Archaic England : $b an essay in deciphering prehistory from megalithic monuments, earthworks, customs, coins, place-names, and faerie superstitionsBayley, Harold
History
Archaic England : $b an essay in deciphering prehistory from megalithic monuments, earthworks, customs, coins, place-names, and faerie superstitions
Bayley, Harold
Archaeology; England -- Antiquities
Goldhawk Road at Hammersmith is supposedly an ancient Roman Road, and in
1884 the remains of a causeway were uncovered. Both _road_ and _route_
are the same word as the British _rhod_, and Latin _rota_ meaning a
wheel, and it is likely that the term roadway meant primarily a route
along which _rotæ_ or wheels might travel: as _rotten_ would be the
ancient plural of _rot_, Rottenrow may thus simply have meant a roadway
for wheeled traffic. According to Borlase the British fighting chariot
was a _rhod_, the rout of this traffic presumably caused _ruts_ upon
the route, whence it is quite likely that Rotten Row was a rutty and
foul thoroughfare. The ordinary supposition that this title is a
corruption of _route du roi_ may possibly have some justification, for
immediately opposite is Kingston House, and at one time Rotten Row was
known as the King's Road: originally the world of fashion used to canter
round a circular drive or ring of trees, some of which are still
carefully preserved on the high ground near the present Tea House, and
thus it might reasonably follow that Rotten Row was a corrupted form of
_rotunda_ row.
Opposite to Rotten Row are Rutland Gate and Rutland House, where lived
the Dukes of Rutland, anciently written Roteland. Rutlandshire
neighbours Leicester, a town known to the Romans under the name of
Ratae; Leicestershire is watered by the river Welland, and in Stukeley's
time there existed in a meadow near Ratae "two great banks called
_Raw_dikes, which speculators look on as unaccountable".[463] That
Leicester or Ratae paid very high reverence to the horse may be inferred
from the fact that here the annual Riding of the George was one of the
principal solemnities of the town, and one which the inhabitants were
bound legally to attend. In addition to the Rottenrows at Kensington and
Lewes there is a Rottenrow in Bucks, and a Rottenrow near Reading, all
of which, together with Rottenrow Tower near Alnwick, must be considered
in combination.
Redon figures as a kingly name among the British chronologies, and as
horses are associated so intimately with the various Rotten Rows, the
name Redon may be connoted with Ruadan, a Celtic "saint" who is said to
have presented King Dermot with thirty sea-green horses which rose from
the sea at his bidding. Sea horses are a conspicuous feature on the
coins of the Redones who dwelt in Gaul and commanded the mouth of the
Loire.[464] The horse was certainly at home at Canterbury where Rodau's
Town is in immediate proximity to what is now called Riding Gate.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account