Carmarthen.
I cannot think that M. C. E.'s etymology of _London_ is a correct one;
nor did I know that the British _Llan_ means a "level place generally."
I take it that originally _Llan_ meant no more than "an inclosure," as
we see in _winllan_, "a vineyard," "an inclosure for vines;" _perllan_,
"an orchard" (literally a pear-yard). As churchyards were probably for
some time almost the only inclosures in their districts, this will
explain why the names of churches in Wales so commonly begin with
_Llan_. Llanvair, Llanilltid, Llandilo, &c. were the _inclosures_, or
yards, in which churches dedicated to St. Mary, St. Iltyd, St. Teilo,
&c. were built, though in the course of time these names became applied
to the churches themselves. The word _don_ is nothing more than _din_,
or _dinas_, "a fortress," as we see in Lugdunum, Virodunum, Londinium,
Dumbarton, Dunmore, &c.
Old chroniclers say that the city of London was nearly, if not entirely,
surrounded by water, which on the north, north-east, and south sides
spread out into considerable lakes. Present names of localities in and
about the City show traces of this. Finsbury and Moorfields take their
names from the fens and moors, or meres, which were partially reclaimed
from the lake which spread to the north and north-east, almost from the
city wall. To the south the Thames extended far beyond its present
boundary, forming an extensive lake. _Fen_church Street, _Turnmill_
Street, _Fleet_ Street, show that there were streams and fens to the
east and west.
Bearing in mind that British names were generally descriptive of the
locality, may not the situation of old London furnish a clue to its
etymology? Was not London then truly and descriptively _Llyn-dun_, or
_Llin-dun_, the fortified place or fortress in or on the _lyn_ or lake?