Archæologia Britannica
Pioneering study of the Celtic languages by Edward Lhuyd / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Archæologia Britannica (from Latin: Antiquities of Britain), the first volume of which was published in 1707, is a pioneering study of the Celtic languages written by Edward Lhuyd.
Author | Edward Lhuyd |
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Language | English, Welsh, Cornish, Breton, Irish, Scottish Gaelic, Manx, Gaulish, Latin, Greek |
Subject | Celtic languages, linguistics, philology, |
Publisher | Oxford University Press |
Publication date | 1707 |
Pages | 436 |
Following an extensive tour of Great Britain and Ireland lasting more than four years, Lhuyd began work on Glossography, the first volume of a planned four-volume set, Archæologia Britannica, which combined innovative methods of historical linguistics, language comparison, and field research, to establish a genetic relationship between the Welsh, Cornish, Breton, Irish, Scottish Gaelic, and Gaulish languages. After a significant delay, the Glossography was finally published in 1707.
Due to Lhuyd's early death at the age of 49, the last three volumes were never produced or published, and many of Lhuyd's manuscripts and research notes were later lost, destroyed in two separate fires. As the only completed volume, the Glossography itself is often referred to as Archæologia Britannica.