So you’re English? What does that even mean? We know that there is a place called England, but there are no English passports or English ID cards. What does it mean to be English? Who or what are the English?
The English are an ethnic group. The Office for National Statistics says so. We’re even a nation for that matter. But let’s examine this ethnicity word: What is an ethnic group and what is it about our group which makes us English? The answer is that we, as an ethnic group, share most of not all of the following characteristics
Language – that’s easy, we speak English with an English accent
Ancestry -We are of mixed Celtic and Germanic stock. The Celts were from the island of Britain and our Germanic ancestors came from a small contiguous area straddling Denmark (Angles and Jutes), northwest Germany (Saxons) and the northern part of the Netherlands (Frisians).
Homeland – Our homeland is England, a country created from the integration of our Germanic/Celtic ancestors and the mergers of seven Anglo Saxon kingdoms. England as a kingdom was created as such by King Athelstan, grandson of Alfred the Great, in the 10th century.
Diet – roast dinners, fish and chips, dunking biscuits, soft boiled and scrambled eggs, tea drinking, Full English Breakfasts, beer, cider etc
Religion – Christian, even if only culturally so, and mostly Protestant
Laws – English Common Law, still running after a thousand years,
Culture – Music, monarchy, country pursuits, pubs, sport (football, rugby and cricket), stately homes and the countryside, apologising, queueing and so on.
The DNA record
There have been various studies made of the make-up of the English DNA. It should be pointed out that the Celts and Saxons had a common ancestor too, and that the two groups were only separated by a few thousand years of history. DNA-wise we’re quite alike. The studies show that we are mixed entirely with Celtic DNS dominating slightly in the West and South West and the east being more Germanic. That means that as a people, we are unique to this island. We don’t come from somewhere else, and our nation was created here.
If that’s you, then you’re English. We’re offering awards to the English, in certificate form, as shown below:
All you have to do is pass the test and sign the proclamation. The proclamation is available for downloading in Word format at the end of this webpage
English Test
If you can read the title, award yourself a point. After that it gets difficult.
Ten Questions
1.What was Excalibur and who did it belong to?
2. Avon, frome, stour, burn and bourne are all different words for what?
3. Sais and Sassenach are two words to describe which group of people?
4. Who were the Jutes, Angles, Saxons and Friesians?
5. Who was the first King of England.
6. Go to: Home | Domesday Book Find your home town or village and tell me about it. Zoom in on a red dot on the map, click on it and click view entry.
7. What does your surname mean?
8. What’s this called:
9. What was the Golden Hind?
10. Who wrote/invented all these expressions?
“wild goose chase” “Neither here nor there” “One fell swoop” ”The be-all and the end-all” Mum’s the word” “All that glisters is not gold” Eaten out of house and home” “Knock knock! Who’s there?” With bated breath””Too much of a good thing” “Break the ice” “Dead as a doornail” “Foregone conclusion” “Naked truth” “Melted into thin air” “Own flesh and blood”