"just doesn't make sense to talk about the British when what is meant is the English.

But "English" doesn't quite hit the mark either, Allan C, since quite a few of the occupiers were more French tghan English...."

But English makes much more sense than British in the fact that it was the English kingdom involved in a war against the French and Scottish kingdoms. You do have a valid point though! I noticed in another thread someone was going on about "the British" invading Ireland 900 years ago. Of course again it makes no sense to say British as it was vassals of the English King who invaded. Scotland was a completely seperate entity not involved and Wales was itself under the cosh and would soon be completely under a more thorough occupation than Ireland suffered. But you are right and certainly it makes no sense at that very early stage to lump the invaders under the description "the English" as the invaders were by and large the same Franco-Norman nobility who had invaded England itself a century beforehand and was still dominating that country.