Reflections on Names and Places in Devonshire. by Miss - Cornish.

Reflections On Names And Places In Devonshire. By Miss - Cornish. This 19th-century antiquarian work undertakes a broad survey of Devonshire and nearby regions through the lens of toponymy, myth, and classical lore. The author blends philology, archaeology, and geography to trace the origins and meanings of place-names, rivers, and sites, often weaving Celtic, Greek, Egyptian, and biblical mythologies into local history. The text moves from Dartmoor andCrediton to Exeter and beyond, interspersing etymologies with discussions of druids, bards, eisteddfod-like gatherings, and ancient institutions, while offering numerous genealogies of legendary figures and nations. It also reflects on how ancient sanctuaries, fords, and stone circles shaped early law, religion, and social order, sometimes drawing on classical authors such as Herodotus, Hesiod, and Homer to illuminate Britain’s past. The result is a dense, highly allusive tapestry of place, language, and lore that reveals a Victorian-era appetite for reconnecting landscapes to ancestral myths and collective memory, rather than straightforward history.