Carmalt (NY007284) and Caermote (NY202413)

Carmalt (NY007284)  and Caermote (NY202413)  - PNCu p455 Nooke, Carmalt al. Nooke 1725. Kirmalt oth. Nook 1749.   The source of this is apparently a map in Hutchinson, though I can't read it on the pdf I have (Hutchinson, 1794). It appears to be an alternative name for the Nook Street area of Workington. The name looks to contain caer. The street leads up to Workington Hall which was built in 1199 which is very late to imagine Cumbric was still productive in this area. At the same time it does not appear to be an Antiquarian coining - for example it is not spelled caer. I do not know of any earlier fortified site nearby. 

Sir Ifor Williams had suggested caer + mollt  "fort of the wether" but I think caer + mallt makes sense here too. In both cases the -l- has been vocalised as normal after a back vowel in this dialect (cf ball → ba' , wall → wa' ). Alan James agrees with Ifor Williams (James, 2016)

The Welsh mall (variant mallt) means "rotten, corrupt, mouldy, putrified" and Melville Richards gives several Welsh names apparently containing this element such as Cae Mallt in Flintshire, Glamorgan and Denbishire. Coetgae Mallt in Monmouthshire, Llwyn Mallt near Tongwynlais, Malltraeth in Anglesey "unwholsome strand" (Owen & Morgan, 2007) and very interestingly Castell Mallt at Painscastle in Radnorshire. I can't find it on the modern maps but it may be the Welsh name for the ruined Motte & Bailey there.  So Castell Mallt would be "rotten, putrid castle." 

The -t grows in Welsh words sometimes after the ll /ɬ/, e.g. dallt  from deall  "understand". So the form in mallt, I think, is another piece of evidence that the /ɬ/ existed in Cumbric too - though it doesn't in Cornish or Breton.

PNCu  linked Carmalt at Workington with  Caermote NY202413 near Bothel Carmalt 1777, Caer Mot 1784, Curmault 1742.  This is the site of a Roman fort on the fellside, which would be in ruins by the time Cumbric died out. 

Because caer is feminine (in Welsh at least) it should be lenited (mutated), but the lenition is not shown similarly to Carmarthen for Caerfyrddin.

I think Caer Fallt was a Cumbric name for a "rotten"  fort -  this is an extension of the Welsh meaning of mall but I think one that makes sense - a rotten, fallen-down.. 

There is a personal name Carmalt, which from the Latter Day Saints index was a Cumberland name with individuals from Penrith, Allonby, Bromfield and Greystoke recorded in the 17th Century.

Base Brown NY224112

Base Brown NY224112 - a craggy mountain near Seathwaite in the Lake District. 

PNCu p353 lists earlier forms as Bess Broun 1774, and a surname or by-name in Basbroun from 1332. They do not attempt an explanation. Diana Whaley wonders tenatively if it is from Bruni's Cowshed ON báss Brúni, but with Celtic syntax - an inversion compound. She finds this an unlikely name for a mountain (Whaley 2006) . Also unlikely is a name from a surname but it does happen, as in the mountain Robinson.

I note the mountain name Baosbheinn NG865665 in the Highlands. Drummond mentions the traditional derivation this from baobh a Gaelic word spirit, witch and sometimes wizard, but he cites a local source who said it was bathais bheinn "forehead mountain" and thinks this is most likely (Drummond, 2007). I'm not sure this helps with Base Brown, to have a Gaelic element here is less likely than English, Norse or Cumbric, and it should be *Bathes Brown as the /θ/ should remain in an early borrowing (unlike the Highland one where the /θ/ would have gone around 1300).

Alan James discusses the Cumbric bronn "a breast" but used of rounded hills. However the forms for Base Brown all seem to have a long vowel in /u:/

There is the Welsh hill name - Berwyn, from bar + wyn "white summit", usually referring to snow. I think the Brown might be Cumbric barr + wïnn, /barwin -> brawin/ via metathesis, very common with the liquid /r/.

That leaves the more difficult Bas- possibly Bes-. There is a word beis in Welsh with the GPC gives as "bottom, ford, shallows, flats, a wading, fording [place]". The grammatically possible Beis Barwyn "fording place by the white topped summit" makes little sense as Base Brown is in fact the summit.

And then there's Baysbrown, NY312048 a farm in Langdale, just on the valley edge where it rises up steeply from the flat bottom. It was Basebrun 1216 - 72. It stands near a stream called Baysbrown Pool - from the Cumbric poll "stream". I presume that Baysbrown is pronounced as per local dialect as /bε:sbru:n/ and as such would descend from ON báss Brúni as Diana Whaley suggests - Brúni's cowshed (Whaley, 2006: p20). It has Celtic word-order. I just wonder why designate Brúni's cowshed alone rather than the rest of the farm. In fact, the long-houses used by the Vikings had beasts and people in the same building, so there usually would be no separate cowshed at this time (Jennings, 2003).

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The Norman Conquest

Waldeve or Waltheof, son of Gospatric, Earl of Northumbria, was granted the lordship of Allerdale in Norman times, though as Davies suggests, it might be that this lordship had been held since pre-Norman times and the ownership was merely being recognised or confirmed [49].

At the time of the Domesday Book in 1066, Cumberland, apart from the area around Millom, did not form part of the kingdom of England and was ruled by the Scots after their takeover of Cumbria in 1070.  The Norman lords land-grabbed parts of southern Cumbria. What became the Barony of Kendal was in the Domesday book but Appleby and points north were not part of England at that time, presumably because they were part of Scotland because they had previously been part of Cumbria. The barony of Appleby, which later became part of the County of Westmorland, previously belong to Carlisle, while Kendal belonged to Amounderness in Lancashire [50]. When Cnut, son of Swein became king of a united England in 1018, English Cumbria was not part of it - being still within Cumbria ruled from Glasgow.

After the Norman king Henry II took the lands around Carlisle in 1092, he settled southern English people there. Phythian-Adams has argued persuasively that the settlements named Carleton, or Calatton, represent the establishment of southern English settlers "a great multitude" according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. They were  possibly from Lincolnshire, planted by the Normans, to help cement their control of the newly acquired region [6]

David, later David I, was prince of the Cumbrian region from 1107, but by this time the lands to the south of the Solway were in Norman hands. Phythian-Adams suggests that the establishment of Norman families in Liddesdale may have been the result of a relatively friendly agreement between David, Prince of Cumbria and Ranulf le Meschin [6] who agreed on people amenable to both of them.

In 1135, David took back Cumberland and northern Northumberland and briefly re-united those parts that had been Cumbrian south of the Solway with the rest of the historical Cumbrian realm.

Prior to the Norman invasion of the North, Gospatric's Writ, dated from around 1067x9 refers to the areas in North Allerdale, just south of Carlisle as having been Cumbrian.  A number of the place-names and personal names in the writ are Cumbric, but some are Norse and there is an obvious Gaelic influence. David I in his Inquisition half a century later laments that he does not rule the whole of Cumbria.

Dauvit Broun argues that the bishopric of Glasgow in some sense continued the kingdom of Cumbria and was very aware of its royal associations and its "Welshness" which, if I read him correctly, it used to promote its independence from other powers, if not politically, at least culturally [42].  He says that it continued to promote its Welsh identity (he uses this word rather than Cumbrian or British) while the Cumbric language was "dead or dying" in the second half of the 12th Century.

Broun notes a statement by Ralph, archbishop of Canterbury (1114-22) that the Bishop of Glasgow was a bishop of the ancient Britons, who up until the time of the Normans was consecrated by a bishop of the Scots or the Welsh Britons [42]. Ralph states that a recent bishop, whom he presumes to be Michael, was a Briton, though Broun urges caution.

The bishopric of Carlisle was founded in 1133 by the Norman king Henry I.  John of Cheam, bishop of Glasgow, claimed that Glasgow had authority down to Stainmore. Broun says there is some evidence that Bishop John and his predecessor Michael performed ecclesiastical functions in Cumberland and Westmorland before the bishopric of Carlisle was founded.

David I, granted a Mark of Silver to the monks of Wetheral near Carlisle in 1139 and in his charter he greets all of his just men of Cumberland, French (i.e Norman), English and Cumbrian [2]. Broun reminds us that this type of salutation was made because it was appropriate to the region and it does not in itself mean there were still Cumbrians, if by that we understand Cumbric speakers. However, there was still something Cumbrian about the Wetheral area that placed it as part of Cumberland and made it appropriate to greet Frenchmen, Englishmen and Cumbrians. I believe, that Cumbric did survive still at this time, though it was in steep decline. However in a further charter dated 1141, granting Wetheral to the church of St Mary at York, he only greets Frenchmen and Englishmen [2]

In charters from Glasgow there are three authentic [42] addresses to "Welsh" nobles. A charter of William I from between 1173 x 1191 from Jedburgh, another from Stirling likely to be from 1212, and an undated charter of Mael Coluim IV.  Broun is sceptical that there was an ethnic group recognisably Welsh in Glasgow as late as 1212 [42]. He says that this later charter was modelled on the first from around 1153x65.

Broun also refers to a text called the Leges inter Brettos et Scotos, "laws among Britons and Scots". It was prohibited by Edward I of England after his conquest of 1305. The text is in French but it has Gaelic and Welsh (we might say Cumbric) legal terms. It uses the term galnys, which  is equivalent to the Welsh galanas "blood price".   Because the text deals with the harmonisation of Cumbric and Gaelic blood fines, it has been suggested that it dates from the Scottish takeover of the kingdom of Cumbria. I am mis-quoting from Broun by deliberately using the terms Cumbric and Cumbria rather than Welsh and Wales.  The two other Cumbric terms are mercheta - a tax paid to a lord by a father when his daughter married (mercheta in modern Welsh actually means to womanise) from merch "girl",  and kelchyn "circuit".  

Down in Wales, the same Edward I also prohibited the Welsh law's criminal codes in 1284 after his defeat of Llywelyn ap Gruffydd and the conquest of Wales. Previously Edward had written to Llywelyn describing Welsh law as detestable. He also found Irish law "detestable"  and banned it where he held power [51]

However, the Anglicisation was not complete, because Cumbric place-names, and personal names, are used in the 13th Century even in the west part of the modern county of Northumberland and in East Lothian.

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)

Blindcrake NY 149 348

Blindcrake NY 149 348  Blenecreyc 1268, Blencraic 1610, Blanecreck 1241, Bleyncreyk 1260, Bleyncrok 1273.  PNCu p 267 suggest this is Welsh Blaen + craig  "rock  front/ top"  Alan James agrees that it is the Cumbric equivalent  blajn creig  (James, 2016).  Diana Whaley agrees (Whaley, 2006).  Locally "blind" is "blin" and the blajn has been assimilated with English blind in the modern spelling.  There is a Blaencraig in Montgomeryshire.

Topographically, Blindcrake sits against rising ground where the ridge culminates in open areas of craggy limestone called Clints Crags and Clints Park. The name fits.

Interestingly craig seems to show the diphthong /ei/  rather than the plain /a/ that we see normally in "crag" and there are hints of a diphthong in Bleyn-  which often appears as Blen-.  If so this puts this as a late borrowing into English as Old English had no diphthongs with off glides, only on glides, and /ei/  didn't develop until early Middle English, i.e.  11th Century (Minkova, 2013: p 205).  Minkova doesn't give a precise date that I can find, but /ei/ in English came about from vocalisation of /γ/ after a front vowel, e.g. drey ß  dræg,   day ß dæg. It was related to the vocalisation of /γ/ with back vowels, e.g. draw n ß dragan, interestingly MacAfee dates this second related change in Scots to  12th-13th C (MacAfee & Aitken, 2002). While Cumberland dialect tends to go with Scots, this seems very late for Blajn Creig to be borrowed into English. Does this imply a Cumbric speaking population around Cockermouth in the 1100s? It's not impossible because Cumbric speakers were further north around this time around Lanercost and Carlatton for example, and of course in the Peebles area, but it's surprising given other parts of West Cumberland around this time were heavily Anglicised in the pictures we get from the early charters from Holm Cultram e.g  Seaton to Flimby. Though there may be some Cumbric still around Brugh by Sands from personal names in the Charters even up to 1200 (G E Gilbanks, 1900). Languages recede like the tide, leaving pools that eventually dry up, but that can survive for a while unconnected to other areas that speak the language, e.g. the Irish Gaeltachtaí.

The final -k (from Brittonic -g) is explained by the tendency in West Germanic languages to devoice final consonants (Minkova, 2013: p84).

PNCu also says that in the parish was Blencraykmore.  It is very tempting to see this as Cumbric blajn creig mōr "big Blindcrake" but it could easily be English Blindcrake Moor. 

Blindbothel NY 128 265

Blindbothel NY 128 265

Blendebothel 1278, Blendbothel 1279 Blyndebothill, Blyndebothel 1333. PNCu, p345 says that the derivation of the first element from English blind is unlikely because of the -e- in the early forms. Blindbothel is a parish name but the site of the original settlement is lost. PNCu does not think that it is Cumbric blaen because of the topography. Diana Whaley says the first element is obscure, echoing the comments about the -e- in PNCu (Whaley, 2006).

It was assimilated early to English blind- however, which locally is pronounced with a short vowel and the -nd reduced to -n "blin'" /blɪn/, as in Scots (MacAfee & Aitken, 2002). This reduction occurred after the vowel lengthening that occurred in the late 8th or early 9th century in standard English. The same feature occurred in Welsh between the end of the 5th century and the 7th Century. However, Cumbric names were taken into English with the -mb- intact, hence Cumberland, not Cummerlan (as of course it is in dialect now). I wondered whether it was the Brittonic substrate influence that caused Northern English/Scots nd, mb → nn, mm (then loss of geminates in both Welsh and English to n, m)?

The 1847 County Directory says Blindbothel township is 1200 acres with "about fourteen scattered houses,2 1⁄2 miles S. of Cockermouth" (Mannix & Whellan, 1974)

The second element is Old English bōðl "dwelling, house, palace". Settlements with the name Bothel or Bootle date to the period of Northumbrian rule from the 8th to the 10th Centuries.

As to whether blaen is inappropriate because of the topography. We see that Blindbothel parish lies on a place where the land climbs quite steeply from the lower land around the River Cocker c 100m up to Whin Fell and Fellbarrow and the higher ground c 410m. In Blaenau Ffestiniog, the blaen refers to the top of the rising land from the valley of the Bowydd. Blaenau Gwent is where the land rises steeply at the top of the river valleys, and Blaenmelyn SO240065 is again steeply rising land from a river valley to a steep hillside. So, I think Blindbothel is exactly right for a blaen.

P A Wilson, in 1978, wondered whether the farm at Palace How was a later translation of Blindbothel and this was the original centre of the township. He finds other features that suggest to him that this was a major centre of pre-Anglian Cumberland (Wilson, 1978). Alan James considers Blindbothel as from Cumbric blajn + bod - "dwelling at the hill front" (James, 2016) where the Brittonic bod "dwelling" also appears in Breton, Cornish (now bos) and Welsh. James cites Wilson and I think it is Wilson's argument that has persuaded him that the Anglian bōðl is a translation of the earlier Cumbric bod.

Binsey NY225355 near Bassenthwaite

Binsey NY225355 Binsay Hawse 1742, Binsa 1777, Binsay Fell, Binsell 1777.  

Noted in PNCu but not explained.
 I think this is Gaelic - the fell sits above the village of Ireby - the farm of the Irish. I think it is Benn "mountain, crag, peak, point, summit" in the online Irish dictionary, Scots Gaelic beann with the same meaning, though usually appearing as beinn. 

The second element is Old Irish síd, síth > Ir síoth, G sìth, Mx shee. James says that this element is used in hill names and commonly interpreted as "fairy hill, fairy mound" (James, 2016).  There is a cluster of ruinous Bronze Age dwellings on the summit and this may have prompted the identification of Binsey as a fairy hill.  Peter Drummond discusses this elemement with its meaning of "fairy hill" and gives the examples of Schiehallion and others such as Ben Tee - Beinn an t-Síth near Loch Ness and Ben Hee in North West Scotland for Beinn Shíth.

Mountains with similar names in  Binn- in Ireland, include Binn os Gaoith and Binn Chaorach in County Kerry, 

There are a couple of phonogical problems with this derivation that need to be addressed:


The loss of final /δ/ or /θ/. This happened around the 13th Century in Scots Gaelic according to (Ó Baoill, 1997). 

The lack of /ʃ/ I would put down to the local Anglo-Norse dialect which could not pronounce /ʃ/. But it should be lenited and if pure Gaelic would be *Binnhey , but many Celtic place names taken into English early do not show the Celtic lenition, e.g. Carmarthen for Caerfyrddin, and Armagh for Ard Mhacha, Aberdeen for Obar Dheathain 


So, Binsey - Beann Síth