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Caer

Placename element in Welsh meaning "stronghold", "fortress", or "citadel". From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Caer
For other uses, see Caer (disambiguation).

Caer (Welsh pronunciation: [kɑːɨr]; Old Welsh: cair or kair) is a placename element in Welsh meaning "stronghold", "fortress", or "citadel",[1] roughly equivalent to an Old English suffix (-ceaster) now variously written as -caster, -cester, and -chester.[2][3]

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The north gate of Cardiff Castle, following the old Roman fortifications and rebuilt along Roman lines.

In modern Welsh orthography, caer is usually written as a prefix, although it was formerly—particularly in Latin—written as a separate word. The Breton equivalent is kêr, which is present in many Breton placenames as the prefix Ker-.

Etymology

The term is thought to have derived from the Brittonic *kagro- and to be cognate with cae ("field, enclosed piece of land").[4] Although stone castles were largely introduced to Wales by the invading Normans, "caer" was and remains used to describe the settlements around some of them as well. An example is the Roman fort at Caernarfon, formerly known in Welsh as Caer Seiont from its position on the Seiont; the later Edwardian castle and its community were distinguished as Caer yn Arfon ("fort in Arfon", the latter being a district name (Cantref Arfon) from "ar Fôn", "(land) opposite Môn or Anglesey").[2] However, the modern names of the Roman fort and Edwardian castle themselves are now Segontiwm or Castell Caernarfon, while the communities carry on the name caer.

Note that the term is not believed to be related to the Irish cathair ("city"), which is instead derived from Proto-Celtic *katrixs, *catarax ("fortification").[5][6]

Britain

Summarize
Perspective

Gildas's account of the Saxon invasions of Britain claimed that there were 28 fortified Roman cities (Latin: civitas) on the island, without listing them.[8] The History of the Britons traditionally attributed to Nennius includes a list of the 28, all of which are called "caer".[7][12] Controversy exists over whether this list includes only Roman cities or a mixture of Roman cities and non-Roman settlements.[13] Some of the place names that have been proposed include:

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Roman Britain (1911).

Wales

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Caernarfon derives its name from the Edwardian Caernarfon Castle
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The Roman fort now known as Segontium derived its name from a latinization of the British community along the Afon Seiont[2]

The element caer, sometimes anglicized as car, is found in several place-names in Wales such as:

England

The Cumbric language was spoken in Northern England until the Medieval era in which the element caer ("fort") was used in naming places.[34] It also appears in Cornish place-names as Ker-.[34]

  • Caermote, Cumberland (Caermollt, "Fort of the wether")[34]
  • Cardew, Cumberland (Caerdu, "Black fort")[34]
  • Cardunneth, Cumberland (Caerdunawd, "Dünǭd's fort")[34]
  • Cardurnock, Cumberland (Caerdwrnog, "Fort of the fist-sized stones")[34]
  • Cargo, Cumberland (Caergoll, "Fort of hazel")[34]
  • Carhullan, Westmorland ("Fort of Holland")[34]
  • Carrick, Northumberland (Caerwig, "vicus fort")[34]
  • Carlatton, Cumberland ("Fort of the leek enclosure")[34]
  • Carlisle, Cumberland (Caerliwelydd, "Fort Luguwalos")[34]
  • Carmolt, Cumberland (Caermollt, "Fort of the wether")[34]
  • Carrycoats, Northumberland (Caerycoed, "Fort of the wood")[34]
  • Carvoran, Northumberland (Caerferin, "Fort of the Morini")[34]
  • Kerrier, Cornwall[35]

Caer is also found in Welsh exonyms for English cities.

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Carriden House, a refurbished Roman fort which formerly formed part of the Antonine Wall in Scotland.

Scotland

Cumbric and Pictish were Brittonic languages spoken in Scotland until around the 12th century, and caer ("fort") was a place-naming element in both languages.[34][36]

In fiction

See also

References

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