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because it created the key geographical fact that ultimately defines us. Surely this
makes it the first event in the collective history of the offshore islanders.
Appendix
You may be familiar with the BBCTV historical documentaries made by Janina
Ramirez. While researching this topic, I came across her PhD Thesis called The
Symbolic Life of Birds in Anglo-Saxon England (2006) and was struck by this passage:
“With their location on the ‘edge of the world,’ and poised as they were on the
boundaries between Mediterranean Christianity and the pagan northern territories,
the Anglo-Saxons were uniquely placed to develop an understanding of different
symbolic vocabularies. [There was] a consciousness on the part of Ceolfrith and the
Anglo-Saxon scribes that Rome was the core of the Christian world, while
Northumbria at was its periphery. The abbot of Wearmouth-Jarrow referred to
himself as ‘abbot from the farthest end of England.’ “
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/579b867b5016e12d656ec024/t/57a304f815d
5db206a8aa38f/1470301443960/PhD_Symbolic_Life_of_Bird_in_Anglo-
Saxon_England.pdf