Originally Posted by
Ben Gash
OK then Becca, the missing link here, which is why I'm not following you, is what are you saying is the origin of the word English? Especially if England means land of the Angles??? :confused: My head is hurting :(
Anyway, to address another point, while in England (as in the country that formed from the rise of the Saxon kingdoms) only scholars, clerics and lawyers spoke latin, pre saxon Britain was well integrated into the Roman Empire and most people thought of themselves as Roman. The bulk of city dwellers would have spoken Latin, not sure about the rural populations though. Latin had been the trade language in Britain for many years before the Roman conquest (which may or may not have been a conquest), as the idea of a unified Celtic identity in pre-roman Britain is not true. (again, the whole idea of a Celtic identity is a Roman construct).