Pre-Roman England  Samothea, Albion, Britain, Britannia, England

Samothea
Evidence shows that after the "Great Flood" created the island we know as Great Britain it being used by migrant hunters who may have inhabited the Island.
The first known inhabitants seem to be displaced tribes from modern day Egypt led by Samothes, (aka Zames Ninyas) it is said that they traveled via Western Europe in their quest to find a land to call home. When England was born her birth name was Samothea, named after Samothes the tribal chief. She grew and prospered as the Chaldeans and Assyrians cultivated her lands and made it their home. They laid the foundation of the Celtic culture living in ordered relatively peaceful societies, the unifying bond between all the Celtic tribes was their common religious-scientific priesthood. The Druids seem to have been named by Druis who was the fourth of the nine rulers from the original settlers. The nineth ruler Celtes had no male heirs (however it is said that he gave his name to many European people Celts) so he gave his daughter Galathea in marriage to Hercules. This was to be the end of the stable existence enjoyed by these settlers for more than three centuries.

At this point accounts are confusing to say the least, some of the confusion comes from the names, people named places after themselves, people were named after places.  To distinguish between people with the same name the name of their father, mother, grandfather, grandmother or even the name of a god whose characteristics they displayed was added before or after their name. The confusion is compounded by the spelling of a name depending on whether the original record was in Greek, Latin or Roman. As I am trying to find references directly linked to “England” I am not digging too deep into siblings. In order to untangle the information I have found I have resorted to the more traditional “Family Tree” I have included “overviews” of other people and incidents to try and “fill in the gaps” this is my interpretation that could in itself be fiction.

 

Noah was a giant. That doesn't mean he was bad, as giants are normally supposed to be. Instead he was a "good giant". His wife was Tytea (Aretia) Noah’s first three sons were.

Sem (Shem), which means "famous". He was otherwise called Melchisedech Cham (Ham), which means "subtlety and craft". He gained his father’s displeasure because of his misdeeds. He had four sons. Japheth, which means "liberty and freedom".

 

Cush, had six sons,

the descendants of Cush inhabited Ethiopia.

Mizraim also known as Osiris, succeeded his father as king of Egypt. He had seven sons, Ludim, Anamim, Pathruhim, Casluhim, Caphtorim, Lehabim (Celtes son-in-law) and Naphtuhim (Albion’s father)

Put, who inhabited the North African coastal region to the west of Egypt Caanan (son of Ham), (Allegedly cursed by Noah) whose descendants occupied the land on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean, until they were eventually defeated by the Romans and totally wiped out.
Lehabim was considered to be Hercules and was given the surname Lybicus (Hercules Lybicus). Naphtuhim was considered to be Neptune and was given the surname Marioticus (Neptune Marioticus) because his dominions were among the islands of the Mediterranean sea.

I have found mention of Hercules having three wives.

Three of his noteworthy sons were.

Araxa Omphale Galathea (daughter of Celtes) Albion, who invaded the island of Samothea with an army descended from Cush. Bergion, who invaded the island to the west of Samothea.

It became known as Hibernia and is now called Ireland.

Lestrigo, who invaded Italy.

The king from whom the Lomnimi or Geriones of Spain derived their name.

They had a son called Tuscus, from whom descended Dardanus the first founder of Troy.

 

They had a son called Athus. They had a son Galathew (Galatheus, Galathes) who became king of France. There is mention of them being part of a tribe named Galli, who joined with others and migrated into Asia Minor and gave its name to the region of Galatia. Albion could have enjoyed the good life in his native Egypt, with plenty of space to do whatever he wanted, but instead he felt compelled to sail to Samothea (using an old family grudge to justify his overthrow of a peaceful kingdom and the birthplace of his aunt. or he may have been encouraged by his father Neptune Marioticus). Whatever his reason Celtes probably made him welcome as the nephew of his daughter and this might account for the lack of opposition to Albion’s “conquest” of Samothea. It also seems out of character that he did not kill Celtes.
 
The Rise and Fall of Albion the Country and the Man
“Neptune, the son of Osiris, sailed the seas with his 33 giant sons”. From what I can tell at this time any male descendant could be considered a son so a more accurate interpretation of this statement in my opinion might be, “ Neptune sailed the seas with 33 of his male relatives”, leaving each of them in a different place to overthrow the kingdoms that already existed and bring the world under their own tyrannical rule.
 
Osiris was opposed to his grandsons ambitions, so his grandsons “the giants” with the support of their father Neptune,held a judicial council, and put Osiris to death.

Hercules Lybicus was infuriated by the murder of his father Osiris and set out to kill the giant sons of his brother Neptune Marioticus.

He went to Spain and defeated the Lomnimi or Geriones, then he passed through Gallia on his way to Italy, to do battle with Lestrigo.

When Albion and Bergion heard that he was on his way to Italy, they set off to defend their brother Lestrigo, and fought against Hercules on the banks of the Rhine (it seems that Hercules must have gone further north to meet Albion and Bergion).

The battle was going badly for Hercules, and his army had used up all their weapons, but Hercules called on them to pick up stones which were available in abundance and throw them at the enemy. This way they killed both Albion and Bergion, and most of their army, so that the remainder fled and the battle was won. After that, Hercules went throughout Gallia, overthrowing tyrants in every place.

The Samotheans of the country now known as Albion had gained a hollow liberation at the hand of Hercules. He did not fight his battles out of love for the Celts or other oppressed people. He simply wanted to avenge the death of his father Osiris. So after reinstating his Father-in-law Celtes as ruler he had no interest in what happened on the little island which was the birthplace of his wife. It is generally thought that Celtes was not able to control the “lawless giants” who had remained after Albion had left to defend his brother.
Therefore it is understandable that records claim that when Brutus arrived, the island was empty except for a few giants and renamed Albion Britain.
 
Brutus, King of the Britons

I think everyone has heard at least one version of the “Fall of Troy”, the city of Troy in Asia Minor (now eastern Turkey), near the Bosphorus. The Trojans were at war against the Greeks. When the city was destroyed Many Trojans escaped including Aeneas with his father Anchises and his young son Ascanius, together with many other refugees. They first went to Africa, and then to Italy where they were well received by Latinus, king of the Latins. Aeneas married Lavinia, the daughter of Latinus and they had a son called Silvius. Ascanius married and had a son, also called Silvius, who had his way with Lavinia's niece and got her pregnant. She gave birth to a son called Brutus, but she died during childbirth. When Brutus was 15 years old, he was out hunting with his father, and accidentally killed him while shooting an arrow at a deer. Thus he was considered to have killed both his father and his mother, although unintentionally, and was banished from Italy.

Brutus went to Greece where his royal lineage was recognized by Pandrasus, king of the Greeks, and by the downtrodden Trojans who had escaped from Troy and were living as an under-class among the Greeks.

The exiled Trojans adopted him as their leader and assembled themselves into an army.

Brutus tried to negotiate with King Pandrasus for the liberty of the exiled Trojans, so that they could live as equals with the Greeks, or else be given assistance to go to other lands.

Pendrasus chose war against the Trojans, but Brutus and his army of exiles prevailed against him. Now the King was anxious to achieve a peace of some sort, but he recognised that the war had led to feelings of resentment that would make it impossible for the Trojans to continue living among the Greeks.

He therefore decided that the departure of the Trojans was the only possible option, and he furnished them with ships so that they could leave. He also gave his daughter Ignoge to Brutus, to be his wife. Brutus and his army sailed away and stopped in a few parts of Africa, then they sailed through the Pillars of Hercules (Straits of Gibraltar) and arrived in Gaul where more Trojan exiles joined them. They fought some battles against the Gauls, then returned to their ships and sailed to their intended destination, an almost empty island to the north of Gaul known as Albion (Alban). The date of their arrival is calculated to be 1074 BC.

Brutus wished to call the land and the people living there by his own name, he used the old Welsh (kymraec) version of his name which translated to Britain, the language of the people was to be known as bryttanec which translated to British and the people were to be known as bryttaniaid Britons. These names stayed until the Roman Occupation they changed Britain to
Britannia. These names still have relevance to the people of England today, it is now known as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and her subjects are British when referred to as a whole individually they are English, Irish, Scottish and Welsh.

The island was uninhabited except for a few giants, Brutus and his people were delighted with the island.

Corineus chose Cornwall (kerniw) as his home because the greatest number of giants (Albions) had been found there and he loved to fight them. Amongst the giants of Cornwall there was one who was mighty, after Corineus defeated him and threw his body off a cliff the remaining giants sought refuge in the mountains.

Brutus enjoyed his new home and ruled over it for 24 years, after his death the island was divided between his three sons. Locrinus, inherited the middle part of the island, which, from his name, was called Lloegria (lloegr, still the Welsh name for England), Kamber, the part beyond the Severn, which was called Kymry (Present-day Wales which, to native speakers, is still known as Cymru, pr. Goom-ree) and Albanactus received from the Humber up to Cape Bladdon, the part that is now known as Scotland, he named it Albany after himself. All three ruled together.

 

For anyone who would like more detail I found a very detailed article, had I stumbled across it sooner I could have saved myself days of surfing but I enjoyed it. I found The chronicles at this website with a link to download them in pdf format. Chronicle of the Early Britons
This document, translated by Bill Cooper from the Welsh copy (Jesus College MS LXI), gives the history of the Britons from the fall of Troy and the arrival of Brutus in Britain, to the time when they were defeated by the Saxons and driven into Wales.

 
Peace at Last?

From this point England’s history is fairly well documented the four hundred year Roman occupation, the various invasions, and the numerous civil wars fought to gain supremacy as overall ruler and/or religious domination.

Peace came slowly the last large scale civil war was resolved in April 1660 when Parliament invited Charles II to return to the throne after Cromwell’s defeat. Throughout Charles's reign, religious toleration dominated the political scene. The 1662 Act of Uniformity had imposed the use of the Book of Common Prayer, and insisted that clergy subscribe to Anglican doctrine (some 1,000 clergy lost their livings).

Anti-Catholicism was widespread; the Test Act of 1673 excluded Roman Catholics from both Houses of Parliament. Parliament's reaction to the Popish Plot of 1678 (an allegation by Titus Oates that Jesuit priests were conspiring to murder the King, and involving the Queen and the Lord Treasurer, Danby) was to impeach Danby and present a Bill to exclude James (Charles's younger brother and a Roman Catholic convert) from the succession. Charles died in 1685, becoming a Roman Catholic on his deathbed.

Despite being Roman Catholic, James II (Charles's younger brother) succeeded to the throne, he alienated Parliament in his attempts to give civic equality to Roman Catholics and Protestants.

 
The Invasion of William of Orange Resulting in the Glorious Revolution

Instead of a fight William was welcomed when he landed on 5 November 1688. The Army and the Navy (disaffected despite James's investment in them) deserted to William, and James fled to France. In 1689 Parliament declared that James had abdicated by deserting his kingdom. William of Orange, Protestant husband of James's elder daughter, Mary (by James's first and Protestant wife, Anne Hyde, reigned 1689-1702) and Mary (reigned 1689-94) were offered the throne as joint monarchs.

They accepted a Declaration of Rights (later a Bill), drawn up by a Convention of Parliament, which limited the Sovereign's power, reaffirmed Parliament's claim to control taxation and legislation, and provided guarantees against the abuses of power which James II and the other Stuart Kings had committed. The exclusion of James II and his heirs was extended to exclude all Catholics from the throne.

The Sovereign was required in his coronation oath to swear to maintain the Protestant religion.
The Bill was designed to ensure Parliament could function free from royal interference. The Sovereign was forbidden from suspending or dispensing with laws passed by Parliament, or imposing taxes without Parliamentary consent.
The Sovereign was not allowed to interfere with elections or freedom of speech, and proceedings in Parliament were not to be questioned in the courts or in any body outside Parliament itself. (This was the basis of modern parliamentary privilege.)  The Sovereign was required to summon Parliament frequently (the Triennial Act of 1694 reinforced this by requiring the regular summoning of Parliaments).
Parliament tightened control over the King's expenditure; the financial settlement reached with William and Mary deliberately made them dependent upon Parliament, as one Member of Parliament said, 'when princes have not needed money they have not needed us'.
Finally, the King was forbidden to maintain a standing army in time of peace without Parliament's consent.
The Bill of Rights added further defenses of individual rights. The King was forbidden to establish his own courts or to act as a judge himself, and the courts were forbidden to impose excessive bail or fines, or cruel and unusual punishments.
However, the Sovereign could still summon and dissolve Parliament, appoint and dismiss Ministers, veto legislation and declare war.

The so-called 'Glorious Revolution' has been much debated over the degree to which it was conservative or radical in character. The result was a permanent shift in power; although the monarchy remained of central importance, Parliament had become a permanent feature of political life.

The Toleration Act of 1689 gave all non-conformists except Roman Catholics freedom of worship, thus rewarding Protestant dissenters for their refusal to side with James II.
The Bill of Rights had established the succession with the heirs of Mary II, Anne and William III in that order, but by 1700 Mary had died childless, Anne's only surviving child (out of 17 children), the Duke of Gloucester, had died at the age of 11 and William was dying. The succession had to be decided.
The Act of Settlement of 1701 was designed to secure the Protestant succession to the throne, and to strengthen the guarantees for ensuring parliamentary system of government.
Mary had died of smallpox in 1694, aged 32, and without children. According to the Act, succession to the throne therefore went to Princess Sophia, Electress of Hanover and James I's granddaughter, and her Protestant heirs.
The Act also laid down the conditions under which alone the Crown could be held. No Roman Catholic, nor anyone married to a Roman Catholic, could hold the English Crown. The Sovereign now had to swear to maintain the Church of England (and after 1707, the Church of Scotland).

The Act of Settlement not only addressed the dynastic and religious aspects of succession, it also further restricted the powers and prerogatives of the Crown.
Under the Act, parliamentary consent had to be given for the Sovereign to engage in war or leave the country, and judges were to hold office on good conduct and not at royal pleasure - thus establishing judicial independence.
During the final years of the seventeenth century, the Parliaments of England and Scotland had conflicting foreign and economic policies. Difficulties reached a climax when England settled the succession on the Protestant Sophia of Hanover (Charles I's niece and cousin to James II), as Anne (the last of her line) had failed to produce an heir.

The Scots declared that they were free to choose someone different, with the implication that this could be the exiled Roman Catholic Prince James Francis Edward Stuart, James II's son by his second wife, Mary of Modena. (The scene had been set for the later uprisings in Scotland led by the two Stuart pretenders against the Hanoverian kings.) This disagreement over the succession was clearly untenable. In 1707 after months of bitter debate in Edinburgh and lengthy debate elsewhere, the two Parliaments agreed to unite.
Henceforth one British Parliament would sit at Westminster, and there would be a common flag and coinage. Scotland would, however, retain its own established Church and its legal and educational systems.

The Hanoverians came to power in difficult circumstances that looked set to undermine the stability of British society. The first of their Kings, George I, was only 52nd in line to the throne, but the nearest Protestant according to the Act of Settlement. Two descendants of James II, the deposed Stuart king, threatened to take the throne, and were supported by a number of 'Jacobites' throughout the realm.

For all that, the Hanoverian period was remarkably stable, not least because of the longevity of its kings. From 1714 through to 1837, there were only five monarchs, one of whom, George III, remains the longest reigning king in British History. The period was also one of political stability, and the development of constitutional monarchy. Britain's first 'Prime' Minister, Robert Walpole, dates from this period, and income tax was introduced. Towards the end of the Hanoverian period, the Great Reform Act was passed, which amongst other things widened the electorate. It was also in this period that Britain came to acquire much of her overseas empire, despite the loss of the American colonies, largely through foreign conquest in the various wars of the century. By the end of the Hanoverian period, the British Empire covered a third of the globe.

 
At Least the Following Issues were settled Peaceably

The German name of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha had come via Queen Victoria's marriage to Prince Albert, son of Duke Ernst I of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, in February 1840. Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, however, was not the Prince Consort's personal surname, but the territory ruled by his family; his house, and possibly his surname, was Wettin. Thus, the name Wettin was replaced with Windsor, which also became the name of the Royal House through an Order-in-Council of King George V.

However, the Order only referred to all descendants of Queen Victoria in the male line, but not necessarily by female descendants. In April 1952, after her accession, Queen Elizabeth II ended confusion over the dynastic name when she declared to the Privy Council her “Will and Pleasure that I and My children shall be styled and known as the House and Family of Windsor, and that my descendants who marry and their descendants, shall bear the name of Windsor.” This comes into conflict with Germanic house laws, which state that all of her children are of the house of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg through their father, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

Later, on February 8, 1960, the Queen issued another Order-in-Council, confirming that she and her four children will be known as the House and Family of Windsor, and that her other male-line descendants (except those who are "HRH" and a Prince or Princess) will take the name "Mountbatten-Windsor".

Any future monarch could change the dynasty name if he or she chose to do so. Another Order-in-Council would override those of George V and Elizabeth. For example, if the Prince of Wales accedes to the throne, he could change the royal house to "Mountbatten" in honor of his father, and of his uncle Louis Mountbatten. Mountbatten is the English translation of "Battenberg" and so a name of German origin as well.

 

 

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