Llan Manager
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trochee asked for a translation of this writeup of the word "llan" as part of this discussion, and this is my attempt. Corrections welome.
A "llan" is a piece of land that is closed in. It is a very common element in Welsh placenames, especially in the sense "piece of consecrated ground".
The roots of this word are very ancient. According to the University of Wales Dictionary, it derives from the theoretical Celtic word *landa from the root *lendh- ("open land, heathland"). This is cognate to the word "llannerch" [ TT: which means "a clearing in a forest" ] and the English word "land". Cognate words are found in the other Celtic languages, such as "lann" ("church, heathland, open land") in Breton, and "lann" ("open land; building, church") in Irish, for example. From the cognate Gaelic word *landa comes the French word "lande" ("heathland, rough land"). [Ref: Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru, cyf. 2, tud. 2094.]
The [original?] earliest meaning in Welsh, it is probable, was "piece of land, enclosed in order to grow some crop or other, or to keep property", and it had this sense in some compound words such as "coedland" (enclosed land to grow trees), "corllan" (to keep animals), "gwinllan" (to [grow?] wine), "perllan" (for fruit), "ydlan" (for growing grains), etc. [Ref: ibid]
With the arrival of Christianity and the proliferation of churches, the sense "piece of consecrated land" evolved, naming the land which encircled the church, containing the graveyard ["mynwent"] ([I can't follow this parenthesis; something to do with "mynwent" also being an example of something.] there are examples of the world "llan" meaning graveyard too). The next step was for the word "llan" to come to mean the church itself, and thus the larger portion of towns and villages and parishes in Wales received their placenames, usually joined with the name of a saint, such as Llanlechid (the church of St Llechid). This "llan" was some land which was connected to some particular saint, where a cell or some cells stood or an early cloister.
Links have been made to two or more saints in "llan" placenames such as Llanddeusant, Llantrisant, Llanpumsaint and even Llandeuddegsaint [two, three, five, twenty twelve saints]. Some examples of placenames have been made to describe their site, such as Llan-faes (in an open field [=maes]), Llangoed (in the wood [=coed]), Llanllyfni (along the River Llyfni). [Ref: Ifor Williams, "Enwau Lleoedd" (Liverpool, 1945).]
"Llan" can refer to the Church itself insofar as it is an institution, especially in a comparison to the secular world or the state, for example in the saying "mewn llan a llys" [=between llan and court], i.e. everywhere. As a metaphor it can also mean "heaven". [Ref: Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru, supra]
