******************************************************************************************************************************************************* This email and any files transmitted with it are intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. ******************************************************************************************************************************************************* The Victorians had a fascination for the Culdees derived from Celi De which is Gaelic for servants of God. They did exist and indeed there were some at Dornoch. They were a group which endured certainly from the 9th to 13th centuries. Monks and nuns could live in close proximity, as indeed at Iona. However, to then say that the monks lived at Inverkirkaig and the nuns at Badnaban is difficult to accept. The name Inverkirkaig is part Norse: the ending is Kirkju-vík "church bay or inlet". The present-day settlement name, which first appears on record in 1572, was formed by the addition of the Gaelic prefix, Inbhir "confluence or mouth". The name suggests the presence of a church/chapel there during the Viking period. However, I don't think we can then go on to say that this was a monastery and there would have been a settlement of nuns at Badnaban, Culdee or Celtic style. The land could not have supported such an establishment. In contrast, the whole lands of Durness, including Kinlochbervie, may well have supported a monastery. I therefore prefer to take Badnaban to mean the place of the women. Unless proved otherwise! Malcolm -----Original Message----- From: Epaxton@aol.com [mailto:Epaxton@aol.com] Sent: 03 June 2003 15:24 To: SCT-SUTHERLAND-L@rootsweb.com Subject: [SUT] The origins of the place name: Badnaban ******************************************************************* This email has been received from an external party and has been swept for the presence of computer viruses. ******************************************************************* Having just come back from Assynt, I've been discussing the area with a friend whose brother is a crofter there. She was telling me that she was trying to find out more about the meaning of Badnaban's translation 'place of women' which she understood related to the fact that there was a women's religious settlement there in the c 1500's. This settlement was separated from a men's settlement which was nearby, but she did not know precisely where it was located. She also said that she had seen a map in Crieff public library which showed only a handful of religious settlements in the 1500's in Scotland and that one of these was in the Lochinver area. Can anyone throw any light on this please? Are there any references to this that one can search? This may be something for Malcolm. TIA edward Limpsfield, Surrey Using Norton Anti-Virus 2003 ==== SCT-SUTHERLAND Mailing List ==== To check out previous messages http://archiver.rootsweb.com/SCT-SUTHERLAND-L/ ============================== To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237 PLEASE NOTE: THE ABOVE MESSAGE WAS RECEIVED FROM THE INTERNET. On entering the GSI, this email was scanned for viruses by the Government Secure Intranet (GSI) virus scanning service supplied exclusively by Cable & Wireless in partnership with MessageLabs. GSI users see http://www.gsi.gov.uk/main/new2002notices.htm for further details. In case of problems, please call your organisational IT helpdesk.