cottages.
na Srianaibh, the Streens of Findhorn; the Bridles, dative-locative plural of srian, a bridle—a graphic and appropriate name for this remarkable gorge.
Srath Eireann, Strathdearn, is Stratheren c. 1224 Reg. Mor. Near Dulsie Bridge on Findhorn is Dùn Eireann, Dun-earn: the village of Findhorn at the mouth of the river was Inbhir Eireann, Invererne, but the latter name is now applied to a farm on the right bank some little way up. Cullerne is east by south of Findhorn village, probably for Cùil Eireann, Nook of Earn, while on the left side, opposite Invererne, is Earnhill, for Cnoc Eireann. On record there is ‘‘the land of the prepositura of Invereren,” which appears in Scots as ‘‘the Griefschipe,’’ ‘‘the Greivschippe,’’ etc. (Retours); Lachlan Shaw says: ‘‘ Below Mundole, on the side of the river, is the Grieship.’’ Sir Thomas Dick Lauder’s map of the Moray Floods puts the centre of the ‘‘Grieshope” opposite Broom of Moy. What was the exact nature of this “prepositure” or Grieveship is not clear, to me at least. but it appears to have been connected in some way with the old village of Findhorn, which was swallowed by the sea about 1700.
The Findhorn is in Gaelic now Uisge Eire, formerly doubtless Uisge Eireann: similarly Strathearn in Perthshire is now Srath Eir’, for the older Srath Eireann. It has been customary to regard Eire or Finn-Eire as primarily the name of the river, but I have come to think that this supposition is more than doubtful. In the case of Allt Eireann, Auldearn, not very far away, it is clear that we have to do with a stream which is named after a district: Erin appears not infrequently on record in this sense, e.g., ‘‘the church of Eryn with the chapel of Invernarren (Nairn),’’ in Reg. Mor. Erin, in fact, was the old name of the parish of Auldearn, and Allt Eireann means ‘‘Erin’s Burn,” ie., ‘‘ Ireland’s Burn.’’ In the same way, as I believe, the district about the mouth of Findhorn was called Finn-Eire, ie., White Ireland, with reference to the white sands there, and the river which entered the sea there was called Uisge Finn-Eireann, ‘‘the Water of White Ireland.’’ In contra-distinction we find further east the river Deveren, which from the old forms clearly means “Black Erin,” also, as I think, from the district at its mouth. The inference is that both names were given in consequence of Gaelic settlements, and that neither of them belongs to the oldest. stratum of our place-names: the river name Narunn, Nairn, for instance, is very much older. It may be noticed incidentally that the names Cullerne and Earnhill are not readily explained as from a river name; they are easily understood if the district in which they occur was known as Erin. A good instance of similar change of name is the river Orrin in Ross-shire, which I once wrongly thought to belong to the oldest. stratum of our names. Orrin really comes from oifrend. an offering ; its glen is Glenafaryn in Macfarlane, and its junction with the Conon near the church of Urray is Inverafren in R.M.S. Here the “offering” was doubtless a grant of land to the church of Urray, and from this “oifrend” came not only the name of the river Orrin, but also the names Glen Orrin and Inver Orrin. The old name of Orrin is unknown, but the case of the Findhorn is different: its position agrees with that assigned by Ptolemy to the river which he calls Loxa. The superficial resemblance of Loxa and Lossie has caused Skene and others to equate the two, but the Lossie is much too far to the east to suit the position given by Ptolemy, and its name is easily explained from Gaelic.
Strathnoon appears as Easter Straneune and Wester Straneune in 1508 R.M.S.: in Macfarlane it is Stron-eyin; the present Gaelic form is Sra(th)-nin. The place is on the south side of Findhorn, east of Beannchar: it is not a strath in the ordinary sense, but a holme or haugh by the river side, Easter and Wester Strathnoon being divided by a burn. Both parts are uncertain to me. The first part may be either sron, nose, point. or srath, for in unstressed position sron may become s(t)ran, as in Stranraer for Sron Reamhar, ‘‘ thick cape.”
Tom-aitinn, Tomatin, is ‘‘knoll of juniper.’’ I do not know the position of the tom which gave rise to the name, but juniper grows on the hill sides to a height of well over 1000 feet.
Tom-ghealagaidh, on the right bank of Findhorn opposite Ruthven, is a shapely hill of 1250 feet. The second part, Gealagaidh, occurs as the name of a farm on Dulnan near Carr-Bridge, called in English Gallovie, and means ‘‘the white agaidh,’’ with which is to be compared Blàragaidh, Blargie, ‘‘the dappled agaidh,“ in Laggan; Tanagaidh, ‘‘ the thin agaidh,”’ near Kinlochewe; Agaidh Mhór, Aviemore ‘the big agaidh,” and near it Agaidh an Lochain, “the agaidh of the lochlet.”. The meaning of agaidh is uncertain. So far as I could make out, there is no special feature about Aviemore, Avielochan, or Gallovie. On the south side of Tom-ghealagaidh a small burn comes through a little gorge with white stones, which are visible from a considerable distance. Gleann Tanagaidh is a very narrow glen, with steep sides. To these may be added Rogie, near Strathpeffer, in Gaelic Ro’agaidh, meaning apparently “great agaidh.” There is thus some suggestion that agaidh may mean something like “gorge,” “cleft.”
The descriptions in Macfarlane’s Geographical Collections are as follows:—
SEATS IN STRA-ERIN IN MURRAY.
Imprimis is Cognashy or the Elfs fyft part. Cogy-lewrach is from it half a myl. from that half a myl is Cogy Scallan. half a myl thence Cogywarn. half a myl therfra Dalmegawy. half a myl from that Dalomy. therfrom half a myl is Inner Mastrachan. with Avon Mastrachan cuming from Glen Mastrachan 2 myl long. that burne entereth upon the northsyd of Erin. half a myl from it is Cowlachy. a myl thence Bewnachar Mackay. a myl therfra Bewnachar Mack Huchion. a myl thence Stron-eyin. a myl therfra Cory-vory. 2 myl thence upon the north syd of the water, Moril Beg. 2 myl thence Raeg-moir, a myl thence Raeg Beg. Upon the north Morilmoir. 2 myl thence on the southsyd of the river Corybroichmoir. half a myl thence Corybroichbeg. A myl thence Pulocheg. upon the northsyd Rowin a myl from the former. a myl therfra Sleach; a myl from that Inner Inn. upon the water of Aldnakilie running out of Glen na moy. a myl thence Innerbruachag with Alt Bruachag. 2 myl thence Frei up fra the water northward. Up in the mouth Muybeg. Ilan na Muymoir in Loch Muy twa myl long. a myl thence Tulloch Mackerry. 2 myl above it towards the month is Ardnaslanach [read Alt-]. Item lochin na Clach Skuilt a little Loch on the head of Stra Erin 3 myles above Cogy Shy, and 5 myl from Abirchalladyr in Stra Arkeg (Stratherrick).—Geographical Collections
(Scottish History Society), Vol. II., 258.
STRATHEIREN IN MURREY AND LOCHMUY.
Kirk of Muy . . . situate on the west syde of Loch Muy . . . in it Mackintoish his house scituate . . . In this loch are founde trowts called Reedwyns [read Reedwyms, i.e., “red-bellies,” i.e., char or tarrdheargan] taken only betwix Michelmess and Hallowmess. At the north end of the Loch, stands Muymoir, at the west a wood equal in lenth with the Loch, at the south end of both lyes Tulloch cleurr. West of the Loch stands Muybeg and the kirk. Altnaslanch from the Loch NW, and W ½ myle ane wood called Kyle na hiren, just west from it ane other called Craig na en or the birds wood . . . Item a third wood called Derirr na cloich or the Scrabblackwood. Item another wood ½ myle above Muy beg called Derirr na Shamprak or the Cleverwoode [read Clover-]. ane other wood due S from Muybeg called Liadeirr or Letir the lyart [gray} woode and a bush beneath it, near the south nooke of the Loch called Letyir beg. The other woode which extends the lenth of the Loch is called Letyr Mair.
The water of Fintack runnes out of the Loch SE and upon it is a milne. It runnes into Findorne fourteen myles above Tarnowaye. Tulloc Smagarre is W of Fintacke, Slyack is E of Fintack lying besyde the milne. The tounes over against other midwaye twixt the Loch and water.
At the inver of the water NE of Findorne lyes Ruven on the syde of Findorne Water. On that same syde Iyes Keancraig a myle beneath Ruven with a great Craige called Craigcrockanor the Steepie craige. ½ myle under it on the same syde lyes Lagriach or the spotted valley. The nethermost town of that part called Bothagan not 1/4 myle distant from the other toune.
On the S syde of the water of Findorne which runnes from SW to NE stands Cochlachin 4 myles from Muybegg. above that 1/4 myl stands Baalkcrokan. and from that 1 myl stands Pollochack or the Lochpoole. a wood interjected twixt the forsaid townes called Dow lettyir, then a wood above called Lettyir gallerie [? Gealagaidh]: Corry bruoch beg or the little bray quarrel a towne standing a myle SW
from the last named town and Letyir galerie interjected betwixt the two. ane other called Corry bruoch moir 1/2 myle from the other; it lyes due south from Findorne.
—I.b., p.607.