Ecclefechan
This somewhat tonge-twisting name refers to a village in the south-west of Scotland (near Gretna Green).
Ecclefechan, from the Gaelic
Eoglais Fheichein
, was first mentioned in 1507 as
Egilfeichane
, but the name is really Brythonic and related to the Welsh
Eglwysfach
und
Llanfechan
; the root
eglẹ:s
stands for “church” (see the French
eglise
), and
fechan
comes from “small”. The small community (less than 1000 inhabitants) in the traditional county of Dumfriesshire is famous as the birthplace of the great historian, philosopher, and essayist
Thomas Carlyle
and the home of the
Ecclefechan tart
, a type of small pastry that is in direct competition with the “mince pies” indispensable to British coffee tables around Christmas. (Both Ecclefechan tarts and mince pies contain no meat.)
From “Anselm's Notes on Dances”, by Anselm Lingnau
(Used by permission.)