Early British Literature (as it defines the culture of the time)
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The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and Bede's A History of the English Church and People are two of the earliest records of English history. The vision of national identity is distinct in each piece: in the Chronicle it is defined by the affairs of the people who occupy the region, mainly the battles and wars that shape the political landscape, and in Bede's History by the actual landscape and geographic feature of the land.
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle places emphasis on people based on their societal level of importance. This is evident in that the authors list specifically the names of any births or battle deaths of noble or otherwise significant persons, and these persons only. The exclusion of any lesser ranking individuals is deliberate, "and many others also [died], though I have named the most distinguished". The identity of England, to the monks who composed the Chronicle, is not defined by the common, working-class, who are the majority of the population, nor by the character of the land they inhabit; but is defined by the "distinguished". This is not the case in History, where Bede addresses the population of the land he describes in their effects on the land itself ("The original inhabitants of the island were Britons, from whom it takes its name"). He negates information concerning nobility or battles amongst them, but instead addresses the distinct forms of language, religion, and race that compose the populace.
In keeping with the expressed importance of Human affairs as the establishment of national identity, the Chronicle is heavy in details of war battles, eventual peace settlement, and early politics: "in the same year the peace was fastened both with the East Anglicans and the Northumbrians". Bede's History indulges in details concerning the natural resources and geographical features of England...