“The regional genetic differentiation and differing patterns of shared ancestry…carry clear signals of historical demographic events.” Nature’s recent article on the genetic makeup of the British population is full of eyebrow-raising stuff.
Read more "Genetic structure of the British population"One of the big mysteries to me as a novelist (as opposed to professional historian) is the lack of a convincing explanation for the apparent obliteration of Brythonic (the native Celtic language of Britain before the Romans came and muddled everything up) and substitution of Old English, a Germanic language. (My terminology is imprecise; I’m […]
Read more "The never-ending mystery of English"After a careful reading of Richard Coates’ Invisible Britons (thanks, Marisa) I was pondering upon slavery, language, and cultural annihilation and, frankly, getting nowhere at the speed of light. And then in the Economist this week, I encountered an article about the evolution of language that ended (in typical Economist style): “As Noah Webster, the […]
Read more "Slavery, language, cultural annihilation"I’ve found some very useful OE dictionaries online, but I’ve been less successful with Old Irish and have absolutely come up empty for Cumbric and other Brythonic languages. If anyone can point me to some resources, I’d be most grateful. Meanwhile, I did find a short but amusing Alternative Breton Dictionary. I can now say […]
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