Brin Crag NY 205 114

Brin Crag NY 205 114  PNCu p 387, listed but not explained other than to note the nearby Tongue is Brinntenng' in 1322.  We might consider English brink which is thought to come from East Norse brinka while in Cumberland we have the West Norse brekka. The early form in Brinn- also suggests that this is not brink. Modern Brin Crag and Tongue are ridges on either side of the valley of the Tongue Beck. Brin Crag and "Brin Tongue" might suggest that they both belong to the same hill, namely Brin.  There are nearby Cumbric names, (e.g. Gillercomb) Brandreth might have been simply Brin with the crag and tongue descending from it.

As for Brin, Alan James lists the Cumbric element brïnn, which in Welsh is bryn (James, 2016) .  This is supposedly from Proto-Celtic *brendo- (Aberystwyth University, 2002) and in Cornish bren (Padel, 1985), Breton bren (Deshayes, 2003).

I think the form Brinntenng is interesting because of the geminate -nn-. Britton says that the earliest evidence for degemination is from a text from Norfolk dated 1300. It is likely then the the double -nn- represents pronounciation, which supports the idea that it is Cumbric brïnn .  The GPC shows Welsh bryn still as a geminate in the 12th Century but by the 13th it is a single consonant.  If Brin Crag contains brïnn it was borrowed between 6th C ( nd → nn, if Welsh, but possibly later in Cumbric), but before the 12th C (if Cumbric nn à became n around the same time as Welsh).  This is not enlightening, but probably correct.

Cumbric brïnn often appears in modern names as bren,  and James discusses this word and its equivalents in Pictish (James, 2013)

Brin Crag finds its equivalent in Wales as Bryn Craig  in Llangynog, Powys and at Bryn Craig near Moelfre, also in Powys. Brin Crag finds its equivalent in Wales as Bryn Craig  in Llangynog, Powys and at Bryn Crag near Moelfre, also in Powys. However, I'm worried about those names. Bryn Crag is Germanic word order, more normal in Welsh would be Craig y Bryn. I wonder if all the names descend from Bryn Creigiog - Craggy Hill, which has been simplified phonetically to Bryn Craig?  "brin kragg'g → brin krag" (syllable underlined to show the stress accent)