"T. H. White - The Once and Future King" - читать интересную книгу автора (White T.H)

"One reason," said the magician, "is the immortal feud of Gael and Gall. The Gaelic Confederation are
representatives of an ancient race which has been harried out of England by several races which are
represented by you. Naturally they want to be as nasty as possible to you when they can." "Racial history
is beyond me," said Kay. "Nobody knows which race is which. They are all serfs, in any case." The old
man looked at him with something like amusement.
"One of the startling things about the Norman," he said, "is that he really does not know a single thing
about anybody except himself. And you, Kay, as a Norman gentleman, carry the peculiarity to its limit. I
wonder if you even know what a Gael is? Some people call them Celts."
"A celt is a kind of battle-axe," said Arthur, surprising the magician with this piece of information more
than he had been surprised for several generations. For it was true, in one of the meanings of the word,
although Arthur ought not to have known it.
"Not that kind of celt. I am talking about the people. Let's stick to calling them Gaels. I mean the Old
Ones who live in Brittany and Cornwall and Wales and Ireland and Scotland. Picts and that."
"Picts?" asked Kay. "I think I have heard about Picts. Pictures. They were painted blue."
"And I am supposed to have managed your education!" The King said thoughtfully: "Would you mind
telling me about the races, Merlyn? I suppose I ought to understand the situation, if there has to be a
second war."
This time it was Kay who looked surprised.
"Is there to be a war?" he asked. "This is the first I've heard of it. I thought the revolt was crushed last
year?"
"They have made a new confederation since they went home, with five new kings, which makes them
eleven altogether. The new ones belong to the old blood too. They are Clariance of North Humberland,
Idres of Cornwall, Cradelmas of North Wales, Brandegoris of Stranggore and Anguish of Ireland. It will
be a proper war, I'm afraid."
"And all about races," said his foster-brother in disgust. "Still, it may be fun."
The King ignored him.
"Go on," he said to Merlyn. "I want you to explain.
"Only," he added quickly, as the magician opened his mouth, "not too many details."
Merlyn opened his mouth and shut it twice, before he was able to comply with this restriction.


file:///K|/eMule/Incoming/Incipit%20Liber%20Secundus.html (14 of 89)14-10-2007 15:44:53
 file:///K|/eMule/Incoming/Incipit%20Liber%20Secundus.html


"About three thousand years ago," he said, "the country you are riding through belonged to a Gaelic race
who fought with copper hatchets. Two thousand years ago they were hunted west by another Gaelic race
with bronze swords. A thousand years ago there was a Teuton invasion by people who had iron
weapons, but it didn't reach the whole of the Pictish Isles because the Romans arrived in the middle and
got mixed up with it. The Romans went away about eight hundred years ago, and then another Teuton
invasionтАФof people mainly called SaxonsтАФdrove the whole ragbag west as usual. The Saxons were just
beginning to settle down when your father the Conqueror arrived with his pack of Normans, and that is
where we are today. Robin Wood was a Saxon partizan."
"I thought we were called the British Isles."
"So we are. People have got the B's and P's muddled up. Nothing like the Teuton race for confusing its
consonants. In Ireland they are still chattering away about some people called Fomorians, who were
really Pomeranians, while..."
Arthur interrupted him at the critical moment.
"So it comes to this," he said, "that we Normans have the Saxons for serfs, while the Saxons once had a
sort of under-serfs, who were called the GaelsтАФthe Old Ones. In that case I don't see why the Gaelic