Lochan Lunn Dà Bhrà
I was at
Lochan Lunn Dà Bhrà recently. It’s in Lochaber near Fort William.
Lunn Dà Bhrà – a strange name. Lunn
– LUNN – means ‘pole’. For example, we call the piece in the middle of
an oar a
lunn – the piece between the handle and the blade. And lunn is in place-names. In Perthshire, there is Làirig nan Lunn
‘the pass of the poles’. It’s on a route between upper Glen Lyon and
Glen Lochay.
There,
lunn means ‘pole of a bier or litter’. People were
carrying coffins to the cemetery in Killin, using two poles.
But what about Lochan Lunn Dà Bhrà? The lochan of the pole of the two
querns or quernstones. Well, people would carry quernstones with a pole
through the hole in the middle. Before I go too far down that road,
however, I must take cognisance of Mary MacKellar’s opinion. Mary was
an eminent Gaelic scholar. She belonged to Lochaber. She delivered a
paper on this matter to the Gaelic Society of Inverness in 1890. She
was of the opinion that the old name of the loch wasn’t
Lochan Lunn Dà Bhrà but Lochan Dùn Dà Ràth ‘the lochan of the castle of the two forts’.
There are two islands in the loch. It appears they were crannogs. On
the banks of the loch there is a farm called Lundavra. If Mary is
correct it was called
Dùn Dà Ràth
in olden times. There was a castle there, and a fort on each of the
islands.
But who was living in the castle? Well, here is where the matter gets
interesting. Some people think that MacBeth, the old king of Scotland,
was living there.
At the far end of
Lochan Lunn Dà Bhrà
there is a glen. Its name is
Gleann Rìgh
‘king’s glen’. Also there are
Abhainn Rìgh
‘king’s river’ and
Innis Righ
‘king’s meadow’. Mary MacKellar was satisfied that these were royal names
linked to MacBeth.
Lochan Lunn Dà Bhrà
Bha mi aig Lochan Lunn Dà Bhrà o chionn ghoirid. Tha e ann an Loch Abar
faisg air a’ Ghearasdan. Lunn Dà Bhrà – ainm annasach. Tha lunn – LUNN – a’
ciallachadh pòla. Mar eisimpleir, canaidh sinn lunn ris a’ phìos
ann am meadhan ràimh – am pìos eadar an dòrn agus an liagh. Agus tha lunn ann an ainmean-àite. Ann an Siorrachd Pheairt, tha Làirig nan
Lunn. Tha i air slighe eadar ceann shuas Ghleann Lìomhann agus Gleann
Lòchaidh.
An sin tha lunn a’ ciallachadh ‘pole of a bier or litter
’. Bha daoine a’ giùlan chisteachan chun a’ chladh ann an Cill Fhinn le
bhith a’ cleachdadh dà lunn. Ach dè mu dheidhinn Lochan Lunn Dà Bhrà? The lochan of the pole of the two querns or quernstones. Uill,
bhiodh daoine a’ giùlan chlachan-brà le pòla – no lunn – tron toll sa
mheadhan. Mus tèid mi ro fhada air an rathad sin, ge-tà, feumaidh mi feart
a ghabhail air beachd Màiri NicEalair. ʼS e sàr-sgoilear na Gàidhlig a bha
ann am Màiri. Bhuineadh i do Loch Abar. Lìbhrig i pàipear mun ghnothach seo
gu Comunn Gàidhlig Inbhir Nis ann an ochd ceud deug is naochad (1890). Bha
i dhen bheachd nach e Lochan Lunn Dà Bhrà seann ainm an locha, ach Lochan
Dùn Dà Ràth ‘the lochan of the castle of the two forts’.
Tha dà eilean anns an loch. Tha coltas ann gur e crannagan a bha annta. Air
bruaich an locha, tha baile-fearainn air a bheil Lunn Dà Bhrà. Ma tha Màiri
ceart, ʼs e Dùn Dà Ràth a bha air anns an t-seann aimsir. Bha caisteal ann,
agus bha ràth air gach fear de na h-eileanan.
Ach cò bha a’ fuireach anns a’ chaisteal? Uill, seo far a bheil an gnothach
a’ fàs inntinneach. Tha cuid dhen bheachd gun robh MacBheatha, seann rìgh
na h-Alba, a’ fuireach ann.
Aig ceann thall Lochan Lunn Dà Bhrà, tha gleann ann. ʼS e an t-ainm a tha
air – Gleann Rìgh. Cuideachd tha Abhainn Rìgh agus Innis Rìgh ann. Bha
Màiri NicEalair riaraichte gur e ainmean rìoghail a bha annta le ceangal do
MhacBheatha.
