Norman Davies - The Isles: A History
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At every stage, The Isles connects offshore development with parallel events on the Continent. This richly layered history begins with the Celtic Supremacy in the last centuries BC, which is presented in the light of a Celtic world stretching all the way from Iberia to Asia Minor. Roman Britain is seen not as a unique phenomenon but as similar to the other frontier regions of the Roman Empire, such as Germany. The Viking Age is viewed not only through the eyes of the invaded but from the standpoint of the invaders themselves--Norse, Danes, and Normans. Plantagenet England is perceived, like the Kingdom of Jerusalem, as an extension of medieval France. In the later chapters, Davies follows the growth of the United Kingdom and charts the rise and fall of the main pillars of `Britishness--the Royal Navy, the Westminster Parliament, the Constitutional Monarchy, the Aristocracy, the Protestant Supremacy, the British Empire, the imperial economy and sterling area, and the English Language.
The book ends with the crisis confronting Britain now--the emergence of the European Union. As the elements that make up the historic Britishness dissolve, Davies shows how public confusion is one of the most potent factors in this process of disintegration. As the Republic of Ireland prospers, and power in the United Kingdom is devolved, he predicts that the coming crisis in the British State may well be its last.
This holistic approach challenges the traditional nationalist picture of a thousand years of eternal England--a unique country formed at an early date by Anglo-Saxon kings which evolved in isolation and, except for the Norman Conquest, was only marginally affected by continental affairs. The result is a new picture of the Isles, one of four continents--England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales--constantly buffeted by continental storms and repeatedly transformed by them. Illuminated by the same clarity and piercing originality that distinguished Europe: A History, The Isles will become an agenda-setting book, one that will encourage a reassessment of what it means to be British while sparking debate about ideas of national identity and sovereignty.
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Acknowledgements
The author plays only a supporting role in the preparation and production of a large book. For institutional assistance, therefore, I wish to register my debt to Wolfson College and to the Wolfson Library, where much of the book was written, and to the Librarian, Adrian Hale. I am also especially indebted to the Division of the Pacific and Asian History, Australian National University, which provided me with a research fellowship, and more importantly with a most friendly environment for writing and first-rate office support. My genial host in Canberra, Professor Hank Nelson, deserves to be mentioned in all despatches. Equally, the Department of History, University of Adelaide, under its Chairman, Professor Ric Zuckerman, gave me the very welcome chance to work for an extendid period on their campus and to make full use of the excellent Barr Smith Library.
Among many individuals, in first place I owe a special debt of gratitude to my wife, Myszka, who, having considerable writing talents herself, fully understands the needs and foibles of a creative writer. I have received sterling assistance beyond the call of duty from my chief Researcher, Roger Moorhouse, and from my PA, Ewa Huggins. Numerous other friends and colleagues have made valuable contributions, among them the incomparable Ian and Margaret Willis, Professor Keith Brown, Professor Henry Loyn, Jude Shanahan, Cathy Brocklehurst, Lewis Mayo, Rhoda Macdonald, Alistair Moffat, Manon Williams, Rieko Karatani, Iain Smith, Athena Syriatou, David Morgan, Deanna Gallagher, Ray Chubb, Kevin Donnelly, Gavin Parsons, Dr Anthony Faulkes, Ceri Wyn-Richard, Pat Maclean, Revd Janet Ridgeway, Jos Paels, Philip Skingley, Graham Caie, The Scots Language Society, and many others.
My publishers, Macmillan, know exactly what it needs to keep an author in good heart and on the right path. I thank them for their efficiency and flexibility, especially my enthusiastic desk editor, Nicholas Blake, the book designer, Wilf Dickie, and my chief editors, Tanya Stobbs and Georgina Morley. In the darkest days of the greatest pressure, Georgina Morley proved to be an unflappable team leader, a wonderful manager, and a skilled psycho-therapist. The typesetters, SetSystems of Saffron Walden, responded to an extraordinarily tight schedule with speed and precision. My agent, David Godwin, has also been a tower of strength.
Every chapter has been submitted for comment to a team of specialist academic readers. Their advice has been absolutely invaluable. My warmest thanks go, therefore, to Professor Barry Cunliffe; Professor John Gillingham, Dr. Halina Hamerow, Dr Edwin Jones, Professor Iain McCalman, Martin Meanaugh, Dr Heather ODonoghue, Professor Wilfrid Prest, Professor Peter Salway, Dr John Stevenson, and Dr Bjorn Weiler. The extent to which their advice was followed was my sole responsibility. All errors are exclusively my own doing. I would wish to take credit, however, for anything which happens to be accurate.
N D The Day of the Total Eclipse August 1999
List of Illustrations
Section One
1. The Isles
217. Flags: St Andrew; St George; St Patrick; St Piran; Welsh
Dragon; Manx Trinacria; Guernsey; Jersey; Commonwealth Jack, 1649; Protectorate Jack, 1658; Union Jack, 1707; Union Jack, 1801; Irish Republic; Northern Ireland; Orkney; Shetland.
1829. Standards: St Edward the Confessor, 1042; The Conqueror and successors, 1066; Guillaume le Lion and successors, c. 1165; Richard Cur de Lion and successors, 1198; Edward III and successors, 1340; James VI, I, & I, 1603; The Lord Protector, Richard Cromwell, 1658; William III & II, Stadholder of the United Provinces, 16941702; Anne, Queen of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, 170714; George I, II, III, Electors of Hanover, Kings of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, 17141801; George III to William IV, Kings of the United Kingdom and Hanover, 181637; Victoria to Elizabeth II, 1837 .
30. Celtic Bard bearer of the older tradition.
31. The last invasion of the Northmen, 1066.
32. Dispersal of the Spanish Armada, 1588.
33. George IV enters Holyrood, 1822. Tradition invented.
34. King Billy Rides Again, Belfast, 1970.
35. Mrs McCarron and guest, Glasgow, 1999.
Section Two
36. Roman centurion at Hadrians Wall, c. 122.
37. Vortigern welcomes Hengest and Horsa, 428 or 449.
38. King Arthur, as a champion of medieval chivalry.
39. Sweyn Forkbeard lands on Humberside, 1013.
40. Magna Carta, 1215: England a papal fief.
41. Robin Hood: fact or folk legend?
42. Cheddar Man, c. 7000 , a Continental.
43. Patricius, b. c. 372. British bishop, Irish saint.
44. Alfred, King of Wessex, d. 899, hero of our race.
45. Macbeth of Moray, King of Scots, r. 104057.
46. Owain Glyn Dwr (c. 13591416), last Prince of Wales.
47. Margaret Tudor, Queen of Scotland, r. 150315.
48. Thomas Cromwell, executed 1540: English ideologue.
49. Hugh ONeill (15401616), Earl of Tyrone.
50. The Plantagenet tombs at Fontevrault.
51. Edouard I in Parliament.
52. Braveheart, 1305. Wallace in chains.
53. Edouard I Plantagenet pays homage, 1272.
54. The Battle of Sluys, 1340 strategic victory.
55. Henry V at Harfleur, 1415: this Blessed Plot.
Section Three
56. St Thomas More, Catholic martyr, 1535.
57. The Protestant Establishment, 1547.
58. Charles Stuart, that Man of Blood, 1649.
59. Cromwells Siege of Drogheda, 1649.
60. Willem van Oranje lands at Brixham, 1688.
61. Anne, r. 170214, Queen of Great Britain.
62. John Wilkes MP, 172797, Scottophobe.
63. Bonnie Prince Charlie, 172088, Charles III.
64. Wolfe Tone, 176398, insurrectionary.
65. RevdJohn Lingard, 17711851, historian.
66. Rudyard Kipling, 18651936, imperial poet.
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