Estay Introductory to the Archaeology of the JVest of England. 201 



We have already seen that Britain was peopled by successive races of 

 invaders, who established themselves with various success and duration in 

 that country. 



We are now to examine into the traces of their language which each 

 has left behind it, how far each has contributed, and in what department, 

 to compose our present vocabulaiy ; and what inferences may thence be 

 drawn respecting the degree of civilisation arrived at by each, the manner 

 and extent of their occupation of the country, and how far the inferences 

 derived from philosophical inquiry alone, correspond with the information 

 derived from other sources, more particularly that of history. 



If we examine into the vocabulary of our tongue, including, of course, 

 the terms of its geographical, topographical, and personal nomenclature, 

 we shall find words evidently derived from many distinct idioms ; such as 

 the Celtic, the Latin, the Saxon, perhaps the Danish, the Norman French, 

 and of later years, so far as relates to our scientific terms, the Greek. We 

 shall find, as we proceed further, that these languages have in many cases 

 applied themselves to particular classes of objects or ideas. 



Thus the names of certain of the great features in the physical geography 

 of tiie country,* of some of its mountains, of almost all its rivers, of its plains, 

 of its principal modifications of land and water, are significant only in Celtic; 

 and are closely akin to the names of similar objects, in those countries 

 which the Celts still inhabit, or are known formerly to have occupied. 

 (Note A. at tbe conclusion of this Article.) 



Nor are Celtic names confined exclusively to these ; we trace thera, 

 though more rarely, in the appellations of hills, brooks, caves, and the 

 lesser irregularities of the soil j and when such appellations are observed 

 to be scattered, however thinly, over a certain tract of territory, the in- 

 duction is as clear, that their language was once spoken over the whole, as it 

 is that the space between an outlying hill, and tlie heights with whicli it ex- 

 actly tallies, must have been at one time occupied by a similar series of rocks. 



The names of those topographical remains that are known to have been 

 erected by the Celts, cannot be cited in support of this argument. They 

 are due to Dr. Borlase, whose book is in some measure pure fiction, and is 

 full of confusion between natural and artificial remains. 



Descriptive in the Celtic tongue also, are the names of some few of our 

 lesser territorial divisions, such as counties, hundreds, or parishes ; and in 

 one or two cases of our cities, but these are for the most part of rare oc- 

 currence. (XoTK B.) 



Excepting certain names, which may be traced in later times to the 



• The names of places upon the coast arc rarely Celtic ; the British were not a 

 maritime people. Yiom circumstances of this nature, the habits of particular na- 

 tions are often evident. The reader will remember the conversation in the opening 

 chapter of Ivanhoe, in which the terras employed shew the superiority of the Nor- 

 man cookery. 



No. 5.— Vol. I. 2 K* 



