MS Princeton University, Parrish CollectionC0171: Box 29: Author Files Wood-Yonge:

Dear Sir,
I am much obliged for all your kind observations upon the Christian Names, a work which I know it was very presumptuous in me to undertake, with so little real knowledge as I possess of more than general principles and a few scattered details.

I am glad you exonerate the original thief from being a robber. I went upon the authority of the late Professor Munch of Christiana, who gave me much kind help. I had thought Walthiof a slaughter thief, but he considered the first syllable to be Weal, not Tal. The likeness to theow had struck me.

I know the Celtic part of the book is by far the worst. I could get nothing satisfactory by way of key, and Dr O’Donovan who had promised to look over the Irish part, died before it was ready for him.

Una was on his authority and for the rest, I picked out what I could from his papers on Irish names, and from notes to publications of the Irish society, verifying where I could by the Highland Society’s dictionary, I think I was even worse off with the Cymric names, having no authority but Celtic researches and Owen Pugh, and just knowing that modern discoveries had thrown them over, so that it was blundering in the dark, and getting derivations where I could from Rees, the notes to the Mabinogion, Villemarqué &c.

I suppose Perceval was connected with the Sangréal in Bretagne from the sound of his name, – But the correspondance [sic] with the homely tale of Perronik shows a curious persistence in the use of that first syllable Per as connected with the bowl, though of course that may only be as a corruption of Perceval into a common village name.

I hope if I ever have the opportunity of putting forth a second edition to remedy the blunder as to the Brut, and to make use of any other corrections you may be kind enough to send me.

Yours much obliged
C M Yonge