Chichester, which it attributes to the mythical South Saxon king Cissa.
Whatever Cissanceaster may mean, it seems to me much more likely that
it represents another case of double naming; for though the Roman town
was commonly known as Regnum, that is clearly a mere administrative
form, derived from the tribal name of the Regni. Considering that the
same veracious _Chronicle_ derives Portsmouth, the Roman Portus, from
an imaginary Teutonic invader, Port, and commits itself to other wild
statements of the same sort, I don't think we need greatly hesitate
about rejecting its authority in these earlier and conjectural
portions.
Silchester is another much disputed name. As a rule, the site has been
identified with that of Calleva Atrebatum; but the proofs are scanty,
and the identification must be regarded as a doubtful one. I have
already ventured to suggest that the word may contain the root Silva,
as the town is situated close upon the ancient borders of Pamber
Forest. The absence of early forms, however, makes this somewhat of a
random shot. Indeed, it is difficult to arrive at any definite
conclusions in these cases, except by patiently following up the name
from first to last, through all its variations, corruptions, and
mis-spellings.
The _Cesters_ are even more degraded (philologically speaking) than the
_Chesters_, but are not less interesting and illustrative in their way.
Their farthest northeasterly extension, I believe, is to be found at
Leicester and Towcester. The former we have already considered: the
latter appears in the _Chronicle_ as Tofe ceaster, and derives its name
from the little river Towe, on which it is situated. Anciently, no
doubt, the river was called Tofe or Tofi, like the Tavy in Devonshire;
for all these river-words recur over and over again, both in England
and on the Continent. In this case, there seems no immediate connection
with the Roman name, if the site be rightly identified with that of
Lactodorum; but at any rate the river name is Celtic, so that Towcester
cannot be claimed as a Teutonic settlement.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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