> Funny, all those good Anglo Saxon Britons from Robin Hood's time were
being
> put upon by Normans, who were nothing more than a bunch of hopped up
> Vikings, another Germanic crowd.
Close - the Normans were from Normandy, France.
William the Conquerer, betrayal, Hastings, Bayeux Tapestry.
1066, And All That.
As far as the Britons thing goes, my British History is a little fuzzy after
about 2000 B.C.E., but perhaps the reason the Cymru bunch claim to be the
only "true Brits" is because nobody has successfully invaded them. The
island was full of the same short, dark-skinned, big headed chaps until the
invaders came. The Vikings didn't get into Wales. Got their asses kicked,
really. The Romans pretty much stopped short. The Normans didn't bother
because they heard they would most likely get a whuppin' (they weren't used
to mountain combat).
Basically, the armies of history never felt like messing with this hearty
group of Celtic biker-types, so I guess they are "pure," whereas the rest of
Britain has been intermixed. A list of town names in England will verify the
many influences on its culture, whereas Wales gives you the most vowel-free
placenames for your buck (pound), because they're mostly still named in
Welsh Gaelic or a derivative. Viva la glottal stop.
The English have had so many genetic influences over the last 2500 years
it's safe to say that they are just as much mutts as we Yanks are.
The myth that red hair is a Scottish trait is...well.... a myth. Danish men
on pillage parties left their zygotes scattered with the women of both
Tartan-land and Hibernia, so while free of Roman genes, they've been
seriously tainted from the East.
Nid yw Cymru ar Werth!
Alex Maiolo (Huw Goc Aur)
Chapel Hill NC
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