Origin Myths and Identity in Brittany

Stuart Hall defines identity as an ‘already accomplished fact, which the new cultural practices then represent’. We should think instead of ‘identity as a ‘production’ which is never complete, always in process, and always constituted within, not outside, representation’ (Hall 1994 p.392). An individual’s sense of belonging to a particular group, thinking, feelings and behaviour can also be referred to as identity. One’s cultural image can construct identity; such features as hair, skin tone and height. History shapes our identity.

In a world where seven billion people can communicate in fractions of a second across the globe, share thoughts and exchange cultures, the way we choose to identity ourselves can often ‘’mark’’ us. You can often tell a lot about someone who proclaims to be Quebecois before being Canadian. And theses thing are often present in areas that have a clash of cultures, such as Québec in the former example. But the author Thomas King dives deeper into the subject with his short story Borders. King’s characters do not attach themselves to the place they were born, instead they take pride in their parents’ legacy, their heritage. By writing through the eyes of a twelve year old boy and using opposition, King displays the importance of such things and how minorities are slowly losing them.

Many aspects of our identity such as our language, culture, and religion were shaped by the past, and by not embracing these past events, a large part of one’s identity is being disregarded. An example of this is Brazil, a country where the dominant language and religion today was brought over by the Portuguese in the 15th century. This event is an important factor in the lives of many people living in Brazil, as many of them trace their ancestors, language and religion back to the original Portuguese settlers. If citizens were to ignore events of the past and not realize the origins of their practices, they would lose an aspect of their identity in the process, although it is difficult to ignore such a large legacy present in one’s life. This makes disregarding the past ineffective because the results of historical globalization are so prominent in everyday life and cannot be easily

cultural historical experiences to give it a distinct social identity” (Peoples 367). In the 18th

Knowledge of the Celts and the Celtic world has been acquired and accumulated through a variety of mediums such as archaeological evidence, geographical markings and most importantly, the testimonies left by Greek and Roman writers. Without these writings, developing an image of the nature of the Celts would be extremely difficult. Comparing two authors, Roman emperor, Julius Caesar to Greek writer, Athenaeus, it may reveal some of the prejudices and biased views held against the Celts, but more importantly by contrasting the views of these particular authors, it also offers a well-rounded account of the history and culture of these Celtic-speaking people.

In my classroom, we were reading “Retold Northern European Myths." One of the myths I was reading is named “The Boyhood of Cuchulain”. I think the message of this myth is if you want something, first you need to earn it, you can’t just barge into something that isn’t your business.

Another aim of this study is to learn how these different groups of people who have different geographical origins interacted with each other (Ramsden 2016:1). Ramsden’s (2016:1-3) article aims to solve the question whether these two groups of people had inhabited separate communities or moved into cosmopolitan communities together and how they interacted within those communities. Ramsden (2016:3) attempts to archaeologically determine ethnicity and identity and how these may be expressed in material

How does one define oneself? Is it through land, oral tradition, or language? If we were to ask Simon Ortiz, one of the leading Native American writers, he would answer, to an extent, all of the above. In agreement to Ortiz, Kieu also identify herself through these three factors. “They are all connected in one way or another,” she says. Although these two authors have a completely different background, one being a Native American while the other is a Chinese-Vietnamese-American, they share the same feeling about their identity—that is, they identify themselves through their relation to land, oral tradition, and language.

When we first take a glance at the old administration of the kingdom, everything appears to be a diversity of rules and authorites- a tangle of powers. France was covered by governmental bodies or isolated officals who acted indepedantly of eachother and who took part in government by virtue of a right in which they purchased and which could not be removed from them. Often their functions so overlapped and were so connected that they hamperedeachother’s efficiency and clashed in identical speres of business

The Anglo Saxons were invaders from the Baltic shores of Germany and Jutes from the peninsula of Jutland in Denmark, they actually settled the greater part of Britain. In England, there are still traces of their culture, especially their language can still be found. The most heroic Celtic leaders was called Arthur, who developed in legend as the “once and future king.” The life of the Anglo Saxons was not full of luxurious, and it was not dominated by scholarship and the arts. The leader had the responsibility to protect the given group and make law and order, whether family, clan, tribe, or kingdom. Fame and success, even survival, were achieved through loyalty to such a leader, especially during war times, and success was in gifts from the

Guyenne was an English-held province in France constantly being fought over. The French believed Guyenne belonged to them since it was in France, and the

The concept of identity is often related to binaries and impenetrable boundaries. A hybrid of identity finds themselves caught in between these binaries, able to connect with both sides of a binary spectrum. National identity places individuals in boundaries that can often be crossed due to colonization, imperialism, or mixed heritage. Kristjana Gunnars’s The Prowler explores ideas of national hybrid identity through the protagonist’s refusal to identify with neither her matriarchal nor her patriarchal nationality. The post-colonial tension in Iceland causes her to live in a time of marginalization because of her mixed heritage. However, this marginalization is preferred because she does not desire to fit within the confines of a national boundary.

Throughout time, conflict has been a predominant, necessary component and driving force of human existence and progression. The primary catalyst for such conflict is one’s national identity, and the clashing cultural disparities it produces between people with different national affiliations. Presently, many attempt to neglect their historical backgrounds in order to avert disputes and conflicts. The fact remains however, that one cannot flee from his or her national identity, no matter how ardently they attempt to mask it or how passionately they reject it. In his novel The English Patient, Michael Ondaatje presents this reality to his characters by giving each a distinct national identity and forcing them to interact while stuck in an Italian

In the 16th and 17th centuries, many countries were on the verge of reformation. Many political, economical, and religious changes were taking place. The age of the new Modern State, the idea that a country and its inhabitants can be controlled successfully by one ruler, was on the rise. Before the 1600s, it was not rare for people to not associate themselves with an actual state; they simply were ruled by a local lord or aristocrat. They did not have a sense of belonging or patriotism, and seldom had concern for affairs outside their villages. As a country became a modern state, it brought people together, formed new government policies, redefined and enforced the authority of the king, improved the country itself with regards to new buildings, spreading of religion, and new opportunities. The Modern State system sought to expand its power over material goods and territory, and sought full and unwavering obedience to authority (Modern Rise Lecture 6). An admirable example of the use of the Modern State system was the country of France. Alan James, author of The Origins of French Absolutism, 1598-1661, argues that the French rulers had built up the power of this state by traditional means. War, control over religious practices, and occasional use of violence only when necessary were the ways he says they built the Modern French State up out of its old feudal ashes.

Nationalism can be defined in two dimensions. First, the feeling of having a sense of national identity. This “national identity” is often confronted with a dilemma as to how to draw the boundaries of what creates a nation. This pre-requisite often comes in the form of either similarities in origin, ethnicity, culture and willingness to partake in the membership of a “nation”. This is contrasted with the concept of “states” as states such as the Native American Iroqouis, whom although are a “nation” have no presiding political autonomy over themselves.