ecclesiastical history of the british people

or some such, is one of the first englishman writing about the english in the 7 or 8 century.

wonderful opening chapter describing the british isles, gets a bit bogged down with the christianity bit, but there are some great miracles in it: saints hanging up their cloaks on sunbeams, etc.
there is a stunning passage where life is compared to a dark winter's night and a bird flies in through an open window into the warmth and light of a building before flying out thru another window back into the dark.

Gerald of Wales, 11th century, is of course the man for you Fourwinds, i think he wrote one of the first descriptions of Ireland (and of course Wales).