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The meeting of Dumfriesshire and Galloway Natural History and Antiquarian Society on 2 December 2011 was a very special occasion. The topic for the evening was ‘The Names of Rheged’ and the speaker, Dr. Andrew Breeze. It was the James Williams Memorial Lecture, held in memory of the Society’s much-revered and long-serving editor. During James Williams’ editorship of the Transactions, Dr. Breeze has published several significant research papers on the place-names of Dumfries and Galloway and he willingly agreed to travel from the University of Navarra in Pamplona, Spain, to deliver the memorial lecture. This article is taken from a transcript of the lecture which he has generously offered for publication.