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Signposts to the Past
256p hardback, label trace to endpaper, clipped dustjacket in very good condition with clear protective sleeve attached, stamp to title page, all other pages clean, firm binding, a good copy
- GenresNonfictionLanguage
Paperback
First published March 1, 1978
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About the author
Margaret Gelling
25 books4 followersMargaret Joy Gelling was an English place-name scholar.
She worked as a research assistant for the English place names society during the 1940s and 50s, later she was involved in teaching and lecturing as part of the University of Birmingham's Extra-Mural studies programme.
She was elected Fellow of the British Academy in 1998.
She worked as a research assistant for the English place names society during the 1940s and 50s, later she was involved in teaching and lecturing as part of the University of Birmingham's Extra-Mural studies programme.
She was elected Fellow of the British Academy in 1998.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
February 12, 2020
I found this barely more readable than Place-names in the Landscape and tapped out before the end. The generalities in place-name studies won't get you very far in developing your understanding, but the specifics are actually very situational on each example and going into them becomes tedious very quickly.
The chapters include: The languages, Place-names of Roman Britain, Latin loan words, Celtic survival, the chronology of English place-names, place-names and the archaeologist, personal names, boundaries and meeting places and then Scandi and French place-names.
These sound pretty interesting. However, each one begins with an account of the history of place-name history as it relates to the topic of that chapter and there's not a lot in that for the casual reader. In fact, in places this reads like her getting the last word in on an argument she's had in the past. My interest is limited in what someone wrote in 1953 and how this was questioned in the 60s and how these three examples prove that they were incorrect. Just cut to the chase and tell me how things stand now. Very quickly in each chapter you mentally feel as if you've gone 10 rounds with Mike Tyson. To add insult to this, by the time you get to what should be the meat of each chapter, you discover just how dull it is. The various examples given are fine individually, but taken in total, they wear you down.
I didn't enjoy this book and I gave it up as a bad job before I got to the end.
The chapters include: The languages, Place-names of Roman Britain, Latin loan words, Celtic survival, the chronology of English place-names, place-names and the archaeologist, personal names, boundaries and meeting places and then Scandi and French place-names.
These sound pretty interesting. However, each one begins with an account of the history of place-name history as it relates to the topic of that chapter and there's not a lot in that for the casual reader. In fact, in places this reads like her getting the last word in on an argument she's had in the past. My interest is limited in what someone wrote in 1953 and how this was questioned in the 60s and how these three examples prove that they were incorrect. Just cut to the chase and tell me how things stand now. Very quickly in each chapter you mentally feel as if you've gone 10 rounds with Mike Tyson. To add insult to this, by the time you get to what should be the meat of each chapter, you discover just how dull it is. The various examples given are fine individually, but taken in total, they wear you down.
I didn't enjoy this book and I gave it up as a bad job before I got to the end.
June 3, 2022
bit heavy going in parts but worth the effort
if you have only a slight interest in place names might be better to get a place name dictionary to dip into when you want the etymology of a name or three
personally i love a good onomastic pleonasm
if you have only a slight interest in place names might be better to get a place name dictionary to dip into when you want the etymology of a name or three
personally i love a good onomastic pleonasm
November 20, 2016
ooh grumpy ..but one of the definitive books on place-names.
December 31, 2015
This book was part of my assigned reading for my English Place-Names course; despite some dull patches, I actually found it quite interesting and very informative.
The study of place-names is never one I was at all familiar with until this semester, and as an American studying abroad in England, I came in with a disadvantage in that I knew almost nothing about British names. But this book, while admittedly often bogged down in individual case studies, still retains enough principles of place-naming to be interesting perhaps even to the casual reader.
Signposts takes a historical approach to place-names, moving through each major language group in British history and discussing its influence on place-names. That being said, there is a disproportionate amount of discussion given to Britonnic and Latin place-names, which are rare, less given to plentiful Anglo-Saxon names and very, very little given to Scandinavian name which are plentiful in the former Danelaw. I imagine this is simply because Gelling's interest was mostly in Celtic and Roman names, which are given a thorough treatment.
Thus the book is helpful in guiding readers to points of interest in British place-name history and in turning attention to current debates and pitfalls of the beginning learner. Don't expect an extensive treatise on what is enormous area of scholarship, but do expect interesting discussion.
The study of place-names is never one I was at all familiar with until this semester, and as an American studying abroad in England, I came in with a disadvantage in that I knew almost nothing about British names. But this book, while admittedly often bogged down in individual case studies, still retains enough principles of place-naming to be interesting perhaps even to the casual reader.
Signposts takes a historical approach to place-names, moving through each major language group in British history and discussing its influence on place-names. That being said, there is a disproportionate amount of discussion given to Britonnic and Latin place-names, which are rare, less given to plentiful Anglo-Saxon names and very, very little given to Scandinavian name which are plentiful in the former Danelaw. I imagine this is simply because Gelling's interest was mostly in Celtic and Roman names, which are given a thorough treatment.
Thus the book is helpful in guiding readers to points of interest in British place-name history and in turning attention to current debates and pitfalls of the beginning learner. Don't expect an extensive treatise on what is enormous area of scholarship, but do expect interesting discussion.
July 20, 2015
c1978. Another book that should have been right up my street. Sadly, though it reads as a rebuttal of other experts and slurring archaeologists. I am sure there must have been a different way of getting to the conclusion. However, there were some interesting bits but the book is really for academics and I am a bit surprised that it made a second publishing run. " It is therefore important at the outset to ask people who have no specialist competence in the history of the English language to accept specialist guidance about the meaning of place-names before building a theory on supposed etymology."
June 18, 2012
This was a complete loss to me. Gelling says that the vast majority of place names in England are Anglo-Saxon. This is why I checked out the book - to learn more about these place names. But that's all she says - one paragraph. The rest of the book dwells on the Latin (etc.) place names of England, which are relatively rare.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews