Book excerpt: Excerpt from The Origin of the English Nation Of the English nation, so far as the information at our disposal permits. The author ventures to hope that in spite of its many shortcomings it may serve to call attention to a field Of investigation which, though rich in promise, has been greatly neglected, especially in this country. In general he has sought to make use of all branches of ethnological study - history, tradition, language, custom, religion and antiquities. Owing however to the backwardness Of archaeological research through out the north Of Europe, except in Denmark and Sweden, it has not been found possible to treat the last of these subjects in a manner at all commensurate with its true importance. When this branch of study has been developed it will perhaps be possible to Obtain more light on the affinities of the English nation in times anterior to those to which the earliest heroic traditions refer. At present, it need hardly be said, we have little definite evidence available for that early period, and any investigation that is made must necessarily partake more or less of a hypothetical character. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.