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Thus we read in the brief Chronicle of the West Saxon kings, under the year 577, 'Cuthwine and Ceawlin fought against the Welsh, and offslew three kings, Conmail and Condidan and Farinmail, and took three ceasters, Gleawan ceaster and Ciren ceaster and Bathan ceaster. We might modernise a little, so as to show the real sense, by saying 'Glevum city and Corinium city and Bath city. Here it is noticeable that in two of the cases Gloucester and Cirencester the descriptive termination has become at last part of the name; but in the third case that of Bath it has never succeeded in doing so.
The only other notable Ceasters, are Alcester, once Alneceaster, in Worcestershire, the Roman Alauna; Gloucester or Glevum, already sufficiently explained; and Mancester in Staffordshire, supposed to occupy the site of Manduessedum. Among the most corrupted forms of all, Exeter may rank first.
The grand old English epic of Beowulf, which is perhaps older than the colonisation of Britain, speaks of townsfolk as 'the dwellers in ceasters.
Among the other Ceasters which have never developed into full-blown Chesters, I may mention Bath, given as Akemannes ceaster and Bathan ceaster in our old documents, so that it might have become Achemanchester or Bathceter in the course of ordinary changes.
To complete the subject, it will be well to say a few words about those towns which were once Ceasters, but which have never become Casters or Chesters.
William of Normandy utterly destroyed the town during his great harrying of Northumberland; and when his son, Robert Curthose, built a fortress on the site, the place came to be called Newcastle a word whose very form shows its comparatively modern origin. Castra and Ceasters were now out of date, and castles had taken their place.
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