The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #17022   Message #1211051
Posted By: Celtaddict
20-Jun-04 - 03:55 PM
Thread Name: Where's Fennario?
Subject: RE: Where's Fennario?
I have read from several sources that Fyvie (becoming Fyvie-O) is the older and presumably (judging by the other locations in the older versions) original place, but have heard speculation that "Fennario" or its variants might have been a localization to Fiunary, which would become "Fiunary-O" then simplified a bit. I believe, on the scant evidence of the scansion of "Farewell to Fiunary," that the accent is on the second syllable, "fiYOOnary," which might make this unlikely, but the soldier/sailor traditions did seem to change place names almost as readily as girl names, and to adjust the names to fit the songs (as in, "away, RYEo" and "off to Amerikay"). I don't have a map handy; is not Fiunary fairly far north? Is it a place where soldiers of the era of the song (or the next wave, to alter a familiar song) might be?