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| − | '''1066 and All That,''' by W. C. Sellar and E. J. Yeatman, is a classic work of humor that pretends to be a history of England. It was first published in 1930 and has been so popular that it has stayed in print ever since. Its full title is: | + | '''1066 and All That,''' by W. C. Sellar and E. J. Yeatman, is a classic work of humor that pretends to be a history of [[England]]. It was first published in 1930 and has been so popular that it has stayed in print ever since. Its full title is: |
| | :''1066 and All That: A Memorable History of England, comprising all the parts you can remember, including 103 Good Things, 5 Bad Kings and 2 Genuine Dates.'' | | :''1066 and All That: A Memorable History of England, comprising all the parts you can remember, including 103 Good Things, 5 Bad Kings and 2 Genuine Dates.'' |
| − | People who are studying English history appreciate its muddled, tongue-in-cheek humor. According to Sellar and Yeatman, for example, what they call the "[[Magna Carta|Magna Charter]]" said | + | People who are studying [[English]] history appreciate its muddled, tongue-in-cheek humor. According to Sellar and Yeatman, for example, what they call the "[[Magna Carta|Magna Charter]]" said |
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| | *That no one was to be put to death, save for some reason—(except the Common People); | | *That no one was to be put to death, save for some reason—(except the Common People); |
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| | *That everything should be of the same weight and measure throughout the Realm—(except the Common People) | | *That everything should be of the same weight and measure throughout the Realm—(except the Common People) |
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| − | and concludes that "Magna Charter was therefore the chief cause of Democracy in England, and thus a ''Good Thing'' for everyone (except the Common People)."<ref>'''Sellar, W.C. and Yeatman, R.J.''', ''1066 and All That: A Memorable History of England'' London: Methuen (1930) 1998 reprint ISBN 0-4137-7270-5</ref> | + | and concludes that "[[Magna Charter]] was therefore the chief cause of Democracy in England, and thus a ''Good Thing'' for everyone (except the Common People)."<ref>'''Sellar, W.C. and Yeatman, R.J.''', ''1066 and All That: A Memorable History of England'' London: Methuen (1930) 1998 reprint ISBN 0-4137-7270-5</ref> |
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| | 1066 is a reference to the year the [[Battle of Hastings]] was fought, a date that all English schoolchildren memorize, like 1776 in the United States; it is one of Sellar and Yeatman's "2 Genuine Dates," | | 1066 is a reference to the year the [[Battle of Hastings]] was fought, a date that all English schoolchildren memorize, like 1776 in the United States; it is one of Sellar and Yeatman's "2 Genuine Dates," |