Cushnie (Aberdeenshire)
Current maps show two regions called Cushnie for the Aberdeenshire Council Area. These are Cushnie (Alford) and Cushnie (Banff). That said, there is at least one other place in Aberdeenshire called Cushnie.
Political assignments
The former barony of Cushnie, which lies near Alford, is now part of the parish of Leochel-Cushnie . Cushnie was merged with Leochel initially temporarily in 1618 and finally in 1795. The length of today's municipality of Leochel-Cushnie is 11.6 km from east to west; its width from north to south varies between 3.4 and 7.6 km. The village of Milton of Cushnie is about 25 miles west of Aberdeen.
Cushnie (Banff) also belongs to the Council Area Aberdeenshire and is about 60 km north-north-west of Aberdeen.
geography
The area of Cushnie (Alford) is characterized by hills, valleys and mountains. The highest point is 619 m above sea level. M. the Sochaugh or Cushnie Hill. The predominant rock is granite.
Cushnie is bordered by Alford to the north, Tough to the east, and Coull and Tarland-Migvie to the south. The western border is marked by Sockangh Hill. The climate is somewhat cooler than in the lower lying areas of the Council Area. Milton of Cushnie is criss-crossed by a burn and numerous moats. They are used to drain the soil. The municipality of Leochel-Cushnie is drained north to the Don through the Leochel Burn and its tributaries Rumblie Burn, Burn of Cushnie and Droichs Burn.
Cushnie (Banff) is about 7 km east of Banff and about 2 km from the North Sea coast.
history
The barony of Cushnie, south of Alford, belonged to a family of the same name in the 12th century. Its oldest known owner was Adam de Cussenin. By marriage, the Barony passed to the Leslies in the early 14th century, who in turn were ancestors of the Counts of Rothes. In 1471 Cushnie was acquired by the Lumsdens, who called themselves "de Cuschny" from around 1580.
There are many original documents relating to the former Barony of Cushnie, which are stored in 19 boxes at the University of Aberdeen as a so-called "Cushny Charter Chest". The certificates are well cataloged and can be viewed in the Wolfson Reading Room at the University of Aberdeen.
In contrast, there are significantly fewer certificates for the "lands of Cushnie" at Banff. However, it is clear from the old documents that Cushnie belonged to the Auchterless barony. In one of the old documents, the "lands of Cushnie Knockleith" is also discussed.
Spelling and origin of name
The spelling of the barony varied greatly over the centuries. One of the reasons for this was that the original Gaelic name was transformed by the English language. The name was also often latinized in certificates and other official documents. Typical examples of different spellings are Cushny, Cushney, and Cusseny.
Cushnie is pronounced as ʌ (short "a") by locals . The fact that the sound “a” is written as a in Gaelic is probably the reason that the region in question was sometimes also written with “a” - specifically as Cashney.
In order to understand the origin of the word Cushnie, it is helpful to first look at the suffix “ny”: The suffix “ny”, “never” or “ney” - in Great Britain stands for places or field names where bogs or marshland has been drained . Examples from Aberdeenshire are Cluny, Cairnie, Rhynie or Udny. All of them - like Milton of Cushnie (Alford) and Cushnie (Banff) - are still criss-crossed by drainage canals and Burns.
There are three explanations regarding the prefix of the suitcase word Cushnie. The first refers to the Gaelic word ch'oisinn, which means "corner". The second possible origin of the name is the Gaelic word "cuisne" for "frost". There is also the explanatory variant "Foot o´ Hill".
With Cushnie (Banff) the variants “frosty place” and “Foot o´ Hill” are omitted. So that the explanations "(drained) marshland" should come close to the original meaning of the word. The term marshland also gets to the heart of the word insofar as this term “almost exclusively refers to populated cultural landscape” in German. The drainage took place here in order to make the land usable for agriculture. Simplified, Cushnie could also be translated as “Mooreck” or “Marscheck” (cf. “chóisinn” for corner).
Cushnie (Alford) is not far from the Highlands. There it is not unusual if a place is at the foot of a mountain or if it is a little colder in the region concerned. Therefore, the etymological interpretation of Cushnie (Banff) should also apply to Cushnie (Alford)
literature
- John Bulloch (Ed.): Scottish Notes and Queries , Second Series, Vol. I, Aberdeen, 1900
- Edward Dwelly: The Illustrated Gaelic-English Dictionary , Glasgow, 1967
- Andrew Jerwise: From Burial Grounds and Old Buildings in the North-East of Scotland , Edinburgh, 1875
- KH Leslie: Historical Records of the Family of Leslie from 1067 to 1868-9 , Vol. II, Edinburgh, 1869
- HW Lumsden: Memorials of the Families Lumsdaine , Lumisden or Lumsden, Edinburgh, 1889
- James Macdonald: Place Names of West Aberdeenshire , Aberdeen, 1900
- Arthur Mitchel and CG Cash: A Contribution to the Bibliography of Scottish Topography , Edinburg, Vol. I, 1917.
- Scotland Church of Gen. Assembly, Educ. Comm .: Educational Statistics of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland , Table I. 2. Presbyteries in Synod of Aberdeen, 1833
- The New Spalding Club: The miscelany of the new spalding club , Aberdeen, 1890
- The Spalding Club: Illustrations of the Topography and Antiquities of the Shires of Aberdeen and Banff , the fourth Volume, 1862
- Adam Watson: Place names in much of north-east Scotland , 2013
Individual evidence
- ^ Macdonald (1900), p. 152
- ↑ Jerwise (1875), p 186
- ↑ a b c d History of Leochel Cushnie in Aberdeenshire. In: A Vision of Britain through Time. GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, accessed July 16, 2020 .
- ↑ Leslie (1869), p. 24., Lumsden (1889), p. 27
- ↑ Jerwise (1875), p. 189
- ^ Spalding Club (1862), p. 323
- ^ Spalding Club (1862), p. 572
- ↑ Michtel and Cash (1917), p. 49
- ↑ Jerwise (1875), p. 189
- ↑ Jerwise (1875), p. 187
- ↑ Watons (2013), p 160
- ↑ Dwelly (1967), p IX
- ↑ Scottish Notes and Queries, July 16, 1987, p. 56 f.
- ↑ Dwelly (1967), p 296
- ^ Watson (2013), pp. 160, 316
- ↑ Macdonald (1990), p. 152