Place names?

[Teruel, Dr. Jose Romero (WDC)]

This is great! 
With a few more contributions we will have the entire route "decodified".
But, I have a different interpretation of "Mansilla de Mulas". The medieval
Latin meaning of "mansus" is "farm, place or house". The word mansion came
from this one. From the Latin vulgar there is also the meaning of "pacific"
or "benign" . All this together including the idea of "hands in the saddle"
suggested by John, could lead us to "The place where the mules live" or the
place where the mules are tamed", etc. Certainly, as it happens in the
majority of old villages (also in new ones), what takes place in certain
villages mark their name. Well, we all know that.
My apologies for the long intervention. But I am excited by this.
Joe 

-----Original Message-----
From: Watson, John [mailto:watsonjaTRINITY.VIC.EDU.AU]
Sent: Wednesday, March 13, 2002 10:47 PM
To: GOCAMINOaPETE.URI.EDU
Subject: Re: Place names?


I got most of such information from the Guide book "A Practical Guide for
Pilgrims - The Road to Santiago" Millán Bravo Lozano, Editorial Everest
S.A., Carretera León-La Coruña, km 5 - LEÓN
Other info I found on the camino in local guides - for instance Mansilla de
Mulas. Mansilla means "hand(s) on the saddle" and Mulas is "Mules". The town
was a famous market for mules.
Some are easy, like Villafranca which means house/village of the French,
Triacastela (three castles), Alto del Perdon (heights of Pardon) or
Villalcazar (house/village of the Moorish Fort).
Some have one or two suggestions where nobody really knows the origin.
The "squashing" of words together makes the task of the code breaker
difficult.
It is certainly a fascinating aspect of study.
John
www.pilgriminspain.net
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