How to determine nationality by the appearance of a person, especially in the modern world, which as a result of migration processes has turned into a new Tower of Babel? After all, if you come to the UK, then three out of five people you meet in a crowd will have an appearance that is not even European. Nevertheless, the typical English have not yet died out. They are more common in rural areas than in big cities.
What do representatives of the so-called titular nation look like? They joke that felinologists can give an accurate description of the exterior of a purebred "British". He has a massive body with a round head, short ears, large amber eyes and thick fur of a smoky gray color. Of course, we are talking about cats of the British Shorthair breed. As for the people, the nation was formed over the centuries under the influence of the Normans, Germanic tribes, Vikings, Jutes. There are many in the veins of modern English and French blood. From such a blend of genes, the British onlywon. Representatives of this nation are considered beautiful. In this article we will look at the appearance of the British, the features of their appearance.
Forming a Nation
In ancient times, the island was inhabited by the Britons. This people not only gave their name to Foggy Albion. The Britons belonged to the Celtic ethnic family. They assimilated with later arrivals. Despite the fact that the culture of the Britons has disappeared, their genes have greatly influenced the appearance of the British.
In the early Middle Ages (5th-6th centuries), Germanic tribes landed on the island - the Jutes, Saxons and Angles. They pushed the Britons north into Scotland and into the mountains of Cornwall and Wales. At this time, the English language is formed. In the 8th-9th centuries, Scandinavians (Norwegians and Danes) arrived on the island, and in 1066 the Norman conquest began. But this Frankish ethnos was in no hurry to mix with the local population. For many centuries, commoners spoke the Anglo-Saxon dialect, and the nobility spoke Old French. Only in the 12th century does the mixing of the Normans with the Anglo-Saxons begin.
Common features of British appearance
As we can see, in this cocktail of very different bloodlines it is difficult to define one type, as, for example, in small countries isolated from other states. Most of the newcomers to the islands carried dominant genes, which greatly influenced the appearance of their descendants. But we can determine that in Scotland the appearance of the indigenous people, the Britons, is more often and more clearly manifested. And in the west, in Wales, the influence of the Franks is affecting.
Posome representatives of the English nation can see that they are the descendants of tall and thin Scandinavians. Others, on the contrary, are squat and prone to fullness, are a purely Danish and Saxon product. But still, we can isolate several features of appearance that are characteristic of all Englishmen. This is an elongated skull, close-set light eyes and a small mouth. It is extremely rare to meet a swarthy Englishman (unless he is a child of a mixed marriage).
Irish type
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland includes many lands. We think that the appearance of an Englishman is uniform, but it is not. After all, it is impossible to draw a portrait of a typical Russian - the inhabitants of Arkhangelsk and the Krasnodar Territory differ from each other. But the citizens of Great Britain themselves know how to determine nationality by appearance. They intuitively guess whether a person's ancestors were from Scotland or Scandinavia.
Let's consider the types of the English, which are dominated by Irish blood. There are two of them. The first is fully consistent with the stereotypes about the Irish. Cheerful and a bit romantic sanguine, with a freckled face, green, wide-set eyes, fiery red, sometimes curly hair. Representatives of such Irish Englishmen are Ron Winsley's family in the Harry Potter film epic. But there is another type. Short and thin, with a pale face and piercing blue eyes, he is the complete opposite of his tall, red-haired compatriots.
Scottish looks
In harshimpregnable mountains, where the militant newcomers shaded the indigenous ethnic group, the Britons survived and even formed their own type of modern Englishman from the north of the country. Medium height, mobile choleric, with a narrow face and a thin nose, the Scot makes a pleasant impression. This type is also characterized by a small mouth, and his eyes are necessarily light - more often gray-green or steel-colored. As for hair color, Scotland even overtakes Ireland in the number of redheads. About 13 percent of the population in the north of the island has fiery hair.
Many more people wear more or less reddish hair. But in Scotland, as well as in Ireland, there is a type that is not at all like the immortal highlander Duncan MacLeod. And if we describe his image briefly, then let's say this: "This is Harry Potter." A pale thin face with large, slightly close-set blue eyes, a pointed chin, black or dark hair - these guys and girls are very attractive.
Scandinavian looks
Vikings also contributed to the formation of the English nation. Those who have passed on their genes may not be on diets and indulge in the pleasure of eating an extra piece of cake or drinking a pint of beer. The Scandinavian type can be called lean, if not too thin.
Often, representatives of this appearance - both men and women - have a disproportionately long neck. They are characterized by high stature, a bony, very elongated face with sunken cheeks, slightly protruding teeth. Like all northerners,they are blonde and blue-eyed. If we compare the types of Englishmen with movie heroes, then Captain Hastings, a friend and partner of Hercule Poirot, is a bright representative of the Scandinavian appearance.
Norman type
This last wave of emigrants for a long time did not want to mix with the native Anglo-Saxon and British population. The Normans, having captured the island by the right of the sword, formed the top of the feudal society. And, despite the past centuries and the bourgeois revolution, the appearance of the British is still dependent on social origin. The elite, although they will never admit it, will look down on the lower classes, even the very rich ones. The Norman type is graceful. Its representatives have medium-sized and soft features.
Unlike people of the Scandinavian type, they are not tall, but they cannot be called squat either. The Royal Family of Great Britain is a prime example of the Norman appearance. In this type, the eyes are set not too close. A high forehead, a thin nose, an elegantly defined mouth and a sharp chin give the impression that the owner of such an appearance is an intelligent person. Of the film actors, Hugh Laurie, who played Dr. House in the TV series of the same name, is most suitable for this type.
German (Saxon) looks
The Germanic tribe of conquerors had a great influence not only on the formation of the English language, but also on the appearance of the modern inhabitants of Great Britain. In the provinces and in the cities one can meet large, overweight people. The description of this type of face varies by gender. In men, it is wide, withslightly pendulous cheeks. In women, it is often round, ruddy, with large features. The eyes are pale blue or grey, often protruding.
From the description of the face of this type, it seems that he is not very handsome. But it is not so. After all, Harry Potter's uncle and cousin are just caricatures of the German type, like Aunt Petunia is of the Scandinavian type. From the beauty of Sophie Turner, who played the role of Sansa Stark in the Game of Thrones, one can judge that the Saxon appearance is not so bad.
Gallic type
The south coast of the British island has long been inhabited by the French, whose descendants have long considered themselves British. Gallic blood was thoroughly mixed with Anglo-Saxon, Celtic (Irish) and others, which gave rise to a charming southern type. A bright representative of it is the young actress Emma Watson, who literally grew up in front of the viewers in the image of Hermione, Harry Potter's childhood friend.
Despite having black eyebrows and brown eyes, she has a typical British appearance. This is demonstrated by an elongated skull, large eyes, a beautifully contoured mouth, and a graceful thin neck. Actor Orlando Bloom, disguised as a Nordic elf in The Hobbit epic, is actually a Gallic character. Many carriers of this appearance work in show business, because along with a spectacular and pretty appearance, genes gave them an artistic character.
Mixing
In the 18th and 19th centuries, Great Britain colonized India and many other countries in Asia and Africa. Newcitizens also significantly influenced the appearance of the British. Migration processes of our time have further aggravated the situation. Mixed marriages are not uncommon in England, and very beautiful children are born from them. A striking example of this is Naomi Scott, a singer and actress who is included in the Top 20 most beautiful women in the UK. Her father is English and her mother is Indian.
Also on the streets you can see a lot of young people, teenagers and children born from marriages of the British with people from Black or Arab Africa, Southeast Asia, Eastern and Central Europe. But the older the man or woman, the more English blood they have. But even among pensioners, we observe several types that are strikingly different from each other.
Descendants of aristocrats
Great Britain is a monarchy. The royal family still enjoys special reverence among the citizens of the country. Recently, princes can afford to marry persons of non-aristocratic blood. Their chosen ones are people from the we althy bourgeoisie. We will talk about the appearance of the representatives of the “high-middle class” later. Now let's look at what a typical Englishman from high society looks like. Prince Charles doesn't count - his big protruding ears and long mouth make him look unique, special.
But the royal family consists of several dozen members, there are still lesser ranks to know, so we can paint a portrait of an English aristocrat. He is tall, thin. He has a very elongated long face with close-set bright eyes, a long cartilaginous nose, an inexpressive slopingchin, small mouth with thin lips. In ladies of high society, female hormones soften the angular forms a little. These ladies give their fortunes to dentists to correct a birth defect: their dentition is located in a narrow horseshoe, bent inward.
Upper middle class
From all of the above, it becomes clear why the princes of blue blood do not look for their equal, but choose brides from commoners. But the latter are also divided into classes. English upper middle class women are very pretty. Not one family took part in the formation of their genotype, but people of Saxon, Norman, French and other nationalities. In Britain, there is even the concept of English rose. By "English rose" is meant a beautiful woman with typically Nordic features.
We can only name a few famous actresses to give you an idea of what an upper middle class person looks like. These are Lily Asley and Elizabeth Brighton (stars of the theater of the early 20th century), Belinda Lee and Vivien Leigh (mid-century), Jane Birkin and Caroline Munro (70-80s), Rachel Weisz and Rosamund Pike (2000s). A similar appearance (a round chin, large eyes, a small, slightly upturned or straight thin nose, plump lips) was also possessed by the "People's Princess" Diana, nee Francis Spencer.
Middle class
Celebrities and top managers can afford gym memberships, he althy food "bio", and some - and the correction of imperfections in appearance by plastic surgeons. Well, what do English people look like?men and women with average incomes? They tend to have excellent genetics, allowing them to stay slim and youthful into old age.
Celtic, Scottish and British blood flows in their veins, and sometimes their tempestuous cocktail. And the fair sex from the UK refutes the myth that northerners lose to southerners in appearance. Keira Knightley has been named the most beautiful woman in the country. She is the daughter of an Englishman and a Scottish woman.
Working class
Among this social stratum, it is rare to find a real beauty or a pretty man. Types of women in this environment are divided into two types. The first is the so-called towie. Basically, this type can be found in Essex. Ladies try to look beautiful with tons of makeup. False eyelashes, nails, hair; rhinestones in the eyebrows, navel, teeth; permanent make-up… All that war paint makes them showy but not pretty.
The second type of women from the lower strata - Chav girls. These are girls who have given up on themselves and live on social benefits. They do not particularly bother with the width of their waist, which in some individuals reaches impressive volumes. This unpretentious appearance is exacerbated by the bad taste and especially the predilection of these ladies for leggings, which they wear without skirts or long tunics.
Working class men
"Blue collar" can be identified by the love of plaid shirts. Among this caste, there is still an opinion that if a man is well-groomed, he is gay. Both sexes feed on the unhe althyaddiction to alcohol, but at the same time they like to talk about Christian and family values. The types of working-class men can also be divided into two groups. The first is a large, phlegmatic big man with a purple face and watery blue eyes. To imagine this appearance, it is enough to recall the constables from the stories of Conan Doyle.
The second type is a thin and undersized man with a bony narrow skull and small, inexpressive features. But such people can be quite nice. An example of this is the actor Eddie Redmayne, who got into the Top handsome men of England, who played in the prequel of the Harry Potter epic "Magical Beasts" and "The Crimes of Grindelwald".
From all of the above, we can conclude that the UK remains a caste country. But it is not so. It can be noted that in recent years, a mixture of social strata has been increasingly observed. Thus, the gap between the older and younger generations becomes clearer. If the former are more prim and prefer clothes of calm colors and solid cut, the latter strive for convenience, showiness, bright colors and fashion brands.
