There was a documentary on BBC4 the
other week on the River Trent. Writer Tom Fort took his punt down the river as
far as he could before the Trent flowed into the
Humber estuary. The river is 180 miles in
length, is the third longest river in Britain
and cuts through several Midland counties beginning,
of course, as a “pathetic trickle” on Biddulph Moor. Fort also spent a little
time at Knypersley before a section on how brutalised the Trent had become forced through debris strewn
concrete culverts in Stoke before
emerging at Trentham as a proper waterway again.
It is believed that the name Trent is formed from two
Celtic words – ʻtrosʼ (over) and ʻhyntʼ (way) producing ʻtroshyntʼ (over-way).
This is because of the river’s propensity to flood and alter its course, this
has been interpreted as meaning ʻstrong floodingʼ or more directly the
trespasser or wanderer.
Another possible meaning is ʻa
river that is easily fordedʼ. The name ʻTrisantona Fu (Trisantona
River ) for the Trent first appears in ʻThe Annals’ of the
Roman writer Tacitus. It has also been suggested the name is derived from the
Celtic— ʻTrisantanoʼ which has been given the interpretation of ʻgreat feminine
thoroughfareʼ. It might be named for a Celtic River Goddess. It was a big
enough barrier to delay the Roman Legions .
River names are among the oldest names in Britain . The
first settlements in Britain were on the banks of rivers, which were easy of
access by land and by water and provided drinking water and, in times of
emergency, fish to eat There is a predominance of names of Celtic origins in
the Moorlands although they might follow even earlier names given to rivers by
Palaeolithic hunters. Locally the rivers have strong associations with these
early names. The Churnet that flows through Leek origins are unknown although
it is first called that in the 13th century. The Hamps is close to a Welsh word
Hamphest which translates as “summer dry” and is an accurate description of a
river that disappears into the limestone during those months.
The Dane has nothing to do with
Vikings, but is related, it is thought, to the Welsh “dafnu” to trickle or flow.
It first appears as Daan in documents from the 15th century.
Incidentally the Danube comes from the same
root.
The Dove is derived from the Celtic word “Dubo”
meaning black or dark which incidentally where the origins of the place name “Dublin ” or black pool stems.
It has also been suggested that it might be linked to an early word for “deer”
The Dove has been traced back under this name to the Saxon period. A tributary
of the Dove the Tean which rises near Dilhorne is called after the Brythonic
word “taen” a sprinkling
Turning to the Manifold this is unusual
as it simply means a river with many folds or bends and is derived from the
Middle English. Perhaps the most charming is the Blithe which is so named after
the Saxon word for “gentle” or “merry” a word still used in everyday language.
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