THE MYSTERIES
of THE BRITISH MAP
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Introduction
We all believe, or at least hope, that the information we get from geographical maps is reliable, absolutely clear and needs no further explanation. They say there are no blanks on the map today, which is probably true aside from the Bermuda Triangle. However a geographical name in itself can be a great mystery. And indeed there is much ambiguity about them, and various discrepancies may be discovered while giving a map a careful look.
Such place names as Cornwall, Swansea, the British Isles and the Isle of Man are no doubt familiar to all, but have you ever asked yourself what is lying behind these words. Why, for instance, the peninsula in the western part of England bears the name "Cornwall"? Is it because of corn which is cultivated there? Or are there any other reasons?
The case with Cornwall is an example of the so-called "folk etymology". This is when we derive the meaning of a word from its constituent parts, like putting two and two together. As practice shows, this method is very often unreliable and leads to false conclusions. The form of a word can remain the same for centuries, but its meaning can undergo considerable changes. Moreover, many of us simply may not know the origin of a word, which is quite natural and normal in everyday life.
This article aims to discover some discrepancies between geographical names and the places they indicate; and to find a number of interesting and misleading facts concerning the map of the United Kingdom in general. Of course, it is impossible to
Ключевые слова: British map, geographical names, etymology.
Слово молодым ученым
cover all the items worthy of our attention, but we shall nevertheless try to at least focus on some of the most intriguing points, supplementing them with historical and cultural information.
Islands Versus Isles
Just take a glance at the British map and you will quickly notice that the words "isles" and "islands" have the same meaning and refer to the same geographical phenomena; examples of this are the British Isles, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man, the Orkney Islands and so on.
Although "island" and "isle" are synonyms, meaning a small piece of land completely surrounded by water, etymologically they are different words. "Island" is a native Anglo-Saxon word and in olden days was a compound, consisting of two components: ig (or ieg) and land. It's interesting to note that "ig" already meant "island" when used independently, and so we can literally interpret the word "island" as "island-land". With time, the spelling was simplified to "iland" and later turned into "island" due to an incorrect association with the etymologically unrelated Old French word "isle".
The word "isle" entered the English language via the already mentioned Old French, where it was derived from the Latin word "insula". At first it was spelled with an "s"; then the letter was dropped and later restored: isle ^ ile ^ isle. The changes in the French spelling were carried over to the English "island", and the result was the word "island" with the mute "s". And there you have it: for this reason two words meaning the same thing co-exist in the English language.
Wool: Don't Believe Your Eyes
If you happen to travel around the county of Dorset, you might visit a small village named Wool. But the name does not at all mean what it says and no wool is produced here.
The word means "spring", or more precisely "a place at the wells", and stems from the Old English "wella". The springs or wells in question are just south of the village. In his vast work Histories and Antiquities of the County of Dorset, the eighteenth century vicar of Dorset and topographer John Hutchins was careful to explain that
the name of Wool village is said to derive "from the springs that abound here", and, in particular, "from a beautiful stream of water, which rises or wells up in a body, and the head of a small meadow (...) on the south side". The reference to the springs is preserved today in such names as Spring Street, Springfield Cottage, and Well Head Close.
Cornwall: Where Do They Grow the Corn?
When you first glance at the word "Cornwall", indicating a particular area in the south of England, it seems extraordinarily easy to deduce the origin of the name. The image of vast, stretching plains planted with corn is the most likely to cross one's mind. However, that would be a too simple and primitive explanation.
The north coast of Cornwall, washed by the Atlantic Ocean, has wonderful stretches of golden sands and soaring cliffs. The south coast is a complete contrast - wooded estuaries, small picturesque fishing ports and popular resorts. We might guess that this striking difference is also associated with a kind of border, or wall, separating the southern and the northern parts of the peninsula. Nevertheless, if we dig deeper we'll find a scientific explanation for the name.
The name "Cornwall" is based on the tribal name of Cornovii, who lived both here, in the West Midlands, and in Scotland in pre-historic times. Their name means "promontory people" (people who lived on a peninsula). Sometimes the name of the tribe is translated as "horn people", making reference to the long peninsula, or horn, that Cornwall is. Cornwall was recorded in the sixth century as "Cornubia" and kept this name into the Middle Ages. The Anglo-Saxons added the Old English "walh", which means "foreigner", to the name, thus referring to someone who spoke a Celtic language, unlike themselves.
Nowadays, Cornwall administratively includes the Isles of Scilly, forming a county in south-western England with its administrative centre in Truro. Still, it is sometimes referred to as an ancient Celtic land. At the south-western edge of the county is the cape of Land's End, the west-
ernmost point of the English mainland. It is a mass of granite cliffs that plunge into the sea. They say that the best time to breath in "the Celtic wilderness" of Land's End is at dawn and dusk.
The Isles of Scilly lie off Land's End. Much of the land, especially in the east, is high windswept moorland that decreases in elevation toward the west. The deeply indented coasts of Cornwall, with their fine harbours, are lined with rocky cliffs. It may be of interest to know that Cornwall can claim the largest number of England's major lighthouses: there are 11 of them, that are understandably important, not to mention numerous smaller lights that mark harbour entrances.
The Isle of Man: Where Are the Women?
A large island lying between England and Ireland in the Irish Sea bears the proud name of Man. And who was the very celebrated and outstanding personality who dared to name the island in honour of the stronger half of humankind? Isn't that discrimination towards women?
In fact the etymology of the island's name is not at all clear, and various explanations have been provided. One of them claims that the name "Man" is linked with that of Manannan mac Lir, an Irish god, whose own name may perhaps mean "King of the land of promise". The Roman name of the island was "Monapia", and this can be associated with the Roman name of Anglesey, which was "Mona" and simply means "mountain".
The idea that the concept of a "mountain" lies behind the name of the Isle of Man is no doubt in reference to the mountainous mass in the centre of the island that culminates in Snaefell.
The Isle of Man was once a Viking colony and retains many old Norse relics and traditions. Although it recognizes the British Crown, it is largely independent. The island is governed by a crown-appointed lieutenant governor, a legislative council and the representative House of Keys. Together they make up the Court of Tynwald, which is Norwegian in origin and also one of the oldest parliaments in the world, with a history going back more than a thousand years.
The adjective "Manx" is also of Old Norse origin and the Manx name of the island is Ellan Vannan, "The Isle of Man".
Swansea: In Search of Swans
When you hear the name "Swansea" don't you immediately picture a sea coast with flocks of swans? Actually, the city which bears such a charming name has nothing to do with these majestic birds. Swansea is the second largest city in Wales after Cardiff; it is also a district seat, and the seat of West Glamorgan County. It lies along the Bristol Channel at the mouth of the River Tawe. The Welsh name of Swansea is Abertawe, "mouth of the Tawe", referring to its location. The river's own name may mean "a dark one" or simply "water".
Some scholars say that the name of the town is of Scandinavian origin meaning "Sveinn's sea" or "Sveinn's place". The first word is a personal name meaning "servant".
Another theory has it that the name originates from the Old Norse personal name Sveinn + ey ("island"). The spelling was like "Sweynesse", then changed to "Sueinesea" around 1190, and finally to "Swanesey" in 1322.
Brecon Beacons: Have the Lights Gone Out?
What is a "beacon"? One of the meanings of the word is "a tall object or a light near the shore acting as a guide or warning to sailors". Then what do these lights have to do with the national park of Wales?
Brecon Beacons is in fact a mountain range in south and southwest Wales that takes its name from the nearby town of Brecon. The peaks are called "beacons" because they were used as sites for signal fires in medieval times, like hills and mountains elsewhere in Britain.
The Welsh name for the district is Bannau Brycheiniog, meaning "peaks of the Brecon district". "Brecon" itself derives from the personal name "Brychan", that of a fifth-century Welsh prince. Nowadays the mountains have given their names to the Brecon Beacons National Park, established in 1957.
Don't Get Lost in the Mountains: Where Are the Cambrians and the Cumbrians?
The names of these two mountain ranges, one located in England and the other in W
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