262 



The Names of Places in Wilts/iire. 



again is the "dean on the boundary/' — in this case of the 

 hundred of Swanborough. Marsh-field, formerly spelt 

 Maresfeld, probably comes from the same root, and means 

 <c boundary-field, 33 situated as it is at the junction of the 

 counties of Wilts and Gloucester. In Imber, spelt formerly 

 Tm-mere and Im-mere, we seem to have a corrupt form of the 

 word ge-m&re itself. It is the name of an isolated parish in 

 the very middle of Salisbury Plain, portioned out between 

 two hundreds, with neither of which it is in immediate con- 

 tact. Indeed the " boundary-line 33 of detached portions of 

 the hundreds of Heytesbury and Swanborough runs right 

 through the middle of the parish. 



28. Minety. The name of two places — one near Cricklade, and which 

 though locally situated in Wilts belongs to Gloucestershire, 

 the other a little north of Corsham. The name is spelt in 

 the charters Mintie and Mintih. (Cod. Dipl. 255, 1048.) 

 The former syllable may be the Cornish maen (plur. mein), 

 signifying " stone/'' The latter possibly is iy, Irish Ugh, 

 {= a house or dwelling). Compare with the last form the 

 Latin tego (= cover) . This etymology violates the rule ex- 

 plained in § 2, still the generic term is not, especially in the 

 more ancient names, invariably found first ; as e.g., in the 

 Merionethshire name Cyf-ty (== block-house), and in Deveit-ty 

 (= sheep-house). See Cambrian Register, 1795. 



Nett6n. A small hamlet between Amesbury and Old Sarum. An 

 entry in the Saxon Chronicle, under the year 508, gives 

 much interest to this name. It is as follows : " Now Cerdic 

 and Cynric slew a British King whose name was Natan-leod, 

 and 5000 men with him. Then after that the land was called 

 Natan-leaga, as far as Cerdic 3 s ford. 33 



Dr. Guest, after remarking that no entry in the Saxon 

 Chronicle has given rise to more discussion, gives an ingenious, 

 and, as it seems to me, probable interpretation of it. There 

 never was a British king of the name of Natanleod, and he 

 conceives therefore that this word represents not a proper 

 name, but a title of honour. He explains the former part of 



