English national identity

{{Short description|English identity}}{{Use British English|date=November 2025}} [[File:Flag of England.svg|thumb|Flag of England]] [[File:Royal arms of England.svg|thumb|Royal arms of England]]

Scholars disagree on the history and nature of a distinct '''English national identity'''.

According to some scholars, a national identity of the English as the people or ethnic group dominant in England can be traced to the Anglo-Saxon period. For Lindy Brady and Marc Morris, Bede's ''Ecclesiastical History of the English People'' and the construction of Offa's Dyke demonstrate early English identity as early as AD 731, and the unification of the Kingdom of England in the ninth and tenth centuries establish it as a national identity. They make the argument that, after the Norman Conquest, in the thirteenth century (and possibly earlier), this identity was codified into law, when Anglo-Saxons were given second-class citizen status as Englishry.<ref>Brady, Lindy. ''Constructing Identity in Anglo-Saxon Literature: Review of Current Scholarship'' (2016)</ref><ref>Morris, Marc. ''The Anglo-Saxons: A History of the Beginnings of England'' (2021)</ref> Similarly, Adrian Hastings considers England to be the oldest example of a "mature nation", and links the development of this nationhood to the Christian Church and spread of written popular languages to existing ethnic groups.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Baycroft|first=Timothy|date=1999|title=Adrian Hastings, The Construction of Nationhood: Ethnicity, Religion and Nationalism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997. 235 pp. £13.99.|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/nations-and-nationalism/article/adrian-hastings-the-construction-of-nationhood-ethnicity-religion-and-nationalism-cambridge-cambridge-university-press-1997-235-pp-1399/840C5BBD33E74DE85C041DA72C1F0DC7|journal=Nations and Nationalism|language=en|volume=5|issue=1|pages=127–52|issn=1469-8129}}</ref>

In contrast, John Breuilly rejects the notion these examples constituted "national" identity and criticizes the assumption that continued usage of a term such as 'English' means continuity in its meaning.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Özkirimli |first1=Umut |title=Theories of Nationalism: A Critical Introduction |date=2010 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |location=London |pages=78 |edition=2nd}}</ref> Patrick J. Geary agrees, arguing names were adapted to different circumstances by different powers and could convince people of continuity, even if radical discontinuity was the lived reality.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Özkirimli |first1=Umut |title=Theories of Nationalism: A Critical Introduction |date=2010 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |location=London |pages=77 |edition=2nd}}</ref> Geary also rejects the conflation of early medieval and contemporary group identities as a myth, arguing it is a mistake to conclude continuity based on the recurrence of names and that historians fail to recognize the differences between earlier ways of perceiving group identities and more contemporary attitudes, stating they are "trapped in the very historical process we are attempting to study".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Özkirimli |first1=Umut |title=Theories of Nationalism: A Critical Introduction |date=2010 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |location=London |pages=77–78 |edition=2nd}}</ref> Krishan Kumar also points out that Bede's 'English' did not refer to a unified people, but rather "still diverse groups of Angles, Saxons, Jutes and others with distinct ethnicities".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kumar |first1=Krishan|title=The Making of English National Identity |date=2003 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |page=42}}</ref>

Some English people think of the terms 'English' and 'British' as interchangeable.<ref name="Smith">{{cite web|url=http://oxpo.politics.ox.ac.uk/materials/national_identity/Smith_Paper.pdf|title='Set in the Silver Sea': English National Identity and European Integration|last=Smith|first=Anthony|date=13 May 2005|work=Workshop: National Identity and Euroscepticism: A Comparison Between France and the United Kingdom|publisher=University of Oxford|access-date=10 February 2011|archive-date=19 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120319171744/http://oxpo.politics.ox.ac.uk/materials/national_identity/Smith_Paper.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> This is not the case for the other British countries. While the official United Kingdom census does record self-identified ethnic groups, the "English" label is only available in the form of English/Welsh/Scottish/Northern Irish/British under the "White" heading (the other tick-boxes under this heading are: Irish, Gypsy or Irish traveller, and "Any other White background").<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/measuring-equality/equality/ethnic-nat-identity-religion/ethnic-group/index.html|title=Ethnic group|publisher=Office for National Statistics|access-date=11 May 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |first=Adam |last=Forrest |date=3 August 2021 |title=David Lammy questions why 'Black English' is not a census option |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/david-lammy-black-english-census-b1895736.html |access-date=2 August 2023 |website=The Independent |language=en}}</ref>

== Features == English identity emerged from the Anglo-Saxon period after the fall of Roman Britain, with the unification of various kingdoms under figures like Alfred the Great in the 9th century. The Norman Conquest in 1066 layered Norman influences onto this Germanic base, shaping the language, governance, and culture. Over centuries, events like Magna Carta (1215), the English Reformation (16th century), and the Industrial Revolution (18th-19th centuries) fostered a narrative of individualism, parliamentary democracy, and innovation as hallmarks of Englishness. Although Englishness and Britishness are used synonymously in some contexts,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/southeast/halloffame/public_life/gwynfor_evans.shtml |title=South East Wales Public Life - Dr Gwynfor Evans |publisher=BBC |access-date=2010-04-13}}</ref> the two terms are not identical, and the relation of each to the other is complex. Englishness is often a response to different national identities within Britain, such as Scottishness, Irishness, Welshness and Cornishness.<ref>{{cite book|title=Empire and After: Englishness in Postcolonial Perspective|year=2010|publisher=Berghahn Books|location=New York|isbn=978-1-84545-320-6|pages=1–25|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=StFvN6zt9icC&q=empire+and+after|editor=MacPhee, Graham |editor2=Prem Poddar}}</ref>

Culturally, English identity is often linked to symbols and traditions: the English language (a global lingua franca), tea-drinking, pub culture, Shakespeare, a dry sense of humour, queuing etiquette, cream teas, and sports like cricket, football and rugby. Though they are British institutions, the monarchy and the BBC are often tied to English identity owing to their geographic bases in England. The countryside with its rolling hills, villages, and pubs also plays a big role in the romanticised self-image, contrasting with urban centres like London, a global melting pot. Socially, English identity is tied to values like "fair play," politeness, understatement, stoicism (the "stiff upper lip"), and parliamentary democracy. Events like the Last Night of the Proms or Guy Fawkes Night also contribute to a shared cultural fabric, though they are not unique to England.

Sometimes Englishness is thought to be encapsulated in terms of a particular relation to sport: fair play, for instance. Arguably, England's "national games" are football and, particularly, cricket. As cricket historian Dominic Malcolm argues, the link between cricket and England's national identity became solidified through literature. Works such as James Love's ''Cricket: an heroic poem'' and Mary Mitford's ''Our Village'', along with Nyren's ''The Cricketers of My Time'' and Pycroft's ''The Cricket Field'', purported to identify the characteristics of cricket with the notional characteristics of English society, such as pragmatism, integrity, and independence.<ref>{{cite book|last=Malcolm|first=Dominic|title=Globalizing Cricket: Englishness, Empire and Identity|year=2012|publisher=Bloomsbury|place=London |isbn=9781849665612|pages=34}}</ref>

English identity has shifted significantly in recent centuries. The British Empire’s peak saw Englishness intertwined with imperial pride, but its decline after World War II prompted a reevaluation. England’s population is diverse, with immigration from former colonies, Europe, and beyond reshaping urban centres like London, Manchester, and Liverpool. This has led to tensions and discussions about what "Englishness" means in a globalised, multiethnic society. Some associate it with rural nostalgia while others see it as urban, dynamic, and cosmopolitan.

== Studies ==

=== Census === The UK census began including questions regarding national identity in 2011. The question on the census, in the section on "National identity, ethnic group, language and religion", was the following: {{Block indent|How would you describe your national identity? ''Tick all that apply'' * English * Welsh * Scottish * Northern Irish * British * Other}} The 2021 census saw a decline in English people identifying as "English" and a rise in English people identifying as "British" from the 2011 census. Though various potential reasons for this were raised, such as the effects of Brexit in the interim, the Office for National Statistics largely attributed the effect to the answers being shuffled - British was raised to the top of the list.

=== Other surveys === The National Centre for Social Research, a British independent social research institute stated in 2024 that the idea of British ancestry was becoming less tied to place of birth.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-11-19 |title=British Social Attitudes 41 {{!}} National Identity |url=https://natcen.ac.uk/publications/british-social-attitudes-41-national-identity |access-date=2025-11-02 |website=National Centre for Social Research |language=en}}</ref>

In 2018, the BBC conducted a survey to interrogate the public's English identity. They found that 80% people living in England identify "strongly" as English, and 82% strongly identify as British.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2018-06-03 |title=The English question: What is the nation's identity? |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-44306737 |access-date=2025-11-02 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref>

Though they found that those identifying as English was largely consistent among age groups, the amount of pride people held in that identity varied. 45% of younger people responded that they were proud of their English identity, as opposed to 72% of older people.

==See also== * Culture of England * English nationalism

==References== {{Reflist}}

==Further reading== * {{cite book|last1=Breward|first1=Christopher|last2=Conekin|first2=Conekin|last3=Cox|first3=Caroline|title=The Englishness of English dress|year=2002|publisher=Berg Publishers|isbn=978-1-85973-528-2}} * {{cite book|last=Siobhain Bly|first=Calkin|title=Saracens and the Making of English Identity: The Auchinleck Manuscript|year=2009|publisher=Taylor and Francis|isbn=978-0-415-80309-0}} * {{cite book|last=Colls|first=Robert|title=Englishness: politics and culture 1880-1920|year=1987|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-7099-4562-8}} * {{cite book|last=Featherstone|first=Simon|title=Englishness: twentieth century popular culture and the forming of English identity|year=2009|publisher=Edinburgh University Press|isbn=978-0-7486-2365-5}} * {{cite book|last=Harris|first=Stephen J. |title=Race and Ethnicity in Anglo-Saxon Literature|year=2003|publisher=Taylor & Francis}} * {{cite book|last=Helmreich|first=Anne|title=The English garden and national identity|series=Modern architecture and cultural identity|year=2002|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-59293-2}} * {{cite book|last=Langford|first=Paul|author-link=Paul Langford|title=Englishness identified: manners and character, 1650-1850|year=2001|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-924640-3}} * {{cite book|last1=Rogers|first1=David|last2=McLeod|first2=John|title=The revision of Englishness|year=2004|publisher=Manchester University Press|isbn=978-0-7190-6972-7}} * {{cite book|last=Spiering|first=Menno|title=Englishness: foreigners and images of national identity in postwar literature|year=1992|publisher=Rodopi|isbn=978-90-5183-436-9}} * {{cite book|title=Empire and After: Englishness in Postcolonial Perspective|year=2010|publisher=Berghahn Books|location=New York|isbn=978-1-84545-320-6|pages=1–25|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=StFvN6zt9icC&q=empire+and+after|author1=MacPhee, Graham|author2=Prem Poddar|editor=MacPhee, Graham and Prem Poddar}}

==External links== * {{cite news|last=Anthony|first=Andrew|date=30 June 2004|title=I'm English - but what does that mean?|language=en-GB|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2004/jun/30/britishidentity.andrewanthony|access-date=2 August 2023|issn=0261-3077}} * {{cite news|url=https://www.thetimes.com/sport/football/article/weve-been-robbed-of-our-englishness-tc62cmq06f8|title=We've been robbed of our Englishness|last=Clarkson|first=Jeremy|date=25 November 2007|work=The Sunday Times|access-date=10 February 2011|url-access=subscription}} * {{cite web|url=http://www.allacademic.com//meta/p_mla_apa_research_citation/0/8/9/0/3/pages89038/p89038-1.php|title=English Identity in the Wake of Devolution|last=Glass|first=Bryan S|date=24 March 2005|publisher=Southwestern Political Science Association|access-date=10 February 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090430065321/http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p_mla_apa_research_citation/0/8/9/0/3/pages89038/p89038-1.php|archive-date=30 April 2009|url-status=dead}} * {{cite web|url=http://www.allacademic.com//meta/p_mla_apa_research_citation/0/8/6/5/2/pages86524/p86524-1.php|title=The Devolution Gamble: State, Nation, and Identity in England|last=Glass|first=Bryan S|date=7 April 2005|publisher=The Midwest Political Science Association|access-date=10 February 2011}}{{Dead link|date=December 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} * {{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2004/jun/13/britishidentity.ameliahill|title=The English identity crisis: who do you think you are?|last=Hill|first=Amelia|date=13 June 2004|work=The Observer|access-date=10 February 2011}} * {{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/feb/11/english-nationalism-fight|title=Englishness: the forbidden identity|last=Kenny|first=Michael|date=11 February 2010|work=The Guardian|access-date=10 February 2011}} * {{cite book|last=Kumar|first=Krishan|title=The making of English national identity|url=http://catdir.loc.gov/catdir/samples/cam033/2002031458.pdf|series=Cambridge cultural social studies|year=2003|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-77736-0}} * {{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2010/jun/28/england-identity-national-football|title=England's identity crisis|last=Younge|first=Gary|date=28 June 2010|work=The Guardian|access-date=10 February 2011}}

{{England topics}} {{English nationalism}} {{United Kingdom topics}} {{Nationalism in the United Kingdom}}

Category:Culture of England Category:Society of England Category:History of nationality Category:National identities Category:Politics of England Identity