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Maeshowe
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This just received from another academic:

"Tradition has it that Mae was the personal name of a giant – this of course is the usual way of explaining unknown elements in Norse and other placenames.

From my limited knowledge of such matters, I would say that your suggestion is not an unreasonable one, given that the pre Norse ?Pictish language is now believed by some leading scholars to have been an early Celtic tongue akin to a primitive form of Welsh; rather than to Gaelic. This might help with the objections to the idea of your preferred derivation on the grounds of it not being a widespread one throughout Scotland, raised by the person who so far as I know first published the idea of this derivation, in the 1860s in the Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland.

Pre-Norse name survivals in the Northern Isles are scarce and all are much debated – for example some island names (such as Unst, Yell) don't fit obvious known Norse derivations but are plainly very ancient. But it seems to me that there would not be anything inherently unacceptable about a very prominent ancient landmark acquiring a placename which mixed an old local name with an incoming Norse element – the Howe bit is, of course, from Old Norse haugr, a mound (especially a burial mound). The main problem we have is that the name Maes Howe in any form does not appear in documents until very late, so we have no idea of any earlier name forms – if only we knew how it was spelled around 1000 AD, it would be much more likely that your idea could be supported or denied conclusively.

If you would like to discuss this idea with someone much more learned than <his organisation> on these matters, I would suggest you contact Dr <name and email address removed>. I suspect he has thought more deeply about this matter than anyone else currently living. Please feel free to say that I recommended you to him."

I checked the 1865 Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland and found the document he references. It's by Ralph Carr, and his main problem with this derivation was that the use of "maes" is not spread across the Scottish mainland. He suggests the Irish (Erse) source "mais", since several Orcadian promontories are designated by the Erse term "moul". He then goes on to translate and discuss the runes found at the site.

I will be following up by contacting the individual identified to me above.


Reply | with quote		Posted by Lianachan
22nd April 2005ce
14:58

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Entymology of Maeshowe - discussed with experts (Lianachan)

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