FAO: Miriam

[nostalgia_lj]

From a book written in 1918:

"The Saxons were slow and difficult to move [...] did not mind fighting, if their crops were in and they had nothing else to do, and it was difficult to keep them together as an army, unless the call for their services was very urgent. They did not trouble very much about their Church, or church-buildingm thought very

Comments

[edithmatilda]

This is the kind of horseshit that spawned the vehemence of the "Normans destroyed traditional freedoms" school of thought.

Although Bede's mostly to blame for the idea that there was a coherent pre-Norman "England", and he is Teh Man, so I am a bit fuzzy on that out of misplaced loyalty.

But the thing you quote is cultural and militaristic Imperialism in undiluted form and I do not CARE how unsophisticated I look for saying so.

Oh, and a big chunk of Scotland had Anglo-Saxonness going on in it so it is also your heritage and you are allowed to grump. Also, you got a fuckload of Normans too (Bruce? Balliol? Not Gaelic much are they?) but that's because your king fancied our king was a raging Anglophile who imported them, and also Towns and Money. So much more depressing than swords and feudalism and genocide, really.

Incidentally, David I was married to (obviously) Matilda, the daughter of the last earl of Bamburgh, so if you ever fancy an extra claim to English Northumbria you may find that handy.

[nostalgia_lj]

It is a Ye Olden book intended to teach Children about The Past. Them is the opening bits about how nothing happened before 1066. Also stuff did not happen in 1066 such as Edward the Confessor and Stamford Bridge.

Oh, and a big chunk of Scotland had Anglo-Saxonness going on in it so it is also your heritage and you are allowed to grump. Also, you got a fuckload of Normans too (Bruce? Balliol? Not Gaelic much are they?) but that's because your king fancied our king was a raging Anglophile who imported them, and also Towns and Money. So much more depressing than swords and feudalism and genocide, really.

I can't be bothered untangling my heritage so am happy to assume I am some generic cross-breed of successive invaders like most people in the UK. Can I hate Normans on grounds of hating Monarchies and Oppression?

Incidentally, David I was married to (obviously) Matilda, the daughter of the last earl of Bamburgh, so if you ever fancy an extra claim to English Northumbria you may find that handy.When/if Scotland becomes independant

[grondfic]

The Orli Bloom movie (Kingdom of Heaven, yeah?) is VERY pc all round. And besides, it has Orli in it .... and also that Kevin McKidd, later seen being Lucius Vorenus and chopping people up in a pc fashion in Rome

A lot of this "Saxon" nonsense in the late C19/early C20 history books stemmed from (a) Sir Walter Scot (who gave us Robin of Loxley, oppressed-Saxon freedom-fighter in Ivanhoe, and Rudyard Kipling, who was writing all kinds of stuff about Saxons and Normans in Puck of Pook's Hill/Rewrds and Fairies. IMHO of course.

[nostalgia_lj]

Don't be oppressing people who oppressed previous oppressors!

[edithmatilda]

You can macro the film with frequent use fo the word "orly?" as a terrible pun

[nostalgia_lj]

You can macro the film with frequent use fo the word "orly?" as a terrible pun.

I don't see what could possibly be Risky in a film about a long series of wars between two of the world's most popular religions!

We are probably not overly ethnically different, really. (Apart from the Arab bit obv.)

Well, we are Real Sisters so yah.

I always get confused when people online seem to believe all Scottish people are purebred Celtic Elves or whatever.

Shush I am so an elf!

Yu are probably more likely to be Vikkingy than I am

Yah, I think they did lots of stuff on the coast?

[edithmatilda]

Scotland is 95% coast, so that is why you are all ginger. I use "ginger" in a non-loaded way obviously.

[wolfy_writing]

I've seen the Orlando Bloom movie. In theaters, where I couldn't fast-forward when it got dull.

The leper King of Jerusalem's the best part.

[wolfy_writing]

And not just because he gave me an excuse to say "Leper King of Jerusalem". Other reasons as well.

[fyrdrakken]

Most of those reasons can be boiled to "because he is played by Ed Norton, who is WIN." But the silver mask was pretty neat, too.

[wal_lace]

Bernard Cornwell claims to be a direct descendant of the Earls of Bamburgh, so you might have to fight him on that one.

Are you reading his Saxon chronicles?

[edithmatilda]

I'm not because (a)I have a mad fear of anything remotely academic these days and (b)I slightly fear him. I probably should though. Brain turning to mush and all.