The name of London is certainly older than the Romans, and is probably, therefore, as your correspondent says, British. Its significance, if any, therefore, is to be sought in Welsh. Now, your correspondent is certainly quite wrong as to the meaning of Llan in Welsh. It always means, here at any rate, church, not plain. Possibly your correspondent was thinking of Llano. The word is written in Welsh Llyndon, or Llyndain, which also speaks against its being compounded with Llan. The word certainly might mean anything: but I know of no satisfactory explanation having been given for it as yet. The only words for town in Welsh are, I believe, tre "city," or caer "castle,"—as parts of compound words, I mean.
SC.
Carmarthen.
I cannot think that M. C. E.'s etymology of London is a correct one; nor did I know that the British Llan means a "level place generally." I take it that originally Llan meant no more than "an inclosure," as we see in winllan, "a vineyard," "an inclosure for vines;" perllan, "an orchard" (literally a pear-yard). As churchyards were probably for some time almost the only inclosures in their districts, this will explain why the names of churches in Wales so commonly begin with Llan. Llanvair, Llanilltid, Llandilo, &c. were the inclosures, or yards, in which churches dedicated to St. Mary, St. Iltyd, St. Teilo, &c. were built, though in the course of time these names became applied to the churches themselves. The word don is nothing more than din, or dinas, "a fortress," as we see in Lugdunum, Virodunum, Londinium, Dumbarton, Dunmore, &c.
Old chroniclers say that the city of London was nearly, if not entirely, surrounded by water, which on the north, north-east, and south sides spread out into considerable lakes. Present names of localities in and about the City show traces of this. Finsbury and Moorfields take their names from the fens and moors, or meres, which were partially reclaimed from the lake which spread to the north and north-east, almost from the city wall. To the south the Thames extended far beyond its present boundary, forming an extensive lake. Fenchurch Street, Turnmill Street, Fleet Street, show that there were streams and fens to the east and west.
Bearing in mind that British names were generally descriptive of the locality, may not the situation of old London furnish a clue to its etymology? Was not London then truly and descriptively Llyn-dun, or Llin-dun, the fortified place or fortress in or on the lyn or lake?
CUDYN GWYN.
Replies to Minor Queries.
Legend of the Robin Redbreast (Vol. ii., p. 164.).
—The following beautiful legend of the Robin Redbreast, which I have just met with, was quite new to me. If you think it likely to be so to T. Y. or any other of your readers, you will perhaps find a place for it.