Note 275 — Chapter IV · ETHNOLOGY OF BRITAIN. (continued 2)

Words and Places, by the Rev. Isaac Taylor, p. 258. This argument appears to have been first used by Mr. Kemble in his Saxons in England, vol. ii. p. 4, but his line of demarcation is quite different from Mr. Taylor’s. He says—‘The distinctive names of water in the two principal languages appear to be Aber and Inver.’ He then gives a list of seven Abers in Wales, and in Scotland eleven Abers on the south-east side of his line, and twelve Invers on the north-west; but the contrast is produced by simply omitting the Invers which are on the same side with the Abers, and the Abers which are to be found among the Invers. Mr. Taylor adds—‘The process of change is shown by an old charter, in which king David grants to the monks of May “Inverin qui fuit Aberin.” So Abernethy became Invernethy, although the old name is now restored.’restored.’ This is quoted without acknowledgment from George Chalmers, with the usual result of second-hand quotation, that of perpetuating error. The true reading in the charter is ‘Petnaweem et Inverin que fuit Averin;’ and it means in the ordinary charter Latin that these places formerly belonged to a person called Averin. Abernethy never became Invernethy. The two places are distinct from each other: Invernethy at the junction of the Nethy with the Earn, and Abernethy a mile farther up the river.