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In lugnet.castle, Erik Olson writes:
> Caerlaverock. Some castle on a rock? Nay, I think not. I tried breaking it • down
> several ways, and discovered that a laverok is a lark in middle english,
> chiefly Scotch. But possibly, lavoir, Middle French for wash cistern, rooted • in
> Latin lavare. I don't think Celtic carrus (wheeled vehicle) is relevant. Of
> course an ock is a tough, hard, durable tree. I suppose a lark could be a bird
> named in association with a castle that was tough like a tree that got washed
> everyday. Or the castle could be named for the bird that washes oaks. Such a
> pretty name. I could be full of lark kaka by now.
While I can't answer what the name means, I can tell you that Caerlaverock
Castle was the seat of the Maxwell clan. It's walls never fell to siege (I
don't think) and it was considered one of the strongest castles in Scotland
due to it's unique three sided design.
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Jason Maxwell wrote:
> In lugnet.castle, Erik Olson writes:
> > Caerlaverock. Some castle on a rock? Nay, I think not. I tried breaking it • down
> > several ways, and discovered that a laverok is a lark in middle english,
> > chiefly Scotch. But possibly, lavoir, Middle French for wash cistern, rooted • in
> > Latin lavare. I don't think Celtic carrus (wheeled vehicle) is relevant. Of
> > course an ock is a tough, hard, durable tree. I suppose a lark could be a bird
> > named in association with a castle that was tough like a tree that got washed
> > everyday. Or the castle could be named for the bird that washes oaks. Such a
> > pretty name. I could be full of lark kaka by now.
>
> While I can't answer what the name means, I can tell you that Caerlaverock
> Castle was the seat of the Maxwell clan. It's walls never fell to siege (I
> don't think) and it was considered one of the strongest castles in Scotland
> due to it's unique three sided design.
I think 'Caer' was a Gaelic word for castle. I can't find any proof for that
beyond the great number of castles named Caer <something>, though.
(In addition, two of my favorite series of children's books had 'Caer'
castles in them. The Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander had several
Caers, and C.S. Lewis' Narnia chronicles had Cair Paravel.)
J
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In lugnet.castle, Jeff Johnston writes:
> Jason Maxwell wrote:
>
> > While I can't answer what the name means, I can tell you that Caerlaverock
> > Castle was the seat of the Maxwell clan. It's walls never fell to siege (I
> > don't think) and it was considered one of the strongest castles in Scotland
> > due to it's unique three sided design.
>
> I think 'Caer' was a Gaelic word for castle. I can't find any proof for that
> beyond the great number of castles named Caer <something>, though.
I believe it can also mean "town", or "village", as well. Perhaps it means
"settlement"? I've been meaning to look it up one of these days. :D
> (In addition, two of my favorite series of children's books had 'Caer'
> castles in them. The Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander had several
> Caers, and C.S. Lewis' Narnia chronicles had Cair Paravel.)
The Prydain Chronicles are one of my favorites, too! I need to purchase copies
of that series... :)
Jeff
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In lugnet.castle, Jeff Stembel writes:
> In lugnet.castle, Jeff Johnston writes:
> > Jason Maxwell wrote:
> > I think 'Caer' was a Gaelic word for castle. I can't find any proof for that
> > beyond the great number of castles named Caer <something>, though.
I was guessing Gaelic too but it appears to be Welsh.
> I believe it can also mean "town", or "village", as well. Perhaps it means
> "settlement"? I've been meaning to look it up one of these days. :D
Found in at http://www.cs.brown.edu/fun/welsh/LexiconForms.html. It's framed
so you need to run the search yourself but it comes up as "wall;castle;town."
Everyone seems to have the right idea.
> > (In addition, two of my favorite series of children's books had 'Caer'
> > castles in them. The Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander had several
> > Caers, and C.S. Lewis' Narnia chronicles had Cair Paravel.)
>
> The Prydain Chronicles are one of my favorites, too! I need to purchase • copies
> of that series... :)
>
> Jeff
The Science Fiction Book Club has (had?) a single volume of the Prydain
stories. I think there were five in that volume - is that all of them?
John
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John Radtke wrote:
> In lugnet.castle, Jeff Stembel writes:
> > > (In addition, two of my favorite series of children's books had 'Caer'
> > > castles in them. The Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander had several
> > > Caers, and C.S. Lewis' Narnia chronicles had Cair Paravel.)
> >
> > The Prydain Chronicles are one of my favorites, too! I need to purchase • copies
> > of that series... :)
> >
> > Jeff
>
> The Science Fiction Book Club has (had?) a single volume of the Prydain
> stories. I think there were five in that volume - is that all of them?
Er...mostly. The main series had five books (_The Book of Three_,
_The Black Cauldron_, _The Castle of Llyr_, _Taran Wanderer_,
_The High King_.) However, there are other books & short stories set
in Prydain. The only one I remember offhand is (I think) _Coll and his White
Pig_, but I think there are 2 or 3 others.
J
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In lugnet.castle, Jeff Johnston writes:
> John Radtke wrote:
>
> > In lugnet.castle, Jeff Stembel writes:
> > > > (In addition, two of my favorite series of children's books had 'Caer'
> > > > castles in them. The Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander had several
> > > > Caers, and C.S. Lewis' Narnia chronicles had Cair Paravel.)
> > >
> > > The Prydain Chronicles are one of my favorites, too! I need to purchase
> > > copies of that series... :)
> > >
> > > Jeff
> >
> > The Science Fiction Book Club has (had?) a single volume of the Prydain
> > stories. I think there were five in that volume - is that all of them?
>
> Er...mostly. The main series had five books (_The Book of Three_,
> _The Black Cauldron_, _The Castle of Llyr_, _Taran Wanderer_,
> _The High King_.) However, there are other books & short stories set
> in Prydain. The only one I remember offhand is (I think) _Coll and his White
> Pig_, but I think there are 2 or 3 others.
>
> J
There are at least two more: _The Foundling and Other Tales of Prydain_, and
the book about Fflewder Fflam. I *still* haven't figured out the name of that
one yet... :\
Jeff
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Jeff Stembel wrote:
> In lugnet.castle, Jeff Johnston writes:
> > John Radtke wrote:
> >
> > > In lugnet.castle, Jeff Stembel writes:
> > > > > (In addition, two of my favorite series of children's books had 'Caer'
> > > > > castles in them. The Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander had several
> > > > > Caers, and C.S. Lewis' Narnia chronicles had Cair Paravel.)
> > > >
> > > > The Prydain Chronicles are one of my favorites, too! I need to purchase
> > > > copies of that series... :)
>
> > > The Science Fiction Book Club has (had?) a single volume of the Prydain
> > > stories. I think there were five in that volume - is that all of them?
> >
> > Er...mostly. The main series had five books (_The Book of Three_,
> > _The Black Cauldron_, _The Castle of Llyr_, _Taran Wanderer_,
> > _The High King_.) However, there are other books & short stories set
> > in Prydain. The only one I remember offhand is (I think) _Coll and his White
> > Pig_, but I think there are 2 or 3 others.
>
> There are at least two more: _The Foundling and Other Tales of Prydain_, and
> the book about Fflewder Fflam. I *still* haven't figured out the name of that
> one yet... :\
A search on Amazon reveals: The Truthful Harp. Long out of print, unfortunately.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0030656354/qid=963488035/sr=1-101/102-4744656-3148118
J
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