Cultura Inglesa: Logbook

Shamrock

2011-07-10T17:02:00.000-07:00

The Irish national symbol reminds us the Holy Trinity, which reminds us the Irish official religion, Catholicism. It unites religion and patriotism.

Meet the Plantagenets

2011-07-10T16:44:00.000-07:00

The Plantagenet was a dynasty of famous Kings, as Henry II, Richard Coeur de Lion and John Lackland. They reigned from the 12th to the 14th centuries. The name “Plantagenet” pays homage to the spring of broom Geoffrey the Fair wore in his helmet.

1154 – 1189: Henry II

The first "Super King" of England

Eleanor of Acquitaine was wife to Henry II. She was the most famous woman at her time, and an icon of Courtly Love. Eleanor and Henry II had eight children. Later, she was condemned by Henry II to stay forever in Salisbury.

Thomas à Beckett, being Henry II’s best friend, Thomas à Beckett became Archbishop of Canterbury. Later on, he became a problem. Henry II complained about it, and some interpreted his complain as a subtle order to kill him. His assassination originated the pilgrimage to Canterbury: feeling guilty, Henry II began this tradition, which became popular among every social class some decades later. Thomas à Beckett is a Saint to the Catholic Church.

1189 – 1199: Richard I
He is also known as Richard Coeur de Lion. He was a King, a Poet and a Warrior, son of Henry II and Elinor of Acquitaine and brother of John Lackland, who succeeded him. He went to the Crusades and died when he came back.

1199 - 1216: John

Also known as John Lackland.

1216 - 1272: Henry III

1272 - 1307: Edward I

Also known as Longshanks.

1307 - 1327: Edward II

1327 - 1377: Edward III

The Black Prince
Another Plantagenet. He was son of Edward III and father of Richard II. He died before becoming King.

1377 - 1399: Richard II

A deposed King...

871 - 899: Alfred, the Great

2011-07-10T12:46:00.000-07:00

Saxon King. He is considered the first English translator. Alfred, the Great, is noted for his defense of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of southern England against the Vikings, that’s why he is so great.

He is the only King of England who is known as "the Great".

Queen Boudicca

2011-07-10T12:43:00.000-07:00

Queen Boudicca is also known as Queen Boadicea. She was Queen of the Iceni. After the Romans arrested her husband, the King of the Iceni, she ran away and came back with a huge army and set Londinium on fire. There’s a statue in honor of her close to the Houses of Parliament, in London.

England and Rome

2011-07-10T12:06:00.001-07:00

In 55 b.C., Julius Caesar was fighting with the Gauls and stopped in Britain.
The Romans saw plenty of fog, so called the place "Albion".

The reason why Roman people invaded England was the decay of their Empire. They believed a great invasion would restore their prestige among the population.

Hadrian's Wall was Roman frontier built between the years 122 and 130 AD by order of the Emperor Hadrian. The objective of Hadrian’s Wall was to protect the Romans from the Picts, and until nowadays it represents the frontier between England and Scotland.

Another trace people of Rome in England is the city of Bath. It receives this name because of the Roman baths that were built there and can be seen until nowadays.

Other influences of Roman culture in England were the famous Roman roads and a relatively modern heating system for houses.

If we look at the map of England, it's easy to identify Roman Settlements: the places usually end with the sufix -caster.

The Week

2011-07-08T09:48:00.000-07:00

Sunday (Son) and Monday (Moon): Celtic origins (Celtic people would worship the Sun and the Moon).

Tuesday (Tiw), Wednesday (Wodin), Thursday (Thor), Friday (Fria): Anglo-Saxon origins (Anglo-Saxon people would worship these gods).

Saturday (Saturn): Roman origins (Romans would worship Saturn).

Social Classes

2011-07-07T07:24:00.000-07:00

A (not working)
Royal Family
Peerage (Lords and Ladies): Duke > Marquess > Earl > Viscount > Baron
Gentry

Church

B
Lawyers
Medical Doctors
Army/Navy

C
Tradesman
Peasantry
Working Classes

It's summertime in London

2011-06-23T09:59:00.001-07:00

"By St. George's Day"

2011-06-21T09:59:00.000-07:00

Many people, like Shakespeare, were born this day, April 23rd.

The reason why so many people were born this day is that the responsible for the register of new born children wasn't always available in town. So, when he asked when the child was born and received the answer "By St. George's Day", he would register "April 23rd".

Women

2011-06-20T16:37:00.000-07:00

Creatures of evil, divided between the holy mysteries of motherhood and the physical mysteries of female physiology.

A definition of women I found among my notes on Middle Ages.

Old English

2011-06-20T14:14:00.000-07:00

Between the 5th and 11th centuries, the area which nowadays is known as England was called Angelcynn or Englaland. People who lived there (the Anglo-Saxons) called themselves Angle, Angelcynn or Angelfolc and would speak Englisc. Englisc is known nowadays as Old English.

Old English had four main dialects: Kentish (spoken in the far southeast), Mercian (spoken in the midlands, originated Modern English spelling as it was the dialect of London), Norhumbrian (spoken north of the river Humber) and West Saxon (spoken in the southwest).

Old English was brought by Germanic people who migrated to Britain. Their language belonged to the Indo-European family of languages. Linguists believe that five thousand years ago this family derived from a single language (maybe) spoken in the Caucasus area.

The first Old English writings appeared in the early 8th century. Until the 11th century Old English was written sometimes with a version of the Runic Alphabet. There are few remaining manuscripts written with the Runic Alphabet remained. However, runic inscriptions can be found on objects such as jewelry, weapons and stones.

Old English surely changed very much since Germanic people left the continent until the appearance of the first Old English writings. And Old English is surely very different of Modern English. The reason why such a distinct language is called Old English is that it is an ancestor of Modern English – a direct ancestor, actually.

However, it would be barely impossible to a Modern English speaker to understand an Old English speaker. Speakers didn’t notice, but important changes took place through the ages. Spelling rules changed, some vowels disappeared, case distinctions and most endings added to verbs were lost and the order of elements within clauses and sentences became more fixed.

Some Notes on "Football in Great Britain"

2011-06-20T13:45:00.000-07:00

TIMELINE

Middle Ages: British and Normans would play the Chaule. An unlimited number of soldiers kicked a ball all around the city.

1147: Mass Football

1800: Phillip Stubbes wrote on football

1850: Football becomes popular in the universities.

1857: Sheffield Football Club, the first soccer team with 11 players.

1863: The Football Association is founded in the Freemasson's Tavern, in London.

1855: Players become professionals.

SOME MOVIES ON HOOLIGANISM (THE ENGLISH DISEASE)

* Green Street Hooligans

* The Firm

* Awaydays

PREMIER LEAGUE (1992)

* Today's most watched and lucrative national league.

* 19 out of 20 teams that currently play in "The Barclays Premier League" were founded more than 100 years ago.

THE RED DEVILS

* Manchester United, also known as The Red Devils, is the most successful team of Premier League: they never finished below the third place.

* The Red Devils have 151.000 associated. Only Benfica (171.000 associated) and Barcelona (163.000) beat them.

* The Red Devils' stadium has a capacity for 75.797, and there are usually 75.072 supporters there when they play.

IDOLS

Sir Bobby Charlton: the player who survived (the Munich Air Disaster in 1958).

David Beckham: some say he's not just another pretty face...

Soccer, Carnival and the Royal Family

2011-06-20T13:40:00.000-07:00

During this semester we have often compared Brazil and the United Kingdom. In terms of national symbols, we can say that the Royal family is very similar to our soccer and Carnival.

They are "top of mind" whenever one talks about the UK or Brazil.
They can stop a whole country (vide weddings, parades and final matches...).
They contribute to tourism incomes in both countries.

And what else?

A Little Lesson on Etiquette

2011-06-20T11:03:00.000-07:00

If, for instance, someone came to Lady Fergie's daughters and said:

"What a beautiful hat!"

they would probably answer

"I bought it especially!"

(But of course no one would make such a compliment...)

The Ki-ki-ki...

2011-06-19T15:57:00.000-07:00

King George V dies, King Edward VIII scandalously abdicates, and Bertie, who suffers from a debilitating speech impediment, is suddenly crowned King George VI of England. England is on the brink of war and desperately needs a leader. Elizabeth, King George's wife, and the future Queen Mother, decides to take him to an eccentric speech therapist, Lionel Logue (calling him a Speech-Language Pathologist would be an anachronism). The eccentricity of Lionel Logue doesn't match immediately with King George's introverted personality. It takes a while until they eventually form an unbreakable bond. With a little help from his family, Logue, his government and Winston Churchill, King George VI overcomes his stammer and delivers a radio-address that inspires his people and unites them in battle.

The movie itself has an interesting history too. The author, David Seidle, heard King George VI's speech as a child. David Seidle also suffered from a stammer by that time, and later in his adult life he wrote to the Queen Mother asking for permission to use the King's story to create a film. But she asked him not to during her lifetime, citing that the memories were too painful. Seidler respected her request.

Before The King's Speech there was another movie (a tele-movie, actually) which dealt with King George VI's stammering. It's entitled Bertie and Elizabeth.

The King's Speech features four characters who have all been monarchs of Great Britain. We have King George V (1910 - 1936), King Edward VIII (1936 - 1936), King George VI (1936 - 1952) and Queen Elizabeth II (1952 - current). They are all from the House of Windsor and only Queen Elizabeth (who was Princess Elizabeth by that time) is not seen during her reigning period in the film.

It is a very commonwealthish movie. To start, it is an Australian co-production. King George V is portrayed by an Irishman (Michael Gambon). King Edward VIII, by an Australian (Guy Pearce). And King George VI, by an Englishman (Colin Firth). Besides an Australian actor playing a Brit, the movie has a British actor (Eve Best) playing an American, and an American actor (Jennifer Ehle) playing an Australian.

There are several references to Shakespeare in the movie. King George's first successful attempt at speaking is reciting Hamlet's "To be or not to be" speech. Many members of the cast have appeared in productions of Hamlet. Geoffrey Rush plays Lionel Logue, who is fascinated by Shakespeare. Coincidentally, Rush played Shakespeare's friend in Shakespeare in Love and Colin Firth played Shakespeare's enemy. There's also an allusion to Shakespeare's Macbeth. When one of Logue's sons mentions 'the Scottish play' he is talking about Macbeth. According to a widely held superstition, this particular play is cursed, and it brings bad luck to say the title Macbeth aloud.

Now, a little about Lionel... His diary was discovered just nine weeks prior to principal photography, so quotations from original clinical notes in them were worked into the film's screenplay. I don't know whether it really happened or not, but throughout the film Lionel prohibits Bertie smoking. He says "sucking smoke into your lungs will kill you." Owing largely to increased smoking to deal with the stress of World War Two, King George VI did indeed succumb to lung cancer on February 6th 1952.

Translator Note
The title The King's Speech holds a double meaning that doesn't exist in Portuguese. "Speech" can mean either "discurso" (which refers to the final speech in the movie) or "fala" (the way the King speaks, in other words: stuttering) in Portuguese.
"Discurso", however, has no double meaning.

The Speech(es)

Click here to listen to the speech by the real King George VI.

Click here to watch the scene from the movie in which King George VI makes his speech.

The King's speech, as delivered in the movie, is only two-thirds of the original. Four sentences were deleted and four sentences were shortened. The original speech has 407 words; the movie version has 269.

Sources
Minimal Movie Posters
The King's Speech Official Website
IMDB

THE RULE OF COURTLY LOVE, BASED ON THE DE AMORE OF ANDREAS CAPELLANUS

2011-05-23T14:17:00.000-07:00

01. Marriage should not be a deterrent to love.
02. Love cannot exist in the individual who cannot be jealous.
03. A double love cannot obligate an individual.
04. Love constantly waxes and wanes.
05. That which is not freely given by the object of one's love loses its savor.
06. It is necessary for a male to reach the age of maturity in order to love.
07. A lover must observe a two-year widowhood after his beloved's death.
08. Only the most urgent circumstances should deprive one of love.
09. Only the insistence of love can motivate one to love.
10. Love cannot coexist with avarice.
11. A lover should not love anyone who would be an embarrassing marriage choice.
12. True love excludes all from its embrace but the beloved.
13. Public revelation of love is deadly to love in most instances.
14. The value of love is commensurate with its difficulty of attainment.
15. The presence of one's love causes paleness of complexion.
16. The sight of one's beloved causes palpitation of the heart.[Ditto]
17. A new love brings an old one to a finish.
18. Good character is the one real requirement for worthiness of love.
19. When love grows faint its demise is usually certain.
20. Apprehension is the constant companion of the true lover.
21. Love is reinforced by jealousy.
22. Suspicion of the beloved generates jealousy and therefore intensifies love.
23. Eating and sleeping diminish greatly when one is aggravated by love.
24. The lover's every deed is performed with the thought of his beloved in mind.
25. Unless it pleases his beloved, no act or thought is worthy to the lover.
26. Love is powerless to withhold anything from love.
27. There is no such thing as too much of the pleasure of one's beloved.
28. Aggravation of excessive passion does not usually afflict the true lover.
29. Thought of the beloved never leaves the true lover.
30. Two men may love one woman or two women one man.

Bloody Sunday

2011-05-21T14:02:00.000-07:00

On January 30th 1972, Catholic people from Norther Ireland went to the streets pacificaly. The would protest against the laws imposed by Protestant, which were the majority. The british troops shot the Catholics and killed 13 of them. Another one died days after. Until nowadays, this Catholic Minority from Norther Ireland fights for the annexation of the territory to Ireland (which is predominantly Catholic). Still, Protestants want the country to be part of the United Kingdom, which is predominantly Protestant. Bloody Sunday triggered violence and terrorism.

Source: O Guia dos Curiosos

Commonwealth

2011-05-03T11:08:00.000-07:00

The expression “Commonwealth” had at least three meanings through history. One of them refers to England during the times of Cromwell. After, it referred to the colonies of the British Empire, and nowadays it refers to the countries that had been already colonies of the UK (with the exception of Rwanda and Mozambique). In the Heathrow Airport, there’s a special line for those who come from the Commonwealth.

Great Britain x United Kingdom

2011-05-03T10:42:00.000-07:00

What's the difference?

Great Britain is an island which houses three countries: England, Scotland and Wales.

The United Kingdom is a State that spams England, Scotland, Wales (in other words: Great Britain), and Northern Ireland.

Body Language

2011-05-01T17:32:00.001-07:00

There are two curious facts about differences between Brazilian and British people.

The first one regards to the notion of personal space. British's personal space is larger than ours. A consequence of it is that they won't hug as much as Brazilians do.

But it doesn't mean British people barely express emotions, as we commonly believe. The look and the tone of voice play an important role in social interactions as a way to display emotions.

Anyway, the English stereotype is still strong. We'll still hear a lot jokes like this:

An English Lord observing the weather at the window in the company of his butler. The butler said: "I guess we'll have rain, Sir...". And the lord retorted: "No, James. I'll have my rain, and you'll have yours.".

Taboo Words and Swearwords

2011-04-23T19:39:00.000-07:00

We call taboo words words considered dangerous, holy, magic or shocking.

English language has three main groups of taboo words and expressions:

1. Some words connected with the Christian religion. Some people prefer to use them only in formal and respectful contexts, and they may be schocked by their "careless" use.

2. Certain words related to sexual activity and the associated parts of the body. Some decades ago, some of these words could not appear in the media. They are still uncommon in public speech and writing. In polite or formal language these words are generally avoided, or replaced by other words and expressions that are considered more appropriate.

3. Certain words related to the elimination of bodily wastes (like piss), and the associated parts of the body. These words are generally replaced by other words and expressions with the same meaning or by substitutes (like go to the lavatory).

Taboo words are commonly used in situation in which people want to express powerful emotions by using strong language. That's what we call swearing. When people swear, taboo words usually change completly their meanings.

This example shows us clearly the difference between taboo words and swearwords:

What are you doing f*cking in my bed?
What are you f*cking doing in my bed?

One of the Ten Commandments says not to take the name of God in vain.
Rebel teenagers would naturally be against it and name their bands (or themselves) Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Madonna...

Points of View

2011-04-23T18:21:00.000-07:00

This is Peters' Map, one of the most controversial images of the world. It's creator is the historian and cartographer Dr. Arno Peters, who first introduced this map at a Press Conference in Germany in the year of 1974. In England, it was only published in 1983 for the first time. Until now, this map remains a divider of opinions, having both "passionate fans" and "staunch detractors". Turned upside down, this map can be considered an even more controversial image.

The interesting thing about this map is that it focus on the countries' areas, instead of focusing on the distance between them, as Mercator's map (the one which we are used to study at school) does. Greenland never seemed so small!

A little parenthesis: Mercator's map was extremely useful to navigators who sailed on the oceans in wooden ships, powered by the wind, and oriented by the stars. The straight lines of Mercator's map were lines of constant compass bearing. And such lines are still useful to airline pilots nowadays. If on one hand we gain the idea of the distance, on other, we lose the proportion of the areas.

In fact, every world map's dilemma is: "what are will I sacrifice?". We live in a round planet which cannot be perfectly represented by any two-dimensional map. Cartographers must choose what is important to show based on their objectives

This Peter's Map shown upside down intends to make a question: how could such a tiny piece of land turn out to be such a huge empire?

Sources: Peters Map, InfoEscola

Cultura Inglesa: Logbook

2011-04-17T20:03:00.000-07:00

"Cultura Inglesa" literally means "English Culture", in other words: the culture of England.

On this blog, however, this expression will also encompass Welsh, Scottish and Irish(es) cultures, as well as the Commonwealthish(es) cultures. It doesn't mean I particularly agree with the decision of calling all those peoples "English", but it is the name of the college subject I intend to talk about here. Furthermore, this confusion (which is not only common in Brazil) may turn out to be a pretty interesant discussion point to write about.

Another huge "umbrella concept" (and surely even more debatable than the concept of "English") that we are dealing with is the concept of "culture". At first, it's enough saying that "culture" is simply "man creation". In the course of time some discussions on it will pop up.

This (B)logbook consists in a summary of the "Cultura Inglesa" classes being thaught this semester (2011/1) at UFRGS, as well as a foundation and a tool for me to create the habit of searching more on this theme.

Welcome!
:)