Transcriber's Note Most spelling variants are retained. Punctuation is occasionally corrected, especially in the index and in footnotes, to maintain consistency. The titles and page references for the five appendices have been added to the table of contents. The 'oe' ligature is represented as 'oe'. Italicized letters are delimited with _underscore_ characters. A Transcriber's Endnote at the end of this text contains more detailed information about corrections made. ARCHAIC ENGLAND AN ESSAY IN DECIPHERING PREHISTORY FROM MEGALITHIC MONUMENTS, EARTHWORKS, CUSTOMS, COINS, PLACE-NAMES, AND FAERIE SUPERSTITIONS BY HAROLD BAYLEY AUTHOR OF "THE SHAKESPEARE SYMPHONY," "A NEW LIGHT ON THE RENAISSANCE," "THE LOST LANGUAGE OF SYMBOLISM," ETC. [Illustration] "One by one tiny fragments of testimony accumulate attesting such a survival and continuance of folk memory as few men of to-day have suspected."--JOHNSON LONDON CHAPMAN & HALL LTD. 11 HENRIETTA STREET 1919 TO W. L. GROVES WHO HAS GREATLY AIDED ME CONTENTS CHAP. PAGE I. INTRODUCTORY 1 II. THE MAGIC OF WORDS 34 III. A TALE OF TROY 78 IV. ALBION 124 V. GOG AND MAGOG 186 VI. PUCK 230 VII. OBERON 309 VIII. SCOURING THE WHITE HORSE 389 IX. BRIDE'S BAIRNS 455 X. HAPPY ENGLAND 522 XI. THE FAIR MAID 593 XII. PETER'S ORCHARDS 663 XIII. ENGLISH EDENS 710 XIV. DOWN UNDER 764 XV. CONCLUSIONS 832 APPENDIX 871 Appendix A: Ireland and Phoenicia 871 Appendix B: Perry-Dancers and Perry Stones. 873 Appendix C: British Symbols. 874 Appendix D: Glastonbury. 875 Appendix E: The Druids and Crete. 875