Essay Introductory to the Archaeology of the West of England. 199 



The dominion of Edward, though finally complete, was not achieved 

 without a vast number of petty insurrections on the part of the indignant 

 ■Welshmen ; and the monarch, well aware that steady and uncompromising 

 severity was the only method of securing his conquest, and jealous of the 

 influence of those nobles whose estates occupied the border territory, and 

 whose office of lords-marchers obliged them always to retain an armed 

 force, often visited Wales ; and spent as much of his time in his Welsh 

 castles, as the important affairs of the rest of his kingdom would safely 

 permit. 



^ Geo. T. Clark. 



ESSAY INTRODUCTORY 



TO THE 



ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE WEST OF ENGLAND, 



Part III.— LANGUAGE. 



Agreeably to the plan sketched out at the commencement of this Essay, 

 we are now about to enter upon the examination of the philological remains 

 of those successive inhabitants of Britain, whose origin and history have 

 already been pointed out. And it may be observed, that this is a branch 

 of Archaeology, which, if not the most popular, is decidedly the most im- 

 portant, and in many respects by far the most interesting. 



Christina of Sweden said of the celebrated Vossius, and the anecdote 

 has been transferred to Menage, that he was the most troublesome person 

 in the world ; for he made every word produce its passport, and declare 

 whence it came, and whither it was going. 



Any attempt to analyse a language, to discover how much it owes to one, 

 and how mucii to another source; what words it possesses in common with 

 other languages, and how such community has been brought about; what 

 are its grammatical forms, what its idiomatic expressions; by what progress 

 it has attained a certain degree of perfection, and to what changes it re- 

 mains still liable; these are subjects, not merely for the curious speculation 

 of those by whom it is spoken, nor for the exercise merely of antiquarian 

 industry ; but which are connected closely with the business of every day 

 life : — since nothing conduces more effectually to a full and complete ac- 

 quaintance with tiie powers of our own tongue, than an acquaintance with 

 the primitive and simple terms, out of which its more elaborate super- 

 structure has been constructed, and which it possesses in common with 

 others of an identical or cognate original. For, although the sense and de- 

 finition of a compound word may no doubt be very accurately learnt by a 

 reference to the vocabulary or lexicon, yet it will best conduce to the 

 apprehension of its full force and meaning, its large and round-about sense 

 to be informed whence it originated, by what steps and through what 



