Arbroath and Its Abbey Author:David Miller Subtitle: Including Notices of Ecclesiastical and Other Antiquities in the Surrounding District General Books publication date: 2009 Original publication date: 1860 Original Publisher: T.G. Stevenson Subjects: Arbroath History / General Notes: This is a black and white OCR reprint of the original. It has no illustrations and there may be... more » typos or missing text. When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. Excerpt: CHAPTER I. The Town Of Arbroath And Its Dependences. -- 1. Origin And Condition Till The Foundation Of The Abbey. 2. The Harboub. 3. Formation Of Older Portion Of The Burgh. 4. Formation Of Newer Portion Of The Burgh In The Auioky. 5. Local Terms In Tub Town And Neighbourhood. I. -- ORIGIN AND CONDITION TILL THE FOUNDATION OF THE ABBEY. Previous to the erection of its Abbey, the history of Arbroath, if not fabulous, must be, to a great extent, matter of inference. We have seen no reference to its existence as a town or village earlier than the reign of King William the Lion, although its church (St Vigeans) is mentioned as existing nearly two centuries prior to the foundation of the Abbey. The high antiquity of Arbroath as a village or small seat of population, is proved by the form of its proper name " Aberbrothoc," which is said to be derived from " Aber," a very old British (but not modern Gaelic) word, signifying mouth or opening, coupled with the name of the small stream which here enters the sea. The word Brothock (formerly Brothac) has been stated to signify a red muddy stream. It has been written by Spottiswood, in his list of Religious Houses, and by others, in the form of Brothe ; and it may be a point of inquiry for philologists whether our culinary word broth is not derived from the same original term. The word " Abrinca," given as one of the namesof Aberbrothock in several Latin and English versions of Buchanan's descrip...« less