A History of Britain 04. Nations (1 of 30)

A History of Britain

In the last decades of the 13th century, the nations of Britain found their voices - loud, confident and defiant - and they were raised against England.
(WELSHMAN) The people of Snowdon assert that even if their prince should give overlordship of them to the English king, they would refuse to do homage to any foreigner of whose language, customs and law they were ignorant.
(IRISHMAN) On account of the perfidy of the English and to recover our native freedom, the Irish are compelled to enter a deadly war.
(SCOTSMAN) For as long as but a hundred of us remain alive, we will yield in no least way to English dominion. We fight not for glory, nor riches, nor honour, but for freedom. We know these voices.
They've been with us a long time now.

All the same, it's a shock to hear them this early, to discover the politics of birthplace uttered with such passion and such pain.
Once said, they could not be unsaid.
When the Welsh, the Scots and the Irish acted on their words, the bloody wars of the British nations became inevitable.
And these would not just be battles about territories - they were battles for ideas, ideas about what a sovereign nation should be.
An extension of the ruler's will or something wider - something involving the people as well as the prince, something called "the community of the realm".
Those battles would be fought between the peoples of Britain.