and similar chronicles were prepared throughout the Middle Ages. The most famous production is by a transplanted Frenchman, Jean Froissart (1333-1410). His Froissart's Chronicles, written in French, remains an important source for the first half of the Hundred Years' War. After the Norman Conquest of 1066 there was an explosion of interest in English history. It has been theorized this was due in part to the native English desire to reclaim their cultural identity from the debacle of 1066. As well the new Norman rulers were interested in discovering who it was they had reigned over, which fueled demand for legends of England's early Kings, such as Geoffrey’s King Arthur. Characteristics The works of this period are often categorized by chronicles, and by literary histories. Chroniclers recorded events and dates of events with little prose or expansion. For example, the Winchcombe Annals, by a twelfth-century monk, wrote one paragraph for each year, no matter how much or little happened, with one sentence for each event in that year. In this way chronicles would often give as much, or more, attention to things of little importance as those things of greater importance. Unlike chronicles, the literary histories could be classified along with other forms of medieval literature. Indeed, entertainment was considered a legitimate function of historical writing. Historical accounts of battles often included long, and entirely invented, speeches from leaders. Histories were as much a part of medieval literature as other forms, such as the romance. Most of them endeavoured to be readable, arming themselves, as Roger of Wendover does, against both "the listless hearer and the fastidious reader" by "presenting something which each may relish", and so providing for the joint "profit and entertainment of all." Another characteristic of the histories of the period is that they borrowed heavily from other writers, often directly copying entire works as their own. For example, Henry of Huntingdon's History of the English is only one quarter original, relying in many places on Bede's Historia Ecclesiastica. This process would often be compounded as later writers would copy these works in full or part. Bede was highly regarded by historians of this period, and later historians lamented the fact that the 223-year period between Bede's death in 735 and Eadmers History of Recent Events (starting in 960) was sparsely represented. William of Malmesbury said of Bede "after him you will not easily find men who