first printed in Standfast 2015
Over the gathering weekend the place name “Revack” came to my attention. Revack is known today because of Revack Lodge - a hunting lodge built in the 1800s and sold by the late Lady Pauline Ogilvie-Grant over a decade ago. For several hundreds of years before that the name was associated with the hill between Revack Lodge and Auchernack Farm. Although now forested it is called Craig Revack - and “Craig Revack!” was the war cry of the Allanach Grants (Auchernack was their HQ).
So before going any further we must consider Auchernack. We may begin by noting that in the Monymusk Text this is rendered as Achachernich (elsewhere it is also Achernich). We may note similar Grant-associated placenames including Lagachernick, Balachernick, Loch an t’ Seilich Chernick and Glenchernick. In all these cases “Chernick” is a rendering of the genitive of “Cernach” which means “Victor” and references the angel Victorius who appeared in St Patrick’s dream telling him to evangelise Ireland. It is also the nickname of Connal - Ireland’s most famous mythical hero.
As far as Achachernich is concerned it is possible to parse it in two ways. It could be “Achadh Chernich” - ie Victor’s field/meadow or Ach a Chernick - Victor’s mound/bank. Anyone visiting Auchernack will see that either could apply. I favour the second of these, but I am not much exercised by it. We should note that the burn that runs by the farm is now called the Auchernack Burn. “Burn” is essentially Anglo-Saxon, so we know that this form of the name is new. And we may be confident that the name Auchernack even in its original form was brought to the area by the Grants, probably after 1316, more probably considerably later than 1400. [it is just possible that the name stems from the period 1060-1098.] Thus we may be confident that both had a different name prior to this time.
How to pronounce Revack? What does the name mean? Why the name at all? A fascinating story emerges. It is a study of patterns in the landscape.
First the pronunciation: Many people say “Reevack” - I have to admit I was one of those. But actually the others have it right: it is indeed RAY-vack. The “Re-“ element comes from the Gaelic “Reidh” and means “area of flat land”. Just upstream from Auchernack (and on the lower slopes of Craig Revack) is Brae Revack - which means “the higher lands of Revack” - implying that Revack was a place down stream from that place.
About 3km due South of Revack Lodge is Càrn na Loinne. The “Carn” (Cairn) bit of it refers to its shape and prominence. [The Loinne bit refers to an enclosure for animals of some sort (eg a sheep fold).] Just to the West of this hill across a narrow valley is Backharn. Although this is a farm the name refers to the relatively low ridge of land (bachd) on which it stands by the carn (cairn shaped hill). [A more normal word for a mountain ridge is Drum/Druim - which also means “spine”. A spine is normally straight - while “bachd” carries the undertone of ‘bent’.]
Between this ridge (“bhachd” in the genitive) and Auchernack farm is a large area of very flat land (the “Reidh”). It lies down stream of Brae Revack. So it is this area of land which is The Reidh Bhacdh - ie Revack. So Revack means “the flat land by the ridge” and refers to the area round Auchernack farm.
Thus we may be confident that Auchernack Farm used to be called Revack (or, more correctly, Reidhbhacdh). We may surmise further that the stream would have been called “Allt a rheidhbhacdh” or some such. Thus Revack Lodge is so named only because it sits on the slopes of Craig Revack.
It has been a matter of considerable excitement both to me and to Neil MacGregor (to whom I defer in all Gaelic matters - especially place names - and with whom I had two long and robust conversations on this particular matter which brought us to this understanding) to have been able to work out a place name which has been ‘lost’ for well over 500 (perhaps even 950) years!