307 



Near it — at Kingsholm — the Romans formed their camp ; and 

 " Glou" became Latinised into " Glevum." 



The place was called " Gleawanceaster" by the Saxons, a name 

 made up of the ancient " Glou" and the Saxonised Latin word 

 " ceaster." 



Professor Earle in his " Philology of the English Tongue" gives 

 a translation of part of " Layamon's Brut," bearing on the origin 

 of the name of Gloucester. 



We have in Gloucestershire accordingly a combination of three 

 elements, namely : — 



GLOU, 



Gaelic " Gloir," pronounced " Gloer," or Kymric " Gloew,'* 

 meaning " bright," " fair." 



CESTER, 



i.e., the Latin " castra." This in Gaelic is " Cathair," pronounced 

 " Kahyar ;" and in Kymric it is " Caer." The Gaelic, Kymric 

 and Latin words mean much the same, viz., a fort, a camp, a city. 

 Perhaps " Caer" is only a corruption of " Castra." " Caerleon" is 

 " Castra Legionis." 



SHIRE. 



This is from an Anglo-Saxon word "Scir," which means a 

 division, whether of land or of anything else. Hence a county. 



Somersetshire in the Saxon Chronicles (and the last year 

 chronicled in Saxon is 1154 A.D.) is spelt " Sumersetescir," and it 

 derives its name from its early inhabitants the " Sumersaetas." 

 " Saetas" means " settlers ;" but what " Sumer" means is not so 

 certain. It is commonly however connected with " summer," the 

 warm season of the year, and with the supposed summer-like 

 climate of the county. 



Somerset lies along the Bristol Channel, and is therefore 

 " super-mare," " sur-mer ;" and perhaps in German we might 

 speak of it as extending " Zu Meere" or " Zum Meer." I will 

 not however hazard the conjecture that " Somer" is derived from 

 these, or any one of these phrases. 



