.Earliest forms of the name Totnes in south Devon, where Brutus the Trojan supposedly landed, are Totanaes 979-1016, Tottanesse C11th, Toteneis 1086 Domesday Book (Place Names of Devon J E B Gover A Mawer and F M Stenton EPNS 1931 Vol 1 p 334). Later forms follow the same pattern close to the present name Totnes.It is possible it derives from tot meaning lookout (hill) in Old English, hence the various Toothills in England, and ness would be old English naess, prominent point of land. Having said that, neither the above quoted Place names of Devon or the more up to date, Cambridge Dictionary of English Place Names, edited Victor Watts, 2004, believe that tot or look out is the correct meaning and that Totta as a personal name is more probable; but clearly they can only hazard a guess for this difficult name.
Where place names are concerned there is frequently more than one possible explanation. Although early documents don't mention it, both Leland in the C16th and Westcote a little later, call the town Dodonesse, which Westcote suggests meant rocky place without stating his reasons why. Even earlier, Totnes mayor, John Burhead, Civil History of Totnes, 1433 and 1441, calls the town Dodenays (Trans Devon Assoc Vol 12 1880 ).
In the case of Dodonesse, t and d in ancient British and modern Welsh, are not just mutations of each other, but they are actually used interchangeably in Welsh so that d is pronounced t. This is partly true in Germanic as well, although probably more a question of pronunciation, than mutation, as such; see Old English drosn, dregs or sediment= truosana (Old High German) and drusen (Middle High German). This is found earlier in Indo-European where *(h-)dont- tooth becomes modern denture, hence d-t, dont becomes tooth and similar to *dnghu- tongue where dnghu becomes tongue. This means that Dodonesse could be a mutation of Totnes or Tottanesse and vice versa. Watkin in his History of Totnes, Index p1259, notes a family name and evident place name; possibly the marshy area below the town itself, William de Totefen or Dodefenne and Wydo de Totefen or de Totene;in 1251.It is unclear if Totnes is intended here, but more likely it refers to a place now called Dodoven, just north west of Brixton, near Plymouth. This being the case, it has important implications for the t-d mutation in the names Totnes/Dodonesse. Firstly, it pushes back the date of such a mutation to the mid 13th century, but also corroborates that Totnes was not the only place to share such a duality in its name. Even earlier than this, out of county,is Toddington in Bedfordshire, which is both Dodingtone and Totingedone 1086, Tudingedon, -ton 1166-1243 and Todington, -yng, -don 1219-1526. Cambridge Dict. of Place Names suggests this means 'hill of the Tudingas'. Well perhaps and then again perhaps not. What it does reveal, however, is that, even as far east as Bedfordshire, evidence of this t-d British mutation is evident at an early period. Todmarden, W Yorkshire, is Tottemerden 1086, Totmardene 1246, Todmerden 1298, Todmarden 1300. Todenham, Gloucestershire is Todanham (804) 11th |S1187, ie 9th century, Toteham 1086, Teudenham 1221, Todeham 1231. Tydd St Giles Cambridgeshire, is Tit,c1165, Tid Tidd,Tide 1170-1559, Tydd St Mary, not far away in Lincs, is Tid 1086, Tit 1094 and Tid or Tyd(de) 1168-1348. Wikipedia, Celtic Toponyms, suggests Tydd might be British tyddyn or smallholding, but perhaps the tit forms go against this interpretation. Dittisham on the River Dart was earlier spelt Dydesham, again in the 13th century, which suggests that dod/did was an ancient form of the name, if not the precursor of tot/tott. Dodenays in 1433 is some 500 years after the earliest spellings of Totnes as tot/tott, but on the basis of the above evidence, it would appear that dod was just as ancient as tot. This is also the case for Townstal in Dartmouth which at 1086 was called Dunestal. Although dun is hill in Anglo-Saxon, estal is more problematical. It is therefore possible that an earlier version of the name was British. In Somerset, Tedintone 1086, is now called Tetton and tedin could be Welsh tyddyn, or smallholding. The fact that Totnes was a sizeable town, rather than a backwater and therefore possible British settlement on less fertile land, may explain why the totta/tot version prevailed, while oral memory of Dodonesse appears to have endured for some centuries, if my theory is correct, because the British were not in charge of the town, ie its documents. In any case, tut or tud means doctor or healer in medieval Welsh, hence in the Mabinogion tale Gereint Son of Edern, Morgan Tud/Tut is clearly Morgana, elder twin sister of Arthur, just as her Greek/Roman counterpart Artemis/Diana was elder twin sister of healer god Apollo, to whom the serpent was sacred (cf the serpent well cult in Totnes). Another possibility, is a British name like Tudwal, who was an ancestor of Arthur and his father Uthyr Pendragon and relevant, because Geoffrey claims that Uthyr landed at Totnes with Ambrosius, to fight the Saxon foe. Once again, both British and Saxon versions of the name, could be true; but at least the British versions do have the benefit of some mythology on their side, whereas Saxon Totta does not.
In Welsh, dod means to come, while dydd means day, daybreak and dyddio is to dawn, to judge or reconcile. Judgement here, is clearly relevant to the Devon bretona's, also meaning judgement. To come, as in arrival, suits the landing of Brutus on these shores as the dawning of a new era; so in all these possible meanings, Dodonesse is suitable, especially because the Celts adored multiple meanings for their words and myths. Even more curious, is the fact that Welsh diden means teat, tit or nipple; which is precisely one of the above spellings for Tydd St Mary and St Giles. Teth in Welsh, also means teat, clearly from the same root in Indo-European as the English word.
Watkin Vol 2 pp 632-3, lists the 4th Saxon mintmaster as Doda or Dodda in the reigns of Ethelraed the Unready and Cnut. The name Tota appears on coins before Doda appears on the coinage and there is no other record of any possible reason why the town should be named after a mintmaster, which in the scheme of things is a post not readily associated with eponymous founders of towns, unless he performed some valuable service which is not found in the extensive records of the town.
Evidently, as mutations of each other, Totta and Dodda fit admirably a British version of the origin of the name, but a Saxon version is also possible and the name Dodda is clear evidence that such a name was current during an early period. Dodda's headland may interpret the name but if Dodonesse is more ancient and British in origin, then another explanation must be sought.
Firstly, we should note that the town is sited in precisely the position one would expect for an ancient settlement, on a prehistoric road at its crossing point just above the estuary of the River Dart. This is a classic position for ancient cities like London, Exeter, Chester and Gloucester. Harpers Hill, which continues from the High Street heading to the south west, was traditionally called the Roman Road and in 1880 (Trans Devon Assoc Vol 12) Edward Windeatt states that the entire course of the High Street and Harpers Hill was paved Many have doubted that this was a road made by the Romans but in all likelihood, it ,was used by them as a trading route on a native British route way, especially as it is heading for the important ancient British port at Mount Batten near Plymouth. Percy Russell The Good Town of Totnes 1963 p3 mentions that a Roman inscribed stone was found at Bowden House which came from a ditch by the turnpike road which was still at Bowden House until after 1945, when the house was derelict (Anon Ghostly Tales Bowden House p4). A Roman flue tile was found at the castle which came from a high status Roman building along with Roman coins in the town and, I am informed,some Roman pottery in the river near the bridge. Post holes of a native Romano-British hut was found in the current Co-op car park, by Bob Mann.This suggests a native British settlement with possibly one Roman trading building. The Leech Wells near this ancient road and the town, would be a further reason for the siting of an important settlement here with attendant healing cult. One of these wells is a serpent well or Long Crippler (Devon dialect for adder or viper), which may suggest Apollo (Belenus in British) twin brother of Artemis or Diana ,who led Brutus to this site. Apollo was the god of healing and serpents were crucial to his cult. Artemis/Diana may have had a temple where the Parish church of St Mary the Virgin lies now. Artemis was a virgin goddess and we have clear evidence for a Temple of Diana at St Pauls in London, which Brutus supposedly founded after Totnes (see the article on London due to be published on this same website).
The problem with the interpretation of Totnes as tot meaning lookout, is clear from the earlier forms of the name, that is Totta rather than Tot. Indeed Place Names of Devon/Oxford Dict of Place Names/Cambridge Dict of Place Names, were forced to conclude that it derived from the personal name Totta with no supporting evidence that such a person was connected with Totnes from the C9th. Although it is possible his name was not remembered in the medieval records, given the medieval predilection for onomastic names as foundations for settlements, this seems unlikely.
Toponyms frequently share more than one name and more than one mythic explanation for that name. The Irish Dindsenchas and Hogan's Onomasticon prove that this was the case and we find many examples in other countries. As Dodonesse and Totanaes are mutations of each other, It would appear that the written forms of Totnes were paralleled by an oral version of the name and that name could refer to an earlier settlement.
A possible explanation for Dodonesse is this: Geoffrey of Monmouth informs us that Brutus went to Greece. He only mentions one place that he visited, the Isle of Leogetia which is now called Leuca and is on the west side of Greece near Ithaca, made famous by Odysseus who fought at Troy. Here Brutus consulted the oracle of Diana/Artemis and was directed to find the isle of Albion, now Britain. This sanctuary of Artemis is not on the map of the isle of Leuca, but significantly, a temple of Apollo is there. Apollo and Artemis/Diana were twins and their temples are frequently found together, so the chances are this was the case at Leuca. Not only that, but Brutus is likely to have visited the oldest and most important oracle near this island, called Dodona, which may explain the name Dodonesse at Totnes. His grandfather, Aeneas, visited Dodona after his flight from Troy (Dion.Hal.1,32); but we should also note that this is complicated by his later visit to Dido, daughter of Belus of Assyria, at Carthage and the name of one of his daughters, Codone, a curious possible mutation of Dodona. Dodona at that early period was sacred to Dione, who was actually present at the birth of Artemis and Apollo. Dione means di-one or goddess, the feminine form of Zeus or di-us meaning god and it was Zeus who took over her cult at Dodona. Roman Diana comes from a similar Indo-European root and in the classical period was equated with Artemis.
Dodona was famous for the oracular oak tree of enormous size. This is paralleled by Dodonesse lying on the River Dart meaning oak, doubtless from a similar large oak tree, possibly oracular, that once graced its banks. Even today, the most famous sacred oak grove in Britain, still lies by the river Dart; the ancient Wistmans Wood where the Wischt hounds of the wild hunt were said to emerge from.
Da,De Do and Di are all root words meaning earth, hence De-meter means earth mother and the Welsh tribe Demetae in Dyfed has the same meaning, as does Damatae, in Sicily. Dodo means 'earth earth', as if in invocation , so if this interpretation is correct, Totnes/Dodonesse on the River Dart means (mother) earth and oak, itself rooted in the earth.
Pennies of the time of Athelstan (924-940) have been found bearing the inscription Darent Urb(s). Only burghs at this time, minted coins and as Totnes lies on the River Dart, Ptolemy's Derventia, there is a good chance it refers to Totnes. The Ravenna Cosmography lists several place names in Devon and Cornwall of which Devionisso and Statio Deuentiasteno are listed together and clearly not far from each other. Deuentiasteno could be a distortion of Deruent Statio, which might fit the idea of a simple Roman trading station at Totnes inside a native settlement.
Devionisso may have been a trading station by Denbury Hillfort, to the north of Totnes, which was called Devenaberia, meaning fortress of the Devon folk, earlier the Dumnonii tribe.. Another four place names in the Ravenna list lead up to Isca Dumnoniorum or Exeter, with the same tribal name, so there placing as I have suggested fits exactly the criteria we would be looking for; although with such distortion in the Ravenna names this has to remain speculation, no matter how appropriate, for the moment.
There is another further mythic link which may support the concept of British Dodonesse. Just as Greek Dodona had several meanings, one of which, incidentally, was 'goatskin', the famous Aegis goatskin worn by goddess Athena; so too did Derventia. True it is Celtic/British for 'oak', but their are European inscriptions to the Matres Dervones, the 'mothers, sure and certain' that is, of fate (cf G Olmsted, Gods of the Celts and the Indo-Europeans 1994 pp285-7). Dodona was the most famous and most ancient of Greek sacred sites, where there is an oracle read from an oak tree. Coincidence perhaps, but Dodo means earth, earth, Demeter is earth mother(Welsh Demetae), and the Matres as divine mothers, are the fates. Furthermore, Mother Earth as the goddess Dione (cf Dodone), was resident goddess at Dodona before Zeus, father of Apollo and Artemis/Diana and as we saw, Aeneas of Troy visited Dodona, and Brutus was very likely to have followed in his footsteps when he stayed in mainland Greece after his visit to the oracle of Diana on the Isle of Leuca near to Dodona. So coincidence perhaps, but it is curious how every piece of evidence cited in favour of Dodonesse, fits the tangled thread of Greek myth so concisely.
So there is enough potential in these ancient names to give us strong room to doubt that Geoffrey invented the legend of Brutus. Other articles in this same series will provide many more place names which suggest, if not even prove the same.
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