• English
  • Gàidhlig
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • My Account
  • Checkout
  • Cart
Ainmean-Àite na h-Alba (AÀA)

  • Home
  • Database
    • AZ List
  • OS Map
  • Resources
    • Downloads
    • Sources
    • Links
    • Gaelic Place-Name Policy
  • Support
    • AÀA Supporter
  • Shop
    • Services
    • Corporate Memberships
    • Publications
  • News
  • Contact Us
previous postnext post
  • Info
  • Location
  • Notes

Whithorn

no Gaelic form


Location

NX444403


English / Map Form: Whithorn

Gaelic Form: no Gaelic form


Location: Wigtownshire

Post Town: NEWTON STEWART

English / Map Form: Whithorn

Gaelic Form: no Gaelic form


Language Notes

 

Element Meaning

 

Sources

“Candida Casa… The Irish style it Teach Martain, ‘Martin’s House’; Rosnat, which is a diminutive from ross and means ‘Little Cape’; Magnum Monasterium, ‘ the great Monastery’; and Futerna, the latinized Gaelic form of the old English Hwiterne, ‘White House’.” Watson 1926, 158-9

“The church built by St Ninian in Galloway was called candida casa because of its being the first stone building in the district. The phrase was translated Hwitherne into Saxon, and, as Whithorn it now gives name to a burgh and parish.” MacKinnon

There have been a number of proposals for this name:

Taigh Mhàrtainn originates in one mention in the Lebor Bretnach as taig Martain. Watson overstepped the mark when he says: “The Irish style it Teach Martain, ‘Martin’s House’.” Later scholars point out that there is nothing really to link this with the site of Whithorn, and it is only mentioned once. The modern Taigh Mhàrtainn has no historical authenticity.

The Latin terms Magnum Monasterium and Candida Casa are now generally believed to denote current Whithorn in some fashion, but they are indefinite and apparently are then-current names used to denote the places in the time of the authors (Bede) rather than at the time of the events described in his works. It is possible therefore they are later guesses as to the location of the place, or even deliberate altering for political purposes

Futarna seems to be a latinisation of Whitherne which is the OE form of modern Whithorn.

Rosnat is another seeming Gaelic name, meaning as it does ‘little cape or wood’ but again as it is mentioned a handful of times in early sources is hardly fit for current usage. It most likely denotes a somewhat different place than the actual monastery.

Thus it would appear there is no Gaelic form which can reliably be traditionally said to relate to thw settlement or monastery of Whithorn as we understand it now. No Manx form has yet been uncovered.

Additional Information

 

Alternative Forms

 

Primary Sidebar

Database


Match phrase Match words




OS MAp

OS Map

  Welcome to the Ordnance Survey (OS) open source digital map. A tool you can use to research ... Continue Reading about OS Map

Our Products

  • Gaelic in the Landscape - The Rough Bounds of Lochaber £0.00
  • Gaelic in the Landscape - Place-names in Islay and Jura £0.00

News

Fieldworker required for Eriskay

Footer

Gaelic Place-names of Scotland

Sabhal Mòr Ostaig
Sleat
Isle of Skye
IV44 8RQ

+44 (0) 1471 888 120
fios@ainmean-aite.org

Useful links

  • About Ainmean-Àite na h-Alba
  • How to use the search
  • Commercial Information & Rates
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie policy
  • Terms & Conditions

Main Menu

  • Home
  • Database
    • AZ List
  • OS Map
  • Resources
    • Downloads
    • Sources
    • Links
    • Gaelic Place-Name Policy
  • Support
    • AÀA Supporter
  • Shop
    • Services
    • Corporate Memberships
    • Publications
  • News
  • Contact Us

Site Search

Follow Us

  • E-mail
  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Copyright © 2019 Ainmean-Àite na h-Alba. All rights reserved. Website by Lumberjack Digital