Normandy's View of the Anglo-Saxon Past in the Twelfth Century

‘I firmly believe that the holy deeds of the Angles and Saxons of England could be no less edifying to northern Christians than the deeds of the Greeks and Egyptians which devoted scholars have fully recorded in lengthy narratives that are widely read and give much pleasure. Moreover, I believe little as these things are known amongst our countrymen, they must prove all the more pleasing and full of grace to men of ardent charity who lament their past sins from the bottom of their hearts.’ ¹