As you say, a pleasing conclusion, Fiona - brilliant. And as I was reading the closing paragraphs I found myself wondering what exactly is ceann meant to tell us (especially where beul 'mouth' might be expected eg with bealach), so it's exciting that you (and Alex) are on the case already :)
Many thanks Peadar, although I am now really feeling my lack of Gaelic! I'd ignored the -oir/-or in Cinnbelachoir/Bellethor because I didn't know what it meant. Skene interpreted it as 'gold' and located Cinnbelachoir at Gold Castle just north of Scone, but that doesn't feel right. Robaidh MacilleDhuibh suggested to me on Facebook that it could be G odhar (OIr odor) for 'dun-coloured'. What do you think? The ceann/urbs aspect is v. interesting, because I have this slow hunch that penn in Pictish place-names - if it is to be translated as 'head' - is more towards the sense of 'caput/chief-place' than 'end'. I think others may have danced around this idea before, but I think it's worth looking at again.
On our bealach name, it seems early and a bit forced for a postpositive genitive or adjective in a name (though I'm in no position to rule that out). What seems more likely to me though is the place-naming extension -ar found in such as Dolar ~ Dollar. So *Bealachar 'pass-place'? Which I presume with later development is what we have in Bealadair ~ Ballater.
Hmm. I realise I've just gone in some kind of circle, or spiral rather - but there is no reason the same name cannot be applied to two discrete places. In fact would that not rather strengthen the argument for it being a 'natural' place-name form of the time?
Ah, brilliant, thank you - yes I saw that on AÀA Ballater/Bealadair is translated as 'pass-place', which indeed could apply to more than one place. And I'd forgotten we'd already had this conversation about penn/ceann regarding Kincardine! It's been rattling around in my head for ages but I'm slowly building up an argument for it. This morning it involved mulling whether, in Bede's example of Pictish Peanfahel and OE Penneltun, the 'pean' might actually equate to the 'tun'.
Very good article as ever, articulate and stimulating.
Slightly disappointed that you don’t give Dull more consideration as the likely monastic settlement associated with Bellethor though this is just based on a personal preference for the atmosphere of Dull over Fortingall!
There is more archaeological evidence for Fortingall being a significant site at the correct period but that may be due to a lack of study of Dull. Just saying let’s not dismiss it
Thanks Alastair, and yes, sorry to just skip over Dull! I was worried I'd gone on for long enough already :) If it was in my study area I'd definitely have had a closer look, but really this was all a very roundabout way of assessing the reference to 'Rossia' and what might have distinguished it from the other two places mentioned. It is interesting that the Vita Cathroe seems to have chopped off the 'Cinn' from both Bellethor and Rigmonath, and apparently replaced it with 'urbs' (I'm indebted to Alex Woolf for pointing this out). That feeds into some other thoughts I've been having about ceann/penn as a place-name element anyway, so maybe I will come back to Bellethor and Fortingall/Dull after all...
Fascinating and your last point hints at how factional Christianity might have been with rival foundations playing for status and being used by others to this end by association also! Because of the sarcophagus I hadn’t considered that St.Andrews has no cross with symbol stones!
Many thanks Iain, oh yes, there was an awful lot of factionality and playing for status, often including the theft of relics by one church from another (see Patrick Geary's book Furta Sacra for details), not to mention one monastery attacking another (e.g. see the opening section of Gilbert Márkus's article here, though this is from the high Middle Ages: https://www.academia.edu/121938936/The_Rule_of_St_Benedict_and_the_Celtic_Church). There are surprisingly few symbol-bearing cross-slabs in Fife, Atholl and 'lower' Easter Ross generally, coinciding with these clusters of 'cill' names.
As you say, a pleasing conclusion, Fiona - brilliant. And as I was reading the closing paragraphs I found myself wondering what exactly is ceann meant to tell us (especially where beul 'mouth' might be expected eg with bealach), so it's exciting that you (and Alex) are on the case already :)
Many thanks Peadar, although I am now really feeling my lack of Gaelic! I'd ignored the -oir/-or in Cinnbelachoir/Bellethor because I didn't know what it meant. Skene interpreted it as 'gold' and located Cinnbelachoir at Gold Castle just north of Scone, but that doesn't feel right. Robaidh MacilleDhuibh suggested to me on Facebook that it could be G odhar (OIr odor) for 'dun-coloured'. What do you think? The ceann/urbs aspect is v. interesting, because I have this slow hunch that penn in Pictish place-names - if it is to be translated as 'head' - is more towards the sense of 'caput/chief-place' than 'end'. I think others may have danced around this idea before, but I think it's worth looking at again.
We're back to Kincardine, aren't we! Good :)
On our bealach name, it seems early and a bit forced for a postpositive genitive or adjective in a name (though I'm in no position to rule that out). What seems more likely to me though is the place-naming extension -ar found in such as Dolar ~ Dollar. So *Bealachar 'pass-place'? Which I presume with later development is what we have in Bealadair ~ Ballater.
Hmm. I realise I've just gone in some kind of circle, or spiral rather - but there is no reason the same name cannot be applied to two discrete places. In fact would that not rather strengthen the argument for it being a 'natural' place-name form of the time?
Ah, brilliant, thank you - yes I saw that on AÀA Ballater/Bealadair is translated as 'pass-place', which indeed could apply to more than one place. And I'd forgotten we'd already had this conversation about penn/ceann regarding Kincardine! It's been rattling around in my head for ages but I'm slowly building up an argument for it. This morning it involved mulling whether, in Bede's example of Pictish Peanfahel and OE Penneltun, the 'pean' might actually equate to the 'tun'.
I'm loving this radical rethinking of conventional thought, Fiona! Between you and Alex, nothing is safe 😂
Very good article as ever, articulate and stimulating.
Slightly disappointed that you don’t give Dull more consideration as the likely monastic settlement associated with Bellethor though this is just based on a personal preference for the atmosphere of Dull over Fortingall!
There is more archaeological evidence for Fortingall being a significant site at the correct period but that may be due to a lack of study of Dull. Just saying let’s not dismiss it
Thanks Alastair, and yes, sorry to just skip over Dull! I was worried I'd gone on for long enough already :) If it was in my study area I'd definitely have had a closer look, but really this was all a very roundabout way of assessing the reference to 'Rossia' and what might have distinguished it from the other two places mentioned. It is interesting that the Vita Cathroe seems to have chopped off the 'Cinn' from both Bellethor and Rigmonath, and apparently replaced it with 'urbs' (I'm indebted to Alex Woolf for pointing this out). That feeds into some other thoughts I've been having about ceann/penn as a place-name element anyway, so maybe I will come back to Bellethor and Fortingall/Dull after all...
Fascinating and your last point hints at how factional Christianity might have been with rival foundations playing for status and being used by others to this end by association also! Because of the sarcophagus I hadn’t considered that St.Andrews has no cross with symbol stones!
Many thanks Iain, oh yes, there was an awful lot of factionality and playing for status, often including the theft of relics by one church from another (see Patrick Geary's book Furta Sacra for details), not to mention one monastery attacking another (e.g. see the opening section of Gilbert Márkus's article here, though this is from the high Middle Ages: https://www.academia.edu/121938936/The_Rule_of_St_Benedict_and_the_Celtic_Church). There are surprisingly few symbol-bearing cross-slabs in Fife, Atholl and 'lower' Easter Ross generally, coinciding with these clusters of 'cill' names.