Q IN the name Lindisfarne what is the meaning of the prefix Lindis? Is it some long-forgotten Celtic saint or an adjective no longer used? - Mary Ellery, Peterlee.

A THE name is something of a mystery and has never been satisfactorily explained. However, in a seventh century Anglo-Saxon tax assessment document called the Tribal Hidage, one tribal group is mentioned as the people of Lindsey from Heath Field Land.

Heath Field Land is the Anglo-Saxon name for a Celtic tribal region in Hatfield Chase near Doncaster. In the tribal hidage, it is grouped with Lindesfarona, the early Anglo-Saxon name for the Kingdom of Lindsey, or Lincolnshire.

In the case of Lindsey, Lind comes from Lindum, the Roman-Celtic name for Lincoln. Here the Romans established a colonia, hence Lindum Colonia or Lincoln. Lind is a Celtic word meaning either lake or lime tree. The word ey in Lindsey signifies an island - probably a pocket of land surrounded by streams and ditches of which there are many in Lincolnshire.

It is thought that people from Lindsey settled at Lindisfarne. The Northumbrian island was also known as Lindisfarona because people of Lindsey settled there. The name fahren (farne) is thought to be Celtic and means place of retreat. It has also been claimed that farne means land, or fern, since the Farne Islands form a fern-like pattern. The meaning of the word Lindis is also disputed. Some believe it is the name of a stream that flows into the sea opposite the island.

Celts and Anglo-Saxons had strong connections with the Lindisfarne area. The Celts knew the island as Innis Metcaud, meaning isle of winds. Nearby Bamburgh was a Celtic stronghold known as Din Guayroi.

A connection with Lincolnshire is not altogether unlikely. The earliest Angle settlements in the North were in Lincolnshire and East Yorkshire and settlements spread out from there.

Perhaps a tribe of Anglo-Saxons from Lincolnshire settled on the island of Lindisfarne after intermixing with Lincolnshire's native Celtic people. It is not the only tribal link between the fenlands of eastern England and the North-East. A tribe called the Gywre, a name meaning marsh dwellers, lived near the Wash. This ancient tribal name also gave rise to the name of Jarrow on the River Tyne.

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