ORIGIN, ETYMOLOGY, AND ANCIENT STATE OF GLOUCESTER. GLOUCESTER is unquestionably a place of great antiquity, and was probably a station or settlement of the Britons, long before the commencement of the Christian æra. Caer Glow is mentioned by Alfred of Beverley as one of the twenty-eight cities built by the Britons, previous to the Roman invasion. The rude inhabitants of those days indeed had nothing among them corresponding to our ideas of a city or town, consisting of a number of contiguous houses, disposed in regular streets, lanes, and courts. Their dwellings were usually scattered about the country, or irregularly placed on some spot where the conveniencies of water, wood, pasture, or hunting were most favourably combined.-Tacitus de moribus Gallorum, c. 16, &c. These circumstances, connected with the consideration of its being the lowest place on the river where a safe and convenient passage could be made to the western parts of the island, seem to offer a probable reason why it was first selected, and afterwards formed into a B large settlement, when the alarm of the Roman invasion, un der Cæsar, compelled the natives to act with united energy for mutual protection and support. CAER GLOW, the ancient name, is confessedly British, and has been supposed to mean the Fair City. Etymologists, however, are not agreed in allowing the appropriation of this distinguishing epithet, and have therefore endeavoured to explain the name in different ways. Varunnius says, that the Emperor Claudius, having married his daughter Genuissa to King Arviragns, commanded the town and castle to be built after his own name. Hence Claudia, Claudiocestria, Claudiana sivitas, Claudia cestriensis civitas, Claudiocestre, Claucestre, &c. Some time after, it is said, that the name was a little altered in compliment to Gloius, a supposed son of Claudius, and governor of Demetia, a part of South Wales, Robert of Gloucester, however, supposes this alte ration to have taken place before the time of Claudius, when, to assimilate the name to Gloius, Claucestre was changed to Gloucestre, Ninius conjectures that there were three brothers, the sons of Gloius, great-grandfather to King Vortigern, who built the town, and called it after their father's name, : Camden inclines to the same opinion of its being derived from Gloius; only that be finds Glevum mentioned long before by Antoninus as Gleaucester came from Glevum, so Gleyum by analogy came from Caer Gloui. Gough calls it the city of the pure stream, from the British Caer gloyü üs. The editor of the Beauties of England asserts, that Caer Gloew, signifies, the Fortress of GLOEW, who, from what little can be collected concerning him, lived at the commencement of the Roman period of British history, and was Prince of the country of which this city was the capital: in ancient pedigree books, he is styled Gloew Grelad Lydan; or Gloew, Lord of the broad region. Others have conjectured, that when Britain was divided into five parts, this, which was the principal town, took its appellation from Flavia Cesariensis, the name of the divi sion; and that Flavius in the British language has the same sound as Glaui, which might easily pass into Gloui A modern topographer has proposed to derive the name from glo, the original British word for coal, that is, the city of coal, and observes, that coals were ever a marketable commodity. This etymology is liable to great objections; for even if it were allowed, that the use of pit-coal was known among the early British, yet it can hardly be sup posed that a place, situate at least twelve miles from the nearest coal-pit in the Forest of Dean, should receive its nanie from the supply of an article not necessary in those days, and therefore little valued, while the natural and extensive forests of the country produced abundance of fuel, nearer home, and with little trouble. Of these different opinions the reader will chuse that which appears to him most probable, but the historian, who receives with caution the circumstances mentioned by British writers of early periods, will still adhere to the common etymon of Caer Glou, or the bright city, till another more probable shall be discovered, though he is unable to assign a substantial reason why this station or settlement should at so remote a period have been distinguished by so honourable a title. There are almost as many opinions about the orthography as the etymology of this city. The fashion of writing "Glo cester" has prevailed but a few years, but whether this or "Gloucester" be most agreeable to ancient usage, will ap pear from the following observations. In the Saxon Chroni |