Cumbric

Not to be confused withCumbrian dialect.

For the adjective more generally referring to Cumbria, seeCumbrian (disambiguation).

Cumbric
Region	Northern England & Southern Scotland
Extinct	12th century
Language family	Indo-European Celtic Insular Celtic Brittonic Western Brittonic? Cumbric
Language codes
ISO 639-3	xcb
Linguist List	xcb
Glottolog	None

Cumbricis an extinctCeltic languageof theBrittonicsubgroup spoken during theEarly Middle Agesin theHen Ogleddor "Old North" in what is now the counties of Westmorland, Cumberland, Northumberland and northern parts of Lancashire and Yorkshire inNorthern Englandand the southernScottish Lowlands.It was closely related toOld Welshand the otherBrittonic languages.Place name evidence suggests Cumbric may also have been spoken as far south asPendleand theYorkshire Dales.The prevailing view is that it became extinct in the 12th century, after the incorporation of the semi-independentKingdom of Strathclydeinto theKingdom of Scotland.

Problems with terminology

Dauvit Brounsets out the problems with the various terms used to describe the Cumbric language and its speakers.The people seem to have called themselves*Cumbrithe same way that the Welsh called themselvesCymry(most likely from reconstructed Brittonic*kom-brogīmeaning "fellow countrymen" ). The Welsh and the Cumbric-speaking people of what are now southern Scotland and northern England probably felt they were actually one ethnic group. Old Irish speakers called them "Britons",Bretnach,orBretain.The Norse called themBrettar.In Latin, the termsCymryandCumbriwere Latinised asCambriaandCumbriarespectively. In Medieval Latin, the English term Welsh becameWallenses( "of Wales" ), while the termCumbrensesreferred to Cumbrians ( "of Cumbria" ).However, in Scots, a Cumbric speaker seems to have been calledWallace– from the ScotsWallis/Wellis"Welsh".

The Cumbric region: modern counties and regions with the early mediæval kingdoms

In Cumbria itaque: regione quadam inter Angliam et Scotiam sita– "And so in Cumbria: a region situated between England and Scotland".

The Latinate termCambriais often used for Wales; nevertheless, theLife of St Kentigern(c.1200) byJocelyn of Furnesshas the following passage:

When King Rederech(Rhydderch Hael)and his people had heard that Kentigern had arrived from Wallia [i.e. Wales] into Cambria [i.e. Cumbria], from exile into his own country, with great joy and peace both king and people went out to meet him.

John T. Kochdefined the specifically Cumbric region as "the area approximately between the line of theRiver Merseyand the Forth-Clyde Isthmus ", but went on to include evidence from theWirral Peninsulain his discussion and did not define its easterly extent.Kenneth H. Jacksondescribed Cumbric as "the Brittonic dialect ofCumberland,Westmorland,northernLancashire,and south-west Scotland "and went on to define the region further as being bound in the north by the Firth of Clyde, in the south by theRiver Ribbleand in the east by the Southern Scottish Uplands and the Pennine Ridge.The study Brittonic Language in the Old North by Alan G. James, concerned with documenting place- and river-names as evidence for Cumbric and the pre-Cumbric Brittonic dialects of the regionYr Hen Ogledd,consideredLoch Lomondthe northernmost limit of the study with the southernmost limits beingLiverpool Bayand theHumber,although a few more southerly place-names in Cheshire and, to a lesser extent,DerbyshireandStaffordshirewere also included.

Available evidence

Linguistic division in early twelfth century Scotland.

Gaelicspeaking

Norse-Gaeliczone

English-speaking zone

Cumbriczone

The evidence from Cumbric comes almost entirely through secondary sources, since no known contemporary written records of the language survive. The majority of evidence comes from place names of the north of England and the south of Scotland. Other sources include the personal names of Strathclyde Britons in Scottish, Irish, and Anglo-Saxon sources, and a few Cumbric words surviving into theHigh Middle Agesin southwest Scotland as legal terms. Although the language is long extinct, traces of its vocabulary arguably have persisted into the modern era in the form of "counting scores"and in a handful of dialectal words.

From this scanty evidence, little can be deduced about the singular characteristics of Cumbric, not even the name by which its speakers referred to it. However, linguists generally agree that Cumbric was aWestern Brittonic languageclosely related toWelshand, more distantly, toCornishandBreton.

Around the time of the battle described in the poemY Gododdin,c. 600,Common Brittonicis believed to have been transitioning into its daughter languages: Cumbric inNorth Britain,Old WelshinWales,andSouthwestern Brittonic,the ancestor of Cornish and Breton.Kenneth Jacksonconcludes that the majority of changes that transformed British into Primitive Welsh belong to the period from the middle of the fifth to the end of the sixth century.This involvedsyncopeand the loss of final syllables. If the poem ultimately dates to this time, it would have originally been written in an early form of Cumbric, the usual name for the Brythonic speech of the Hen Ogledd;Jackson suggested the name "Primitive Cumbric" for the dialect spoken at the time.However, scholars date the poem to between the 7th and the early 11th centuries, and the earliest surviving manuscript of it dates to the 13th, written inOld WelshandMiddle Welsh.

Place names

Cumbric place-names occur in Scotland south of the firths of Forth and Clyde. Brittonic names north of this line arePictish.Cumbric names are also found commonly in the historic county of Cumberland and in bordering areas of Northumberland. They are less common in Westmorland, east Northumberland, and Durham, with some in Lancashire and the adjoining areas of North and West Yorkshire. Approaching Cheshire, late Brittonic placenames are probably better characterised as Welsh rather than as Cumbric. As noted below, however, any clear distinction between Cumbric and Welsh is difficult to prove.Many Brittonic place-names remain in these regions which should not be described as Cumbric, such asLeeds,ManchesterandYork,because they were coined in a period before Brittonic split into Cumbric and its sister dialects.

Some of the principal towns and cities of the region have names of Cumbric origin, including:

• Bathgate,West Lothian: meaning 'boar wood' (Welshbaedd'wild boar' +coed'forest, wood').
• Bryn,Metropolitan Borough of Wigan: from the word meaning "hill" (Wbryn).
• Carlisle,Cumberland: recorded asLuguvaliumin the Roman period; the wordcaer'fort' was added later.The Welsh formCaerliwelyddis derived by regular sound changes from the Romano-British name.
• Glasgow,Scotland: widely believedto derive from wordscognatewithglas 'green' and the Welsh gae, 'field' (possibly that belowGlasgow Cathedral).
• Lanark,Lanarkshire: from the equivalent of Welshllannerch'glade,clearing'.
• Penicuik,Midlothian: from words meaning 'hill of thecuckoo' (W.pen y gog).
• Penrith,Westmorland & Furness: meaning 'chiefford' (Welshpen'head, chief' +rhyd'ford').

Several supposed Cumbric elements occur repeatedly in place names of the region. The following table lists some of them according to the modern Welsh equivalent:

Element (Welsh)	Celtic root	Meaning	Place names
blaen	*blagno-	end, point, summit; source of river	Blencathra,Blencogow,Blindcrake,Blencarn,Blennerhassett
caer	castrum(Latin)	fort, stronghold; wall, rampart	Carlisle,Cardew,Cardurnock,Carfrae,Cargo,Carlanrig,Carriden,Castle Carrock,Cathcart,Caerlaverock,Cardonald,Cramond,Carleith
coed	*keto-	trees, forest, wood	Alkincoats,Bathgate,Dalkeith,Culgaith,Tulketh,Culcheth,Pencaitland,Penketh,Towcett,Dankeith,Culgaith,Cheadle, Cheetham,Cathcart,Cheetwood, Cathpair, Kincaid,Inchkeith
cwm	*kumba-	deep narrow valley; hollow, bowl-shaped depression	Cumrew,Cumwhitton,Cumwhinton,Cumdivock
drum,trum	*drosman-	ridge	Drumlanrig,Dundraw,Mindrum,Drumburgh,Drem,Drumaben
eglwys	ecclesia(Latin)	church	Ecclefechan,Ecclesmachan,Eccleston,Eccles,Terregles,Egglescliffe,Eggleshope, Ecclaw,Ecclerigg,Dalreagle,Eggleston,Exley, possiblyEaglesfield
llannerch	*landa-	clearing, glade	Barlanark,Carlanrig,Drumlanrig,Lanark[shire],Lanercost
moel	*mailo-	bald; (bare) mountain/hill, summit	Mellor,Melrose,Mallerstang,Watermillock
pen	*penno-	head; top, summit; source of stream; headland; chief, principal	Pennygant Hill,Pen-y-Ghent,Penrith,Penruddock,Pencaitland,Penicuik,Penpont,Penketh,Pendle,Penshaw,Pemberton,Penistone,Pen-bal Crag,Penwortham,Torpenhow
pren	*prenna-	tree; timber; cross	Traprain Law,Barnbougle,Pirn, Pirncader, Pirniehall, Pirny Braes, Primrose, Prendwick
tref	*trebo-	town, homestead, estate, township	Longniddry,Niddrie,Ochiltree,Soutra,Terregles,Trabroun, Trailtrow,Tranent,Traprain Law,Traquair,Treales,Triermain,Trostrie, Troughend, Tranew; possiblyBawtry,Trafford

Some Cumbric names have historically been replaced byScottish Gaelic,Middle English,orScotsequivalents, and in some cases the different forms occur in the historical record.

• Edinburghoccurs in early Welsh texts asDin Eidynand in medieval Scottish records asDunedene(GaelicDùn Èideann), all meaning 'fort ofEidyn'.
• Falkirksimilarly has several alternative medieval forms meaning 'speckled church':Eglesbrethetc. from Cumbric (Welsheglwys fraith);Eiglesbrecetc. from Gaelic (modern Gaeliceaglais bhreac);Faukirketc. from Scots (in turn fromOld Englishfāg cirice).
• Kirkintillochbegan as a Cumbric name recorded asCaerpentalochin the 10th century, but was partly replaced by the Gaelic wordsceann'head' +tulach'hillock' later on(pluskirk'church' from Scots again).
• Kinneilderives from Gaelicceann fhàil'head of the[Antonine] Wall' but it was recorded byNenniusasPenguaul(Welshpen gwawl), and byBedeasPeanfahel,which appears to be a merger of Cumbric and Gaelic.

Derivatives of Common Brittonic*magno,such as Welshmaenand Cornishmen,mean "stone", particularly one with a special purpose or significance. In the Cumbric region, the word "Man" frequently occurs in geographical names associated with standing stones (most notably theOld Man of Coniston) and it is possible, albeit "hard to say" according to Alan G. James, if the Cumbric reflex*mainhad any influence on these.

Counting systems

See also:Yan tan tethera

Among the evidence that Cumbric might have influenced local English dialects are a group ofcountingsystems, or scores, recorded in various parts of northern England. Around 100 of these systems have been collected since the 18th century; the scholarly consensus is that these derive from a Brittonic language closely related to Welsh.Though they are often referred to as "sheep-counting numerals", most recorded scores were not used to count sheep, but inknittingor forchildren's gamesornursery rhymes.These scores are often suggested to represent a survival from medieval Cumbric, a theory first popularized in the 19th century.However, later scholars came to reject this idea, suggesting instead that the scores were later imports from eitherWalesorScotland,but in light of the dearth of evidence one way or another, Markku Filppula, Juhani Klemola, and Heli Paulasto posit that it remains plausible that the counting systems are indeed of Cumbric origin.

Cumbric, in common with other Brythonic languages, uses avigesimalcounting system, i.e. numbering up to twenty, with intermediate numbers for ten and fifteen. Therefore, after numbering one to ten, numbers follow the format one-and-ten, two-and-ten etc. to fifteen, then one-and-fifteen, two-and-fifteen to twenty. The dialect words for the numbers themselves show much variation across the region. (see chart)

Counting systems of possible Cumbric origin; modern Welsh, Cornish, and Breton included for comparison.

Nr.	Keswick	Westmorland	Eskdale	Millom	High Furness	Wasdale	Teesdale	Swaledale	Wensleydale	Ayrshire	Modern Welsh	Modern Cornish	Modern Breton
1	yan	yan	yaena	aina	yan	yan	yan	yahn	yan	yinty	un	onan,unn	unan
2	tyan	tyan	taena	peina	taen	taen	tean	tayhn	tean	tinty	daum,dwyf	dewm,diwf	daoum,divf
3	tethera	tetherie	teddera	para	tedderte	tudder	tetherma	tether	tither	tetheri	trim,tairf'	trim,teyrf	trim,terf
4	methera	peddera	meddera	pedera	medderte	anudder	metherma	mether	mither	metheri	pedwarm,pedairf(nasalmhedwar)	peswarm,pederf	pevarm,pederf
5	pimp	gip	pimp	pimp	pimp	nimph	pip	mimp[h]	pip	bamf	pump	pymp	pemp
6	sethera	teezie	hofa	ithy	haata	—	lezar	hith-her	teaser	leetera	chwech	hwegh	c'hwec'h
7	lethera	mithy	lofa	mithy	slaata	—	azar	lith-her	leaser	seetera	saith	seyth	seizh
8	hovera	katra	seckera	owera	lowera	—	catrah	anver	catra	over	wyth	eth	eizh
9	dovera	hornie	leckera	lowera	dowa	—	horna	danver	horna	dover	naw	naw	nav
10	dick	dick	dec	dig	dick	—	dick	dic	dick	dik	deg	deg	dek
15	bumfit	bumfit	bumfit	bumfit	mimph	—	bumfit	mimphit	bumper	—	pymtheg	pymthek	pemzek
20	giggot	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	jiggit	—	ugain	ugens	ugent

Scots and English

A number of words occurring in theScots languageandNorthern English dialectshave been proposed as being of possible Brittonic origin.Ascertaining the real derivation of these words is far from simple, due in part to the similarities between some cognates in the Brittonic andGoidelic languagesand the fact that borrowing took place in both directions between these languages.

Another difficulty lies with other words which were taken intoOld English,as in many cases it is impossible to tell whether the borrowing is directly from Brittonic or not (e.g.Brogat,Crag,below). The following are possibilities:

• Bach– 'cowpat' (cf. Welshbaw'dung', Gaelicbuadhar)
• Baivenjar– 'mean fellow' (Welshbawyn'scoundrel')
• Brat– 'apron'. The word appears in Welsh (with meanings 'rag, cloth' and 'pinafore'), Scotsand northern English dialects,but may be an Old English borrowing fromOld Irish.
• Brogat– a type ofmead(Welshbragod'bragget' – also found inChaucer)
• Coble– a type of small, flat-bottomed boat (also in Northeast England), akin to Welshceubal'a hollow' and Latincaupulus;distinct from the round-bottomedcoracle.
• Crag– 'rocks'. Either from Brittonic (Welshcraig) or Goidelic (Scottish Gaeliccreag).
• Croot– 'small boy' (Welshcrwt,Gaeliccruit'small person', 'humpback/hunchback')
• Croude– a type of smallharporlyre(as opposed to the largerclàrsach;Welshcrwth'bowed lyre', later 'fiddle', Gaeliccroit)
• Lum– Scottish word for 'chimney' (Middle Welshllumon)

Equivalence with Old Welsh

The linguistic termCumbricis defined according to geographical rather than linguistic criteria: that is, it refers to the variety of Brittonic spoken within a particular region ofNorth Britainand implies nothing about that variety except that it was geographically distinct from other varieties. This has led to a discussion about the nature of Cumbric and its relationship with other Brittonic languages, in particular withOld Welsh.

Linguists appear undecided as to whether Cumbric should be considered a separate language, or a dialect of Old Welsh. Koch calls it a dialect but goes on to say that some of the place names in the Cumbric region "clearly reflect a developed medieval language, much like Welsh, Cornish or Breton".Jackson also calls it a dialect but points out that "to call it Pr[imitive] W[elsh] would be inaccurate",so clearly views it as distinct in some meaningful respect.

It has been suggested that Cumbric was more closely aligned to thePictish languagethan to Welsh, though there is considerable debate regarding the classification of that language. On the basis of place name evidence it has also been proposed that all three languages were very similar.In all probability, the "Cumbric" of Lothian more nearly resembled the "Pictish" of adjacent Fife than the Welsh dialects spoken over 300 miles away in Dyfed and accordingly, Alan G. James has argued that all 3 languages may have formed acontinuum.

The whole question is made more complex because there is no consensus as to whether any principled distinction can be made betweenlanguages and dialects.

Below, some of the proposed differences between Cumbric and Old Welsh are discussed.

Retention of Brittonic*rk

In Welsh, Cornish, and Breton, the Common Brittonic cluster*rkwasspirantizedto/rx/(Welshrch,Cornishrgh,Bretonrc'h) but a number of place names appear to show Cumbric retained thestopin this position.LanarkandLanercostare thought to contain the equivalent of Welshllannerch'clearing'.

There is evidence to the contrary, however, including the place names Powmaughan and Maughanby (containing WelshMeirchion)and the wordkelchyn(related to Welshcylch).Jackson concludes that the change of Common Brittonic*rk>/rx/"mayhave been somewhat later in Cumbric ".

Retention of Brittonic*mb

There is evidence to suggest that the consonant clustermbremained distinct in Cumbric later than the time it was assimilated tommin Welsh, Cornish, and Breton. The cluster remains in:

• Old EnglishCumbraland"land of Cumbrians" (from Common Brittonic*kombrogi,whence WelshCymru"Wales" also originates).
• CrombocwaterandCrombokwatre,two 14th-century records ofCrummock WaterandCrombokan 1189 record forCrummack DaleinYorkshire(from Common Brittonic*Crumbāco-"curved one" (Wcrwm"curved" )).
• Cam Beck, the name of a stream in north Cumbria recorded asCamboc(1169) and believed to be from Common Brittonic*Cambāco-"crooked stream" (Wcam,CBkamm).
• Crimple Beck, Yorkshire, which is said to derive from Common Brittonic.*Crumbopull-"crooked pool".Here thebis assumed to have survived late enough to causeprovection.

Jackson notes that only in the north does the cluster appear in place names borrowed aftercirca600AD and concludes that it may have been a later dialectal survival here.

Syncope

Jackson notes the legal termgalnys,equivalent to Welshgalanas,may showsyncopeof internal syllables to be a feature of Cumbric. Further evidence is wanting, however.

Devoicing

Jamesmentions that devoicing appears to be a feature of many Cumbric place names. Devoicing of word final consonants is a feature of modern Bretonand, to an extent, Cornish.Watsonnotes initial devoicing in Tinnis Castle (inDrumelzier) (compare Welshdinas'fortress, city') as an example of this, which can also be seen in the CornishTintagel,din'fort'. Also notable are the different English names of two Welsh towns namedDinbych('little fort');DenbighandTenby.

There is also a significant number of place names which do not support this theory. Devoke Water and Cumdivock (<Dyfoc,according to Ekwall) and Derwent (<Common BrittonicDerwentiō) all have initial/d/.The name Calder (< Brit.*Caletodubro-) in fact appears to show a voiced Cumbric consonant where Welsh hasCalettwrbyprovection,which Jackson believes reflects an earlier stage of pronunciation. Jackson also notes that Old English had no internal or final/ɡ/,so would be borrowed with/k/by sound substitution. This can be seen in names withc, k, ck(e.g. Cocker < Brittonic*kukro-,Eccles < Brittoniceglēsia).

Loss of/w/

The Cumbric personal names Gospatrick, Gososwald and Gosmungo meaning 'servant of St...' (Welsh, Cornish, Bretongwas'servant, boy') and the Galloway dialect wordgossock'short, dark haired inhabitant of Wigtownshire' (W.gwasog'a servant') apparently show that the Cumbric equivalent of Welsh and Cornishgwas& Bgwaz'servant' was*gos.Jackson suggests that it may be a survival of the originalProto-Celticform of the word in –o- (i.e.*uɸo-sto).

This idea is disputed by theDictionary of the Scots Language;and the occurrence in Gospatrick's Writ of the wordwassenas'dependants',thought to be from the same wordgwas,is evidence against Jackson's theory. Koch notes that the alternation betweengwa-andgo-is common among the Brittonic languages and does not amount to a systematic sound change in any of them.

Thomas Clancyopined that the royal feminine personal name in Life of Kentigern,Languoreth,demonstrates the presence of /gw/ Cumbric.

It is noteworthy that the toponymBrenkibethin Cumberland (now Burntippet; possiblybryn,"hill" +gwyped,"gnats" ) may display this syllable anglicized as-k-.The name, however, may not be Brittonic at all, and instead be ofScandinavianorigin.

Semantics ofPenn

In theBook of Aneirin,a poem entitled"Peis Dinogat"(possibly set in theLake DistrictofCumbria), contains a usage of the wordpenn"head" (attached to the names of several animals hunted by the protagonist), that is unique in medieval Welsh literature and may, according to Koch, reflect Cumbric influence ( "[r]eferring to a single animal in this way is otherwise found only in Breton, and we have no evidence that the construction ever had any currency in the present-day Wales" ).The relevant lines are:

Pan elei dy dat ty e vynyd

Dydygei ef penn ywrch penn gwythwch penn hyd

Penn grugyar vreith o venyd

Penn pysc o rayadyr derwennyd

Translated as:

When your father went to [the] mountain

He brought a head of buck, head of wild pig, head of stag

Head of speckled grouse from [the] mountain

Head of fish from [the] falls of Derwent

The formderwennyddhowever, is at odds with the absence of the ending-yddnoted below.

It is to be noted, however, that such semantics are probably archaisms, and rather than being features diagnostic of linguistic distinctiveness, are more likely to be legacies of features once common to all Brittonic speech.

Definite article

The modern Brittonic languages have different forms of thedefinite article:Welshyr, -'r, y,Cornishan,and Bretonan, ar, al.These are all taken to derive from an unstressed form of the Common Brittonicdemonstrative*sindos,altered by assimilation (compare theGaelic articles).Throughout Old Welsh the article isir(or-rafter a vowel),but there is evidence in Cumbric for an article in-nalongside one in-r.Note the following:

• Tallentire, Cumbria (Talentir1200–25): 'brow/end of the land' (Welshtal y tir)
• Triermain, Cumbria (Trewermain, Trevermanc 1200): 'homestead at the stone' (Welshtre(f) y maen)
• Treales, Lancashire (Treueles1086): possibly 'village of the court' (Welshtre(f) y llys).But noteTreflys,Powyswhich has no article.
• Pen-y-Ghent, Yorkshire (Penegent1307): 'hill of the border country' (Welshpen y gaint).The final element is disputed. Ekwall says it is identical toKent(< Br*Kantion), which is related to Welshcant'rim, border', though Millsgives 'coastal district' or 'land of the hosts or armies' for the county.
• Traquair, Borders (Treverquyrd1124): 'homestead on the River Quair' (Welshtre(f) y Quair).
• Penicuik,Midlothian(Penicok1250): 'hill of the cuckoo' (Welshpen y cog)
• Liscard,Wirral Peninsula(Lisenecark1260): possibly 'court of the rock' (Welshllys y garreg),but also suggested is Irishlios na carraigeof identical meaning.

Absence of-ydd

Of all the names of possible Cumbric derivation, few are more certain thanCarlisleandDerwentwhich can be directly traced back to their Romano-British recorded formsLuguvaliumandDerventio.

The modern and medieval forms of Carlisle (Luelc1050,Cardeol1092,Karliolic1100 (in theMedieval Latingenitive case),Cærleoil1130) and Derwent (Deorwentan streamc890 (Old English),Derewent) suggest derivations from Br *Luguvaljonand*Derwentjō.But the Welsh formsCaerliwelyddandDerwennyddare derived from alternative forms*Luguvalijon, *Derwentijōwhich gave the-yddending. This appears to show a divergence between Cumbric and Welsh at a relatively early date.

If this was an early dialectal variation, it can't be applied as a universal sound law, as the equivalent of Wmynydd'mountain' occurs in a number of Cumbric names with the spirant intact: E.g. Mindrum (Minethrum1050) from 'mountain ridge' (Welshmynydd trum).It might also be noted that Medieval Welsh forms ofCaerliwelydd andDerwennyddboth occur in poems of supposed Cumbrian origin whose rhyme and metre would be disrupted if the ending were absent.

Of additional relevance is that Guto Rhys demonstrated "some robust proof" of the presence of the-yddending in the closely alignedPictish language.

Use of the name elementGos-

One particularly distinctive element of Cumbric is the repeated use of the elementGos-orCos-(W.gwas'boy, lad; servant, attendant') in personal names, followed by the name of a saint. The practice is reminiscent of Gaelic names such asMaol Choluim"Malcolm" andGille Crìosd"Gilchrist", which haveScottish Gaelicmaol(Old Irishmáel'bald, tonsured; servant') andgille('servant, lad', < Old Irishgilla'a youth').

The most well-known example of this Cumbric naming practice isGospatric,which occurs as the name of several notable Anglo-Scottish noblemen in the 11th and 12th centuries. Other examples, standardised from original sources, includeGosmungo(Saint Mungo),Gososwald(Oswald of Northumbria) andGoscuthbert(Cuthbert).

Date of extinction

It is impossible to give an exact date of the extinction of Cumbric. However, there are some pointers which may give a reasonably accurate estimate. In the mid-11th century, some landowners still bore what appear to be Cumbric names. Examples of such landowners are Dunegal (Dyfnwal), lord of Strathnith orNithsdale;Moryn (Morien), lord of Cardew and Cumdivock near Carlisle; and Eilifr (Eliffer), lord of Penrith.

There is a village near Carlisle calledCumwhitton(earlier Cumquinton). This appears to contain the Norman name Quinton, affixed to a cognate of the Welshcwm,meaning valley.There were no Normans in this area until 1069 at the earliest.

In theBattle of the Standardin 1138, the Cumbrians are noted as a separate ethnic group. Given that their material culture was very similar to their Gaelic and Anglian neighbours, it is arguable that what set them apart was still their language.Also the castle atCastle Carrock– Castell Caerog – dates from around 1160–1170.Barmulloch,earlier Badermonoc (Cumbric "monk's dwelling"), was given to the church byMalcolm IV of Scotlandbetween 1153 and 1165.

A more controversial point is the surname Wallace. It means "Welshman". It is possible that all the Wallaces in the Clyde area were medieval immigrants from Wales, but given that the term was also used for local Cumbric-speaking Strathclyde Welsh, it seems equally, if not more, likely that the surname refers to people who were seen as being "Welsh" due to their Cumbric language.

Surnames in Scotland were not inherited before 1200 and not regularly until 1400.Sir William Wallace(known inGaelicas Uilleam Breatnach – namely William the Briton or Welshman) came from theRenfrewarea – itself a Cumbric name. Wallace slew the sheriff of Lanark (also a Cumbric name) in 1297. Even if he had inherited the surname from his father, it is possible that the family spoke Cumbric within memory in order to be thus named.

There are also some historical pointers to a continuing separate ethnic identity. Prior to being crowned king of Scotland in 1124,David Iwas invested with the title Prince of the Cumbrians.William the Lionbetween 1173 and 1180 made an address to his subjects, identifying the Cumbrians as a separate group.This does not prove that any of them still spoke Cumbric at this time.

The legal documents in the Lanercost Cartulary, dating from the late 12th century, show witnesses with Norman French or English names, and no obvious Cumbric names. Though these people represent the upper classes, it seems significant that by the late 12th century in the Lanercost area, Cumbric is not obvious in these personal names.In 1262 in Peebles, jurymen in a legal dispute over peat cutting also have names which mostly appear Norman French or English,but possible exceptions are Gauri Pluchan, Cokin Smith and Robert Gladhoc, whereGladhochas the look of an adjectival noun similar to Welsh "gwladog" = "countryman".In the charters ofWetherallPriory near Carlisle there is a monk called Robert Minnoc who appears as a witness to 8 charters dating from around 1260.His name is variously spelled Minnoc/Minot/Mynoc and it is tempting to see an equivalent of the Welsh "mynach" – "Robert the Monk" here.

Given that in other areas which have given up speaking Celtic languages, the upper classes have generally become Anglicised before the peasantry, it is not implausible that the peasantry continued to speak Cumbric for at least a little while after. Around 1200 there is a list of the names of men living in the area ofPeebles.Amongst them are Cumbric names such as Gospatrick: servant or follower ofSaint Patrick,Gosmungo: servant ofSaint Mungo,Guososwald: servant ofOswald of Northumbriaand Goscubrycht: servant ofCuthbert.Two of the saints – Oswald and Cuthbert — are fromNorthumbriashowing influence on Cumbric not found in Welsh.

In 1305Edward I of Englandprohibited theLeges inter Brettos et Scottos.The term Brets or Britons refers to the native, traditionally Cumbric speaking people of southern Scotland and northern England as well as the Pictish speakers in Northern Scotland.

It seems that Cumbric could well have survived into the middle of the 12th century as a community language and even lasted into the 13th on the tongues of the last remaining speakers. Certain areas seem to be particularly dense in Cumbric place-names even down to very minor features. The two most striking of these are aroundLanercosteast of Carlisle and aroundTorquhansouth of Edinburgh. If the 1262 names from Peebles do contain traces of Cumbric personal names then we can imagine Cumbric dying out between 1250 and 1300 at the very latest.

See also

• Cumbrian dialect
• Cumbrian toponymy
• Kenneth H. Jackson
• Kingdom of Strathclyde

References

• Davies, Wendy (2005). "The Celtic Kingdoms". In Fouracre, Paul; McKitterick, Rosamond (eds.).The New Cambridge Medieval History: C. 500–c. 700.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.ISBN0-521-36291-1.
• Elliott, Elizabeth (2005). "Scottish Writing". In Fouracre, Paul; McKitterick, Rosamond (eds.).The New Cambridge Medieval History: C. 500–c. 700.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.ISBN0-521-36291-1.
• Filppula, Markku; Klemola, Juhani; Paulasto, Heli (2008).English and Celtic in Contact.Psychology Press.ISBN978-0-415-26602-4.
• Jackson, Kenneth H.(1953).Language and History in Early Britain.Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
• Jackson, Kenneth H.(1969).The Gododdin: The Oldest Scottish poem.Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.ISBN0-85224-049-X.
• James, Alan G. (2008). "A Cumbric Diaspora?". InPadel, O. J.;Parsons, D. (eds.).A Commodity of Good Names: Essays in Honour of Margaret Gelling.Stamford, Lancashire: Shaun Tyas / Paul Watkins Publishing. pp. 187–203.ISBN978-1-900289-90-0.
• Koch, John T.(2006).Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia.ABC-CLIO.
• Oram, Richard (2000).The Lordship of Galloway.Edinburgh: John Donald Publishers / Birlinn.ISBN0-85976-541-5.
• Phythian-Adams, Charles(1996).Land of the Cumbrians.Aldershot: Scolar Press.ISBN1-85928-327-6.
• Russell, Paul(1995).An Introduction to the Celtic Languages.London: Longman.ISBN0-582-10082-8.
• Schmidt, Karl Horst(1993). "Insular Celtic: P and Q Celtic". In Ball, M. J.; Fife, J. (eds.).The Celtic Languages.London: Routledge. pp. 64–98.ISBN0-415-01035-7.

External links

• Cumbric.org - Language and History

Attempted revival

• "Cumbraek: A modern reinvention of the lost Celtic language of Cumbric".Cumbraek.Retrieved25 June2017.

Reconstuctions

• https://northernca.wixsite /cumbric