Year: 1874
Type: article
Abstract: I am again bringing before the Society the vitrified fort of Dun Macuisneachan, often called Beregonium.That latter name lias no local habitation in this district; it is entirely from uncertain books.We must either consider that Boece obtained his accounts from earlier writers, or manufactured his names and the events connected with them, or that they are a confused mixture of names and dates relating to real men, places, and events.As he seems to indicate the former, it is not easy to contradict him ; but even if in the West Highlands, we have no reason whatever to put Beregonium at Loch Etive.Piukerton, in his determined way, makes Boece merely blunder (nothing very rare) in placing Beregonium in the West Highlands, and also misspelling it so as to make it like a new place.But it is quite clear that no mere mistaken abstract from Ptolemy, the geographer, can be the origin of Boece's frequent allusions to the place.The Eorigonium and Pepiyovws KOA.TTOS of Ptolemy have been generally placed in Galloway; and if we remove the Latin termination ium, leaving Eerigon, we can easily bring from it Eyan and Stanraer.Although some doubt this, they give nothing better.Camden inclines to think the mistake to be in Ptolemy or his transcribers, and puts the town in Carrick, where Bargeny is found.These two meanings have gone into various books, and every writer on the subject has heaped fancies on one or the other.One opinion, possible enough, is, that P was taken from the Greek Eho, and P would easily run into B. Traditionary names keep to Uisneach, whilst Beregonium and Evonium are ignored: without more evidence, we must do the same.If Boece tells
Author: R Angus Smith
Language: English
Subfield: Archeology
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W4312354289