Britannia and the British Empire what Marianne is to France or perhaps what Columbia is to the United States. Britannia became a very potent and more common figure in times of war, and represented British liberties and democracy. During the 1990s the term "Cool Britannia" (drawn from a humorous version by the Bonzo Dog Band of the song "Rule Britannia", with words by James Thomson [1700–1748], which is often used as an unofficial national anthem), was used to describe the contemporary United Kingdom. The phrase referred to the fashionable scenes of the era, with a new generation of pop groups and
Name of France Name of France The name France comes from Latin "Francia" ("land of the Franks"). Originally it applied to the whole Empire of the Franks, extending from southern France to eastern Germany. Modern France is still called "Frankreich" in German and similar names in some other Germanic languages (such as "Frankrijk" in Dutch), which means "Frank Reich", the Realm of the Franks. Before being named France, the land was called Gaul (; ). This name continued to be used even after the beginning of the reign of the Franks' Kings Clovis I, Charles Martel, Pepin the Short, and Charlemagne. In fact,