Abstract
PROF. MAWER's work on the place-names of Northumberland and Durham has an interest which transcends its geographical limitations. Unlike most workers on this subject, he does not confine himself entirely to the linguistic side of the evidence. He is prepared to turn to topography, ethnology, or history for assistance or confirmation. For instance, he has tested, by a careful examination of topographical conditions, the theory that names ending in ington occur on high ground where the geological formation favours the finding of springs. As a result, he finds that the theory holds good in East Northumberland only, but that in the west of the county the water supply is dependent upon other factors. The tendency of the lines of investigation followed by Prof. Mawer will inevitably be to bring the study of place-names into closer relation with cognate problems in ethnology and history, and to break down the isolation which has characterised even some of the best work on the subject in this country.
The Place-Names of Northumberland, and Durham.
By Prof. Allen Mawer. (Cambridge Archæological and Ethnological Series.) Pp. xxxviii + 271. (Cambridge: At the University Press, 1920.) 20s. net.
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The Place-Names of Northumberland, and Durham . Nature 107, 776 (1921). https://doi.org/10.1038/107776b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/107776b0