Free Republic
Browse · Search
Smoky Backroom
Topics · Post Article

To: GOPcapitalist
"As I duly noted and documented for you, the term "Great Britain" derives from the official name of the country we know as the UK: "The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland," as called by the UK itself and by the US government in recognizing the UK."

You may have noted that, but my documentation suggests otherwise. The name of the Kingdom was derived from the name of the island. You have put the cart before the horse. And if you don't like what the British really have to say about it, then continue to cite yourself as an authoritative source. That should be convincing.

2,950 posted on 10/12/2004 11:56:12 PM PDT by capitan_refugio
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2949 | View Replies ]


To: capitan_refugio
You may have noted that, but my documentation suggests otherwise.

Your documentation - a modern encyclopedia - is inferior to my documentation, Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae - the book that has essentially defined the cultural geography of Britain for the last 1,000 years. Geoffrey gave common and virtually universal use to the island's geographic name: Britanniae Major, or what we know today as Britannia. Great Britain, of course, is the political community of the nation's portion that resides on the island of Britanniae Major - or Britannia in common use - that is the territory of Loegria, Cambria, and Albany - England, Scotland, and Wales - which together with Northern Ireland make up the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

The name of the Kingdom was derived from the name of the island.

Wrong. The name Britain derives from the roman name for its inhabitants - Britons. The name of the island, Britanniae in its latin derivative, indicates that it is the home of the Britons.

You have put the cart before the horse.

Wait a minute. Let me make sure I'm getting this - You are trying to pass off your 20th century dictionaries as authoritative determinants of the proper name over my 12th century source yet YOU are accusing ME of putting the cart before the horse? Your entire charade violates the one thing that you cannot manipulate in any way, shape, or form by your beloved word games: the fabric of time.

2,951 posted on 10/13/2004 12:41:51 AM PDT by GOPcapitalist
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2950 | View Replies ]

To: capitan_refugio
And if you don't like what the British really have to say about it, then continue to cite yourself as an authoritative source

Why should I need to do that? I've already got two sources that predate yours by centuries and surpass yours in universality by several miles: the Roman Empire, which named the island Britanniae (Britannia or home of the Britons) to begin with, and Geoffrey of Monmouth, who popularized the term Britanniae as a universally accepted matter of British geography in the 12th century.

All you've got by contrast are a couple dictionaries and encyclopedias. I guess you never learned that lesson everybody else does when they do their first college (or in some cases high school) writing assignment: encyclopedias are okay sources for book reports in the sixth grade. They are not okay for academic research papers.

2,952 posted on 10/13/2004 12:46:48 AM PDT by GOPcapitalist
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2950 | View Replies ]

Free Republic
Browse · Search
Smoky Backroom
Topics · Post Article


FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson