Etymology

The end of Gaelic in Galloway is as obscure as its beginnings. It is likely that the survival of Gaelic was intimately bound up with the survival of a distinct Galwegian identity. The persistence of this Galwegian identity was a recurring source of conflict with Scottish kings from David I to David II. Crucially, it led Galloway’s Gaelic kindreds to support the Balliols against the Bruces in a struggle for the Scottish crown which lasted from 1286 to 1356, when David II prevailed over Edward Balliol. Even then, it was not until after Archibald Douglas established his lordship of Galloway in 1372 that the power of the Galwegian kindreds was diminished through the plantation of Scots speakers in Galloway. Under the Douglases, Scots began to displace Gaelic as the language of Galloway. By the end of Douglas rule in 1455, the once powerful Galwegian identity had faded into insignificance and the region was peacefully absorbed into Scotland. This acceptance of Scottish identity suggests that Scots had also replaced Gaelic as the language of Galloway.

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.

In preparation for the last crusade, the Pope ordered that all church-men should pay a tithe towards its cost. This tithe was to be calculated, not on the ancient valuation of their holdings, but on their current value. In about 1275 Master Baiamundus de

The name of the river Sark has been obscure, but evidence from Welsh and Breton suggests it is a Cumbric form meaning 'lover'.

Pennygant is a fell in Roxburghshire/Borders, by the border of Dumfries and Galloway. Its name has been of obscure meaning, but seems to mean ‘hill of the English, summit of the foreigners’ in Cumbric. It would apparently date from the occupation of the D

An Etymological and philological discussion of Historia Brittonum and Arthur's Battle of Tribuit.

Cummertrees near Annan and Beltrees near Paisley have names of debated origin. Yet both seem linked to swift streams called Tres, with namesakes in Cornwall, Hampshire, and elsewhere in Scotland. The obscure name of Trevercarcou (Earlstoun, near New Gallo

The distinquished tradition of Scots linguistic scholarship began long before the twentieth century and the advent of modern dialectology and lexicography. By far the greatest reference work on the Scots tongue to appear before this period, namely John Ja

A type of place-name formation in which the word hall is preceeded by a bird-name has long been recognised in northern England but has only recently been identified in Scotland. The Scottish corpus is still so small that any new additions have a significa

The names of Minnygap near Moffat and Minnigaff by Newton Stewart have puzzled scholars. Yet they can be taken as Cumbric forms meaning 'bush by a hollow' and 'smith's bush'. They parallel obsolete 'Munmaban' near Peebles and 'Monynut' near Haddington, th

Glentenmont, Rattra, Tarras and Tinny Hill are all in Dumfries and galloway, with Cumbric names that respectively seem to mean 'fire-river mountain', 'great homestead', 'strong river' and 'hill of (a man called) Tanet'. They are this evidence for the anci

Describes a volume within the Tolbooth at Lochmaben, covering the period 1826 to 1880, which contains records of the charters granted to those who had purchased portions of the Commonty of Lochmaben after the Sequestration of the Burgh in 1824. It provide

Discusses the placename and archaeological evidence for precursors of the mediaeval premonstratenian foundation - particularly in the early mediaeval period.

This paper, in a series of toponyms in south-west Scotland, discusses Ptolemy's Vindogara, Elvan Water near Wanlockhead, Tarelgin near Ayr and Troquhain near New Galloway, which have Brittonic names explicable as 'white ridge', 'salt stream', 'willow home

This paper reviews the archaeological evidence for the organisation of the later prehistoric landscape that has emerged from work in the Border Counties over the last twenty years. It challenges any assumption that prehistoric farms and territories were d

A review of Drengs and Thegns with particular reference to articles by M.Syrett (Drengs and Thegns Again, Saga Book of the Viking Society, 2000), W.F.Cormack (Drengs and Drings, these Transactions, III/74, 61-67) and J.G.Scott (The Partition of a Kingdom:

The Celtic place-names of south-west Scotland are a subject repaying investigation. This paper discusses five such names: Ptolemy's Abravannus, meaning 'very feeble one' and referring to Pilanton Burn, near Stranraer. A possible link between the Ravena Co

This vigorous, if contentious address, provoked considerable discussion. The arresting theory is to be embodied in book form.