Murten - Walled City. Celt or Saintly Roots? Looks Celtic.

 MURTEN:  CELTIC ROOTS

among others

Names carry history within them.  Murten. The city of Murten, Switzerland, on the Murtensee.  Lake Murten. Murten. A name not glamorous in sound. Brings to mind an eccentric uncle, or friends of Lucy and Desi as in I Love, and not a name to draw you in off the roadway. 

Murten, Switzerland; battlements

Think again.  The roots of Murten are ancient.  Explore some possible connections:

1.  Early name migration to the British Isles.

Is there a connection to "Morton", coming maybe from "Moortown"; or "Marton" that tilts us toward "Martin."  All sound veddy British.  Morton alone is said to be English in origin, but only from the 19th Century, and this city in Switzerland goes for millennia before that: see all this at ://www.thinkbabynames.com/meaning/1/Morton/.

2.  Moors

We are interested in the "Moortown" idea because of the tradition of the blackamoor in Switzerland, see Moor as St. Maurice, patron saint of weavers in Bern; and on the district flag at Avenches, town to the south.  See Moor Motif in Switzerland.  His name also appears as St. Moritz, now of ski fame, Is this the same as St. Martin of Tours? Not by comparing biographies. See Martin at ://st-martins.net/martbio.htm/; and Maurice at A History of Christianity in Egypt, The Saints, at ://www.touregypt.net/chiste3.htm/.

St. Moritz, St. Maurice, was black - the Ethiopian commander of an African legion, from Thebes, in Egypt, that fought with the Romans, but was comprised Christians.  Maurice refused to attack a tribe that had Christians in it, and many were martyred for that refusal to follow orders.   Read the ancient Golden Legend about him, his name is also called Moris, at The Golden Legend, at ://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/golden277.htm. Does Murten, the lake as Murtensee or Lake Murten; and the walled town on its shores;  as a name have any connection with "Moortown", from something about the black Maurice-Moritz.

Here is a Star of David, as we know it, formed by a different color roof tile as seen from the ramparts.  This did not signify a Jewish population, apparently, but was a form used commonly by Christians and signified 

Murten, rooftop tile Star of David, Switzerland

the journey of the Magi at the time of the birth of Christ.  The five-pointed star has a long history, not just in Judaism.  Do not go to ://christianity.about.com/od/symbolspictures/ig/Christian-Symbols-Glossary/Christian-Stars.htm/ because you will be hit with ugly ads for teeth whiteners all across the top. Skip that one and go to something more exotic, like Religious Symbols at ://www.jesusfamilytomb.com/back_to_basics/alternative/secret/star.html/

3.  Celts

Looking elsewhere for Murten's roots, see Celtic civilization.  Here is the really ancient; and it is tied to many of us. See http://www.joellessacredgrove.com/Celtic/history.html/  They were here, there, everywhere, pre-Christian, shoved about by the Romans and Slavs and others ultimately, and many landed in the British Isles.

The British Isles - Gaelic; one form in Ireland, another in Scotland, and versions in the off-islands?  "Mor" in Scots Gaelic means great, or big.  "Ton" or tun or dun means fort.  So Morton or Murten as a place of a big fort makes sense.  May not be it, but at least we came up with some explanation for a dull-sounding name. Scroll down at the Celtic history site to find the Swiss material.

There is a big Moortown in Leeds, England, and that supports a Celtic background, not necessarily a black one.