He likewise provided a liberal education for the sons of the chiefs, and showed such a preference for the natural powers of the Britons over the industry of the Gauls that they who lately disdained the tongue of Rome now coveted its eloquence. Hence, too, a liking sprang up for our style of dress, and the "toga" became fashionable. Step by step they were led to things which dispose to vice, the lounge, the bath, the elegant banquet. All this in their ignorance, they called civilization, when it was but a part of their servitude.Lots of good quotes by Tacitus, who felt that Roman honor and virtue were deteriorating in his day, starting with the emperors. He didn't much like the Christians.
Sunday, July 14, 2019
The Co-opting of the Britons
Tacitus, writing about how his father-in-law Agricola succeeded in further subduing the conquered Britons by appealing to their vanity and snobbery, inviting them in to the power structure, conditionally. Book 1, Chapter 21.
Tacitus’ Germanic is excellent and more commonly read, but this work is also quite good. He was a keen observer.
ReplyDeleteHm. “Germania” is apparently a word my phone doesn’t know.
ReplyDeleteThose were Celts. The Normans couldn't repeat the process with the Anglo-Saxons, and it was the Normans who were absorbed.
ReplyDeleteSort of. The Scots were Celts too, but they were just as successful at absorbing the more-numerous Picts as the less-numerous Normans. But Robert the Bruce was Scot-Norman, as were many of the nobility of Scotland at that time.
ReplyDeleteThe Normans remained somewhat distinct in Ireland for centuries, though culturally they adopted Irish mores. Any “Fitz-*” name is Norman rather than Celtic in origin.
The Normans did have quite as much to offer in terms of prestige, either, compared to Rome. Tacitus thought the Franks behaved similarly to the Britons, but I don't know their history. The Goths became pretty romanised
ReplyDelete