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This is the beautiful flag of Northumberland.
Based upon a banner that represented the ancient kingdom of Northumbria, it is very likely the oldest flag design in
England.
Be sure to check out my links at the bottom of the page; they contain much
more information about the history and culture of this magnificient place!
Northumberland is one of the few counties
in England that has it's own anthem! This
especially pretty arrangement uses one of the county's unique instruments, the Northumbrian pipes. The sound file below will take a while to load, but it is
well worth the wait!!
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| Alnwick Castle |
You cannot hardly go anywhere in Northumberland without running into
a castle or two! Dozens of castles, ruins, and other historical sites dot the pristine landscape.
Not to mention Hadrian's Wall, which also trails through the county. Folks, forget London,
the real stuff to see is in Northumberland!
Wildlife
in Northumberland is abundant- little critters such as red squirrels, badgers, and rabbits are plentiful in the unspoilt forests and meadows of this beautiful county. Birds also thrive
in the ideal habitats Northumberland
provides. Since I am a bit partial to
birds, I had to include a couple of pictures of some very English bird
species, the Great Spotted Woodpecker, and the Black Grouse, neither of which live in the US. (A side
note about myself... I am very fond of birds-
I have 8 field guides on North America,
and 4 for Great Britian and Ireland...anyway)
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| Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major) |
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| Black Grouse (Tetrao tetrix) |
Northumberland has its own language!
This unique tongue is one of the foundational languages of Modern English! Northumbrian is a Germanic tongue with Celtic
influences, but is very pure of the French\Norman language that tainted many early dialects and tongues
in other regions of England. It is suspected that the epic Beowulf was written not in Anglo-Saxon, but
Northumbrian!! So obviously, this is a very ancient language! The remarkable thing about Northumbrian
is it's marked similarity to Modern English. The words are so similar, one would probably simply
dismiss it as a thick accent, but indeed, it is a unique and distinct tongue. Sadly, it's use is becoming
obsolete, as Modern English encroaches on the once remote villages and towns of Northumberland where it's language flourished.
Societies exist today that are putting forth effort to preserve the historical language of Northumbrian. What a
shame if this beautiful language becomes extinct!
Check out my links below on Northumbrian.
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(there was
one more thing I really wanted to put on this page, and I'll add it later... the White cattle of Chillingham!!
I included a link anyway, but I'll put some pictures and stuff up on here another time... it is nearly 11
pm now and I just wanted to get this page finally up lol so if you ever wonder why there are so many misspellings
on here btw, it is because I stay up till midnight typing lol please forgive me lol)
Anyway! the links I have been promising
you!!
This is a good site with lots of info, especially about the
language and music.
The official UK website on Northumberland-- lots of info on this page.
Great site with history of Northumberland.
Dictionary of Northumbrian words!!
A site about this magnificient county. Be sure to look
at the articles about the Lindisfarne Gospels! They belong in Northumberland, not some dusty London library!!!!!
Finally, the wild white cattle of Chillingham!
(I am eventually going to get some more links
on here about the Castles and the Lindisfarne Gospels, and hopefully some about the Roman forts and Hadrian's wall.
But, this is all I can do before falling asleep lol)
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