Names as Cultural Emblems

From the onset of the story, the reader encounters names of people and places, which sound and look strange and exotic. The setting of the tale is sixth century Britain, two hundred years after the Romans left Europe. Now the Celtic kingdoms fight among themselves while the invading Angles and Saxons settle in the eastern part of the island and push to overwhelm the Celtic Britons.

It is the name of a place which gives a clue as to in which region of Britain it falls and its history. Thus Powys is the Celtic name for a large area of what is now Wales. Dumnonia, as with all names ending in "ia" or "um" is a Roman name, as are Glevum and Pontes. The complication arises when Roman names have survived, in situ, and often contain references made by the Romans to the original British...