Feudal history

I hesitate to contradict any nationalist on a question of "inaccurate tosh" (Letters, 9 February) but if forced to choose between David Dimbleby and Alistair McEwen I think most of us would plump for Mr Dimbleby.

I'm afraid Mr McEwen needs to get back to his history books. The name "Britain" has its roots in the ancient world, having been given to us by the Romans who got it from an earlier Greek equivalent, and Britain clearly pre-dates the Germanic "Scotland" and "England" by hundreds, if not thousands, of years.

Similarly, the idea that "independent countries" made up these islands in medieval times owes more to romantic fiction than it does to historical fact.

Macbeth, for example, paid homage to King Canute, Malcolm Canmore bowed the knee to William the Conqueror, and in Magna Carta anyone can see that Alexander II recognised King John as his feudal superior. Even Robert the Bruce sought the approval of the Pope for the "independence" of his kingdom of Scotland.

The feudal structure was the glue that held Christendom together and no country in western Europe was independent of it.

Sit back, Mr McEwen, and watch David Dimbleby with an open mind and, indeed, with an open spirit. You might learn something.

ROBERT VEITCH

Paisley Drive

Edinburgh