would prefer to call field-names—is receiving the attention of the learned and the curious. With the exception, however, of Dr. Taylor's Words and Places the literature of this subject is scattered about in the publications of various archælogical societies and in magazines.[1] The idea seems to have struck the Hon. and Rev. Sydenham H.A. Hervey, Vicar of Wedmore, in Somersetshire, that it would be a good plan to treat the subject, from a popular point of view, in a publication which professes to be a parish magazine, or rather a parish history and parish magazine combined.[2] Mr. Hervey is doing this in the Wedmore Chronicle, which is entirely written by him. This work, among other things, contains the field-names, or a selection of them, of Mr. Hervey's parish, and the comments made upon them show how extremely interesting an inquiry of this kind, when treated by a competent hand, may become.
In introducing local names into the text of the glossary I have followed the example of German lexicographers who usually adopt this plan, which is very convenient for reference. Moreover, there are so many cases in which the local name explains the ancient word, or in which the ancient word explains the local name,[3] that it seemed to me desirable to include them in this way, although an obvious temptation was thereby offered to become discursive, and to make notes of a more or less speculative kind. I think, however, that my notes will in most cases be found useful, even if, as must of necessity be the case, some of my opinions should hereafter upon better evidence be shown to be erroneous.
Owing to what Dr. Isaac Taylor calls the 'instinctive causativeness of the human mind' stories are constantly being invented by the people to explain the meaning of local names which they do not understand.
Many of these stories are as amusing as the are obviously false, but others may become a source of error to the inquirer, and may,
- ↑ When this work was far advanced in the press Mr. Blackie's admirable little Dictionary of Place-Names came into my hands, and I have derived some useful hints from it.
- ↑ It need hardly be said that the magazine has nothing in common with the periodicals usually published under this name.
- ↑ Take, for example, Bage and Burbage, Bent Grass and Bents Green, Chark and Charkin Hill, Float and Floated Field, Fox Grass and Fox Hill, Lache and Leachfield, Meggoni and Meggon-Gin, Snape and Snape Hill Wime and Wyming Brook.
