# Talk:Battle of Dun Nechtain

I wonder whether the parsing of the name is actually correct. I understand that "Gwaith" = battle, however Y Geiriadur Mawr also gives "Gwaedlan" as meaning "battle". Nennius gives the name as "Gueithlin Garan" and as "Garan" has little to do with "Nechtan" there seems little reason to suppose a "llyn". Clearly "Nechtansmere" implies "Nechtan's Lake" but "Llyn Garan" is something else. I don't have a resolution to this, but it does seem to me that there is a hitherto unrecognised problem. Freuchie (talk) 12:06, 20 November 2022 (UTC)

Most sources quote Nennius as saying "Gueith Lin Garan". I do have a resolution to it, but it falls firmly in the area of original research and is not usable here. "Llyn" would be equivalent to "loch" and if you look at John Craig's 1822 map of Ross and Cromarty you can see a "Dounachan" at the North Eastern end of Loch Carron.
Ecgfrith's armies were in Ireland in 684, it's a short sail up the coast to Loch Carron for an overland invasion of Fortriu, avoiding the heavily defended Dunottar. Catfish Jim and the soapdish 21:02, 9 July 2025 (UTC)