204 
and the coincidence in the names, the distance, and the direc- 
tion, (although this last should be west-north-west to corre- 
spond to contra solstitiatem occasum), is certainly remarkable. 
But I observe that, whereas Ven. Bseda elsewhere calls 
Catterick on the Swale Cafaracta, and Simeon of Durham 
Catarada, Cateracta, Ceteracte, the place named in this story- 
is Cataracton, {Cataractone in the ablative) ; and, although 
this approaches more nearly to the Greek and Roman names 
of Catterick (KarouppaxTovtov, Cataractonion), I think it possible 
that confusion may have arisen in another way ; that his 
informant may have spoken of the place which is now called 
Catterton, under the name of Cataractun, or something like it. 
There is the same difficulty about Wilfarcesdun in this case, 
as in that of Catterick ; within ten miles to the west-north- 
west there is no name at all resembling it, nor fortified hill 
{dun), which may be supposed to have once borne this name, 
except the Castle-hill of Spofforth (which, of course, derives 
its name from the ford or passage of the river Crimple, and 
must have had some name peculiar to itself). But the name 
of Wilfara occurs in Wilfrey Well, rather more than ten miles 
to the west-south-west, and this suggests the possibility that 
his dun may have been the remarkable Castle-hill above the 
village of Bardsey. The distance is nine miles in a direct 
line from Catterton ; the direction is contra solstitiatem 
occasum, if the winter solstice be implied; and Yen. Baeda 
does occasionally use solstitium for the winter, as well as for 
the summer, solstice ; although, assuredly, in another place 
solstitialis occasus is the " summer sunset," opposed to bruma- 
lis occuhitus. The possibility of some ambiguity in the 
information he received, (on account of the use of this word 
solstitialis), is evident. 
Apart from this, whilst this identification has scarcely so 
much to recommend it as the former, on account of the simi- 
larity of names, — (what it loses in the uncertainty that the 
