The Rebirth of England and English: The Vision of William Barnes [Paperback]

Father Andrew Phillips (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1898281173 | ISBN-13: 978-1898281177 | Publication Date: December 1, 1996

The Dorset priest and poet William Barnes (1801-1886) was an important force in encouraging the study of England's Anglo-Saxon past. In books like Early England and the Saxon-English, An Outline of English Speech-Craft and An Outline of Rede-Craft he not only used Old English but invented his own alternatives for English words which he felt had been 'corrupted' by Latin and Greek - language he termed 'Englandish'. This study reevaluates Barnes and discusses the philological and historical value of his work.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Anglo-Saxon Books (December 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1898281173
• ISBN-13: 978-1898281177
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 6.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,159,941 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Keeping Faith with Old England, February 21, 2005

By 

Tom Blair "dancer" (Perkiomenville, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Rebirth of England and English: The Vision of William Barnes (Paperback)

William Barnes (1801-1886) was called the Dorset Poet. He was a polymath. From his life one could learn much of the history of politics, craftsmanship, philosophy, almost any subject. But this book is for two types of people, lovers of pre-industrial England, and those interested in philology (speechlore as Barnes might have said it).

Barnes was against progress. That made him the perfect Anti-Victorian. His poetry is of an unspoiled, rural English countryside; a land years before the "dark, Satanic mills" of the industrial revolution that dirtied the forests, suffocated the leafy glens, and dulled the spirits of England, and Wales.

For me above all this book is about Barnes' love of the English language and his effort to recreate an English as it might have evolved purely from its Anglo-Saxon roots; English as it might have been had Harold and the English won the Battle of Hastings in 1066AD.

Anglo-Saxon words make for loveliness in speech - as Winston Churchill showed. It is handy to know them today. Those who care for the Gothic (Germanic) origin of our language must read The Rebirth of England and English The Vision of William Barnes.