96 



DISCOVERY 



any case deny the possibility of there being any 

 question of aesthetic considerations, even in the 

 broadest sense, in the giving of names to places. 



There is little doubt among scholars at the present 

 time, however, that descriptive names did prevail to a 

 much larger extent than has been generally allowed. 

 There may have been personal names White, Black, 

 and Brown in Saxon times, but the mass of evidence 

 goes to show that proportionately they were nothing 

 like so common as those elements are in place-names, 

 and we may therefoie assume that in place-names they 

 are very often of purely descriptive force. Green and 

 Red and Grey, the first two of which often appear in 

 place-names as Grin- and Rad-, are quite unambiguous 

 in early times, for they are not used as personal names 

 in Old English, though Red in the form Roiith is fairly 

 common as a Scandinavian personal name and nick- 

 name. We have a good many place-names which are 

 due to the attempt to record the existence of red cliffs, 

 usually of sandstone. Radcliffe, Ratcliffe, Redcliffe 

 are of English origm, whUe Roecliffe, Rawcliffe, and 

 Rockliffe are similar names in Scandmavian districts. 

 The adjective liar, " hoar," " grey," is curiously com- 

 mon in place-names. It may in some cases be doubt- 

 ful whether we have this adjective or the animal-name 

 hara, " hare," but there are far too many cases of this 

 element Har-, quite apart from those cases where it is 

 a later development of Anglo-Saxon here, " army," to 

 allow of its being commonly taken as the animal-name. 

 Specially common are Harslons and Hoarstones, Hoar- 

 wood and Harwood, Haru^ell and Hartrow, in none of 

 which is the animal-name very likely. The adjective 

 har was primarily applied to anything that was " grey " 

 or "covered with lichen," and then, at least in the 

 case of har-stan, developed the secondary sense of 

 "boundary " (stone). Judging by the large number of 

 Harwoods and other places in Har- which now lie on 

 the boundary of two parishes, there is some reason to 

 think that this secondary sense may have been extended 

 to other compounds. Lastly, among adjectives of 

 colour we may mention the use of Anglo-Saxon fah, 

 "stained," "variegated." This is fairly common in 

 place-names, and does seem to show an appreciation 

 for the finer niceties of colouring in the landscape. We 

 get it in numerous Faivlcys and Faiedons and in Fawler. 



Names showing a Sense of Beauty 



Definite appreciation of festhetic considerations is 

 shown by the use of the Anglo-Saxon faeger (= fair) 

 in names like Fairford and the not uncommon Bright- 

 in names like Brightwell, descriptive of a sparkling 

 spring. Any suspicions that we might have that the 

 first element was a Saxon personal name Bright are 

 happily removed by the Latinising of the name in a 

 Saxon charter as ad declaratam fontem (at the bright 



well). So also we get the Anglo-Saxon adjective myrig 

 (= merry), " pleasant " in Merrils Bridge (Notts) and 

 Moralhirst (Northumberland), in both of which the first 

 element is Anglo-Saxon niyrige hyldc, i.e. " pleasant 

 slope," a phrase which is closely paralleled by a. faeger 

 hylde ford in a Saxon charter. 



The frequency of the river-names Blyth and Lyde, 

 which Dr. Ekwall has shown us are nothing but the 

 adjectives blithe and a lost adjective lyde, a derivative 

 of loud, would seem to show that our forefathers were 

 not quite insensible to the cheerful sound of a running 

 stream. 



The great frequency of names in Broom, whether 

 used by itself or in compounds (usually as Broni-), 

 would suggest that they found delight in a golden patch 

 of broom, and similar delight in an English hedgerow 

 is suggested by the large number of names in Hep- 

 and Hip- which go back to the Anglo-Saxon heope, 

 a " hip " or " dog-rose." Close observation of nature 

 is suggested by Lemmington, earlier Lenieke-ton, i.e. 

 brooklime farm, in Northumberland, and Gomer in 

 Hampshire, earlier Galmore, which is really the " swamp 

 where the gale or bog-myi'tle grows." It is curious to 

 note how often a name in -well contains as its first 

 element a bird-name, ranging from the crane in Cran- 

 well and Cornwell and the crow of Crowell to the tiny 

 wren and throstle found in Saxon names which un- 

 luckily do not seem to have survived to modern times. 

 Such names indicate careful observation of nature, and 

 many other examples might be given. Attempts to 

 show that in these names we are really concerned with 

 persons namod Hawk, Crane, Crow and the like break 

 down entirely, at least so far as the material goes back 

 to Saxon times, for animal-names are extraordinarily 

 rare then. The trick of nicknaming a man from some 

 bird or beast was first taught us by the Vikings and 

 does not begin to show itself to any appreciable extent 

 until the latter part of the tenth century. 



The suggestion has been made that the French 

 invaders of the eleventh century first taught us to 

 have any appreciation for scenery, the ground for this 

 being that many of the names of French origin in this 

 country describe a pleasing prospect. This seems to be 

 a very doubtful proposition. To me there seems to 

 be a certain monotony about names of French origin. 

 They hardly ever venture beyond the somewhat 

 colourless epithets of Beau- and Mai-. There are 

 many Beauinonts, two " fine headlands " {Bcauchief and 

 Beachy Head), a " fine brow " (Beaufront), two " fine 

 deserts " (Beaudescrt), two Beaulieus and a Bewley, 

 a Belvoir, some " fine retreats " (French repair) 

 disguised as Belper, Bcaupel, Bear Park, and plainer 

 as Beaiirepair, a Bcauvale, several Belasis, Belsize. 

 and Bellasize. a Butterby which is really Beautrove, 

 " beautifulh- found," and a Beams and Beamish which 



