Category: Readers Articles of Interest

Place-Names Derivation – LLAN

THE DERIVATION AND MEANING OF PLACE-NAMES

We’ll now look at some common elements in Welsh Place-names.

LLAN

The most common element by far in Welsh place-names is the word ‘llan’. If you were to look at a book of place-names, you would see that there are over 400 places in Wales which begin with the element ‘Llan’ – an incredible number, I’m sure you’ll agree, in a country the size of Wales!

The original meaning of ‘llan’ was an enclosed piece of land on which produce was grown. It is derived from the Brythonic word ‘llann’ and the earlier Celtic form ‘landa’. By the 12th Century it had developed to mean an enclosed piece of consecrated land – often surrounding a religious building. It developed further to convey the extended land around a religious building – much like a small parish. Nowadays, the word ‘llan’ refers to the religious building itself – the church. You’ll also find many place-names containing this element in Scotland, Cumbria, Cornwall, Brittany and over Offa’s Dyke, in Herefordshire for example – evidence of the widespread existence of the Celtic language.

In most of the ‘llan’ place-names, this element precedes the name of the saint to whom the church is dedicated. It is a feminine noun and the rules of Welsh grammar dictate that words following a feminine noun will undergo a Soft Mutation – i.e. the initial consonant softens. We see this phenomenon in such place-names as Llandudno (Tudno), Llanberis (Peris), Llangadog (Cadog), Llangollen (Collen), Llandeilo (Teilo).

Only 9 consonants undergo this softening – all others are used in their original form Llanisien (Nisien), Llansadwrn (Sadwrn), Llanidloes (Idloes), Llanelli (Elli).

Not all ‘llan’ place-names include a saint’s name. As there are so many places in Wales based on this element, it can be useful to include a geographical element – as in Llandaf (on the river Taf), Llangefni (on the river Cefni), Llanfaes (in a ‘maes’ – meadow), Llangoed (in the ‘coed’ – wood), Llanuwchllyn (uwch – above, llyn – lake), Llanfynydd (on a ‘mynydd’ mountain), Llangwm (in a ‘cwm’ – valley).

Some names include a number rather than the name of one saint – Llantrisant (three saints), Llanddeusant (two saints), Llanpumpsaint (five saints).

The next time you’re travelling around Wales perhaps you can work out the meaning of the ‘llan’ villages through which you drive.

Next month: Aber, Bryn, Cwm, Pont.

Ann M. Jones

 

 

More Tornadoes Per Square Mile In Britain

THERE ARE MORE TORNADOES PER SQUARE MILE IN BRITAIN THAN IN THE USA !

While the stormy weather has been a major talking point in the village so far in 2023, we can at least be thankful that we have been spared the more devastating weather events witnessed in the past. A good example is the tornado which swept through South Wales in 1913.

In fact, although we might imagine them to be incredibly unusual weather events, tornadoes are more common in the UK than you might think. On average we can expect 33 every year. Thankfully they are usually nowhere near as destructive as those in the USA. We are also better prepared than we were in days gone by. The Vale has an official project plan aimed at preparation for the impact of climate change and the ever increasing risk of flooding in many of our communities. As a lead Local Flood Authority, the Vale has a statutory duty to investigate, log and report all instances of flooding. Fortunately for us, the Vale has also been proactive in dealing with the impact of the stormy weather, sending a team to deal with the recent flooding on the Old Port Road.

Such planning had not unfortunately taken place when one of the most devastating weather events hit South Wales on October 27th,1913. Just days after hundreds of miners were killed in Britain’s worst mining disaster at Senghenydd, a tornado struck large parts of South Wales, causing widespread devastation. The Met Office confirmed that the tornado was the same power and severity of those more regularly experienced across the Atlantic in the United States. The South Wales event was in fact a “moderately devastating tornado” (T6 on the TORRO scale) which means that the winds were, at its worse, in excess of 160 mph.

A tornado is defined as a violently-rotating column of air which spins around and upwards, similar to the action of a cork being pulled from a wine bottle. The 1913 tornado began over Devon in the mid-afternoon, as warm air from the Mediterranean struck a cold front blowing down from Iceland. As it progressed, it swept 11 miles through areas such as Trefforest, Pontypridd, Cilfynydd and Abercynon. The impact seems to have peaked at Edwardsville. There, the English Congregational Chapel was wrecked and the pews swept against the west wall. Nearby, a hayrick weighing several tons was carried for a mile and, near Pontypridd, half a ton of brick chimney was carried several hundred yards.

During the tornado six people lost their lives. One of those killed was Francis Woolford, of Edwardsville, captain of Ton Pentre football club, after being transferred from Swindon FC for £25. Woolford , and the trainer, Walter Breeze, were walking to the station on their way home and were a short distance ahead of the rest of the team. Woolford was dashed against a wall, fracturing his skull, while Breeze was lucky enough to get away with a broken rib. Another fatality, Thomas John Harries, a 52 year old miner from Cilfynydd was thrown 300 yards by the winds and was found the next morning in a nearby field. He left a wife and three children. As well as the lives lost and the scores injured there was extensive damage to property estimated to be equivalent to around £3million today. Worse still, a few days later the insurers refused to pay out, presumably because the tornado was considered an act of God.

 

An Unexpected Night With The Ayatollah Khomeini

AN UNEXPECTED NIGHT WITH THE AYATOLLAH KHOMEINI

I woke up on a bunk bed in a concrete shack in Chelgerd, a small town in south-west Iran. We were a group of British ski mountaineers who were training in the Zagros mountains for a ski ascent of Damavand the highest mountain in Iran with a summit at 5610 metres, quite a lot higher than Mont Blanc at 4810 metres.

We were down south to get fit and acclimatised for the attempt on Damavand the following week. The Zagros mountains extend over one thousand miles and are an effective border between Iraq and Iran – or historically between the Ottoman and Persian empires. Alas, the mighty Persia was rather run down in 2002 as the country was still suffering economically after the Islamic Revolution of 1979. So, the ski resort we found ourselves in was very run down with horrendous roads, broken down ski lifts of 1950s vintage, and poor communications.

None of this was in my mind as I stumbled out of bed to find breakfast. This was not difficult as we were now following local customs and breakfast was laid out on a large white sheet on the floor at the end of the bunk beds in the small common area we shared. We tucked into a modest meal of naan bread, soft cheese, jam and tea. Soon we were outside with our rucksacks and clipping into our mountain skis. We were going to climb up to a high hut at Chal Mishan, 3850 metres, to spend the night and off we went. The hut was deserted so we had some porters who were engaged to carry our food and cooking equipment up the mountain. They were on foot in the deep snow which made progress very difficult for them.

After a couple of hours of steep ascent on ski, using skins under our skis for traction, I found that the wet snow was sticking to the base of my skis which stopped them gliding along. So, I did the standard thing which was to continually bash the ski with my stick to dislodge the snow. Unfortunately, my stick suddenly broke and was useless, which is not ideal on a high mountain. By this time, it was snowing hard and with a strong wind. The group pulled up together for a chat about the conditions and we felt that it would be dangerous to go on, so we agreed to take our skins off our skis and ski back to the base camp. We were all relieved to be skiing down now, but after just a couple of turns I was hit hard by a wall of snow that appeared over my left shoulder – it was a serious avalanche. I was rolled over and over again and again. It was like being in a washing machine with me, my skis and sticks rolling head over heels beneath the snow. I thought I might die. I tried to keep breathing but the snow was in my mouth and up my nose. I was using my arms in a fruitless attempt to swim to the surface but in truth, I did not know which way was up. When the avalanche hit, the wind was howling, and the snow was blowing.

After what seemed an eternity the moving mass of snow came to a stop I was buried below the surface.

I was breathless, exhausted, but thrilled to be alive. I felt I was lying on my back and was pleasantly surprised to see light above me through the snow, so I knew which way was up. At this point, my right arm was trapped under me and was very painful. But I could breathe as the snow was fresh and loose. I lay for some minutes getting my breath back and waiting for the others, with their electronic trackers, to find me and dig me out. Surprisingly no one came and I wondered if we had all been buried. I was beginning to get cold, so I decided to self-rescue and using my left arm dug up to the surface which was only a few feet above me. Moving more snow I sat up and looked up at the sun and blue sky. In a few minutes, I had been swept down hundreds of metres from a snowy ridge to a sunny spot below. I stood up and could see no one. My skis had been torn off but I had my rucksack so I could survive the night. My worry was a second avalanche so I decided to move on foot as fast as I could in the deep fresh snow. As I started, I saw one ski tip glinting in the sun so climbed back up to retrieve it. Then I set off downhill and caught sight of two of our Iranian porters and together we carried on down. One of the party arrived on skis and told me that some others had been hit by the avalanche, but no one else had been swept down the mountain and buried.

We soon came to the tree line and a track in the forest which we followed. We knew that we could not get down to our valley base at this slow walking speed but were unsure what to do. Luckily, we came across a small stone building in good condition which looked as though it belonged to the local water company as there was a dam nearby. The door was locked, but the padlock was no match for hungry men with ice axes and soon we were inside. There were two or three small rooms, all clean and tidy so the porters set up a stove and prepared a meal. I took some serious painkillers, washed down with sweet mint tea, and stretched out my sleeping bag on a good quality carpet below a large framed picture of Ayatollah Khomeini.

AD

Place-Names Derivation – Llwyneliddon / St Lythans

THE DERIVATION AND MEANING OF PLACE-NAMES

LLWYNELIDDON / ST LYTHANS

The Welsh name is made up of two elements – ‘llwyn’ and ‘Eliddon’. ‘Llwyn’ is the Welsh word for ‘grove’ or ‘copse’ and the second element ‘Eliddon’’ is the name of the saint to whom an earlier church was dedicated. So ‘Llwyneliddon’ literally means ‘the grove of Eliddon’. There are examples in some manuscripts of the name being recorded as ‘Llaneliddon’(Church of Eliddon) – but there is no concrete evidence that ‘llwyn’ was mistakenly written for ‘llan’.

The English name ‘St Lythan’s’ is merely the Anglicised form of the name, Sant Eliddon.

But the present church in the village is not dedicated to St Eliddon, of whom very little is known, but to St Bleddian (or Bleiddian) – again of whom very little is known. At one time, the village was known as Llanfleddian Fach (The church of Bleddian) – the adjective ‘fach’ (minor) being added to differentiate it from Llanfleddian Fawr (Major) – which, as you know is situated near Cowbridge – nowadays spelt Llanblethian.

TWYNYRODYN The name comprises three ele-ments – ‘Twyn’, ‘yr’ and ‘Odyn’. ‘Twyn’ is a common Welsh noun meaning ‘knoll’ or ‘hill’ and ‘odyn’ means ‘limekiln’. Between these two nouns we have the definite article ‘yr’, which normally translates as ‘the’. But when it stands between two nouns, it conveys ‘of the’. So, ‘Twynyrodyn’ trans-lates as ‘Hill of the limekiln’. There is an area of the same name at Lavernock and at Merthyr Tudful.

LLANCARFAN The name consists of two elements – ‘Llan’- which you now know means ‘church’ – and ‘Carfan’, which is the name of the nearby stream or brook. There is no certainty about the meaning of ‘carfan’. It could be a personal name – or it could mean ‘ridge’ – referring to a boundary of some kind. An earlier form of the place-name was Nant Carfan – ‘nant’ meaning ‘stream’ or ‘valley of the stream’.

TRESIMWN / BONVILSTON Both the Welsh and English names of this village are based on the name of the Norman family which settled in the area in the 12th Century. The village is probably named after Simon de Bonville.

The Welsh name, ‘Tresimwn’ is made up of the pre-fix ‘Tre’, which you now know means ‘homestead’ of ‘settlement’ – followed by the Christian name Simwn.

On the other hand, the English name ‘Bonvilston’ uses another part of the family name, ‘Bonvil’ followed by the suffix ‘ton’, again meaning ‘farmstead’ or ‘settlement’.

ABERDDAWAN / ABERTHAW Again, we see that there are two elements in the Welsh name ‘Aberddawan’ – ‘aber’, meaning ‘estuary’ in this instance followed by the name of the river – ‘Ddawan’. Historic manuscripts show that the original name of the river was ‘Naddawan’ – but the un-Stressed first syllable was lost, to give us ‘Ddawan’ today. I have mentioned previously that river names are among the oldest examples of all languages – and this is true in this case. The meaning of ‘Ddawan’ or originally ‘Naddawan’ is uncertain – unless it is based on the Welsh verb ‘naddu’, which means ‘to cut’ or ‘to hew’ or ‘to whittle’. This could then describe the river cutting through the land-scape. But this is all surmising.

The English name, ‘Aberthaw’ is the Anglicisation of the name ‘Ddawan’ – the unstressed final syllable having disappeared – leaving us with ‘Thaw’ as the name of the river.

TREBEFERED / BOVERTON You’ll notice that we have the now familiar elements ‘Tre / -ton’ – meaning ‘farmstead’ or ‘settlement’ – in the Welsh and English names. This leaves us with ‘Befered’ in Welsh and ‘Bover’ in English. These are derived from the name of someone named Bouvier – but nothing is known of a person of that name.

Next month – Some Cardiff suburbs.

Ann M. Jones

 

‘Auld Lang Syne’ And A Warm Welcome To 2023

‘AULD LANG SYNE’ AND A WARM WELCOME TO 2023

With the worst of the pandemic seemingly behind us, this year’s New Year celebrations were likely to have had a welcome and more traditional feel about them. Many of us will have planned to enjoy parties and join in the traditional singing of ‘Auld Lang Syne’ at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve. A good time perhaps, to remind ourselves about its surprisingly interesting history and influence around the world.

The story starts in Scotland with the poet Robert Burns (right) . He is credited with adapting and partially rewriting an old Scots -language poem or folk song in 1788. That year Burns sent a copy of the original song to the Scots Musical Museum with the remark, ‘The following song, an old song, of the olden times, and which has never been in print, nor even in manuscript until I took it down from an old man.’ In 1799, it was set to a traditional tune, which is basically the one we are familiar with today.

One interesting story about Auld Lang Syne involves Queen Elizabeth II. At Hogmanay in Scotland, it is common practice that everyone joins hands with the person next to them to form a great circle around the dance floor. At the beginning of the last verse (And there’s a hand, my trusty fiere!/and gie’s a hand o’ thine!), everyone crosses their arms across their breast, so that the right hand reaches out to the neighbour on the left and vice versa. Outside Scotland the hands are often crossed from the beginning of the song, at variance with Scottish custom. The Scottish practice was demonstrated by Queen Elizabeth II at the Millennium Dome celebrations for the year 2000. Some press outlets berated her for not ‘properly’ crossing her arms, unaware that she was correctly following the Scottish tradition.

In Scotland, it is often sung at the end of a cèilidh, a dance, and at weddings. At weddings, it is performed in the same way as at New Year, but the bride and groom are often lifted up in the centre of the circle. The tune is also played, and sung by the crowd, in the final stages of the annual Edinburgh Military Tattoo. In Great Britain, it is sung at the end of the Last Night of the Proms and played at the close of the annual Congress (conference) of the Trades Union Congress. The song is also played at the Passing Out Parade of Young Officers in the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force as well as at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, for young officers joining the British Army. It also has a similar role in countries who are members or former members of the Commonwealth of Nations including Canada, India, Pakistan, Singapore and Bangladesh.

In fact it is also widely known and popularly sung in many countries, especially English speaking ones. The song is widely used by the international Scout Movement, at the closing of jamborees and other occasions. In the Netherlands, the melody is used as the Dutch football song “Wij houden van Oranje” (“We Love Orange”), performed by André Hazes. In Thailand the lyrics have been adapted as a patriotic song about the King and national unity, although many Thais are not aware of the song’s Western origin. Most surprisingly perhaps, before 1972, Auld Lang Syne was even the tune for the national anthem of the Maldives and using the current words!

 

Place-Names Derivation – Fawr / Llantwit Major

THE DERIVATION AND MEANING OF PLACE-NAMES

LLANILLTUD FAWR / LLANTWIT MAJOR

The name Llanilltud is made up of two elements – ‘llan’ and ‘Illtud’ (‘Illtyd’). The first element is an old Celtic word, which I will discuss in detail at a later date. Suffice to say at this stage that the meaning is ‘church’. The second element is the name of the saint to whom the church is dedicated. Illtud was a 5th/6th Century saint who established his monastery in this location. Holy men came to this early centre of learning from all over Britain and Europe to study and it is said that the Patron Saint of Wales, Dewi Sant himself studied there. So Llanilltud means ‘the church of Illtud’. The second word ‘Fawr’ is the mutated form of the adjective ‘mawr’ which conveys ‘large, big, major’ depending on the context. This adjective is used as part of the place-name to reflect its importance as a major centre of learning – or early university!

In English the Welsh name ‘Llanilltud’ has mutated to ‘Llantwit’. But how in the world could that happen? Down the centuries, in documents and manuscripts, the name of the saint has been written as Iltut, Iltuit, Yltwyt and so on. As far back as 1100 the name of the monastery appears as Llanitut, Llanntwyt, Llanulltut and many other versions, depending on the spelling abilities of the scribes! In 1431 the first two letters of the saint’s name seem to have been dropped and versions such as Lantwyt, Lantwytt, and Lantwit appear. So this explains the aberration (in my mind, at least!) ‘Llantwit’. The second word ‘major’ is explained above.

Y RHWS / RHOOSE

This name is very easily explained. ‘Rhws’ is derived from the Welsh noun ‘rhos’ meaning ‘moorland’ or ‘heathland’. Because it is a common noun, it is preceded by the definite article ‘y’ (the) in Welsh.

The English name ‘Rhoose’ is merely the Anglicized spelling of the Welsh name.

SAIN TATHAN / ST ATHAN

The name refers to the church of Saint Tathan – which is mistakenly written as ‘St Athan’ in English. In Welsh place-names, the word ‘saint’ is conveyed in various ways – ‘Sant, San, Sain’. In the case of Sain Tathan we see that ‘Sain’ is used.

PEN-MARC / PENMARK

The name Pen-Marc obviously consists of two elements. ‘Pen’ means ‘head, top, summit, end’ in Welsh – depending on the context. In this case it refers to the headland – the bluff overlooking the river Weycock – which is the location of the village. The second element ‘marc’ probably derives from the word ‘march’, meaning ‘stallion’ – though the final ‘h’ has been lost. It is not certain to what the stallion’s head refers – possibly to the shape of the headland – or to the location of various rituals or ceremonies involving a stallion’s head – or to something else long forgotten.

The English spelling uses a ‘k’ to convey the sound

of the final consonant. There is no ‘k’ in the Welsh alphabet – it is not required – because, unlike in English – the consonant ‘c’ is always hard. In English of course, it can be hard – as in ‘car’ or soft – as in ‘ceiling’. The rule seems to be – to make sure, use ‘k’ or even, in places, ‘ck’!

Next month: Llwyneliddon / St Lythan’s, Twynyrodyn, Llancarfan, Tresimwn / Bonvilston, Aberddawan / Aberthaw, Trebefered / Boverton.

Ann M. Jones

 

Tuckers Reindeer Sale

TUCKERS REINDEER SALE

On a beautiful, crisp November morning, this year’s excited and well-groomed herd of reindeer waited patiently on the Tuckers’ front lawn in Vennwood Close. Individual personalities shone through unique facial features and with the potential for some mischief, Joyce had her hands full maintaining order!

The generosity of people and local businesses was evident in a display bursting with high quality raffle prizes Local crafters supported the event again this year; there was an opportunity to buy good quality cards and gifts and enjoy some delicious cakes.

A fantastic £1,057 was raised on the day, but as reindeer sales are on-going, the final amount will be publicised in the January edition. This will be donated to the Wenvoe Wildlife Group in order to support the many on-going projects that we read about regularly in the monthly ‘What’s On’ update.

Glenys and Mike would like to thank everyone who supported the event and made the day such a success.

Bangs Of Expectation

BANGS OF EXPECTATION

The first Christmas crackers were known as ‘Bangs of Expectation’.

Crackers came about because confectioner Tom Smith needed a way to market French-style sweets wrapped in paper. The story goes that he was inspired to add an explosive element by the sight of a log crackling on the fire. But in reality, it was his brother who came up with the idea, possibly inspired by magic tricks he’d witnessed while working in the music halls.

Launched in the late-1840s, Tom Smith’s crackers sparked a whole new Christmas custom. The company still exists today, and supplies crackers for the royal family each Christmas

 

Fundraising to Replace Memorial Bench

Fundraising to Replace Memorial Bench Destroyed in a Storm.

I am sure that many of you are aware that the attractive, and well used memorial bench on the village green was sadly destroyed in a storm in November last year. The bench was in memory of my mother, Audrey Rees, and was donated to the village by myself and my father in 2010. It goes without saying that it has been heart-breaking to see such a well-cared for, and appreciated bench, in memory of a close family member, destroyed by a falling tree. A bench which I personally used to take the time and care to thoroughly clean and oil every year.

I know that the bench on the village green is much missed by the village as a whole. I would love to replace it with an identical one. A replacement bench would cost £1,220. I have therefore launched a fundraising campaign, to hopefully raise the amount necessary in order to replace it. Any donations, whether they be large or small, would be gratefully received. Donations may be made in the following Gofundme crowdfunding campaign: https://gofund. me/4a825edc

Should any donations be raised in excess of the target amount, these would be donated to a worthy cause, namely the Wenvoe Environment Team. The Environment Team help to maintain the village green, and any other community areas around the village which need attention.

I thank you for your time, support and kind words.

Esther Rees

 

The Derivation And Meaning Of Place-Names

THE DERIVATION AND MEANING OF PLACE-NAMES

HIGHLIGHT

The English name ‘Highlight’ first appears on maps in the 16th Century – during the reign of Elizabeth 1st – as the name of a farm. Before that time, the name was Welsh – ‘Uchelolau’. The name ‘Highlight’ was obviously an attempt at translating the Welsh name – but unfortunately, it was erroneously translated – although this incorrect version was adopted and has been used down the centuries to this day.
The original Welsh name – Uchelolau – is made up of two elements – ‘uchel’ and ‘olau’. ‘Uchel’ is an adjective – still used today – which means ‘high’ – so that part of the Elizabethan translation was perfectly correct. The problem lies with the second element. There is a Welsh word ‘(g)olau’ which means ‘light’ – and this is what was used in the translation to give us ‘Highlight’.
BUT, ‘olau’ also has another meaning (just as ‘bark’, for example, has more than one meaning in English). ‘Olau’, at one time, was used as the plural form of ‘ôl’ which means ‘mark/ footstep/ track’. (Today we use ‘olion’ as the plural of ‘ôl’). So ‘uchel’ + ‘olau’ correctly translates as something like ‘high track’.
I think ‘Ridgeway’ would be a more correct translation of ‘Uchelolau’.

BRYNHILL
This is obviously an example of a bi-lingual name – made up of two elements with the same meaning – ‘bryn’ and ‘hill’ – a perfect example of tautology!
This phenomenon can be seen in place-names which are centuries old. The name Chetwood in England is made up of two elements – ‘chet’ from the Celtic/Brythonic word ‘kaito’ (which has given us ‘coed’, meaning ‘wood’ in Welsh) and the English word ‘wood’.
Then we have Bryndown near Dinas Powys – ‘bryn’ – the Welsh word for ‘hill’ followed by ‘down’ meaning ‘hill’ of course – as in The Downs at the top of The Tumble – and Gibbonsdown, meaning Gibbon’s hill.
Another obvious example is the River Avon. ‘Afon’ is the Welsh – or old Brythonic – word meaning ‘river’.
Bredon Hill in Worcestershire is an example of triple tautology. It is made up of three elements, all with the same meaning – ‘bre’ from the Brythonic or Celtic word ‘bryn’ meaning ‘hill’ – ‘don’ from the Old English word ‘dun’ again meaning ‘hill’ – followed by the word ‘hill’ itself!
But Torpenhow Hill in Cumbria takes the biscuit! It is made up of four elements – all meaning ‘hill’. ‘Tor’ is from Old English, ‘pen’ is from Brythonic and ‘how’ is from Old Norse. Then the word ‘Hill’ is added for good measure!

There are plenty of examples of this phenomenon in all parts of the world and I’m sure many will surprise you – Lake Tahoe (Lake Lake), Sahara Desert (Desert Desert), Mississippi River (Big river River), Faroe Islands (Sheep islands Islands), East Timor (East East), The Rock of Gibraltar (The Rock of the Rock of Tariq) and many more.

Next month – Merthyr Dyfan, Holton, Buttrills, Tregatwg/Cadoxton. Môr Hafren/Severn Estuary.

Ann M. Jones

 

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