[253]. The age of the world 3923. This was the first year of the reign of Finnachta, son of Ollamh Fodhla, over Ireland. The age of the world 3960, the first of the reign of Gede Ollgothach over Ireland.—Annals of Four Masters.
Aen is a common prefix in Irish names, and Becan occurs repeatedly as an Irish name.—Index An. IV. Masters.
[254]. Bede mentions that the ‘Sinus Orientalis (Firth of Forth) habet in medio sui urbem Giudi.’ It is not impossible that this town may have taken its name from this Guidid or Giudid Gaethbrechach, and if it was on Inchkeith, the island may have taken its name from Gaeth. He must therefore have belonged to the British people of the Ottadeni, whose frontier city this was.
[255]. The name Bruidhe appears among the kings of O’Faly in Leinster, and in the Annals of the Four Masters in the form of Bruaideadh. We find in Ireland analogous names to these of the thirty Brudes applied to districts. In Leinster we have Tola and Fortola (An. IV. M. 571). In Ulster in Tirconnell, Guill and Irguill (ib. 718). In Alban, Dobhar and Irdobhar. In this list Cal and Urcal, etc., and in one of the Welsh pedigrees Cein, son of Gwrcein, son of Doli, son of Gwrdoli, son of Dubhn, son of Gwrdubhn. In the Manumissions of Bodmin we have as Cornish forms Guest, Wurguest, Ceint, Wurceint. This will show the exact position of this form as between Irish and Cornish. The author is inclined to think that this legend of the thirty Brudes whose names were given to their portions of land is based upon the Irish system of land denominations, as that of the seven sons of Cruithne evidently was. There were thirty townships or baile betaghs in a barony or triocha ced, and the Irish Annals tell us that the mythic King Ollamh Fodla ‘appointed a Taoisech over every triocha ced and a Brughaidh over every baile.’—An. Four Masters, vol. i. p. 53.
[256]. Brev. Ab., Pars Hyem. f. xxii.
[257]. The following words may be cited as examples of the interchange of S and D in Gaelic:—Suil, Duil, hope; Seangan, Deangan, an ant; Seas, Deas, stay; Samh, Damh, learning; Seirc, Deirc, almsgiving; Sonnach, Tonnach, a wall.
[258]. Welsh G passes into D in Gel, W., Daoil, Ir., a leech; Gloin, W., Dealan, Ir., coal; Gwneyd, W., Deanadh, Ir., do.; Gobaith, W., Dobhchais, Ir., hope. St. Drostan was son of Cosgrich, and nephew of Saint Columba, and a Scot by descent.
[259]. F, or as it is written in Welsh Ff, passes into P in Irish, as in Kyf, lame, Ir. ceap, etc. Of the two Alpins in the list, the father of the first is not given, but, as we shall see afterwards, his father was a Dalriadic Scot. The father of the second was Wroid; this is near the Cornish form, which would be Uored. In this form the name appears in an inscription on one of the sculptured stones at St. Vigeans. Mr. Whitley Stokes thus reads it:—
Drosten:
Ipe uoret