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Place Names in the Landscape
Libro usado en buenas condiciones, por su antiguedad podria contener señales normales de uso
- GenresHistory
Paperback
First published June 1, 1984
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 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 12, 2020
This book is concerned with topographical place-names (not those named for people, etc) and the chapters are:
Rivers, Marshes, River Crossings/roads, Valleys, Hills, Woodland and Ploughland
This book is both excellent and poor at the same time. The level of expertise is remarkable, as you'd expect from Gelling, but as a reading experience it leaves a heck of a lot to be desired.
Within each chapter there is a brief overview and then an A-Z of the various old English/Norse and sometimes Welsh place-name elements with accounts of how and why various places within the pre 1974 county boundaries are called that. This makes it sound more interesting than it really is. After you've seen the first dozen or so, probably called this because of the *****, then you've seen the next few hundred. Unless it is a place you actually know, your enthusiasm for discovering that somewhere at the other end of the kingdom might be named for a spur it sits on (in contrast to what earlier place-name experts actually suggested) quickly wanes.
A lot of the writing is a sea of examples and county abbreviations. Some passages are quite lengthy, especially for the more common elements of place-names, but the longer the entry, the less there is to enjoy. The nine pages discussing arguments about various Hams is tedious – at least Tommy Cooper was funny with his East Ham, West Ham, Oldham joke.
This is also not a book that you will learn much from. Not because it's not chock-full of stuff, quite the opposite. It is the level of specialist knowledge that makes it so difficult to learn much beyond the basics. You find that you have to take Gelling's word for what she's saying, because it is in no way possible to form your own firm conclusions. To do so you need: a map, local knowledge of conditions now, ideally local knowledge of conditions when the place was named, knowing the oldest spelling of the name, old English/Norse/Welsh Latin and also how they have changed during the years.
Things you'll take away from this book:
1, One for experts, only so much you can take from it and hope to remember,
2, Clofesho is probably Brixworth – the Clof element fits with the stream whose valley cuts the western edge of the spur the settlement is on.
3, There is an interesting book to be had on place-names, but this isn't it.
Rivers, Marshes, River Crossings/roads, Valleys, Hills, Woodland and Ploughland
This book is both excellent and poor at the same time. The level of expertise is remarkable, as you'd expect from Gelling, but as a reading experience it leaves a heck of a lot to be desired.
Within each chapter there is a brief overview and then an A-Z of the various old English/Norse and sometimes Welsh place-name elements with accounts of how and why various places within the pre 1974 county boundaries are called that. This makes it sound more interesting than it really is. After you've seen the first dozen or so, probably called this because of the *****, then you've seen the next few hundred. Unless it is a place you actually know, your enthusiasm for discovering that somewhere at the other end of the kingdom might be named for a spur it sits on (in contrast to what earlier place-name experts actually suggested) quickly wanes.
A lot of the writing is a sea of examples and county abbreviations. Some passages are quite lengthy, especially for the more common elements of place-names, but the longer the entry, the less there is to enjoy. The nine pages discussing arguments about various Hams is tedious – at least Tommy Cooper was funny with his East Ham, West Ham, Oldham joke.
This is also not a book that you will learn much from. Not because it's not chock-full of stuff, quite the opposite. It is the level of specialist knowledge that makes it so difficult to learn much beyond the basics. You find that you have to take Gelling's word for what she's saying, because it is in no way possible to form your own firm conclusions. To do so you need: a map, local knowledge of conditions now, ideally local knowledge of conditions when the place was named, knowing the oldest spelling of the name, old English/Norse/Welsh Latin and also how they have changed during the years.
Things you'll take away from this book:
1, One for experts, only so much you can take from it and hope to remember,
2, Clofesho is probably Brixworth – the Clof element fits with the stream whose valley cuts the western edge of the spur the settlement is on.
3, There is an interesting book to be had on place-names, but this isn't it.
Read
July 16, 2018Well, partly read. This is not a book for the casual reader.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews