Another “quick takes” on items where there is too little to say to make a complete article, but is still important enough to comment on.
The focus this time: Mad as a bag of ferrets.
First, a little unwoke science lesson:
Carrying on…
The English language derives primarily (abet with Old Norse and a millennium of other influences) from the language of the Anglo-Saxon people, and many rights either derive directly from those first millennium times—such as the right of the free to personal arms—or from asserting rights in the resistance against the “Norman Yoke”. Not surprising that woke academics dislike that…
“Anglo-Saxon traditionally refers to groups from Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands who settled in Britain at the end of Roman rule.
“However, early medieval England specialist Mary Rambaran-Olm, an independent scholar and author, claimed the term is used by white supremacists to refer to white British people and should be banned.
“The academic – raised in Canada and now based in Ireland – says previous objections to the term Dark Ages sets a precedent.
“She told The Times: ‘Generally, white supremacists use the term to make some sort of connection to their heritage (which is inaccurate) or to make associations with ‘whiteness’ but they also habitually misuse it to try and connect themselves to a warrior past.’”
However, some others are not impressed…
“Tom Holland, author of books including Athelstan: The Making of England, said the term was ‘inextricably bound up with the claim by Alfred … to rule as a shared Anglian-Saxon identity’.
“’Scholars must be free to use it,’ he said.
“In a tweet, he wrote of the idea to ditch the term Anglo-Saxon: ‘Mad as a bag of ferrets, as they say in Deira [a former kingdom].’”
