[155] Of the history of Galloway and Dumfriesshire – the land of the Novantae and the Selgovae – in the centuries following the Roman evacuation we have but little definite knowledge. That the district remained British may be taken as a matter of course: names such as Ochiltree prove that here too, as in Lothian, the old British language passed into its Welsh stage. ⁽¹⁾ It may also be reasonably assumed that before it came under the dominion of the Angles at some time in the seventh century it was ruled by native princes, but who these were, is rather a problem.

In the latter part of the sixth century Urien of Rheged and his sons formed the bulwark of the Britons against the pressure of the Angles. After the death of Urien and his son Owein their place in the leadership was filled by Aedán of Dál Riata; it would seem that among the native ruling families there was no one left capable of making effective resistance. Aedán’s defeat at Degsastan was followed by the Anglic conquest of Lothian and Galloway, not, however, of Strathclyde. The two former regions seem to hang together. The question arises, where was Urien’s province of Rheged? This is a much-discussed problem, as to which the most various views have been held. Skene would [156] place it in the north near Dumbarton; it has also been placed in the south about Dumfriesshire, in Cumberland, in Lancashire, and even in Wales. The latest discussion is by Sir J. Morris-Jones, ⁽²⁾ and he has helped the solution by showing that Rheged contained Carlisle. To this important fact there may now be added another which serves further to define the position of Rheged. The name itself occurs beyond doubt in Wigtownshire, where, at the head of Luce Bay, we have Dunragit, Dunregate 1535 (RMS), meaning ‘Fort of Rheged’; the site of the old fort is on a rounded eminence called the Mote of Dunragit. The inference is that Wigtownshire was in Rheged, and if Wigtown, then also the rest of Galloway and Dumfriesshire. References in the old Welsh poetry about Urien bear this out: ‘When he returned in the autumn from the country of the men of the Clyde, no cow lowed to her calf ‘ – so clean, that is to say, was the sweep made of the Strathclyde cattle by his raiders; ‘a battle when Owein defended the cattle of his country, a battle in the ford of Alclud.’ ⁽³⁾ Urien is styled, as Sir J. Morris-Jones points out, ‘Urien of the echwydd,’ ‘ lord of the echwydd,’ ‘ shepherd of the echwydd,’ a term which he explains as a flow of water, a tidal current, a cataract. It seems fairly certain that in this case the echwydd is the Solway, which is noted for the violence of its tides; ⁽⁴⁾ compare Trácht Romra(p. 161).

On the issue of Degsastan depended the fate of two districts or provinces, Urien’s province of Rheged and the province of Lothian, which had been in alliance with Urien, and as we have seen, Rheged included Dumfries and Galloway. Had Aedán been victorious the result might well have been the political fusion of Urien’s province and even Lothian with Dál Riata at that time. This was the last important event of his life ; he died three years thereafter at the age of seventy-four.

[157] During most of the seventh century and the whole of the eighth the Angles were the superiors of the whole region. It seems very doubtful, however, whether they made much settlement in Galloway, and their overlordship may not have been very effective at any time, especially toward its latter stages.

Communication between Ireland and Galloway must have been common enough from the earliest times, and there are some ancient references which illustrate this. One of them is as follows: in the time of Concobar mac Nessa – is to say in the early part of the first century – Néide son of Adna, the chief poet of Ireland, went to Eochu Echbél in Kintyre to finish his studies. After he had spent some considerable time there, he proceeded homewards. His route was first to Kintyre, i.e. presumably the Mull, and thence to Rind Snóc Then he went to Port Rig, and thence across the sea to Rind Roiss, a cape in Island Magee north of Belfast Lough, thence to Larne, and so on. ⁽⁵⁾ Rind Snóc was somewhere in the Rinns of Galloway. Wyntoun, quoting from Barbour’sBruce, says : ‘ Fra Wek anent Orknay till Mullyrryssnwk in Gallway,’ the old equivalent of ‘frae Maiden Kirk till John o’ Groat’s.’ ⁽⁶⁾ A Latin Life of St. Cuthbert states that Cuthbert, along with his mother and others, came from Ireland in a curach of stone and landed at a port in the Rinns which is called Rintsnoc. ⁽⁷⁾ Skene thought that Rintsnoc was Portpatrick, ⁽⁸⁾ but this is not so. Néide came from Kintyre to Rind Snóc, and then went on to Port Ríg. Four places in Scotland are called – in their anglified spelling – Portree or Portrie, one in Skye, one at Carradale in Kintyre to which Bruce came from [158] Bute, one in Great Cumbrae, and one at Portpatrick. ⁽⁹⁾ It was to this last that Néide came after leaving Rind Snóc, which was therefore north of Port Ríg. In fact Port Ríg, ‘king’s port,’ must have been the old name of Portpatrick; the name was probably connected with Rerigonion. It is to be noted that Wyntoun’s – and Barbour’s – expression means ‘Mull of Rinn Snóc’; this suggests as a possible explanation that Rinn Snóc was the name of the double promontory from what is now Corsill Point southwards. In any case we must suppose that Néide landed at some point in the northern end of the promontory. Why he took this apparently roundabout way, instead of going straight from Kintyre to Ireland, we are not told, but it may be conjectured that it was in order to visit the seat of the British-prince of the district, perhaps at Rerigonion.

Another old reference is found in the tale of Lugaid mac Con, who was king of Ireland about A.D. 250. Lugaid was banished from Ireland, and like other princes in similar plight he went to Alba, where he was received by the king, who on learning his position promised him help from himself and from the Britons. So all the ships and galleys and barks that were on the coast of the Britons and the Saxons were gathered to Port Ríg in Alba, and with them a vast flotilla of curachs. So great was the fleet that men said it was as it were one continuous bridge between Ireland and Alba. ⁽¹⁰⁾ This Port Ríg must be the one which is now Portpatrick.

These tales, which are semi-historical, belong to the pre-Christian period. The earliest Christian establishment in Scotland of which we have definite knowledge is that of Ninian at Candida Casa, now Whithom in Wigtonshire, [159] founded probably about A.D. 400, and dedicated to St. Martin of Tours. The historical Ninian, as opposed to the Ninian of Ailred’s Life, is rather a shadowy personage, and our knowledge of him is derived from Bede, who wrote about three hundred years after Ninian’s time. Ninian, says Bede, was a Briton.. He was regularly trained at Rome. Further, he preached the gospel to the Picts who lived to the south of the Grampian mountains, who, under his instruction, ‘forsook the error of idolatry and received the faith of truth.’ Even these statements of Bede are qualified by his cautious ‘as they relate,’ showing that they were based on tradition which he considered worthy of credit. Early religious sites were not chosen at random; they were often in the neighbourhood of the seat of the local prince or king, and the position of Candida Casa suggests that Ninian was there with the approval of the British ruler of the district, whose consent and protection had been secured. That his work among the southern Picts was not permanent in all cases appears from the references of his younger contemporary Patrick to the apostate Picts who shared with the British of Strathclyde and the pagan Scots of Alba in the spoil of Christian captives from Ireland.⁽¹¹⁾ But that failure – which may well have been only partial – did not mean the eclipse of Candida Casa. That remained long an important centre of religious life and learning, widely known and much frequented. The Irish style it Teach Martain, ‘Martin’s House’;⁽¹²⁾ Rosnat, which is a diminutive from ross and means ‘Little Cape’; Magnum Monasterium, ‘the great monastery’; and Futerna, the latinized Gaelic form of the old English Hwiterne, ‘White House.’ Some of the most eminent of early Irish clerics were trained there, the last on record of them is Findbarr of Magbile (Moyville) who died in 579. He came, we are informed, to study under Mugint – a Briton.⁽¹³⁾ From about 730 till about 800 there were Anglic [160] bishops at Whithorn, ‘and beyond these,’ says William of Malmesbury, ‘I find no more anywhere; for the bishopric soon failed, since it was the furthest shore of the Angles, and open to the raidings of the Picts and Scots.’ The name of Ninian was honoured to the end: between 782 and 804 Alcuin writes ‘to the brethren of Saint Ninian of Candida Casa,’ and causes a silken shroud (velum) to be sent for the body ‘of our father Nyniga.’⁽¹⁴⁾ It is clear that long before Hí was founded by Columba, Candida Casa formed a very important link between Ireland and Scotland.

During part of the seventh century intimate relations existed between the kingdom of Northumbria and the monastery of Iona. Osuald, son of Aedilfrid, spent long years of exile there and learned to speak Gaelic; when he came to the throne, it was to Iona he turned for men to instruct his people in the faith. Short as was the time during which the Celtic Church lasted in Northumbria (635-664), great work was accomplished: ‘Thenceforward,’ says Bede, ‘very many began to come to Britain day by day from the country of the Scots, and to preach the word of faith to those provinces of the Angles over which Osuald reigned. . . . Churches therefore were built throughout the land . . . along with their parents the children of the Angles were instructed by the Scots their teachers in the studies and observance of regular discipline.’⁽¹⁵⁾ In 685 the Northumbrian power was broken by the Picts at the battle of Nechtansmere, and king Egfrid was slain. His body, according to William of Malmesbury, was buried in Iona, where Adamnan was then abbot. If this is true, as there is no reason to doubt, it is a very remarkable testimony to the veneration in which the mother of Northumbrian Christianity was held, the Synod of Whitby notwithstanding. Egfrid’s successor, Aldfrid, ‘was then in exile among the islands of the Scots for the study of letters’ ; part of the time, at least, he spent in Ireland where he was known as Fland Fína mac Ossu (d. 705). He was an accomplished Irish poet, and verses and wise sayings [161]ascribed to him are extant. Adamnan, calls him his friend (regem Aldfridum amicum), ⁽¹⁶⁾ and visited him twice at his court, obtaining on the occasion of his first visit the release of sixty Irish captives carried off from Bregia in 684 by the Angles. On this journey we are informed that he put in at Trácht Romra, ‘Strand of (the) mighty sea’ (ro-muir), by which is meant the Solway. This appears to have been the usual route from the west to Northumbria, and it may have been the route followed by Aedán before Degsastan. When Bede concluded his history in 731, he records that, ‘the Scots that dwell in Britain are content with their own territories, and plan no snares or deceits against the nation of the Angles.’ Of the other nations he reports that the Picts had at that time a treaty of peace with the Angles. The Britons ‘for the most part oppose the nation of the Angles with the hatred natural to them’; they refuse to accept the Roman date of Easter; in part they are independent, but in some parts they are reduced to the servitude of the Angles.

The number of dedications to Gaelic saints is sufficient proof of the activity of the Irish Church in this quarter, silent as the Irish records are upon the subject, and something may be learned from considering them briefly.

To Brigid there are two dedications in Wigtown, three in Kirkcudbright, and two in Dumfriesshire, in the forms Kirkbride, Kilbride, Kirklebride (for Kirk-kil-bride). Brigid of Kildare died about 526; her name became so popular that many saints bore it after her time – fifteen are on record ⁽¹⁷⁾ – so that we have no certainty that these commemorate the famed contemporary of St. Patrick. The dedications to Patrick himself are probably long after his time.

Kirkmahoe, in Dumfriesshire, is Kirkemogho, 1319 (Bain’s Cal.), Kirkmahook, five times in the same charter, 1428 (Reg. Glas.); Kirkmocho, 1430 ib.; Kirkmacho (RMS,[162] i., App. 2). In Ireland there is Timahoe in Queen’s County, and in Kildare, representing Tech Mo-Chua; of the fifty-nine saints of that name this was Mo-Chua mac Lonáin, who died in 667. Without further data it might be assumed that this is the name commemorated in Dumfriesshire. There is, however, a Kilmahoe in Kintyre of which the Gaelic form is extant, namely Cill Mo-Chotha, and this is decisive that the saint’s name in this case was Mo-Choe (two syllables); in the spelling Cotha, the th is used to divide the syllables as usual in Scottish Gaelic. Eight saints of that name are on record, ⁽¹⁸⁾ the earliest of whom was Mo-Choe of Aendruim on Loch Cuan (Strangford Loch), who died in 497 (AU), and is said to have been the son of Brónach, daughter of the Miliucc who held Patrick in bondage. In BB 214 b 7 he is called Mo-Chai. An abbot of Aendruim who died in 917 (FM) was named Maelcoe. Though it would be rash indeed to assume that the church of Kirkmahoe was founded by Mochoe of Aendruim, it may have been founded by a member of that monastery. In 1164 (Reg. Glas.) king William granted to the church of St. Kentigern in Glasgow, ‘Gillemachoi of Conglud with his children and his whole following; the name of this homo nativus means ‘Mo-Choe’s lad.’ In Dumfriesshire we find Michael McGilmocha and Achmacath McGilmotha among the chief men of the lineage of Clen Afren in 1296 (Bain’s Cal.).

Kirkmadrine, in Sorbie and Stoneykirk parishes, has the stress on -drine, which therefore represents the saint’s name. No such name appears in the Calendars, but the tract on the mothers of the Irish saints informs us that ‘Dina, daughter of the king of the Saxons, was the mother of the ten sons of Bracan, king of Brachineoc, of the Britons, namely, Mogoroc, ie., Draigne of Sruthair,’ etc. ⁽¹⁹⁾ Brachan [163] of Brecheniauc is a prominent, if somewhat shadowy, figure in early Welsh history, and is said to have been the son of an Irish prince named Cormac; he seems to have lived c. A.D. 500. Draigne becomes Draighne, with gh silent, in Mid. and Mod. Gaelic, and would naturally be Drine in English. Kirkmadroyn, the spelling in Macfarlane (ii. p. 81, etc.) represents the Gaelic pronunciation. Kirkdrine, in Kirkmaiden parish, contains his name without the honorific mo or ma, my. Whether he was a son of Brachan or not, we may take it that he was a Briton by origin, and we may suppose that he was connected with Whithorn. It is worth noting that the Welsh tradition makes Kynon, a grandson of Brachan, and Run – possibly a son – clerics in ‘Manan’ or ‘Mannia,’ by which may be meant either the Isle of Man or the district of Manu in Lothian.

Kirkmaiden parish, in the Rinns, and Kirkmaiden in Glasserton parish, are dedicated to Medana, whose day fell on 5th July, and may therefore be taken as a latinized form of M’Etáin, for Mo-Etáin, the virgin of Tuam Noa, whose day is the same. Etáin’s period appears to have been early, but it is not clear that she was, as Skene thought, the same as Moninne or Darerca, who died in 517 or 519 and is reputed to have founded three churches in Galloway, one of which was ‘Chilnecase.’ ⁽²⁰⁾ ‘John Makelatyn’ (1424, [164] Bain’s Cal.) appears to represent Mac Gille Etáin, ‘son of Etáin’s servant.’

Kirkcowan, Kirkewane 1485, in Wigtown, appears to commemorate a saint Eoghan, and as Eogan of Ard-sratha is stated in his Life to have been trained in Whithorn, ⁽²¹⁾ there is a strong probability that it is he who is commemorated here. Eoghan was the son of bishop Erc of Slane, who died in 513, and his period is therefore the first half of the sixth century.

Kilphillan, in Wigtown, is dedicated to one of the saints called Fáelán, Faolán, ‘little wolf,’ a reduced form of Fáelchú. According to a note in the Leabhar Breac, p.90, Faelán of Rath Érenn in Alba and of Leix in Ireland was son of Oengus, son of Natfraech, and as Oengus was baptized by Patrick and seems to have been alive after 483, ⁽²²⁾ it is quite possible that his son is the Faelán who is said to have been trained by Ailbe of Emly, who died in 534 or 542 (AU). Faelán, son of Cáintigernd (Kentigerna), daughter of Cellach Cualann of Leinster, came to Alba about 717, and settled on Loch Alsh in Ross-shire, where he and his mother and his uncle Comgan are all duly commemorated. While there is no proof of the matter, it is probable that the Faelán of Galloway was the same as the saint of Kilallan in Renfrewshire. ⁽²³⁾ Gilbert McGillelan or McGillolane (Mac Gille Fhaolain) is on record as Chief of Clan Connan in Galloway in the reign of David ii. (1329 – 1370). ⁽²⁴⁾

Kilblane in Kirkmahoe and Kilblain or Kirkblain in Caerlaverock commemorate the saint who is styled in Gorman’s Félire ‘Bláán buadach Bretan,’ ‘triumphant Bláán of the Britons,’ a highly significant designation. Bláán was bishop of Kingarth in Bute; Dún Blááin, Dunblane, is stated to have been his chief monastery (cathair); he is commemorated also in Kintyre (Southend), in Inverary [165] parish, and at Lochearnhead, (caibeal Bhlathain). There is a Kilblain near Old Meldrum, Aberdeen. Bláán’s tutor (aitte, oide, Lat. nutricius) was Cattán, who is said to have been his uncle and who was a contemporary of Comgall (d. 600) and Cainnech (d. 598). ⁽²⁵⁾ This would make Bláán flourish about the end of the sixth century. He was doubtless an Irish-trained Briton, and his work appears to have been mainly among the Britons of Galloway. and Fortriu; Bute may have been British in his time. Gilcomgal mac Gilblaan was witness, along with Gilendonrut Bretnach, ‘the. Briton,’ and others, to an early grant by Radulf, son of Dunegal in Dumfries. ⁽²⁶⁾

Kirkgunzeon in Kirkcudbright, Kirkwynnin a. 1200 (Johnston), is supposed – and doubtless correctly – to contain the Welsh form of Finnén, a diminutive of the name of Findbarr of Moyville, whose death is recorded ‘quies Uinniani episcopi’ in 579 (AU). As has been noted already, he was for some time in Whithorn. Findbarr was also known as Findia; a note on Oengus at Sept. 28 on the two saints called Findia says ‘alii dicunt comad he dobeth in Futerna isna Rendaib,’ ‘ others say that it was he who was in Futerna (Whithom) in the Rinns (of Galloway).’ Kylliemingan near Kirkgunzeon church, is probably for Cill m’Fhinnéin, ‘my Finnén’s church.’ Chapel Finzian in Mochrum is mentioned in Macfarlane (ii. p.88); on Blaeu’s map it is Chappell Finnan, now Chapel Finian.

Colum Cille, Columba of lona (d. 597), is supposed to be commemorated in Kirkcolm in Wigtown, which has St. Columba’s Well; St. Columba’s Chapel and Well are in the parish of Caerlaverock.

Donnán of Eigg (d. 617) is commemorated in Kildonan and Chapel Donan in Wigtownshire.

The parish church of Wigtown is styled ‘ecclesia S. Macuti (Machuti),’ 1451, 1495 (RMS), and ‘ecclesia S. Mathuri,’ [166] 1326 (RMS). The former is doubtless the correct form, as is borne out by the name Killiemacuddican in Kirkcolm parish. This is for Cill Mo-Chudagán, St. Mochutu’s Church; the form of the diminutive is that seen in maccucán ‘sonnie’; Artacán, Artagán, ‘little Art’; Flanducán, Flannagán, ‘little red man,’ from fland, red, and many other names. The saint is doubtless the famous Mochutu of Rathan and Lismore, who died in 637. Giolla Mo-Chuda is the Irish style of MacGillycuddy of the Reeks, but I have not met the name in Scotland. The saints who follow are not dated.

Kirkinner in Wigtownshire is ‘ecclesia Sancte Kenere de Carnesmall in Galwedia,’ 1326 (RMS), probably a latinized form of Cainer; there were several saints of that name. Her day in the Aberdeen Breviary is Oct. 29.

Killumpha in Wigtownshire is Killumquhy in 1545 and 1594 (RMS); the saint appears to be Imchad, lomchadh, gen. Iomchadha, of Cell Drochat in the Airds of Ulster. John Maklunfaw in Blareboy, barony of Mureith, 1509 (RMS), is probably mac Gille lomchadha, ‘son of Imchad’s servant,’ the modem McLumpha.

Kilquhanatie in Kirkcudbright is Kilquhonide in 1525 (RMS); the saint may be Connaith or Connait (Gorman and Mart. of Donegal), with which may perhaps be compared ‘Joannes filius Gilchonedy,’ otherwise ‘Gilchomedy,’ in Lanarkshire (RMS i). ⁽²⁷⁾ There is Cill Chonaid, anglicized Killiehonnet, in Brae Lochaber.

Kirkmabrick in Wigtown and Kirkcudbright is in Blaeu and elsewhere (RMS) Kirkmakbrick, which is doubtless the better form. I think that we have here to do with Aedh mac Bric, a bishop who died either in 589 or 595 (AU). For the dropping of final c of mac we may compare Polmadie, of old Polmacde, near Glasgow; Dunmaglas in Strath Nairn G. Dùn mac Glais; Belmaduthy in the Black Isle, G. Baile mac Duibh, etc. Strictly the name should be ‘ Kirkmikbrick ‘ (maic, mic, gen. of mac), but ‘mak’ would easily arise in the unstressed position. The other alternative [167] would be to take it for ‘church of the sons of Breac ‘ (mac gen. pl.), but though this group form of dedication is well established, this particular group does not seem to occur.

Closeburn in Dumfriesshire, a. 1200 Kylosbern (Johnston), Killeosberne 1300 (Bain’s Cal.), is supposed to commemorate Osbern, an English saint; there was, however, Osbran, ‘stag-raven,’ anchorite and bishop of Cluain Creamha in Roscommon, who died in 752.

Kirkcarswell in Rerwick parish is Kyrassalda 1365, Kirkassudie 1329/70, Kirkcassail 1537, Kirkcossald 1567, Kirkcaswell 1571, -cossald 1602 (RMS), -castel in Macfarlane (ii. p. 58), -arsell. in Blaeu. This is St. Oswald’s kirk.

Kilquhockadale is Kilquhokadaill 1573 (RMS) is the same as Kilcock in Ireland, for Cill Chuaca, Cuaca’s church’; she is given by Gorman at Jan. 8. For -dale, which is Norse dalr, a dale, compare Killernadale in Jura and Navidale in Sutherland; Kilquhockadale is ‘the dale of Cuaca’s church.’ ⁽²⁸⁾

Killasser in Stoneykirk is ‘Lassair’s church,’ like Killasser in Mayo for Cell Laisre or Cell Lasrach (Hogan). Gorman has three female saints of this name, which means ‘flame,’ and eleven named Lassar. Compare Cill Lasrach in Islay.

Kirkcormac in Kirkcudbright commemorates some one of the saints called Cormac, the earliest of whom was bishop of Armagh and died in 496. Another famous Cormac was Cormac Ua Liatháin, a contemporary of Columba and abbot of Durrow, styled by Gorman ‘Cormac léir,’ ‘industrious, devout.’ It was he who voyaged to the Orkneys, and this dedication may well be to him. This and other churches in Galloway belonged at one period to Iona, for King William the Lyon granted to the Church of Holyrood in Edinburgh the churches or chapels in Galloway which pertained to the right of the abbacy of Hij Columchille, namely the churches of Kirchecormach, of St. Andrew, of Balencros, and of Cheletun (Chart. Hol.). These churches [168] are all in Kirkcudbright; Cheletun is Kelton, in which Kirkcormack is now included; Kirkanders is now included in Borgue ; Balencros is now Barncrosh in Tongland.

Bean, the saint of Kirkbean in Kirkcudbright, may be St. Bean of Kinkell and of Wester Foulis in Perthshire.

Kirkennan in Buittle and Minigaff is Kirkynnane 1454, Kirkenan 1458, Kirkennane 1490 (RMS), Kirkcunan 1611 (Ret.). The saint is uncertain, but he can hardly be Adamnan, whose name appears in ‘Duncan McGillauenan,’ ‘Duncan son of St. Adamnan’s servant,’ one of the chief men of Clen Afren in 1296.

Oengus records in his Félire at 24th November Colman Duib Chuilinn, who is stated in the notes to have been ‘in the Rinns, i.e. from Dún Reichet and from Belach Conglais in Leinster, and from other places.’ ⁽²⁹⁾ One is naturally inclined to place this Colman in the Rinns of Galloway, and to equate Dún Reichet with Dunragit – an equation which is unobjectionable phonetically. There was, however, a district in Roscommon called the Rinns, and there appears to have been a plain in Connacht called Mag Rechet. Thus Dún Reichet, Colman’s seat, may have been in the Rinns of Roscommon. He was a younger contemporary of Comgall of Bangor, who died in 602.

Murchereach (? Murchertach), priest of St. Carpre of Dunescor, witnessed a charter of Edgar, son of Dofnald, of the church of Dalgarnoc (Chart. Hol.). Gorman mentions four saints named Cairbre (Cairpre, Coirpre), one of whom was bishop of Mag Bile (Moyville), another was bishop of Cúil Rathin, and a third, Cairbre Cromm, bishop of Clonmacnois.

Ecclefechan, ‘ecclesia Sancti Fechani,’ is Egilfeichane, 1507 (RMS); Eglisfechane, 1510 ib.; Egilphechane, 1542 ib., etc. It is probably to be compared with Llanfechan in Montgomeryshire ; the second part, which is supposed to be the name of St. Féchín of Fore, may however be the mutated form of the Welsh adjective bechan (fem.), ‘little,’ [169] as in Llan-fair-fechan, ‘Little St. Mary’s Church.’ In this case the meaning would be ‘little church’ (W. eglwys fechan).

Ecelefechan is in the parish of Hoddom, where, according to his Life by Jocelin, St. Kentigern (d. 612) built churches and plated his see for a time before transferring it to Glasgow. He is commemorated in the adjoining parish of St. Mungo or Abermilk. Crosmungo in Wauchopedale is on record in 1641 (RMS) Though a Welsh triad places,

Cyndern Garthwys, i.e. Kentigern, as chief bishop at Penrionyd, no commemorations of him seem to occur in Galloway.

Jocelin explains his name as ‘capitalis dominus,’ ‘head lord,’ and later adds ‘for Ken is in Latin caput (head), and tyern in the language of Scotland (Albanice) is in Latin dominus,’ thus making it a compound of Gaelic cenn and tigern. It is, however, British, probably for earlier Cintutigernos, ‘first lord’; compare Welsh cynben, prince, for Cintu-pennos, ‘first head’ ; the alternative is Cunotigernos, ‘hound-lord’; compare Cuno-glasos, ‘tawny hound.’ Jocelin explains his popular name Munghu, now Mungo, as ‘carissimus amicus,’ ‘very dear friend,’ apparently as if from Welsh mwyn, kind, dear, and cu, dear, amiable ; but the formation is not clear to me.

His disciple Convallus, O.W. Conguall, later Cinvall, Cynwall, Ir. Conall, is commemorated in Kirkconnel in Kirkcudbright and in the various foundations bearing that name in Dumfriesshire; we may compare Lann Cinvall in Wales (Lib. Land.). But his chief seat may have been Dercongal or Darcungal (Lib. Melr.), ‘Congal’s oak-copse,’ which in the twelfth century became the site of the abbey of Holywood, founded by John, Lord of Kirkconnel. The ‘holy wood’ was Congal’s oak-copse (doire); compare Preas Ma-Ruibhe, St. Maelruba’s copse, in Contin, near Strathpeffer. ‘Thomas and Andrew of Kirkconeval’ appear in 1304 (Bain’s Cal.). ‘Gilcomgal,’ son of Gilblaan, means ‘servant of Congal’; Adam McGilleconil was one of ‘the chief of the lineage of Clen Afren ‘ in 1296 (Bain’s Cal.); his father’s name means ‘Congal’s servant.’

[170] Killintringan is for Sanct Ringan’s Kirk, taken over into Gaelic from Scots, and the form is obviously late. I take this and most other commemorations of St. Ninian to be dedications of the later type, dating probably from the twelfth century, when the monastic system of the Celtic Church, of which Columba was the head, was changed to the diocesan system, and when it became politic to find a sanction for the change. This sanction was supposed to be found in Ninian’s mission.

The ancient term annaid, O.Ir. andóit, Annat, a patron saint’s church, or church which contains the relies of the founder, occurs in Annat Hill, on the farm of Kirkland of Longcastle, Kirkinner; Annatland, near Sweetheart Abbey, New Abbey; Ernanity, spelled by T. Pont ‘Ardnannaty,’ in Crossmichael, for earrann (or ard) na h-annaide, ‘share (or height) of the Annat,’ compare the Annaty Burn near Scone.

Clachán, a stone cell, is common, e.g. Clauchaneasy for Clachán Iosa, ‘Jesus’ Kirk,’ near Loch Ochiltree, the Clachans of Whithorn, of Dundrennan, of Girtoun, of Glenluce, of Kirkcolm or Kirkcum, of Stranraer, and of Invermessan. This is not the same as modem G. clachan, stones, which has dull a in the second syllable. It is often made in English ‘Kirktown,’ ‘Kirkton,’ e.g. an Clachán Aillseach, ‘Kirkton of Loch Alsh.’

Relic Hill in Kirkmahoe may contain reilig, a cemetery.

The results of all this may be summed up shortly. There is some evidence for the presence of the early Welsh or British Church, operating presumably, partly at least, from Whithorn among a Welsh-speaking people. The great majority of the dedications are characteristic of the early Irish Church, which had relations with Whithorn, and though it would be unsafe to infer that all the saints commemorated actually laboured in this region, it is nevertheless probable that some of them did visit it and found churches. As to the period of greatest activity, we may recall the words of Bede, ‘thenceforward (i.e. after 635) very many began to come to Britain day by day,’ etc. This ingress was into the kingdom of Northumbria, of which [171] Galloway and Dumfriesshire formed part; the route to Northumbria was by the Solway. At that period the language was doubtless Welsh, and the question arises how far the influx of Irish clerics may be expected to have influenced the native speech. As regards the common people, that, as it seems to me, would depend partly on the continuity of the missionary effort, partly on the founding of Gaelic-speaking monastic communities, and partly on the amount of peaceful penetration by laymen. On the two latter points we have no information, and the absence of reference to monasteries suggests that none was founded in early times by the Irish Church. As to the first point, it is likely that the progress of the Irish Church in this region was checked by the decision of Whitby. On the other hand, it is not unlikely that during the seventh century some, perhaps many, of the nobles came to know Gaelic, and that from them it may have spread to some small extent among their people. In this connection it is worth noting how little the names of saints commemorated appear to have been influenced phonetically by Welsh, but this may be accounted for by subsequent gaelicizing, e.g. Killiemingan alongside of the Welsh Kirkgunzeon.

A point to be specially noted with regard to the dedications is the close connection that exists between this region and Kintyre : Bláán, Donnán, Faolán, Mochoe, Brigid, Colum Cille, are common to both districts. This is likely to be more than a coincidence.

In 731, as Bede records, the Scots who dwelt in Britain were content with their own territories, and planned no snares or deceits against the Angles. At this time Galloway was an Anglic province, with an Anglic bishop at Whithorn; there is no hint of anything in the nature of a Scottish conquest or general settlement, either from Ireland or from Scottish Dál Riata, though there may have been Gaelic immigrants. Soon, however, great political changes took place. In 736, the year after Bede’s death, Angus son of Fergus, king of the Picts, wasted the Scottish kingdom of Dál Riata, took its chief fortresses, and bound with chains two sons of its late king, Selbach. Five years later Angus [172] dealt Dál Riata a ‘smiting’ (percussio) from which she did not recover for a long time, as a result of which the surviving Dalriadic nobles must have lost their position and have been forced either to leave their country or become vassals of the Picts. Disaster also befell Northumbria when in 756 king Edbert’s army was almost wholly destroyed on the march homewards from Dumbarton, where he had been operating against the Britons of Strathclyde. After this, says Green, there were fifty years of anarchy in Northumbria. ⁽³⁰⁾ Such a situation would very naturally lead to migration from Dál Riata to Galloway, now masterless and open, and though there is no reliable record of the events, the subsequent history suggests that migration actually took place.

The Gall Gháidhil, ‘Foreign Gael,’ whence the name Galloway, are mentioned for the first time in 852-3, when Aed, king of Ailech – near Derry, the seat of the northern kings – gave battle to their fleet. They are described as ‘Scots and foster-children of the Norsemen, and sometimes they are actually called Norsemen.’ Further, they were ‘men who had renounced their baptism; they had the customs of the Norsemen, and though the real Northmen were bad to the churches, these were far worse.’ ⁽³¹⁾ In 856 the Gall Gháidhil helped Maelsechlainn, king of Ireland, against the Norsemen. In the same year Aed of Ailech, who claimed the kingship of Ireland against Maelsechlainn, defeated the Gall Gháidhil in Tyrone. In 857 the Norsemen defeated Caittil Find, Kettil the White, with his Gall Gháidhil in Munster. In 858 Cerball, king of Ossory, who was on the side of Aed of Ailech, defeated the Gall Gháidhil in Tipperary. Here, then, we have the Gall Ghádhil coming to Ireland in ships and fighting – doubtless as mercenaries – under Caittil Find, a Norseman, on the side of the king of Ireland against his rival, who was helped by Norsemen. Nothing further is heard of them in connection with Ireland, but they appear in the Hebrides. Eigg, the scene of [173] Donnán’s martyrdom, was in the territory of the Gall Gháidhil; so, too, was Bute, where Bláán was bishop in Cend-garad (Kingarth). ⁽³²⁾ They were, of course, in Galloway: Aldasain, Ailsa Craig, is described in the Book of Leinster as between Gall Gedelu (acc.) and Kintyre. ⁽³³⁾ They were also probably in Carrick and Kyle. From this it may be inferred that the Gael and their language were established in Galloway before the coming of the Norsemen, and also probably that these Gael were connected with the other Gall Gháidhil of the Inner Hebrides. ⁽³⁴⁾

As a territorial term, Gall Gháidhil settled down to mean Galloway, the Hebrides as a whole being known as Innse Gall, ‘Isles of the Foreigners.’ In 1034 Suibne, son of Cinaeth, king of the Gall Gháidhil, died. ⁽³⁵⁾ Rollant mac Uchtraigh, king of the Gall Gháidhil, died in 1199, and his successor, Ailín mac Uchtraigh, in 1234. In these cases, as Skene has pointed out, the term is territorial and denotes Galloway. It may be worth mention as a curiosity that kings of the Gall Gháidhil are made contemporary with Fionn mac Cumhaill in the rather late compilation called Acallam na Senórach, ‘the Colloquy of the Ancient Men.’ ⁽³⁶⁾

[174] From the Gaelic Gall Gháidhil, primarily the name of the people, was formed in Latin the district name Galwedia (Chron. of Man), as Er-gad-ia was formed from Oirer Gáidheal, ‘coastland of the Gael,’ Argyll. The w has been thought to indicate the influence of the Welsh form Gal-wyddel, and this may be so, but the supposition is hardly necessary : the o of ‘Galloway’ represents an indeterminate vowel developed in Gaelic between the two parts of the compound (Galla-ghaidhil), and after this vowel gh would readily become w. Other forms are Galwegia, where g represents dh ; Galweithia; Galweia, where dh has disappeared. All these are practically the same. Fordun has a different form, Galwallia, and allowing for the disappearance of ll in Scots and the presence of the indeterminate vowel after Gal-, this comes very near the modern Gallowa’.⁽³⁷⁾

Here we may consider the so-called Picts of Galloway. I have already referred to the brochs of Wigtownshire as evidence that the marauding Picts of the far north found the Rinns to be a suitable base for their raids on the shores of Britain and of Ireland. Of the three brochs of which traces remain, one has been excavated; ⁽³⁸⁾ its site is on Loch Ryan, north of Loch Insh, and near Craig Caffie, for Creag Chathbhaidh, ‘Cathbad’s Rock,’ an Irish name. ⁽³⁹⁾ The excavation went to show that there had been no prolonged occupation, and the relies found were few and unimportant. The other sites are at Ardwell Point and near Stair Haven; all were doubtless pirate holds more or less [175] temporary in character and probably of the fourth or fifth century. These brochs could not have been built without consent of the British chiefs, who may be conjectured to have had their share of the spoils. In the ancient Irish tale entitled Orgain Brudne Ui Dergae, ‘the Sacking of Ua Dergae’s Hostel,’ Ingcél, son of the king of Britain, is the leader of the band of pirates who storm the hostel and slay king Conaire. ⁽⁴⁰⁾ This tale relates events that are supposed to have happened early in the first century, and is instructive on the subject of piracy in early times.

We need not suppose that the Picts who raided from these brochs had any permanent influence on Galloway, and we may pass on to consider the question of certain Picts supposed to be styled ‘Niduari’ by Bede in his Life of St. Cuthbert. Here it is best to begin by giving the actual facts that are on record. Of the three ancient Lives of St. Cuthbert the oldest, which is anonymous, was written between 698 and 705 ; the second by Bede, in Latin hexameters, some time later; the third, in prose, is largely based on the first, and was written by Bede before 721. Cuthbert died in 687. The reference in question occurs in all three, in course of a tale about the saint. On a certain occasion he went by sea, with two companions, to the land of the Picts, starting on the day after Christmas. When they had reached their destination a storm arose, which lasted three days, during which they began to suffer from hunger. After prayer by the saint they found three large cutlets of dolphin on the shore. On the fourth day the storm ceased, and they set out for home. The passages relative to the Picts in the respective Lives are as follows, in order of priority :

• ‘At another time he set out with two of the brethren from the same monastery, which is called Mailros, and sailed to the land of the Picts, where they arrived in safety at Mudpieralegis. There they stayed some days.’

[176]

• ‘Meantime he is borne by ship to the coasts of the Picts. And now on the fourth day the south winds cease, and with joy they make for the haven of safety across the smooth seas.’
• ‘For on a certain time he set out from his own monastery on some necessary business, and came by sea to the land of the Picts, which is called Niduari, two of the brethren accompanying him.’ ⁽⁴¹⁾

Here it is evident that Bede had the older account before him when he wrote. The corrupt Mudpieralegis (which might be read Mudwieralegis) is obviously some place-name; it is so much longer than Bede’s Niduari as to demand some explanation, which I am not fit to give, of the palaeographic relation between them. As to the Picts in question, there is not the slightest suggestion anywhere that they are other than the Picts of whom Bede, and the anonymous writer too, speak elsewhere, and who are distinctly said to be north of the Forth. If Bede and the author of the oldest Life, both of them careful writers, had been referring to Picts situated in a region so remote from Pictland as Galloway, it is inconceivable, to me at least, that they should not have mentioned the fact. The adverse ‘south winds’ of Bede’s metrical Life are additional proof that he was thinking of some place in the north, most likely in Fife, which cannot now be identified. Skene, however, reviving a conjecture made by the editor of 1841, regarded [177] ‘Niduari’ as a tribal name derived from the Nith of Dumfriesshire and meaning ‘Picts of the Nith.’ In support of this view he has a long note in his first volume, ⁽⁴²⁾ in which he quotes Bede as having written, ‘ad terram Pictorum, qui Niduari vocantur,’ ‘ to the land of the Picts who are called Niduari.’ Now these are not the words of Bede, and even as an emendation they are discredited by the older Life. Curiously enough Skene places. the ‘Picts of the Nith ‘ in Kirkcudbrightshire ; ‘the traces of this visit,’ he remarks further, ‘have been left in the name of Kirkcudbright, or Church of Cuthbert.’ ⁽⁴³⁾ From the narratives it is clear that the saint founded no church on that occasion, and there is another Kirkcudbright in Ayrshire, at the spot where Tig joins Stinchar, which used to be known as Kirkcudbright Inner-tig, a place which Cuthbert is not likely ever to have visited.

So far, apart from the broch-builders of the Wigtown coast, we have found no real trace of Picts in Galloway; we come now, however, to something definite. Certain English chroniclers, who wrote in Latin, repeatedly mention the Picts of Galloway, mostly in connection with the period of the battle of the Standard in 1138. Richard of Hexham, writing before 1154, speaks of the Picts who are commonly called Galwegians; he himself regularly calls them Picts, and the character he gives of them is of the worst. Reginald of Durham, in the latter half of the same century, makes the very interesting statement that Kirkcudbright is in the land of the Picts, and that the people there speak the language of the Picts – the language of Galloway at that time being of course, mainly at least, Gaelic. In his Life of St. Kentigern, written about 1190, Jocelin mentions ‘the land of the Picts now called Galweithia.’ Other English chroniclers of the same period, however, use the term ‘Pict’ in its usual denotation, and style the Galwegians ‘Galwenses.’ The term used in all charters of David i. is Galwenses, Gawenses, etc. No Scottish or Irish chronicle, [178] so far as known to me, makes mention of Picts in Galloway. The short and easy way of dealing with the matter would be to refuse altogether to accept the statements of these English outsiders, m indeed the late Dr. Macbain was at one time inclined to do. Latterly he somewhat modified his view, but I think he always regarded the Picts of Galloway as one of what he used to call ‘the three frauds of Scoto-Celtic history,’ and in that, in the main, he was right. The population of Galloway was never Pictish, if by Picts we mean the real Picts – the early tribes of the far north of Scotland. Nor yet was it ever Pictish in the sense that it at any time came under Pictish rule or hegemony; it never formed part of Pictavia. Nevertheless there was ground for the statement, and Galloway tradition throws an entirely new light upon it.

Dr. Trotter, in the valuable books which he called Galloway Gossip, mentions and describes at some length, a certain ‘breed’ among the Galwegians who were called ‘Creenies’; they were reckoned ‘foreigners,’ and were considered to be descendants of the Irish ‘Picts.’ Most of them were in the Rinns. Now ‘Creenie ‘ is plainly Cruithnigh, the plural of Cruithneach, and nothing is more likely, one may say certain, than that the ‘Creenies’ were immigrants from the Cruithnean part of Ulster, facing Galloway. To the English chroniclers the terms ‘Cruithnigh’ and ‘Picti’ were synonymous, so they naturally used the latter in Latin. But seeing that these ‘Creenies ‘ formed only a part of the population, there remains the question why the Galwegians as a whole were called Picti by some at least of the English writers. The tradition preserved by Dr. Trotter gives the answer, and indicates that it was not by way of compliment. The ‘Creenies,’ he informs us, were also called ‘Gossocks.’ In the name Gos-patrick and other names of persons, gos represents Welsh gwas, a servant – ‘servant of Patrick ‘; Gosmungo, ‘servant of Mungo,’ and so on. In the Book of Llandaf a certain cleric bears the name of Guassauc, ‘servant.’ As a common noun gwasog means ‘a servile person, a person in a servile condition,’ and it is this term which has been preserved in [179] Galloway tradition as another name for the ‘Creenies.’ It was the name by which they were known among the British population and it indicates their status in the community. Far from owning the soil, the so-called Picts of Galloway were serfs of the Britons or at best rent-paying vassals: when applied to the Galwegians as a whole the name was a term of opprobrium. ⁽⁴⁴⁾ In Ireland the Cruithnigh were vassals of the Gael.

Though we have no means of knowing at what precise period these Cruithnigh came to Galloway, it is evident that they came when Welsh was still spoken there. Their own language at the time of their migration was certainly Gaelic.

Another Galloway ‘breed’ mentioned by Dr. Trotter is the Fingauls, described as tall, well made, fair-haired, and blue-eyed, with ‘wunnerfu feet for size.’ They were commonest in Saterness, Co’en, Borgue, Whithern, and Kirkmaiden, and they were reckoned to be descendants of the Norsemen. Dr. Trotter’s authority conjectured that they had come from the Isle of Man. The term is pronounced with stress on the second part, so that it represents not Fionnghall, ‘fair stranger,’ but Fine Gall, ‘tribe of strangers.’ ‘Fine Gall’ was a well-known district in Ireland, coinciding with the part of Co. Dublin north of the Liffey, so called because it had been settled by the Danes of Dublin. The Fingauls of Galloway may have been immigrants from this quarter, and if so their advent may have been as late as 1014, when the Danes and Norsemen were broken at Clontarff, near Dublin.

While it is difficult to speak positively as to the time and the manner in which Gaelic came into Galloway, it seems possible that the process may have begun as early as the seventh century, while it is probable that settlements from Argyll were made about the middle of the eighth century; there was also immigration from Ireland, probably [180] at more than one period. As in all cases where the speech of a district changes, there must have been a long period during which two languages were spoken and when many of the people were bilingual. There must have been a considerable body of Gaelic speakers in the middle of the ninth century, and Gaelic seems to have been firmly established by the time of David i.

In the nomenclature of the region up to the river Nith, Gaelic is markedly predominant. There is a fair, though comparatively small, number of British names, some of them practically unchanged, such as Penpont, ‘bridgehead,’ Leswalt, ‘grass enclosure,’ Drumwalt, ‘grass ridge,’ Trostrie, ‘cross-stead,’ corresponding to the G. Baltersan, for baile tarsuinn, in Holywood. Others are more or less disguised. East of Nith there are still a good many Gaelic names, such as Enzie in Westerkirk, from eang, a nook, gusset, primarily something angular or triangular ; compare ‘the Enzie’ in Banffshire. Dalbate in Middleby is for dail bhàite ‘drowned dale,’ i.e. subject to flooding; compare Feabait in Ross-shire. Conrick in Sanquhar is for comhrag, M.Ir. comrac, a meeting, confluence; compare Conrick in Badenoch. Glencorse in Closeburn is ‘glen of the crossing’ (crosg), like Glencorse in Midlothian.

Three Mullach Hill in Hutton is ‘hill of three tops,’ a part translation. Auchencairn is ‘field of the cairn’ ; and so on. British names east of Nith are not uncommon, as Glen-tenmont, from O.W. -monid, hill, and perhaps tan, fire, meaning ‘fire-hill’; Pennersax in Middlebie, ‘head of the Saxons ‘; Pumpla, from pump, five; compare G. Cóigeach, ‘place of fifths.’

When the Old Stat. Account was written there were remains of a ‘Druidical Temple’ on Graitney (Gretna) Mains, and one of the stones – the largest – was commonly called Lochmaben Stone.⁽⁴⁵⁾ The correct form of the name appears in 1398 (Bain’s Cal.) when at a meeting held at Clochmabanestane between commissioners for Scotland and for England it was agreed that the men of Galloway, Nithsdale, Annandale, and Crawford Muir should meet the wardens of the [181] west March for redress at Clochmabanestane. Thereafter it was the regular trysting place for business connected with the March. The stone is a granite boulder, 18 feet 2 inches in circumference and 7 feet 6 inches high, but only one of its companions remains now. ⁽⁴⁶⁾ . ‘Clochmabane’ means ‘Mabon’s stone’; Scots ‘stane’ translates G. cloch, and that again is probably for an earlier W. clog, rock, or maen, stone. Mabon represents E.Celtic maponos, a boy or male child ; Apollo Maponos was the sun-god of the British Celts, and his name appears in inscriptions in the north of England. Two of the personages in the Mabinogion tale of Kulhwch and Olwen are Mabon son of Mellt, a hero and Mabon son of Modron, whom Rhys equates with the sun-god. The name was borne by others; it occurs twice in the Book of Landaf. Here, however, its association with a stone circle is in favour of a mythological connection; Clockmadron, ‘Modron’s stone,’ in Fife, is stressed on dron, and is therefore not from Modron. Mabon appears also in Lochmaben, whether with a similar reference is not clear.

In 1304 ‘the fosse of the Galwegians and the brook (rivulus) running thence into Lydel’ are named as part of the bounds of Cresope (Bain’s Cal.), now Kershope on Kershope Burn, a tributary of Liddel, which forms part of the border between England and Scotland. This ‘fosse’ may be the ancient march now known as the Catrail, ⁽⁴⁷⁾ but the part of the Catrail nearest to the Kershope Burn is, according to the one-inch Ordnance Survey map, right at the head of Liddel Water, about ten miles away.

‘The Deil’s Dike’ in Galloway and Dumfriesshire starts at a point on the east side of Loch Ryan, runs discontinuously ‘between the desert and the sown’ through the uplands, and ends near Dornock. The name is like Saothair an Daoi, ‘the devil’s work,’ applied to a trap-dike in [182] Colonsay. Other terms for ‘the Deil’s Dike’ are ‘the Picts’ ‘ or ‘Celtic ‘Dike : the Devil, the Romans, the Picts, and Michael Scott are often credited with works of which the origin is or was unknown.

The Gaelic names all over are not of a very old type; they are for the most part straightforward phrases, such as Allfornought for all fornocht, ‘stark-naked rock,’ Barsolus, ‘bright top,’ like Resolis, ‘bright slope,’ in Ross-shire, Kirminnoch for ceathramh meadhonach, ‘mid quarter.’

Ericstone near Moffat is Arykstane in Barbour’s Bruce and is either for clach na h-éirce, ‘stone of the atonement’ (éiric), or clach an eireachta, ‘stone of the assembly’; for the part translation compare Coldstone in Aberdeenshire, earlier Codilstane, ‘trysting stone,’ from G. comhdhail, M.Ir. comdál, a tryst. ⁽⁴⁸⁾ Arnmannoch in Kirkpatrick Irongray is for earrann nam manach, ‘the monks’ portion.’ Belgaverie in New Luce is for baile geamhraidh, ‘winter town,’ i.e. a good wintering place; ⁽⁴⁹⁾ there is another Balgaverie near Barr, Ayrshire, and there is Baile Geamhraidhon Barr river in Morvern; Balgeuery, 1386 (RMS), also Balgyuery, near Kinghorn in Fife, is the same, and from the places that go with it on record it appears to be now Balwearie. ⁽⁵⁰⁾Bentudor in Rerwick is probably for beinn an t-súdaire, ‘the tanner’s (or sutor’s) hill.’ The Cree river, ‘aqua de Creich,’ 1326 (RMS), etc., is for (abhainn na) crìche, ‘(river of the) boundary.’ Carnsmole is Carnysmul, 1371, 1372 (RMS), Carnusmoell ib., for carnas maol, ‘bare rocky hill.’ Craigdasher in Dunscore is ‘sun-facing rock’ (deisir). Dornock is the same as Dornoch in Sutherland and means ‘place of handstones,’ i.e. rounded pebbles,[183] but the ck may indicate Welsh origin – O.W. durnauc, W. dwrnog, with the same meaning. Dorniegills on Megget Water may be an English plural of G. dornaigh ghil, ‘white pebble place’; compare Dornie on Loch Long, etc. Duncow, older Duncoll, is ‘fort of hazels’ (coll). ‘The Dungeon’ of Buchan is an daingean ‘the fastness.’ Knocknassy in Kirkcolm is for cnoc an fhasaidh, ‘hill of the stance’ or ‘resting-place,’ like Teanassie near Beauly. For Laight on Loch Ryan (Leacht Ailpín) see [198] Ayrshire and Strathclyde. Loch Eldrig in Penninghame is ‘loch of the eileirg,’ or ‘deer trap.’ Loch Neldricken is practically the same, only that here we seem to have a diminutive eileirgín. The initial n may be the article (an), or it may be a trace of the old neuter gender of loch, as in Loch nEachach, Loch Neagh in Ireland. Orchars on the Black Water of Dee is the English plural of M.Ir. orchar, Sc.G. urchair, a cast, a shot, with reference, perhaps, to some feat, actual or legendary, of casting. ⁽⁵¹⁾ Lamford Hill in Carsphairn is ‘encampment hill’ (longphort). Uroch, Balmaghie, is for iubhrach, ‘yew place.’

Sometimes a prefixed noun occurs, used adjectivally – an old usage – as in Conness, ‘dog waterfall’ (con-eas), in St. Mungo; Countam, ‘hound knoll’ (con-tom); Dunesslin, ‘fort of the fall-pool,’ in Dunscore; Laggish, ‘hollowhaugh,’ ‘ haugh in the hollow’ (lag-innis), Wigtownshire; Cullendoch, ‘holly-vat’ (cuilionn-dabhach), of old spelled ‘Culyn Davach’ (RMS, i., App. 2), where dabhach is not the old land measure but a vatlike hole or hollow; compare Burn of Vat in Aberdeenshire – a translation of G. Allt na Dabhaich, which latter occurs at Ledaig in Lorne. The Old Stat. Account of the parish of Tongland mentions that salmon cruives were locally called ‘doachs,’ i.e. dabhachs.

Names formed with -ach suffix (Gaulish, -acum) are rather rare, as Ardoch, ‘high place’; Beoch, ‘birch-wood’ ; Breccoes (pl.), ‘dappled place’ (breacach); Capenoch, ‘place of tillage plots,’ or ‘of tree-stumps ‘ (ceapanach); [184] Galdenoch, ‘place of coltsfoot ‘ (gallan) ; compare Gallanach, near Oban; for ll as ld in English, compare Clochfoldich, Grantully, in G. Cloich Phollaich, ‘the holed stone’ (cup marked).

Eclipsis is found, but by no means often, as Pulnagashel for Poll na gCaiseal, pool of the bulwarks’; Craigenveoch for Creag na bhFitheach (or, as in Irish, na bhFiach), ‘the ravens’ rock’.

Traces of Irish settlers are found in Barnultoch for Barr nan Ultach, ‘height of the Ulstermen,’ in the Rinns, and in such names as Irischgait, Erishauch, Irlandtoun, Irishfauld, Erischbank, in Kirkcudbright and Dumfriesshires (RMS and Ret.). The Britons appear in Drumbretton near Kirtlebridge, in Glenbarton in Annandale, and in Drumbreddan in the Rinns; compare ‘Gilendonrut Bretnach,’ witness in Dumfries (Bain’s Cal., ii.) ; John McBretny, burgess of Quhithern in 1632 (RMS), for mac an Bhreatnaigh, son of the Briton.’

In so far as one can distinguish between the names of Ireland and of Scotland, the Galloway names seem to go with the latter. To take some instances: from Cape Wrath to Loch Leven, the boundary between Argyll and Inverness-shire, the regular term for an eminence of no great height is tulach. South of Loch Leven tulach becomes rare ; the term in use is barr, ‘a top.’ In the Galloway region tulach is very rare, though it does occur, e.g. Fintloch for Fionn-tulach, ‘white height’; the regular term is barr. Here Galloway goes with Argyll. Sliabh, a mountain, is common in Ireland, very rare in that sense in Scotland; it does not seem to occur in Dumfries or Galloway; ⁽⁵²⁾ Beinn, a peak, rare in Ireland but common in Scotland, does occur there. Again the term eileirg, ‘a deer-trap,’ is not uncommon in Galloway as Elrick ; it is found in Argyll and in the east from Inverness southwards, especially in Perthshire, but though the term itself appears in O.lrish in the sense of ‘ambush,’ it does not seem to appear at all in Irish names of places. Lastly, the old land measures of Galloway are those of the west – and certain other parts – of Scotland. I have found no trace of the davach, which is so common [185] in the north, but there are abundant traces of the farthing land, e.g. Fardingjames, ‘James’s farthing land’ ; the halfpenny land, e.g. Gar-leffin (leth-pheighinn) ; the pennyland, e.g. Pennyland in Kirkmahoe; Pindonnan, ‘Donnan’s pennyland’; Pinhannet, ‘pennyland of the Annat’ ; the merkland, e.g. Merkland in Dunscore; Shillingland and Two-merkland are in Glencairn; Poundland in Dunscore. I have not observed the ounceland (tìr-unga), which appears as Terung in the Isles. The ceathramh, or quarter, is common, usually as Kirrie- ; ‘Quarter,’ which occurs occasionally, is probably a translation. Another term, indefinite as to extent, is earrann, ‘a portion,’ anglicized as ‘Iron’ in Irongray, Ironhirst, etc. It occurs also in Menteith in connection with names of churchmen, e.g. Arnvicar, Arnprior. Upper and Nether Cog, on Crawick Water, represent cóig, cóigeamh, a fifth part, like the Coigs of Strathallan and of Strathdearn.