Re: The Mysterious Wihtgar

Cadwallon wrote:

I have been writing a historical work about Hampshire and the Isle of Wight and looked up some of the Old English words on this site.
 
Here is draft extract. Can anyone tell me if my suggested origin of 'Wihtgarabyrg' seems reasonable, or have I got the possible derivation totally wrong?
 
Any help gratefully received.
 
"On Cerdic’s death, the Saxons say the island passed to a kinsman called Wihtgar. The usual explanation for the name Wihtgar (and Wight) is a back formation from the Latin Vectis ie it’s a garbled memory where the existing place name has been used to generate the person who conquered it. Some mistake has clearly been in this case, as the Annals mentioned Wihtgarabyrg before Wihtgar, the hero, arrived to take it.
 
Of course, our Merlin would probably laugh as such foolishness and tell you ‘Wihtga’ means 'wise man' or 'prophet' in Old English. The island was simply known as the Prophet’s Isle. But when that memory faded, the Saxons often shortened the name of the island to Wit, which means ‘white’ and would fit with the white cliffs marking its harbours. "



Cad