01-03-2007, 11:38 PM
I just caught the end of an interesting report on the BBC's Newsnight. It was looking at Celtic versus English identity, especially the Cornish Celts who still feel bitter about the supposed Anglo-Saxon genocide to eradicate the Celts from England.
However, (and no doubt it's been discussed before), one theory is that the Germanic peoples were here long before the Romans ever set sight on the white cliffs of Dover. One archaeologist is investigating placenames, and has an interesting theory. Many place names in an extensive area all have Germanic endings (-ey), which means the place was an island. From the layout of these places he believes there was a vast lake there. The problem is a Roman road runs smack bang through the middle of that large area. Therefore, they must have been called those names before the lake dried up, which would be long before the Romans came. Ergo, Germanic language was already being spoken here.
A Professor Stephen Oppenheimer of Oxford Uni has apparently written a book on this, and believes that the reason for the geographical split between those of Celtic heritage (Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Cornwall), and those of Germanic heritage (England), is not because of genocide, it being unnecessary. The former simply originated from Spain and the Basque region, and the English came across the still joined eastern side of England from Europe, before the British Isles broke away from the mainland continent.
More reading:
http://www.forum.oxfordancestors.com/vi ... php?tid=51
http://www.prospect-magazine.co.uk/arti ... hp?id=7817 (two thirds of the page down)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/connected/ma ... rits10.xml
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/3618613.stm
However, (and no doubt it's been discussed before), one theory is that the Germanic peoples were here long before the Romans ever set sight on the white cliffs of Dover. One archaeologist is investigating placenames, and has an interesting theory. Many place names in an extensive area all have Germanic endings (-ey), which means the place was an island. From the layout of these places he believes there was a vast lake there. The problem is a Roman road runs smack bang through the middle of that large area. Therefore, they must have been called those names before the lake dried up, which would be long before the Romans came. Ergo, Germanic language was already being spoken here.
A Professor Stephen Oppenheimer of Oxford Uni has apparently written a book on this, and believes that the reason for the geographical split between those of Celtic heritage (Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Cornwall), and those of Germanic heritage (England), is not because of genocide, it being unnecessary. The former simply originated from Spain and the Basque region, and the English came across the still joined eastern side of England from Europe, before the British Isles broke away from the mainland continent.
More reading:
http://www.forum.oxfordancestors.com/vi ... php?tid=51
http://www.prospect-magazine.co.uk/arti ... hp?id=7817 (two thirds of the page down)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/connected/ma ... rits10.xml
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/3618613.stm
TARBICvS/Jim Bowers
A A A DESEDO DESEDO!
A A A DESEDO DESEDO!
