Sunday 30 December 2012
Sunday 16 December 2012
Most of the mountain and hill-names are in Gaelic because until recently all of the Highlands was Gaelic -speaking My father attended Kingussie High School in Strathspey in the early 1930's. He boarded there term time, because he could not afford to go home to the Isle of Harris at the weekends He said that all local people aged 30 or over were native Gaelic speakers.We know that Gaelic was spoken in Luss, Loch Lomond until the late 19th. Century by everyone.
Therefore the Ordnance Survey cartographers in the late 19th and early 20th. centuries would have been able to record the local's place-names, but not correct spelling,(i.e. Rhum. ). In the Western Isles the Gaelic or Gaelicised -Norse names were corrupted into English spellings-( Steornabhagh became Stornoway, and Drinisiadar became Drinishader ). Gleann Mór Albainn, became Glen More, or even worse, The Great Glen. Some of the peaks in The Cairngorms, correctly, Am Monadh Ruadh, for example, Sgor an Lochain Uaine, 4,128 ft., ( now a Munro),NN954976, became "The Angels Peak", which has nothing to do with the Gaelic name, meaning, Sharp peak of the green lochan,( small loch)-corrie. At lest some corrections have been made by the O.S- Ben Attow has returned to Beinn Fhada, and Ben Sgriol > Beinn Sgritheall. The second part of the name comes from the Old Norse for scree which she has on her steep slopes from Loch Hourn, ( my first Munro, in 1962, aged 9 yrs.).
There is no such name as The Grampions. The mountains are Am Monadh Ruadh, Am Monadh Liath. the Red Mountains and the Grey Mountains respectively Some Classicists borrowed it from The Battle of Mons Grapius in AD 84 between The Caledonians,( The Picts ), and the invading Romans.Some older maps have the awful Cuillin Hills. The Cuillin are not hills, and the term should be in the singular, meaning the whole ridge, as its Norse name denotes. A Times Atlas I own has the awful, Mount Clisham in The Isle of Harris.
An Cliseam ,The Clisham always has the definite article in Gaelic and English. The Norse named it"Klifshamra".
Therefore the Ordnance Survey cartographers in the late 19th and early 20th. centuries would have been able to record the local's place-names, but not correct spelling,(i.e. Rhum. ). In the Western Isles the Gaelic or Gaelicised -Norse names were corrupted into English spellings-( Steornabhagh became Stornoway, and Drinisiadar became Drinishader ). Gleann Mór Albainn, became Glen More, or even worse, The Great Glen. Some of the peaks in The Cairngorms, correctly, Am Monadh Ruadh, for example, Sgor an Lochain Uaine, 4,128 ft., ( now a Munro),NN954976, became "The Angels Peak", which has nothing to do with the Gaelic name, meaning, Sharp peak of the green lochan,( small loch)-corrie. At lest some corrections have been made by the O.S- Ben Attow has returned to Beinn Fhada, and Ben Sgriol > Beinn Sgritheall. The second part of the name comes from the Old Norse for scree which she has on her steep slopes from Loch Hourn, ( my first Munro, in 1962, aged 9 yrs.).
There is no such name as The Grampions. The mountains are Am Monadh Ruadh, Am Monadh Liath. the Red Mountains and the Grey Mountains respectively Some Classicists borrowed it from The Battle of Mons Grapius in AD 84 between The Caledonians,( The Picts ), and the invading Romans.Some older maps have the awful Cuillin Hills. The Cuillin are not hills, and the term should be in the singular, meaning the whole ridge, as its Norse name denotes. A Times Atlas I own has the awful, Mount Clisham in The Isle of Harris.
An Cliseam ,The Clisham always has the definite article in Gaelic and English. The Norse named it"Klifshamra".
Wednesday 12 December 2012
At least one Munro Top is named after a Scottish Battle, that of The Battle of Glen Shiel in 1719 in Kintail, Wester-Ross-"Sgurr nan Spainteach",( Sharp Peak of the Spaniards).Some Spaniard soldiers came to the aid of The Jacobites by sea, via the sea-loch, Loch Duich, and unfortunately some Spaniard soldiers were killed in the battle, and they were buried on the slopes of Sgurr nan Spainteach, 990 metres, 3,277ft., NG881150, one of The Five Sisters of Kintail Ridge.Dr. Johnson and Boswell passed this way in the 18th. Century, and clearly Johnson noticed "Sgur na Sgine",946m., and described it " a not inconsiderable protuberance"-it means sharp knife-like peak.
Sir Hugh Munro compiled his Munro Tables in 1891 , and The Munros are named after him .Munros are mountains that are 3000 ft or above,( 914.4 metres ). Today ,MUNROS TABLES are completely metrified, but you can easily convert them into feet by multiplying the height in metres by 3.2808.
The first man to climb all the Munros, a "Munroist", was a Scots Kirk Minister, The Rev. Archibald Eneus Robertson who finished them all in Sept.1901. Another Scottish Kirk Minister was the 151st. Munroist, my father, Murdo-Ewen, when he completed Ruadh Stac Mór and Sgurr nan Ceannachean,( with me), in 1977. I think he was the first native-Gaelic Speaker Munroist, There is some dispute about Robertson's claim in 1901.The Inaccessible Pinnacle of Sgurr Dearg was not listed as a Munro by Munro in 1891, but the cairned top of Sgurr Dearg. We know certainly now from Robertson's Notes now in the The Scottish National Library that he climbed it on June13,1905, with John Mackenzie,( of Sgurr Mhic Choinnich ). The second Munroist was yet another Minister, The Rev.A.R.G. Burn, in 1923, so Robertson was the first Munroist .An English friend of mine,Mark Kirby, was the 477th. Munroist in 1986. Twenty-three of us fully booked up The Cluanie Inn, Wester-Ross to have a weekend party ,after we climbed his last Munro, Mullach Fraoch Chire,( and A'Chralaig), with beer and champagne on the summit. I had to guide the the group in the descent to the Inn in thick mist .
Sir Hugh Munro compiled his Munro Tables in 1891 , and The Munros are named after him .Munros are mountains that are 3000 ft or above,( 914.4 metres ). Today ,MUNROS TABLES are completely metrified, but you can easily convert them into feet by multiplying the height in metres by 3.2808.
The first man to climb all the Munros, a "Munroist", was a Scots Kirk Minister, The Rev. Archibald Eneus Robertson who finished them all in Sept.1901. Another Scottish Kirk Minister was the 151st. Munroist, my father, Murdo-Ewen, when he completed Ruadh Stac Mór and Sgurr nan Ceannachean,( with me), in 1977. I think he was the first native-Gaelic Speaker Munroist, There is some dispute about Robertson's claim in 1901.The Inaccessible Pinnacle of Sgurr Dearg was not listed as a Munro by Munro in 1891, but the cairned top of Sgurr Dearg. We know certainly now from Robertson's Notes now in the The Scottish National Library that he climbed it on June13,1905, with John Mackenzie,( of Sgurr Mhic Choinnich ). The second Munroist was yet another Minister, The Rev.A.R.G. Burn, in 1923, so Robertson was the first Munroist .An English friend of mine,Mark Kirby, was the 477th. Munroist in 1986. Twenty-three of us fully booked up The Cluanie Inn, Wester-Ross to have a weekend party ,after we climbed his last Munro, Mullach Fraoch Chire,( and A'Chralaig), with beer and champagne on the summit. I had to guide the the group in the descent to the Inn in thick mist .
Tuesday 11 December 2012
Most of the Munro mountain-names are Gaelic with "Beinn",Sgurr, Meall, Carn, Bidean, although a few are Norse-The Cuillin in Skye derives from Old Norse," Kjolen", and the mountains between Norway and Sweden today are the Kjolen Mountains. Sgurr nan Gillean, that fine mountain on The Cuillin Ridge, is derived from the Old-Norse,"Gil", meaning Gully or cleft. If you look at the fine Pinnacle-Ridge of 'Gillean the Pinnacles are seperated by deep gullies or clefts.The Corbett, Goatfell, on Arran is derived from the Old-Norse Fjall, meaning hill or mountain, and there are countless -Vals on the Isles of Harris,( Na Hearadh ),and Lewis. Remember, Skye and Harris were ruled by the Norse,since the conquest of The Hebrides,( Sudrejar ), from AD c.825 until 1266, when Scotland bought The Hebrides from Norway, in terms of The Treaty of Perth, Some of The Cuillin Munros and Tops are named after the climbers who made their first ascents, namely Sgurr Alasdair ,after Sgitheanach, Alasdair Nicolson, Sgurr Mhic Choinnich,after another Sgitheanach, John MacKenzie.Sgurr Tearlaich, after an Englishman, Charles Pilkington. Sgurr Thormaid is named after the Scottish scientist, Norman Collie.(Tormod is Gaelic for Norman, derived from Old Norse personal name, Tormod. The Macleods of Harris are" Siol Thormaid".
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Sunday 9 December 2012
I am interested in climbing Scottish Munro Mountains and Scottish Place-Names, particularly Gaelic and Norse place-names
I have, to date, climbed 212 Seperate Munros, including the difficult ones, the 12 Cuillin Munros, including "Am Bidean Do-Ruigsinn", ( The Inaccessible Pinnacle ).Tha Gaidhlig agam. Many of the Place-Names where I now live, in the Glasgow area are in the Old Welsh Language, including Partick, Glasgow and Lanark.
Anyone who starts climbing the Munros usually gets addicted, and becomes interested in the mountain place-names, I did, and leant Scottish Gaelic and obtained my Gaelic O-Level and Higher.I also became interested in the Norse place-names in the Northwest Highlands and Hebrides, especially having travelled to Norway a great deal.
At the present time there are 282 Munros which are classified as seperate mountans. Two recently have been deleted, Beinn a' Chlaidheimh and Sgurr nan Ceannaichean, both of which are in Wester-Ross, and, due to resurveys.having been found to be slightly under 3,000 ft. This caused me a great deal of annoyance as both me and my father had climbed them, and they were my father's last two Munros in 1977.There are now 282 Munros and 508 Munro-Tops,
How is a seperate Munro classified? This is a very controversial and debatable subject. TACIT Press have classified Murdos and Grahams according to strict criteria of difference in height between them and adjoining summits, but Munros have not, Sir Hugh Munro decided ,according to his own criteria, which now nobody knows.By the way, England has six 3,000ft. peaks and Wales Sixteen 3,000 ft. Peaks.
Alan R Macdonald
I have, to date, climbed 212 Seperate Munros, including the difficult ones, the 12 Cuillin Munros, including "Am Bidean Do-Ruigsinn", ( The Inaccessible Pinnacle ).Tha Gaidhlig agam. Many of the Place-Names where I now live, in the Glasgow area are in the Old Welsh Language, including Partick, Glasgow and Lanark.
Anyone who starts climbing the Munros usually gets addicted, and becomes interested in the mountain place-names, I did, and leant Scottish Gaelic and obtained my Gaelic O-Level and Higher.I also became interested in the Norse place-names in the Northwest Highlands and Hebrides, especially having travelled to Norway a great deal.
At the present time there are 282 Munros which are classified as seperate mountans. Two recently have been deleted, Beinn a' Chlaidheimh and Sgurr nan Ceannaichean, both of which are in Wester-Ross, and, due to resurveys.having been found to be slightly under 3,000 ft. This caused me a great deal of annoyance as both me and my father had climbed them, and they were my father's last two Munros in 1977.There are now 282 Munros and 508 Munro-Tops,
How is a seperate Munro classified? This is a very controversial and debatable subject. TACIT Press have classified Murdos and Grahams according to strict criteria of difference in height between them and adjoining summits, but Munros have not, Sir Hugh Munro decided ,according to his own criteria, which now nobody knows.By the way, England has six 3,000ft. peaks and Wales Sixteen 3,000 ft. Peaks.
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