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Racial Myth in English History: Trojans, Teutons, and Anglo-Saxons
"Myths of origin enable people to locate themselves in time and space. They offer an explanation of the unknown and hallow traditions by linking them to heroic events and personages of the distant past. In addition, they form the ground for belief systems or ideologies which, providing a moral validation for attitudes and activities, bind men together in a society" writes the author, who in his interesting and solidly based short study synthesizes several generations of English and continental scholarship in a way that enables a broad readership to obtain a clearer recognition of those elements in accepted mythologies which both unite and divide men.
146 pages, Hardcover
First published April 4, 1982
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 9, 2021
An English history of early claims about the English-Trojan connection, Teutonism and Germanophilia, and Anglo-Saxonism as an arc over several centuries, including bogus notions of genetic predictors of character and intellectual potential.
June 10, 2016
Overall, an interesting monograph yet it seems riddled with slow bits (partly why it took so long read). MacDougall does exactly what the title describes and gives an account of how racial myths have played out in various parts of English history. I feel like this book would be a great resource for any historian writing on the subject, but I would not recommend it for someone wanting a leisurely read about racial myths in English history.
November 28, 2010
Although the title makes this book seem like some "hip" post-colonial work, MacDougal actually presents the material in a well-ordered, well-discussed and intelligent manner. The book does just what the title says: discusses the various views of race and race relationships throughout the history of England.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
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