Probably an etymologizing variant. The 'u' in these names usually derives from
an 'l' (French underwent a similar change to that which can be observed in
modern non-standard English dialects, where 'l' is often pronounced more like
/w/, e.g. 'help' = /hEwp/). Whereas Old French spelling mostly reflected
pronunciation, later grammarians tended to restore letters to the spelling on
etymological grounds. Some of these survived, others didn't.
Steve
----- Original Message -----
From: "Chris Daniell" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, May 07, 2003 10:14 AM
Subject: [EPNL] Rievaulx
> Apologies if this is a naive question, but as we are on the subject of
> French place names (Beau etc), why does Rievaulx have an 'l' in vaulx,
> whereas most names ending 'vaux' don't?
>
> Chris Daniell
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