Words and places in the writings of Edward Thomas

Abstract

In 1911 an edition of Isaac Taylor's Words and Places appeared, edited and introduced by Edward Thomas. The fact that Edward Thomas undertook to edit Isaac Taylor's scholarly study of the derivation, meaning and distribution of place-names witnesses to his enthusiasm for place-names and place-name lore. This is an aspect of Edward Thomas's work which has been overlooked until now because much of his writing on the subject is contained in his rather inaccessible and generally neglected prose works and book reviews. In this essay I propose to consider some facets of Edward Thomas's approach to place-names, paying particular attention to his keen interest in their historical dimension. F amiliaricy with his approach to 'words and places' will help to illuminate the poet's achievement in 'The Combe', a poem which is the product of a lifetime's musings on ancient names and places.