Ancient and Modern Britons, Vol. 1

Résumé du livre

David MacRitchie's Ancient and Modern Britons is a provocative and unconventional examination of British ethnology that challenges long-held assumptions about the origins of the British people. First published in the late 19th century, the work contends that the early inhabitants of the British Isles—prior to the arrival of Celts and Romans—were dark-skinned aboriginal peoples whose influence endured far longer than mainstream history had acknowledged. Drawing on folklore, place names, historical documents, and comparative anthropology, MacRitchie argues that traces of these ancient peoples persisted in both cultural traditions and physical traits among modern populations. Though controversial in its time and criticized for its speculative leaps, the book played a significant role in stimulating debate over race, migration, and national identity during a formative period of British historiography. MacRitchie's ideas intersect with broader currents in Victorian racial theory, mythic nationalism, and imperial anthropology, making this a key text for understanding how narratives of origin were constructed and contested in the 19th century. While modern readers must approach it critically, the book remains an important historical artifact in the study of British identity and early anthropological discourse.