The Rebirth of England and English
The Vision of William Barnes

Father Andrew Phillips

English history is patterned with spirits so bright that they broke through convention and saw another England. Such was the case of the Dorset poet, William Barnes (1801-86), priest, poet, teacher, self-taught polymath, linguist extraordinary and that rare thing - a man of vision. In this work the author looks at that vision, a vision at once of Religion, Nature, Art, Marriage, Society, Economics, Politics and Language. He writes: 'In search of authentic English roots and values, our post-industrial society may well have much to learn from Barnes'. For the first time Saxon-English words created and used by Barnes have been gathered together and listed next to their foreign equivalents.

This book is well worth the money just for Barnes' word lists in which he gives 'Saxon' alternatives to words with Latin or Greek roots. While some of the words he suggests using are odd, most are sensible. If William Barnes were alive today he would argue forcefully against 'civic waste disposal facility' and suggest we use 'town rubbish dump'.



£9.95     160 Pages


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