A DISSENTING OPINION ON THE ETYMOLOGY OF SAMLESBURY, LANCASHIRE

Via personal communication with Professor John Insley of Heidelberg, who is responsible for the Lancashire portion of the EPNS, I have the following on a proposed etymology for Samlesbury:

This derivation from Soemil (as it is written in the Latin text) is, in my view, unsupportable.  First, the Soemil of the HB is said to have been an early ruler of Deira.  The name as it stands is a one-off and there is no justification for placing it at Samlesbury as well - especially if we have to propose a variant form with a diminutive suffix and a different ablaut grade for the stem! This strikes me as being forced or even a bit perverse. Or, in Alan James' words (personal communication), "suspiciously ingenious."  So, invent a name - or use one we know exists.

Second, I have produced a fairly large body of evidence from the Welsh sources which plainly indicate that Sawyl (from Samuel)  Benisel belongs to the area around Ribchester's Roman fort. Samlesbury is close to that fort in the Ribble Valley.

And, third, several other leading toponymists (like Dr. Richard Coates and Dr. Andrew Breeze) have subscribed to my notion that Samlesbury contains a form of Sawyl's name.

Furthermore, it is not impossible that Soemil is not Germanic at all, but instead represents an intrusion of Sawyl into the Anglo-Saxon pedigrees.  For Soemil is said to have flourished in the 5th century, which was the time of Sawyl.  And Deira (from Dere/Dera) as a kingdom name originates in the first element for "oak" of the Derventio Roman fort at Malton in North Yorkshire.  This fort was named for its river, the Derwent.  Another Derwent river (now the Darwen, earlier Derewent) is found at Samlesbury. Samlesbury Bottoms is, literally, on the Darwen.  I'd previously shown that Pabo of Papcastle, traditionally Sawyl's father, belonged to another Derventio Roman fort on yet another Derwent River, this one in Cumbria. 

The River Darwen at Samlesbury

No. 1 is the Derwent of Deira, while No. 4 is the Darwen of Samlesbury

In other words, the two Derwent streams could easily have been confused in tradition.  Could Sawyl/Samuel have been corrupted into Soemil?  If so, is Soemil merely an intrusion into the Anglo-Saxon genealogies?

Dr. Simon Rodway of The University of Wales has provided the development of Sawyl from Samuel for our edification:

1.       Samuelis

2.       Long e > wy, thus *Samwwyl-

3.       > *Samwyl-

4.       Lenition, thus *Safwyl-

5.       Apocope, thus *Safwyl

6.       f assimilated to w, thus Sawyl.

Professor Insley insists Soemil can't be related to Sawyl: "The vowel of my proposed etymology for the first element of Samlesbury should be short, i.e. OE *Samul.   Soemil cannot be a reflex of Welsh Samwl, since it contains etymological /o:/."

Dr. Rodway also says that the names Soemil and Sawyl are "completely different".

Thus if a confusion occurred, it can only be because two separate names were, due to superficial similarity, wrongly identified with each other.

Regardless as to whether this happened or not, I will stick with my own theory that Samlesbury is "Sawyl's fort."