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Germanic Interrelations: Studies in memory of Hans Frede Nielsen
Edited by Stephen Laker, Carla Falluomini, Steffen Krogh, Robert Nedoma and Michael Schulte
[NOWELE Supplement Series 34] 2025
► pp. 139–144

Deʒsastan

 | Heidelberg Universität
In 603, the Angles of Bernicia inflicted a crushing defeat on the Scots of Dálriada at a place called Degsastan in Bede’s History. The site of the battle and the etymology of the name have been the subjects of much scholarly debate. The present paper concludes that there is not enough evidence to establish the location of the site of the battle, but that the name was formed in an English linguistic environment and denoted a stone landmark named after a man with the Northumbrian name *Deʒsa (from Proto-Anglian *Dæʒisa). The paper also examines the use of the -isan-suffix in Germanic anthroponymy and that of other hypocoristic suffixes in combination with the name element Dæʒ- in Old English.
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