374 Names of Fame Islands. By the late R. Carr-Ellison. 



to end. " Lindesfarena ealand," in Anglo-Saxon, means simply 

 Island of the Pilgrims of the Lind ; that is, of the Lin, or Lake, 

 or Slake. 



That which I am desirous to establish by these remarks, is 

 that every Anglo-Saxon student can easily satisfy himself that 

 the venerable names of the Fame Islands and of Lindisfarne are 

 not mere fortuitous and arbitrary appellations, but highly and 

 interestingly significant. Nay, not only every Anglo-Saxon but 

 every German scholar can satisfy himself, for the verb fahren in 

 German corresponds exactly -withfaran in Anglo-Saxon, and the 

 noun fahren, with fara, both being equivalent to traveller, way- 

 farer, pilgrim. For many years of my life I was under the im- 

 pression that the term Fame might be of very remote and prse- 

 Christian and prsB-Saxon origin, and that its meaning was obscure. 

 But this is clearly a perfectly gratuitous conception, and I plead 

 guilty to great self-deception on a very plain and natural Saxon 

 etymon, though not older than the epoch of Aidan and his Saxon 

 converts. And I greatly regret that I did not exhibit such a 

 view of the matter to the late Mr Tate, who consulted me on the 

 question, when engaged in composing his account of these 

 historic Isles, so interesting to every Northumbrian. 



[This notice has a melancholy interest as being the last pro- 

 duction of Mr Carr-Ellisou's pen offered to the Club. I cannot 

 omit a quotation from the letter, dated, Eedgeley, June 24, 

 1883, that accompanied it. His wish to see it printed was 

 destined not to be accomplished, as the lamented author died at 

 Dunston HiU, on Feb. 4th, 1884. " I enclose a short paper on 

 the etymology of the Fame Islands, and Lindisfarne, in the 

 hope that you may be able to offer or present it to the Club, even 

 if it cannot be read while your are on the Island. Strange to 

 say, very few people seem to know that the appellations are 

 strictly historic, and full of interest. It would gratify me much 

 if in my old age I could see the paper inserted in the Transac- 

 tions or Proceedings of our Club, and so rescued from oblivion. 

 For I ought to have presented such a paper long ago."] 



