--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Our ancestors,” he went on after a while…" description: "\"“Our ancestors,” he went on after a while, “took this land. They took it and made it and held it. We do not give up what our ancestors gave us. They ca..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eab/bernard-cornwell-1849_england_our-ancestors-he-went-on-after-a-while-t_717843.jpg" --- # Our ancestors,” he went on after a while, “took this land… ![“Our ancestors,” he went on after a while, “took this land. They took it and made it and held it. We do not give up what our ancestors gave us. They came across the sea and they fought here, and they built here and they’re buried here. This is our land, mixed with our blood, strengthened with our…” quote by Bernard Cornwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eab/bernard-cornwell-1849_england_our-ancestors-he-went-on-after-a-while-t_717843.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eab/bernard-cornwell-1849_england_our-ancestors-he-went-on-after-a-while-t_717843.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eab/bernard-cornwell-1849_england_our-ancestors-he-went-on-after-a-while-t_717843.jpg) > ““Our ancestors,” he went on after a while, “took this land. They took it and made it and held it. We do not give up what our ancestors gave us. They came across the sea and they fought here, and they built here and they’re buried here. This is our land, mixed with our blood, strengthened with our bone. Ours!” He was angry, but he was often angry. He glowered at me, as if wondering whether I was strong enough to hold this land of Northumbria that our ancestors had won with sword and spear and blood and slaughter.”” [Bernard Cornwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-cornwell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A character passionately defends ancestral land, emphasizing heritage, sacrifice, and identity tied to territory. **In simple terms:** He fiercely protects his ancestral land. Key Takeaway Honor and protect your heritage. Themes heritage identity conflict land ownership Mood proud defiant Type historical dramatic When to use this quote - family gatherings - historical debates - military planning Key Concepts ancestral rights nationalism warrior ethos Questions to Reflect On - What does land mean to you? - How do you balance heritage with progress? A Different Perspective It may glorify violent conquest. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ancestors Gave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancestors-gave-1587244/) [Ancestors Went](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancestors-went-5647557/) [England](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/england/) [Held Ancestors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/held-ancestors-1703461/) [Land Took](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/land-took-391201/) [Patriotic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patriotic/) [Strong enough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strong-enough/) [Took Land](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/took-land-1703460/) ## Related quotes > [Our ancestors took this land. They took it and made it and held it. We do not give up what our ancestors gave us.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-cornwell/our-ancestors-took-this-land-they-took-it-and-made-it-and-held-it-we/) [Bernard Cornwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-cornwell/) > [Our ancestors went to the woods to find fuel; they set snares there for birds and gathered nuts and fungi.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burnside/our-ancestors-went-to-the-woods-to-find-fuel-they-set-snares-there/) [John Burnside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burnside/) > [In America the government took the land from the Indians and then established laws protecting private property.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvin-francis-poussaint/in-america-the-government-took-the-land-from-the-indians-and-then/) [Alvin Francis Poussaint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvin-francis-poussaint/) > [They made us many promises, more than I can remember, but they never kept but one; they promised to take our land, and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/they-made-us-many-promises-more-than-i-can-remember-but-they-never/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave, I am the dream and the hope of the slave. I rise. I rise. I rise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/bringing-the-gifts-that-my-ancestors-gave-i-am-the-dream-and-the-hope-2/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [“Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave, I am the dream and the hope of the slave.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/bringing-the-gifts-that-my-ancestors-gave-i-am-the-dream-and-the-hope/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [The first person who, having enclosed a plot of land, took it into his head to say this is mine and found people simple…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/the-first-person-who-having-enclosed-a-plot-of-land-took-it-into-his/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [I am not one who - who flamboyantly believes in throwing a lot of words around.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-h-w-bush/i-am-not-one-who-who-flamboyantly-believes-in-throwing-a-lot-of-words/) [George H. 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Yet as a country, we will never tolerate our security being threatened, nor stand idly by when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/so-americans-understand-the-costs-of-war-yet-as-a-country-we-will/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Everything that is really great and inspiring is created by the individual who can labor in freedom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/everything-that-is-really-great-and-inspiring-is-created-by-the/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Somebody said that part of my reaction to British cinema is actually, paradoxically, a patriotic one. I'm so disappointed that we're not better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-brownlow/somebody-said-that-part-of-my-reaction-to-british-cinema-is-actually/) [Kevin Brownlow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-brownlow/) > [There is no patriotic art and no patriotic science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/there-is-no-patriotic-art-and-no-patriotic-science/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Certainly these are not easy times. But history does not contain very many easy times. Years from now, we will look back at this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-ingraham/certainly-these-are-not-easy-times-but-history-does-not-contain-very/) [Laura Ingraham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-ingraham/) ## More by Bernard Cornwell > [“They laughed, but I was melancholy. The remnants of Rome always make me sad, simply because they are proof that we slide inexorably towards…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-cornwell/they-laughed-but-i-was-melancholy-the-remnants-of-rome-always-make-me/) [Bernard Cornwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-cornwell/) > [“Some mothers soften their sons, but Osbert was motherless and I had raised him hard because a man must be hard. The world is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-cornwell/some-mothers-soften-their-sons-but-osbert-was-motherless-and-i-had/) [Bernard Cornwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-cornwell/) > [“Enemies come soon enough in a mans life,' he told me, 'you don't need to seek them out”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-cornwell/enemies-come-soon-enough-in-a-mans-life-he-told-me-you-don-t-need-to/) [Bernard Cornwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-cornwell/) > [“Wyrd bi ful aræd.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-cornwell/wyrd-bi-ful-ar-d/) [Bernard Cornwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-cornwell/) > [“‎"He sang the song of the sword, keening as he fed his blade, and Rollo, standing thigh-deep in the creek, ax swinging in murderous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-cornwell/he-sang-the-song-of-the-sword-keening-as-he-fed-his-blade-and-rollo/) [Bernard Cornwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-cornwell/) > [“A battle in the shield wall. 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I once questioned him about his early days…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-cornwell/nor-did-he-care-about-his-childhood-for-certainly-i-never-heard-him/) [Bernard Cornwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-cornwell/) > [“Calix meus inebrians.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-cornwell/calix-meus-inebrians/) [Bernard Cornwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-cornwell/) > [“And we screamed. We screamed our war cry, our shout of slaughter, our joy of being men in battle who are driven by terror.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-cornwell/and-we-screamed-we-screamed-our-war-cry-our-shout-of-slaughter-our/) [Bernard Cornwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-cornwell/) > [It's fun. I sit down every day and tell stories. Some folk would kill to get that chance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-cornwell/it-s-fun-i-sit-down-every-day-and-tell-stories-some-folk-would-kill/) [Bernard Cornwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-cornwell/) > [“You will tell him that Uhtred of Bebbanburg is in a mood to kill.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-cornwell/you-will-tell-him-that-uhtred-of-bebbanburg-is-in-a-mood-to-kill/) [Bernard Cornwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-cornwell/) > [“Priests come to my home beside the northern sea where they find an old man, and they tell me I am just a few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-cornwell/priests-come-to-my-home-beside-the-northern-sea-where-they-find-an/) [Bernard Cornwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-cornwell/) > [“An English man-at-arms had his helmet split open and his skull with it, so that he rode wavering from the fight, blood pouring down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-cornwell/an-english-man-at-arms-had-his-helmet-split-open-and-his-skull-with/) [Bernard Cornwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-cornwell/) > [“Instinct is everything.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-cornwell/instinct-is-everything/) [Bernard Cornwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-cornwell/) [Explore all 171 Bernard Cornwell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-cornwell/) ## More England quotes > [Forcing modern speakers of English to not - whoops, not to split an infinitive because it isn't done in Latin makes about as much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/forcing-modern-speakers-of-english-to-not-whoops-not-to-split-an/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [I did not know that the planning for biological and chemical warfare was so widespread in England, and even in France before France fell.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/i-did-not-know-that-the-planning-for-biological-and-chemical-warfare/) [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) > [I didn't want to do 'Fashion Police' because I thought, 'This is stupid, this is beneath me, who wants to talk about fashion?' It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-rivers/i-didn-t-want-to-do-fashion-police-because-i-thought-this-is-stupid/) [Joan Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-rivers/) > [ Next came the Patent laws. These began in England in 1624; and, in this country, with the adoption of our constitution. Before then \[these?\],… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/next-came-the-patent-laws-these-began-in-england-in-1624-and-in-this/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [Why did Erich von Stronheim leave Germany? Why did Hitchcock leave England? If you were a director you'd like to work in Hollywood too.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roman-polanski/why-did-erich-von-stronheim-leave-germany-why-did-hitchcock-leave/) [Roman Polanski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roman-polanski/) > [I'm from Europe, England, and I actually lived in Italy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adewale-akinnuoye-agbaje/i-m-from-europe-england-and-i-actually-lived-in-italy/) [Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adewale-akinnuoye-agbaje/) > [If I had been an Italian I am sure that I should have been whole-heartedly with you from the start to finish in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/if-i-had-been-an-italian-i-am-sure-that-i-should-have-been-whole/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [“This spending of the best part of one's life earning money in order to enjoy a questionable liberty during the least valuable part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/this-spending-of-the-best-part-of-one-s-life-earning-money-in-order/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > ['Downton Abbey' is my worst nightmare. I just hate that whole 'Upstairs Downstairs' thing, I think it's really lazy and it doesn't represent England,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-payne/downton-abbey-is-my-worst-nightmare-i-just-hate-that-whole-upstairs/) [Tom Payne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-payne/) > [Although I don't have anything against people from other countries, the higher the influx into England the more the British identity disappears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/although-i-don-t-have-anything-against-people-from-other-countries/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [These fledgling democracies in the Middle East, they're actually fighting for their freedom. And what are they rioting for in England? Leisurewear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noel-gallagher/these-fledgling-democracies-in-the-middle-east-they-re-actually/) [Noel Gallagher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noel-gallagher/) > [In the olden days in England, you could be hung for stealing a sheep or a loaf of bread. However, if a sheep stole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-harding/in-the-olden-days-in-england-you-could-be-hung-for-stealing-a-sheep/) [Mike Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-harding/) > [“Of France and England, did this king succeed; Whose state so many had the managing. That they lost France and made his England bleed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/of-france-and-england-did-this-king-succeed-whose-state-so-many-had/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [In my view, fitness training isn't that important in England, as they all train with such intensity anyway and have a competitive edge when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claudio-ranieri/in-my-view-fitness-training-isn-t-that-important-in-england-as-they/) [Claudio Ranieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claudio-ranieri/) > [England expects every man to do his duty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horatio-nelson/england-expects-every-man-to-do-his-duty/) [Horatio Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horatio-nelson/) [Browse all 4,190 England quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/england/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Our ancestors,” he went on after a while, “took this land. They took it and made it and held it. We do not give up what our ancestors gave us. They came across the sea and they fought here, and they built here and they’re buried here. This is our land, mixed with our blood, strengthened with our bone. Ours!” He was angry, but he was often angry. 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