Some argue that national identity is constructed from the shared myths and ‘collective memories’ of a nation, where heroes from a ‘golden age’ and legendary figures embody national identity. However, when a national sample of British adults were asked to name the most important Britons, living or dead, they did not hark back to legendary figures, military leaders or sporting heroes, but identified their monarch, political leaders, and to a lesser extent, ‘household heroes’ within their own family. ‘Banal’, quotidian political leaders and Queen Elizabeth II symbolise national identity in Britain, although they sit alongside ‘hot’ signifiers of nationalism personified, such as football hero David Beckham. This research suggests that studies of national identity should not be limited to examining essentialist claims of ethnonationalism, or civic attachments to laws and institutions, but also explore those whom the citizens of a given country identify as embodying their national identity.

中文翻译：

---

体现英国性：英国的民族认同

一些人认为，民族认同是由一个民族的共同神话和“集体记忆”构成的，“黄金时代”的英雄和传奇人物体现了民族认同。然而，当英国成年人的全国样本被要求说出最重要的英国人的名字时，无论是活着的还是死去的，他们并没有联想到传奇人物、军事领袖或体育英雄，而是确定了他们的君主、政治领袖，并且在较小程度上，在自己的家庭中的“家喻户晓的英雄”。“平庸”、日常政治领袖和伊丽莎白二世女王在英国象征着国家认同，尽管他们与代表民族主义的“热”能指并列，例如足球英雄大卫贝克汉姆。这项研究表明，对民族认同的研究不应仅限于审查民族民族主义的本质主义主张，