Abstract
MR. JOHNSON puts before the student of tradition a study which, whether or not it be accepted in all its details, will be recognised as a valuable addition to our knowledge of the archæological remains of our country. It tells us both of the means by which these remains have often been preserved and of the machinery by which a great mass of tradition has been handed down during the ages. A monument is protected by a custom, superstition or tradition attached to it, while the much frailer life of the custom, superstition or tradition is preserved by the continued existence of the monument. It is obvious that we have here a most fruitful and hitherto largely neglected source of information. Even where tradition has obviously gone wrong, the point where it has gone wrong and the reasons and influence which have caused this deflection are laid bare by Mr. Johnson in many cases, and become a not unimportant part of his inquiry. We frankly confess that, despite objections here and there to conclusions wrongly drawn or drawn from authorities not of the first order, we are impressed by the cumulative value of the evidence which Mr. Johnson adduces. He is sound on most of the scientific problems he deals with, and does not allow his theory to master him.
Folk Memory, or the Continuity of British Archaeology.
By Walter Johnson. Pp. 416. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1908.) Price 12s. 6d. net.
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Folk Memory, or the Continuity of British Archaeology . Nature 79, 423 (1909). https://doi.org/10.1038/079423a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/079423a0