contrasting theories. Deflections of a weighted plumb line from the vertical could be measured and used by extrapolation to find the mass and volume of the earth. Schiehallion or Sìdh Chailleann - the Fairy Hill of the Caledonians was deemed ideal for the experiment because of its isolation from other peaks. These would exert a gravitational pull, and the peak’s apparent symmetry meant that any declination from the vertical could be considered commensurate on all sides.
Accordingly, Charles Mason, later to be replaced by Nevil Maskelyne, the Astronomer Royal, embarked upon an expedition to the mountain. They spent four months on the summit. A mathematician and surveyor called Charles Hutton realised that the numerous readings and measurements of deflections could be organised according to common values by plotting them along a line circling the mountain. Hutton did not discover the contour or isopleth. Other thinkers of the time had developed similar ideas, but he did apply the concept to the experiment.
Roy was by now a renowned cartographer and scientist and visited the team at their mountain redoubt. He verified their measurement of Schiehallion’s height barometrically, by relating air pressure to elevation. Though the scientists complained about the weather and how it interfered with their observations, they were also kept company by local people, who brought them gifts of food. At the farewell party in October a local boy, Donnchadh Ruadh (red-haired Duncan), entertained the party with fiddle music and songs. The party, fuelled by local whisky, went so well that the observation hut burnt down and Donnchadh’s fiddle was left behind in the rush to escape the flames. Maskelyne sent a replacement from London a few weeks later. Duncan called it A’ Bhan-Lunnainneach Bhuidhe - the Yellow London Woman, and composed a song in her honour.
On the trip I took to Schiehallion,
I lost my wealth and my darling,
… Mr Maskelyne, the hero
… did not leave me long a widower,
He sent my choice treasure
That will leave me thankful while I live.
(Hewitt 2010 62)
The conjunction of enlightenment scientists and mapmakers with late 18th century Gaelic speakers in Perthshire, exemplifying the rational and the intuitive, high upon the summit of The Fairy Hill of the Caledonians, was an extraordinary amalgam. The meeting of science with Gaelic culture also produced a map with place-names. It is worth comparing this 1778 Schiehallion document of Hutton’s with the current record.
Table 2: Comparison of Schiehallion experiment Map with OS 1:25,000 sheet
There are 23 Gaelic names recorded near or on the measurement contour. Despite their irregular spelling, all can be tentatively translated. Names seem to have been collected from Gaelic speakers, as they have been rendered phonetically with some accuracy by the English speaking team. Less than half can be related to the contemporary map. In a way, this small episode, occurring 100 years before formal OS mapping, encapsulates many of the issues impinging on research into Gaelic toponymy.
4: A Brief Guide to Gaelic Grammar and Pronunciation
Several linguistic obstacles impede the Gaelic learner trying to understand Highland landscape through place-names. It is easy enough to learn a basic vocabulary from the guides produced by OS, Scottish Natural Heritage and the National Parks. But the formation of place-names, using nouns and adjectives, and how both change in the genitive and the plural, can make understanding elusive.
The variety of definite article forms, like a’, an, an t-, am, na, na h-, nan and nam applied to the two genders of Gaelic nouns makes translation difficult. Misunderstanding is commonplace. A well-known angling guide to the lochs and rivers of Scotland includes 5 pages of entries for these 8 forms of definite article in alphabetical order. Of course, English entries are not listed under of, of the and the. Such a misunderstanding makes the guide hard to use and denies an area of potential interest to the reader.
Pronouncing the written word is often cited as another difficulty in understanding Gaelic. But in comparison to English, the language is more logical and consistent in its orthography. Once the spelling system is understood, it has very few sounds which are difficult to say. Instead of trying to learn pronunciation through lists of vowel and consonants combinations, this chapter uses some common generic place-names as examples. They are also used to illustrate points of grammar.
Several common Gaelic toponymic terms have come into English and Scots and need little translation. These include brae / bràigh (bry), ben / beinn (byn), cairn / càrn, corrie / coire (CAWryuh), craig / creag (crayk), dun / dùn (doon), glen / gleann (glown), knock / cnoc (crochk), kyle / caol (coeuhl), machar / machair (MACHehr) and strath /srath (srah). Other words such as pàirc (perrk), like the Scots park meaning field, and eilean (EHlan) meaning island, are so close to English that they are easily recognised. Pronunciation is explored along with grammar but the International Phonetic Alphabet, which many find obscure, is not used. In the system used here, the stressed first syllable is shown in capitals.
The best guide to plurals and genitives of definite and indefinite masculine and feminine nouns and any qualifying adjectives can be found at:
http://www.akerbeltz.org/index.php?title=Masculine_nouns
http://www.akerbeltz.org/index.php?title=Feminine_nouns
Though the genitive is commonplace in place-names recorded in the late 19th century, in contemporary spoken Gaelic, it is falling out of use.
4.1: Definite Articles, Gender of Nouns and Agreement of Adjectives
Gaelic has 18 letters. It lacks J, K, Q, V, W, X, Y and Z. So consonants are often combined to make sounds for which there is no single letter. This can make many place-names seem impenetrable to English speakers. The letter combinations Bh and Mh are features of written Gaelic alien to learners. They always sound at the beginning of words like V in English. A’ Bheinn Mhòr (uh vyn vore) - the big mountain, is common. It can be found anglicised to Ben More, near Crianlarich (NN433244). Anglicisation loses the resonance given by the final letters NN. Doubling of the consonant makes a ringing sound like vyn. In this example of a feminine noun, the definite article lenites the letter B to Bh. Its accompanying adjective, mòr agrees with its noun and changes to mhòr. There is no indefinite article in Gaelic.
Unlike their English counterparts, definite articles in Gaelic change. They vary for masculine and feminine nouns in their genitive, singular and plural forms. Where nouns begin with a vowel or the letter S, the article also changes according to the gender of the noun. So it is better to learn nouns along with their articles, in both their nominative and genitive forms. Usually, but not always, nouns ending in -ach, -an, -as, -ir and -iche are masculine, whilst those ending with -ag, -achd or -eachd and -id or -aid are feminine. Memorising simple place-names with their articles can help. An t-Allt Mòr (Un towlt more) - The Big Stream (masculine), in contrast to An Abhainn Mhòr (Un AHving vore) -The Big River (feminine) is a useful mnemonic.
Returning to the example of Ben More: anglicisation of Mhòr to More loses the indication that the word
