In message <20001120130838.27693.qmail@w...>, Ingo
In message <20001120130838.27693.qmail@w...>, Ingo
Duckerschein <ingo_d@y...> writes
Duckerschein <ingo_d@y...> writes
>Hm, as some one who grew up on the continent (yes, that big land mass
>to the South and West of the British Isles with which it forms Europe
>(side rant -- I hate it when I hear/see the phrase "UK and Europe".
I completely agree with you, and it's never been a phrase that I would
use.
>I have always wondered why the
>English, Scottish, and Welsh were so intent on maintaining their
>independence from one another.
>
>Wales has been a part of the UK since the 1300s, Scottland since the
>1600s, that's a fairly long time to develop a single national identity.
Not quite. Scotland's (only one t - sorry:-) ) king moved to London to
become king of England in 1603, and from then on Scotland, England and
Wales had the same monarch, but Scotland continued to have a separate
parliament. The two parliaments were united in 1707, but Scotland
continued to have its own legal system, and its own education system. In
addition, the monarch has no constitutional link with the Church of
Scotland, unlike in England, where the monarch is, as I understand it,
head of the Church of England. Nowadays, Scotland has its own parliament
again for a lot of its internal affairs.
I think these are fairly major differences between Scotland and England
- different legal system, different educational system, different
principal religion (less important these days, but probably still
relevant), not to mention a different parliament - and that probably
contributes to the feeling some Scots and English people have of having
a separate national identity.
Speaking personally, I always say that I feel Scottish first and
European second (and 'UKish' not at all). I think I would probably feel
this way even if I had not lived in Germany for a couple of years,
because 'Western classical music', the art form which I love - to get
back, even slightly, to the subject of this list! - started in Europe. I
consistently perform in German, French and Italian, all European
languages - Latin as well, if you count dead languages! So I definitely
feel European.
Regards, Sheila
Sheila Graham
Mezzo-soprano, Edinburgh, Scotland
www.sheilagraham.demon.co.uk
'She is a singer, and therefore capable of anything' (Bellini)
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