Etymology of Edinburgh
Encyclopedia
The etymology of Edinburgh traces the origin of the name of Edinburgh
, the capital of Scotland. The city is known as Edinburgh in English and Scots
, and Dùn Èideann in Scottish Gaelic, both of which are derived from the older place name Eidyn. It is generally accepted that this name derives ultimately from the Celtic
British language
.
argued strongly that "Eidyn" referred exclusively to the location of modern Edinburgh, but others, such as Ifor Williams
and Nora K. Chadwick, suggest it applied to the wider area as well. The name "Eidyn" may survive today in toponyms such as Edinburgh, Dunedin, and Carriden (from Caer
Eidyn), located eighteen miles to the west.
Present-day Edinburgh was the location of Din Eidyn, a dun
or hillfort associated with the kingdom of the Gododdin
. The term Din Eidyn first appears in the Y Gododdin
, a poem that depicts events relating to the Battle of Catraeth which is thought to have been fought circa AD 600. The oldest manuscript of the Y Gododdin forms part of the Book of Aneirin
, which dates to around 1265 but which possibly is a copy of a lost 9th century original. Some scholars consider that the poem was composed soon after the battle and was preserved in oral tradition while others believe it originated in Wales at some time in the 9th to 11th centuries. The modern Scottish Gaelic name "Dùn Èideann" derives directly from the British Din Eidyn. The English and Scots form are similar, appending the element -burgh
, from the Old English burh
, also meaning "fort".
Some sources claim Edinburgh's name is derived from an Old English form such as Eadwinesburh (Edwin's fort), in reference to Edwin
, king of Deira
and Bernicia
in the 7th century. However, modern scholarship refutes this, as the form Eidyn predates Edwin.
The first evidence of the existence of the town as a separate entity from the fort lies in an early 12th century royal charter
, generally thought to date from 1124, by King David I
granting land to the Church of the Holy Rood of Edinburgh. This suggests that the town came into official existence between 1018 (when King Malcolm II
secured the Lothians from the Northumbria
ns) and 1124. The charter refers to the recipients (in Latin
) as "Ecclisie Sancte Crucis Edwinesburgensi", by the 1170s King William the Lion
was using the name "Edenesburch" in a charter (again in Latin) confirming the 1124 grant of David I. Documents from the 14th century show the name to have settled into its current form; although other spellings ("Edynburgh" and "Edynburghe") appear, these are simply spelling variants of the current name.
The city is affectionately nicknamed Auld Reekie, Scots
for Old Smoky, for the views from the country of the smoke covered Old Town. Robert Chambers
who asserted that the sobriquet could not be traced before the reign of Charles II attributed the name to a Fife laird, Durham of Largo, who regulated the bedtime of his children by the smoke rising above Edinburgh from the fires of the tenements.
Some have called Edinburgh the Athens of the North for a variety of reasons. The earliest comparison between the two cities showed that they had a similar topography, with the Castle Rock of Edinburgh performing a similar role to the Athenian
Acropolis
. Both of them had flatter, fertile agricultural land sloping down to a port
several miles away (respectively Leith
and Piraeus
). Although this arrangement is common in Southern Europe
, it is rare in Northern Europe
. The 18th century intellectual life, referred to as the Scottish Enlightenment
, was a key influence in gaining the name. Such beacons as David Hume
and Adam Smith
shone during this period. Having lost most of its political importance after the Union, some hoped that Edinburgh could gain a similar influence on London as Athens had on Rome. Also a contributing factor was the later neoclassical
architecture, particularly that of William Henry Playfair
, and the National Monument
. Tom Stoppard
's character Archie, of Jumpers
, said, perhaps playing on Reykjavik
meaning "smoky bay", that the "Reykjavík of the South" would be more appropriate.
Edinburgh has also been known as Dunedin, deriving from the Scottish Gaelic, Dùn Èideann. Dunedin, New Zealand, was originally called "New Edinburgh" and is still nicknamed the "Edinburgh of the South".
The Scots poets Robert Burns
and Robert Fergusson
sometimes used the Latin form of the city's name, Edina, in their work. Ben Jonson
described it as Britaine's other eye, and Sir Walter Scott referred to the city as yon Empress of the North.
Other variants include Embra, or Embro (contracted forms), and Edinburrie.
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, the capital of Scotland. The city is known as Edinburgh in English and Scots
Scots language
Scots is the Germanic language variety spoken in Lowland Scotland and parts of Ulster . It is sometimes called Lowland Scots to distinguish it from Scottish Gaelic, the Celtic language variety spoken in most of the western Highlands and in the Hebrides.Since there are no universally accepted...
, and Dùn Èideann in Scottish Gaelic, both of which are derived from the older place name Eidyn. It is generally accepted that this name derives ultimately from the Celtic
Celtic languages
The Celtic languages are descended from Proto-Celtic, or "Common Celtic"; a branch of the greater Indo-European language family...
British language
British language
The British language was an ancient Celtic language spoken in Britain.British language may also refer to:* Any of the Languages of the United Kingdom.*The Welsh language or the Brythonic languages more generally* British English...
.
Eidyn
Several medieval Welsh sources refer to Eidyn. Kenneth H. JacksonKenneth H. Jackson
Kenneth Hurlstone Jackson was an English linguist and a translator who specialised in the Celtic languages. He demonstrated how the text of the Ulster Cycle of tales, written circa AD 1100, preserves an oral tradition originating some six centuries earlier and reflects Celtic Irish society of the...
argued strongly that "Eidyn" referred exclusively to the location of modern Edinburgh, but others, such as Ifor Williams
Ifor Williams
Sir Ifor Williams was a Welsh scholar who laid the foundations for the academic study of Old Welsh, particularly early Welsh poetry....
and Nora K. Chadwick, suggest it applied to the wider area as well. The name "Eidyn" may survive today in toponyms such as Edinburgh, Dunedin, and Carriden (from Caer
Caer
In the Welsh language, caer means "fortress", "fort" or "citadel"/"castle".Caer is the Welsh name for the city of Chester, situated in northwest England. It also forms, as a prefix, the Welsh equivalent of -caster, -cester and -chester in place names...
Eidyn), located eighteen miles to the west.
Present-day Edinburgh was the location of Din Eidyn, a dun
Dun
Dun is now used both as a generic term for a fort and also for a specific variety of Atlantic roundhouse...
or hillfort associated with the kingdom of the Gododdin
Gododdin
The Gododdin were a Brittonic people of north-eastern Britain in the sub-Roman period, the area known as the Hen Ogledd or Old North...
. The term Din Eidyn first appears in the Y Gododdin
Y Gododdin
Y Gododdin is a medieval Welsh poem consisting of a series of elegies to the men of the Britonnic kingdom of Gododdin and its allies who, according to the conventional interpretation, died fighting the Angles of Deira and Bernicia at a place named Catraeth...
, a poem that depicts events relating to the Battle of Catraeth which is thought to have been fought circa AD 600. The oldest manuscript of the Y Gododdin forms part of the Book of Aneirin
Book of Aneirin
The Book of Aneirin is a late 13th century Welsh manuscript containing Old and Middle Welsh poetry attributed to the late 6th century Northern Brythonic poet, Aneirin....
, which dates to around 1265 but which possibly is a copy of a lost 9th century original. Some scholars consider that the poem was composed soon after the battle and was preserved in oral tradition while others believe it originated in Wales at some time in the 9th to 11th centuries. The modern Scottish Gaelic name "Dùn Èideann" derives directly from the British Din Eidyn. The English and Scots form are similar, appending the element -burgh
Burgh
A burgh was an autonomous corporate entity in Scotland and Northern England, usually a town. This type of administrative division existed from the 12th century, when King David I created the first royal burghs. Burgh status was broadly analogous to borough status, found in the rest of the United...
, from the Old English burh
Burh
A Burh is an Old English name for a fortified town or other defended site, sometimes centred upon a hill fort though always intended as a place of permanent settlement, its origin was in military defence; "it represented only a stage, though a vitally important one, in the evolution of the...
, also meaning "fort".
Some sources claim Edinburgh's name is derived from an Old English form such as Eadwinesburh (Edwin's fort), in reference to Edwin
Edwin of Northumbria
Edwin , also known as Eadwine or Æduini, was the King of Deira and Bernicia – which later became known as Northumbria – from about 616 until his death. He converted to Christianity and was baptised in 627; after he fell at the Battle of Hatfield Chase, he was venerated as a saint.Edwin was the son...
, king of Deira
Deira
Deira was a kingdom in Northern England during the 6th century AD. Itextended from the Humber to the Tees, and from the sea to the western edge of the Vale of York...
and Bernicia
Bernicia
Bernicia was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom established by Anglian settlers of the 6th century in what is now southeastern Scotland and North East England....
in the 7th century. However, modern scholarship refutes this, as the form Eidyn predates Edwin.
The first evidence of the existence of the town as a separate entity from the fort lies in an early 12th century royal charter
Royal Charter
A royal charter is a formal document issued by a monarch as letters patent, granting a right or power to an individual or a body corporate. They were, and are still, used to establish significant organizations such as cities or universities. Charters should be distinguished from warrants and...
, generally thought to date from 1124, by King David I
David I of Scotland
David I or Dabíd mac Maíl Choluim was a 12th-century ruler who was Prince of the Cumbrians and later King of the Scots...
granting land to the Church of the Holy Rood of Edinburgh. This suggests that the town came into official existence between 1018 (when King Malcolm II
Malcolm II of Scotland
Máel Coluim mac Cináeda , was King of the Scots from 1005 until his death...
secured the Lothians from the Northumbria
Northumbria
Northumbria was a medieval kingdom of the Angles, in what is now Northern England and South-East Scotland, becoming subsequently an earldom in a united Anglo-Saxon kingdom of England. The name reflects the approximate southern limit to the kingdom's territory, the Humber Estuary.Northumbria was...
ns) and 1124. The charter refers to the recipients (in Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
) as "Ecclisie Sancte Crucis Edwinesburgensi", by the 1170s King William the Lion
William I of Scotland
William the Lion , sometimes styled William I, also known by the nickname Garbh, "the Rough", reigned as King of the Scots from 1165 to 1214...
was using the name "Edenesburch" in a charter (again in Latin) confirming the 1124 grant of David I. Documents from the 14th century show the name to have settled into its current form; although other spellings ("Edynburgh" and "Edynburghe") appear, these are simply spelling variants of the current name.
Other names
Scots language
Scots is the Germanic language variety spoken in Lowland Scotland and parts of Ulster . It is sometimes called Lowland Scots to distinguish it from Scottish Gaelic, the Celtic language variety spoken in most of the western Highlands and in the Hebrides.Since there are no universally accepted...
for Old Smoky, for the views from the country of the smoke covered Old Town. Robert Chambers
Robert Chambers
Robert Chambers was a Scottish publisher, geologist, proto-evolutionary thinker, author and journal editor who, like his elder brother and business partner William Chambers, was highly influential in mid-19th century scientific and political circles.Chambers was an early phrenologist, and was the...
who asserted that the sobriquet could not be traced before the reign of Charles II attributed the name to a Fife laird, Durham of Largo, who regulated the bedtime of his children by the smoke rising above Edinburgh from the fires of the tenements.
Some have called Edinburgh the Athens of the North for a variety of reasons. The earliest comparison between the two cities showed that they had a similar topography, with the Castle Rock of Edinburgh performing a similar role to the Athenian
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
Acropolis
Acropolis, Athens
Acropolis is a neighborhood of Athens, near the ancient monument of Acropolis, along the Dionysios Areopagitis, courier road. This neighborhood has a significant number of tourists all year round. It is the site of the Museum of Acropolis, opened in 2009....
. Both of them had flatter, fertile agricultural land sloping down to a port
Port
A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land....
several miles away (respectively Leith
Leith
-South Leith v. North Leith:Up until the late 16th century Leith , comprised two separate towns on either side of the river....
and Piraeus
Piraeus
Piraeus is a city in the region of Attica, Greece. Piraeus is located within the Athens Urban Area, 12 km southwest from its city center , and lies along the east coast of the Saronic Gulf....
). Although this arrangement is common in Southern Europe
Southern Europe
The term Southern Europe, at its most general definition, is used to mean "all countries in the south of Europe". However, the concept, at different times, has had different meanings, providing additional political, linguistic and cultural context to the definition in addition to the typical...
, it is rare in Northern Europe
Northern Europe
Northern Europe is the northern part or region of Europe. Northern Europe typically refers to the seven countries in the northern part of the European subcontinent which includes Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Finland and Sweden...
. The 18th century intellectual life, referred to as the Scottish Enlightenment
Scottish Enlightenment
The Scottish Enlightenment was the period in 18th century Scotland characterised by an outpouring of intellectual and scientific accomplishments. By 1750, Scots were among the most literate citizens of Europe, with an estimated 75% level of literacy...
, was a key influence in gaining the name. Such beacons as David Hume
David Hume
David Hume was a Scottish philosopher, historian, economist, and essayist, known especially for his philosophical empiricism and skepticism. He was one of the most important figures in the history of Western philosophy and the Scottish Enlightenment...
and Adam Smith
Adam Smith
Adam Smith was a Scottish social philosopher and a pioneer of political economy. One of the key figures of the Scottish Enlightenment, Smith is the author of The Theory of Moral Sentiments and An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations...
shone during this period. Having lost most of its political importance after the Union, some hoped that Edinburgh could gain a similar influence on London as Athens had on Rome. Also a contributing factor was the later neoclassical
Neoclassicism
Neoclassicism is the name given to Western movements in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that draw inspiration from the "classical" art and culture of Ancient Greece or Ancient Rome...
architecture, particularly that of William Henry Playfair
William Henry Playfair
William Henry Playfair FRSE was one of the greatest Scottish architects of the 19th century, designer of many of Edinburgh's neo-classical landmarks in the New Town....
, and the National Monument
National Monument, Edinburgh
The National Monument of Scotland, popularly referred to as Scotland's Disgrace, the Pride and Poverty of Scotland or Edinburgh's Shame, is an unfinished building on Calton Hill in Edinburgh...
. Tom Stoppard
Tom Stoppard
Sir Tom Stoppard OM, CBE, FRSL is a British playwright, knighted in 1997. He has written prolifically for TV, radio, film and stage, finding prominence with plays such as Arcadia, The Coast of Utopia, Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, Professional Foul, The Real Thing, and Rosencrantz and...
's character Archie, of Jumpers
Jumpers
Jumpers is a 1972 play by Tom Stoppard. It explores and satirises the field of academic philosophy, likening it to a less-than skilful competitive gymnastics display...
, said, perhaps playing on Reykjavik
Reykjavík
Reykjavík is the capital and largest city in Iceland.Its latitude at 64°08' N makes it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói Bay...
meaning "smoky bay", that the "Reykjavík of the South" would be more appropriate.
Edinburgh has also been known as Dunedin, deriving from the Scottish Gaelic, Dùn Èideann. Dunedin, New Zealand, was originally called "New Edinburgh" and is still nicknamed the "Edinburgh of the South".
The Scots poets Robert Burns
Robert Burns
Robert Burns was a Scottish poet and a lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland, and is celebrated worldwide...
and Robert Fergusson
Robert Fergusson
Robert Fergusson was a Scottish poet. After formal education at the University of St Andrews, Fergusson followed an essentially bohemian life course in Edinburgh, the city of his birth, then at the height of intellectual and cultural ferment as part of the Scottish enlightenment...
sometimes used the Latin form of the city's name, Edina, in their work. Ben Jonson
Ben Jonson
Benjamin Jonson was an English Renaissance dramatist, poet and actor. A contemporary of William Shakespeare, he is best known for his satirical plays, particularly Volpone, The Alchemist, and Bartholomew Fair, which are considered his best, and his lyric poems...
described it as Britaine's other eye, and Sir Walter Scott referred to the city as yon Empress of the North.
Other variants include Embra, or Embro (contracted forms), and Edinburrie.