Dawston Burn, with White Stones to the North
White Stones
White Stones, Satellite Aerial Shot
The Battle of Daegsastan was fought at Dawston Burn in Liddesdale.* However, although 'Degsa's Stone' would seem to denote an important monument, no one has been able to find it. If it was an ancient standing stone, then it is no longer extant.
I do have an idea, which I would like to offer here.
The spelling of the personal name supposedly present in Daegsastan resembles the Old English word daeg, 'day.' When I discussed Daegsastan with noted place-name expert Alan James, he told me:
"For a modern reflex of that name, you need to be looking for something like *Dei(gh)stane, pronounced ‘Deestan’ or ‘Daystan’, or else *Dewstane – with Dawston being a phonologically reasonable variant of that. Frustratingly, Dawston could, conceivably, be < *dæġ-es-stān 'day's stone'. whatever that might mean. Which isn't far from Degsastan, and plenty of scholars have made that connection, but it's problematic."
In going to the maps for the Dawston Burn, I noticed an unusual feature called the White Stones, described thusly:
WHITE STONES White Stones
White Stones James Elliot
Archibald Stavert 039 [Situation] On the East bank of Dawston Burn
This name is applied to some loose stones, on the face of a steep brae, on the farm of Saughtree.
These stones, combined with a personal name D(a)egsa, made me think of Myrddin's sister, Gwenddydd. Her name means, transparently, 'White Day.'** As Myrddin's principal sphere of activity (indeed, his origin point and place of death) belong properly to the Liddesdale region, I could not but help pose the following question:
Could the White Stones of Dawston Burn be the Stone of D(a)egsa? And could both names preserve an earlier geological feature named for Gwenddydd?***
The Norse god Dagr was "the personified day (R. Simek DICTIONARY OF NORTHERN MYTHOLOGY)." It's not impossible that the early Saxons may have had a similar deity and that he was substituted for Gwenddydd. There are some -daeg names in the early portion of the Bernician royal pedigree (Swaefdaeg, Waegdaeg, Baeldaeg).
The Norse god Dagr was "the personified day (R. Simek DICTIONARY OF NORTHERN MYTHOLOGY)." It's not impossible that the early Saxons may have had a similar deity and that he was substituted for Gwenddydd. There are some -daeg names in the early portion of the Bernician royal pedigree (Swaefdaeg, Waegdaeg, Baeldaeg).
* NOTE 1: The battle itself was probably fought at one of these sites, as described in the entry for Dawston Rigg at CANMORE:
NY59NE 12 c.57 98.
On the face of the slope (of Dawston Rigg) looking south and over the railway, there exist three large British camps close together. One, which lies on the shoulder of the hill, has been converted into a sheepfold, and the other two (NY59NE 2) situated close to the railway, are side by side.
A D Murray 1896
The southern slope of Dawston and Hudshouse Rig was perambulated without any trace of the earthwork allegedly converted into a sheepfold.
Visited by OS (JLD) 7 October 1960
** NOTE 2: Gwen in Welsh has the secondary meaning of "holy, blessed."
*** NOTE 3:
NY59NE 12 c.57 98.
On the face of the slope (of Dawston Rigg) looking south and over the railway, there exist three large British camps close together. One, which lies on the shoulder of the hill, has been converted into a sheepfold, and the other two (NY59NE 2) situated close to the railway, are side by side.
A D Murray 1896
The southern slope of Dawston and Hudshouse Rig was perambulated without any trace of the earthwork allegedly converted into a sheepfold.
Visited by OS (JLD) 7 October 1960
** NOTE 2: Gwen in Welsh has the secondary meaning of "holy, blessed."
*** NOTE 3:
See
for an account of some ancient stone crosses found at/near the Dawston Burn. The problem with considering such a cross as a candidate for Degsa's Stone is that these particular examples appear to be boundary markers for property owned by Jedburgh Abbey - an abbey which was not founded until the 12th century. The Battle of Daegsastan was fought in the early 7th century.
It would be more reasonable to postulate that a standing stone or stones originally dedicated to Gwendydd stood atop Abbey Knowe, and that this was replaced by Christian crosses. Geoffrey of Monmouth has Ganieda (= Gwenddydd) construct for Myrddin a stone circle (the astronomical observatory!). The description fits a very large structure such as Stonehenge, which Merlin is associated with, and in THE MYSTERIES OF AVALON I made a case for the Long Meg and Her Daughters circle in Cumbria. But there is a small stone circle on Ninestone Rig less than half a dozen kilometers from Dawston Burn (https://canmore.org.uk/site/67994/ninestone-rig) and there might well have been a similar monument atop Abbey Knowe.
There are standing stones at nearby Hermitage (Buck Stone and Graystone Hill).
It would be more reasonable to postulate that a standing stone or stones originally dedicated to Gwendydd stood atop Abbey Knowe, and that this was replaced by Christian crosses. Geoffrey of Monmouth has Ganieda (= Gwenddydd) construct for Myrddin a stone circle (the astronomical observatory!). The description fits a very large structure such as Stonehenge, which Merlin is associated with, and in THE MYSTERIES OF AVALON I made a case for the Long Meg and Her Daughters circle in Cumbria. But there is a small stone circle on Ninestone Rig less than half a dozen kilometers from Dawston Burn (https://canmore.org.uk/site/67994/ninestone-rig) and there might well have been a similar monument atop Abbey Knowe.
There are standing stones at nearby Hermitage (Buck Stone and Graystone Hill).
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