The Battle of Edgehill

At Edgehill in 1642, two English armies headed into battle to solve a constitutional dispute between King and Parliament.

Edgehill

King Charles I had assembled his army on a hill overlooking the road to London, but the Earl of Essex placed his Parliamentarian army on the plain below the hill. He had no intention of sending his forces in an uphill attack to do battle against the King's army entrenched on higher ground.  

The Battle

The Royalist army could not remain on the heights, as the risk of being surrounded and running out of supplies was too high. King Charles descended with his army onto the plain, and the battle of Edgehill was fought on flat ground.


The Opening Battle of the English Civil War
The battle of Edgehill was the first major military confrontation in the English Civil War, fought between 1642 to 1651, a war that would also involve Wales, Scotland and Ireland, with the last battles being fought in Scotland in 1652 and in Ireland in 1653.


Strategy at the Battle of Edgehill
King Charles I was marching on London with a great army to prevent Parliament from gaining control over England, while Parliament had sent an even greater army to oppose him. From a strategical point of view, the Battle of Edgehill could have been decided in favour of King Charles, who had placed the cavalry under the command of his nephew, Prince Rupert of the Rhine, an experienced and daring cavalry commander.

Prince Rupert had it within his power at Edgehill to attack the Parliamentary army from both flanks and the rear with thousands of men on horse, for he had expelled almost all the opposing cavalry from the field, while King Charles's infantry would have taken on Parliament's army from the front. But at the decisive moment of victory, Rupert abandoned the field, taking all the King's cavalry with him, and did not return until dusk, only to find two embattled armies in a position of stalemate on the battlefield.

Read on to find out the strategy of the two English armies:

http://celticbritannia.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/the-english-civil-war-battle-of-edgehill.html

Early Celtic Saints of Scotland

Before the advent of Roman Catholicism, the Celtic Church spread through all the lands that were later to become Scotland.

The Scottish Church

The Scottish Church draws its origins from the populations who inhabited the lands that became Scotland. In the fourth century, the three Celtic groups living in these territories were the Scots, Picts and Britons, each group being established within its own regions. The common belief in one Church united these populations long before they joined into one kingdom.

Early Celtic Saints as Missionaries

The early Celtic saints who became missionaries in Scotland include Saint Ninian in the fifth century, and Saint Kentigern and Saint Columba in the sixth century. The Christianity which they taught and lived for is based on the original first century teachings of the Apostles.

Christian Worship in Scotland

These Celtic saints were not the object of worship, and they did not teach people to worship other mortal persons, including the saints who had died. There was no worship of images or relics, as the original Faith of the Scottish Church did not deviate from the written Word of the Scriptures.

The Sabbath

In his book The Church in Scotland, Professor James C. Moffatt wrote: “It seems to have been customary in the Celtic churches of early times, in Ireland as well as Scotland, to keep Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath, as a day of rest from labour.”

Article written by D. Alexander 7 July 2011


Read more on the early Church in Scotland:
http://celticbritannia.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/origins-of-scottish-church.html

Read about Saint Kentigern of Scotland: 
http://celticbritannia.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/kentigern-saint-of-scotland.html

Fast Food Meat Diet

Fast food diets based on meat have become very popular, but the ingredients they contain are not necessarily evident to the eye.

What is a Fast Food Diet?

A diet based on fast food is a tendency to eat meals that have been prepared quickly. This saves time in cooking, and usually turns out cheaper than a traditional meal. Fast food meat, though, such as a sausage or a burger, is a compressed form of minced meat that could contain ingredients that one would not normally eat.

Fast Food Meat

As the ingredients in fast food, such as sausages, burgers and doner kebabs, are not individually visible to the eye, it's hard to determine what this kind of meat product contains, and how much fat is mixed with the meat. It is also hard to know how much saturated fat is in the sausage, burger or doner kebab.

If these ingredients were distributed individually on a plate, many people would probably not eat the whole meal, but once compressed into a single item and heated, these same ingredients are then consumed as a fast food meal based on meat.

 

For more on what is inside a fast food meat diet:

 

Fast Food Diets Based on Meat

Fast food diets based on meat and fat do not reveal the composition of the ingredients

 

What is a Diet?

Fast food diets have changed people's eating habits in the western world, with cheap ready-made meals and sugar-rich drinks being consumed in place of more traditional meals. Britain's National Health Service (NHS), in its online publication NHS choices diet, reviewed 28. 01. 2010, indicates the term diet as referring to 'the food that a person eats during the course of a day or a week'.

This guideline assumes that people need to know what they are eating. Many people following a fast food diet based on meat and soft drinks, however, may be unaware of the amounts of fat, salt and sugar they are consuming, as fast food products are each made up of different ingredients. This unawareness could be one of the reasons that contribute to the wide-spread consumption of fast foods in western society, yet there are also other decisive factors.

The Fast Food Time-Factor

One reason why people go for fast food lies in the name fast food: a dish that is already prepared, heated and ready for eating. One need only order, and it will be served immediately, or at least within a very short time. Plenty of time is spared, as no shopping is involved, no carrying bags of food through the town all the way to the door-step, no unpacking of shopping inside the kitchen. Vegetables needn't be cleaned and sliced, and sticky wrappers containing meat needn't be disposed of in the bin. There is no need to stand in front of the oven and hot-plates tending to the cooking. Pots, pans, plates and cutlery needn't be washed and dried after the meal has been eaten.

The Fast Food Cost-Factor

Fast food is generally cheap, as the ingredients it contains are produced using low-cost products. Fast food meat burgers and sausages contain a high content of fat, while water-based soft drinks contain added gas and sugar. Burgers and sausages are produced in enormous quantities in food-processing factories using machinery. The production method is cheap, and the resulting product is a minced and compressed mixture of meat and fat.

It can actually work out cheaper to buy a ready-prepared fast food meal than to buy the ingredients in a shop, even without calculating the time saved on shopping, cooking and washing the dishes. The reason for this lies in the high amount of fat in fast food meat ingredients and the fact that meat cuttings and fat have been compressed into a paste that, once shaped into a burger or sausage, needs only a short time to be heated and cooked.

Fast Food Appearance

Fast foods are usually represented by big pictures visible inside the catering shops that serve them, such as a bread-roll containing a large hamburger, dressing and tomato ketchup. This often attracts the appetite of passers-by, and, combined with the low cost factor in obtaining a fast food meal, has a tremendous effect on people's decision to opt out of a cooking session at home or a more expensive meal in a restaurant.

The combination of fast food with drinks produced from water to which gas and sugar have been added, completes the diet cycle deriving from a fast and economic meal. Traditional drinks like ale, wine and mineral water do not tend to be consumed with a typical fast food dish, whereas artificially sweetened drinks commonly served with fast food have an appealing effect on a person's appetite owing to the gas they contain.

The visual aspect of fast food meat products does not reveal their content of fat and assortments of different meat, and so a burger or a sausage is essentially a unified product deriving from various ingredients that cannot be separated from each other before being consumed. Whereas a steak or lamb-chop can be served with the fat, and this can be separated from the meat with knife and fork, a fast food burger or sausage can only be consumed with all its ingredients intact.

Calories and Nutritional Values in a Fast Food Diet

Fast food based on meat and animal fat does not visibly reveal the individual ingredients that make up the product, so the consumer cannot know how to determine its nutritional value and the calories it contains. This can result in excessive consumption of saturated fat, total fat and cholesterol. Similarly, the added sugar content in soft drinks remains an integral part of the beverage and is not discernible to the eye.

The recommended daily consumption of various kinds of food in relation to their nutritional value, and the total recommended intake of calories, both for children and adults, is based on government-approved guidelines. These guidelines have been set out in order to prevent obesity and various forms of diet-related problems, including heart disease, diabetes and high cholesterol.

Article written by D. Alexander
 

Proposed National Anthem of England Bonnie English Rose

Promoting English culture
The proposed national anthem of England on Celtic Britannia is Bonnie English Rose, also known as Rose of England.

Bonnie English Rose

http://youtu.be/CxUSUMhGNdI

Bonnie English Rose
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMB_Nghw_Mg

English National Dance 13th century
http://youtu.be/aFUkIAnE6dA

Unemployment in Britain in 2011

British Jobs not for British People
Unemployment in Britain for the current year 2011 has reached a situation of no return, as 87% of vacant jobs go to foreign workers, and only 13% to British people. These unbelievable figures have been released by the press, and come from credible research conducted by members of Parliament.

According to figures released in the latter half of 2010 by the British Government, there are millions of people on out-of-work related benefits, of which about 1.5 million are on jobseekers allowance (JSA).

However, there are many British people looking for work who do not claim JSA or other out-of-work related benefits, and so the actual extent of unemployment in Britain is much higher than the official unemployment rate, which, according to the Guardian, is currently at 7.7%.

Available Jobs

The Office for National Statistics calculates the 2011 employment rate in Britain for people aged between 16 and 64 at 70.6%. The almost 30% of the population aged between 16 and 64 who are not working includes students, people receiving illness-related benefits, workers who have received an early pension and those who are in search of work.

The number of available jobs in Britain is generally a few hundred thousand, and so it can be assumed that JSA claimants and students leaving college or university are competing for these work offers at a rate of one vacant job for possibly 10 or 15 unemployed people.

Recent plans by the Government to reduce hundreds of thousands of public sector jobs over the coming years are bound to add to the competition between those who are unemployed and those leaving school or university.

But the fact that the vast majority of available jobs are given to foreign workers means that the chances of a British person in unemployment finding work are very slim indeed. It means that there are possibly 80 or 100 unemployed British people who stand an actual chance of getting one vacant job!

British Jobs for British People

Iain Duncan Smith, the Work and Pensions Secretary, announced on the 1 July 2011 that employers in the United Kingdom must do more to employ British people rather than rely on foreign labour.

Voices have been raised challenging this stance on the grounds of racial discrimination laws. Many in Britain, however, believe that discrimination against British people who are caught up in unemployment is the actual reason why almost 90% of jobs go to non British people.

Iain Duncan Smith spoke of a lost generation, of people depending on benefits, and of his desire to prevent another generation being consigned to dependency and hopelessness. He also said: “If government and business pull together on this, I believe we can finally start to give our young people a chance."

There is also a work placement scheme that is soon to come into effect. This law will enable the job centres managing unemployment in Britain to direct job seekers to available posts, where they will be required to work 30 hours a week for one month while receiving their usual benefits.

During this period, the employer will have the chance to assess the person's skill and ability, and decide whether to employ them in return for the standard wage. To refuse to attend a work placement, however, would lead to the job seeker losing Jobseekers allowance for at least three months.

It now remains to be seen if so many employers in Britain's private sector will go on discriminating against British people and consign another generation to hopelessness. They could hide behind accusations of racial discrimination against foreign workers if they are not allowed to continue employing almost exclusively foreign labour, but if they manage to continue along these lines, another generation will be lost to unemployment in Britain.

Article written by D. Alexander, 5 July 2011.

Related links:

http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=12
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-11704765

UK jobs: how British people are systematically excluded from basic sectors of employment and denied the right to work.

http://celticbritannia.blogspot.com/2011/08/uk-jobs.html

British Party campaigning for the rights of British people to be free from racial discrimination when it comes to employment in our own Country:
http://celticbritannia.blogspot.com/2011/09/british-party.html

Will Prosperity come to Britain in 2012?
celticbritannia.blogspot.com/2011/07/uk-unemployment-in-2012.html

The Early Scottish Church

The origins of the Scottish Church go back to very early times, even to the second century.

Celtic Monasticism in Scotland
The cradle of the Scottish Church is to be found with Celtic monasticism, the specific form of Celtic Christianity that saw missionaries living among men, women and children in a settlement built around a church. All the families and individuals within the settlement lived as one spiritual family united in the faith in Christ. These were the early monastic settlements on which the Scottish Church was edified.

Early Scottish Abbots
The abbots of Celtic monasteries in Scotland did not recognise mortal persons, including the pope, as being superior to them in ecclesial authority. Holding true to the Word of the Gospel, Scottish abbots believed in the superior authority of Jesus Christ. Together with a number of their followers, they would travel far and wide to bring the Word of the Gospel to the people.

The monastery where a Scottish abbot resided was the centre of his ecclesial ministry, and the surrounding settlements he visited were part of his missionary territory. Scottish abbots, like all Celtic abbots in general, were priests of Jesus Christ, and their authority was the equivalent to that of a missionary bishop, regardless of whether they actually received the title of bishop.

Read more on the origins of the Scottish Church:
celticbritannia.blogspot.com/2012/04/origins-of-scottish-church.html

Saint Patrick's Letter to Coroticus:
celticbritannia.blogspot.com/2011/07/saint-patricks-letter-to-coroticus.html

Saint Kentigern of Scotland

Saint Kentigern is a Scottish missionary and Saint who founded monasteries and churches in Christ's name.

Kentigern Chief Lord and Royal Saint

Saint Kentigern was born in the year 518 and lived with his mother in the monastery of Culross in Fife. The Celtic meaning of the name Kentigern is: chief lord, and he is certainly a chief saint of Scotland. Kentigern's mother being a Pictish princess, the saint is of royal descent.

Scottish Music: chanters, drums and drones
http://youtu.be/G3UEz1kBxzU

Kentigern, a Saint of Scotland
June 2012

Birth of Kentigern and Foundation of Glasgow

The most notable historical reference to the saint comes from the Life of Kentigern, written around 1180 by a monk named Jocelyn, of Furness Abbey in Lancashire, England. His account seems to be based on at least one older manuscript written in Gaelic, but no trace of this original text has been found. Jocelyn, who was writing the book on behalf of his namesake, Bishop Jocelyn of Glasgow, took care to incorporate within it the oral accounts stemming from local tradition that had been passed down through the centuries.

In the year 518, a Pictish princess gave birth to Kentigern, the Celtic name meaning: chief lord. Leading up to the child's birth, she had found refuge with a monk named Serf, the abbot who founded the fifth century monastery of Culross in Fife, in central Scotland. Saint Serf provided sanctuary to mother and son within his monastery, and as the lad grew, he educated him in the Christian faith.

As a young man, Kentigern went forth as a missionary to Strathclyde, where he founded a monastery in the place that was to become Glasgow. As was Celtic custom, men, women and children gathered there to be part of the monastic community, and some Christians who inhabited the area asked him to become their bishop.

The name Glasgow is believed to derive from the Celtic Glas Cu, meaning “dear green place”, or possibly “dear family”. The monastery grew into a permanent settlement, one which was destined to become Scotland's largest city. Although it is possible that a settlement already existed before the saint's arrival, he is the earliest known person associated to the name Glasgow.

The Light Spreads from Glasgow

A local chieftain hostile to Christianity obliged Kentigern to leave Strathclyde, and so the abbot departed from his monastery and from his missionary territory, heading south towards Wales. There he made contact with the local Celtic Church and founded a monastery by the River Elwy, in Denbighshire. This monastic centre developed into a town that was to become known by the name of one of Kentigern's disciples, Saint Asaph, in Welsh Llanelwy.

Wherever the saint travelled, he brought with him the spirit of the early Celtic Church, the one form of Christianity that was to unite in a pure and indisputable childlike faith the Celtic peoples of Scotland, Ireland, Cumbria, Wales, Cornwall and Brittany. On his pastoral journey between Scotland and Wales, Kentigern stayed in Cumbria, converting many to the Faith of Christ and founding a number of churches.

Kentigern Returns to Strathclyde

Meanwhile, in the Brythonic kingdom of Strathclyde, a new king named Rhydderch Hael, Christian in faith, summoned Kentigern to return to his homeland. Accordingly, the great founder of monasteries and churches returned to his original ecclesiastical foundation, passing again through Cumbria, crossing the lands of Galloway, and reaching Strathclyde. Along his journey, many people turned out to greet him with profound joy.

The year of his return dates back to the second half of the mid 6^th century, the period when Saint Columba of Ireland was working from the Scottish island monastery of Iona. Kentigern resumed his missionary work in Strathclyde, travelling among the people, and in course of time established his itinerary bishopric in Glasgow, where he founded a church by the river Molendinar Burn. On the site of this early church now stands the thirteenth century Cathedral.

An Episcopal See Reaching to the People

During his pastoral mission dedicated to Christ, Saint Kentigern and his followers also travelled north to the heartland of the Picts, establishing churches in the province of Mar, the area to the west of Aberdeen. In this region of Scotland, Saints Finan and Nidan, two followers of Kentigern who are believed to have accompanied him from Wales, are also recorded.

Evidence to the presence of saints in a particular area is often found in the form of churches dedicated to their name. This is also the case of those ecclesiastical foundations that hold true to the name of Saint Kentigern and his disciples in central and southern Scotland, in Brythonic Cumbria and in Wales. Thus, where historical accounts may seem to fade into legendary history and ancient folklore, the life of a Celtic saint is written in a myriad of silent words through the presence of an ancient stone building, testifying that the disciple of Jesus once stood there and gathered a multitude of people in the name of the Saviour.

Ancient sources mentioning Kentigern prior to Jocelyn's book have been found in Wales and Ireland, the oldest reference being from the Annals of Wales, which record the saint's death in the year 612. A fragmentary Life of Kentigern, compiled by an anonymous author around 1150 at the request of Bishop Herbert of Glasgow, brings together the many folklore accounts regarding Kentigern's family and the events that led to the saint's birth within Saint Serf's monastery at Culross.

Kentigern was greatly loved, and as a token of this, he received the appellative Mungo, meaning “the dear one”. According to local folklore, the motto of Glasgow has its origins in a sermon preached by Saint Kentigern: “Lord let Glasgow flourish through the preaching of thy word and praising thy name.”

Written by D. Alexander

Sources:

• Jocelyn, a monk of Furness Abbey, The Life of Kentigern, 1180.
• Cynthia Whiddon Green, Saint Kentigern, Apostle to Strathclyde, University of Houston, 1998. 

Read also: Origins of the Scottish Church
celticbritannia.blogspot.com/2012/04/origins-of-scottish-church.html

Read on: The Early Church in Scotland
celticbritannia.blogspot.com/2011/07/early-church-in-scotland.html