TORLÁKR, TALLWCH & TALLICK
by Anthony Victor Retallick, Tywardreath, Cornwall
The surname RETALLICK, and its derivatives, is taken from a farm just off the road between St Columb Major and Padstow (OS SW934659). Early maps and older documents containing the surname give it a more correct initial “T” making it Tretallick, the house of Tallick, formerly a typical Cornish homestead farm and now a theme park. As a farm it was spelled Retallick but since its changed purpose Retallack has been preferred.
‘Authorities’ on Cornish place names and surnames give Retallick obscure definitions such as ‘high moor’ or ‘broad ford’ by trying to split the current rendition into two Cornish syllables. Obviously, they have neither visited the site nor consulted a map since the house is in a valley a little above a tiny stream with no moorland in sight. Nor have they researched historically in order to establish the initial ‘T’ which brings the surname into the context of the famous ‘Tre, Pol and, Pen’ couplet. Incidentally it is the only Cornish surname I know which has dropped the ‘T’.
So who was Tallick who built a farm here? In Welsh literature Tristan is always referred to as ‘son of Tallwych’, and in one of the legends, Mabinogion, there is a pig raid where the raiders are driven off by Tristan.
Close by Retallick is the cross-roads of Winnards Perch – Swinehaerds Paerc or the enclosure of the swineherd. Could this be the site of the raid. There is the house of Tallick, known as the father of Tristan, and the enclosure where pigs were confined – so the references are compatible.
On the Tristan (Drustanus) stone near Castle Dore, the father’s name is given as Conomorus and this must relate to a different Tristan.
Where did Tallwch come from? It is possible that he was a Scandinavian (Viking) who settled in Cornwall. Vikings visited the county regularly in the first millennium and the name can be found in Norwegian place names. These are Tallaksrud (Tallak’s Farm) in Akerhus, Tallakshavn (Tallak’s harbour) in Jarlsberg and Tallaksbru (Tallak’s Bridge) in Telemark. This Norwegian name Tallak stems from the ancient (Gamle-norsk) name Torlákr or Legs of Thor. So he was a Nordic equivalent of Mercury, a messenger of the gods.
In the Icelandic Olav den helliges saga Torlak had two sons, Sigurd and Tord, and a brother Trond. Tord is referred to as ‘den låge’ because he was taller than most others. This Olav was baptised on the Scillies and took Christianity to Norway where he was crowned king in 951. Olav met Tord, Torlak’s son, at a place called Svinesund (The bay of pigs), also in Akerhus.
It is interesting to note that a Norwegian Tallak was a farmer in the same way that a Cornish Tallick was a farmer. Tallaksrud and (T)retallick both translate to ‘Tallick’s farmhouse’ in English.
Also there is a common element with Tallack’s Farm being on the Bay of Pigs in the Icelandic saga, (T)retallick being next to the pigs enclosure in reality and Tallwych’s son Tristan fighting off pig raiders in Welsh legends.
There is other evidence of place names in Britain having a combination of a Viking personal name and an Anglo-Saxon element such as -ton as in Burneston, Scampston etc. These are known as ‘Grimston Hybrids’ after places bearing that name. The names are often thought to represent English villages that were acquired by Scandinavian settlers but perhaps remained outside Scandinavian control. In Cornwall Tresmorn and Treworld are examples. Tretallock could be another. (see Viking Age England by Julian D. Richards.)
