Page:Origin of the Anglo-Saxon Race.djvu/19

Rh Kent, which are equivalent in meaning to Æthelwulfes land and Swithrædes den, or wood.

In the Anglo-Saxon charters, or copies of them which have been preserved, many names ending in the word -ingas, denoting people of a certain clan or ga, are mentioned. Of these, about 24 are in Kent, 11 in Sussex, 5 in Essex, 7 in Berks, 8 in Norfolk, 4 in Suffolk, 12 in Hants, and 3 in Middlesex. Many more clans no doubt existed, whose names may probably be inferred from existing place-names. On this, however, I lay in no stress. The termination -ingahem in place-names occurs in a large group in the North-East of France, where an early Teutonic colony can be traced. Local names ending in -ingen are scattered over Germany, most numerously in South Baden, Würtemberg, and along the north of the upper course of the Danube, and it was to these parts of Germany that people closely allied to the Old Saxons migrated. They moved south-west, while many who were kindred to them in race passed over into England, and hence the similarity in the endings of their place-names.

Anglo-Saxon names of places are almost universally feminine nouns ending in -e, and forming the genitive case in -an. When connected with other words they generally appear as genitives, but sometimes combine with these words, and form simple compounds without inflection. Of these many examples will appear.

The Old English place-names of which the words men or man form part, and which do not appear to be names derived from inflected words, are somewhat numerous, and most of them may probably be regarded as the tribal names by which the settlers at these places were first known. Of such names, Normanton,