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For other uses, see Elmet (disambiguation).

During the Early Middle Ages, between approximately the 5th century and early 7th century AD, Elmet was an independent Celtic kingdom covering a broad area of what is now the historic West Riding of Yorkshire. The Early Middle Ages is a period in the History of Europe following the fall of the Western Roman Empire spanning roughly five centuries from AD 500 The 5th century is the period from 401 to 500 in accordance with the Julian calendar in Anno Domini / Common Era. The 7th century is the period from 601 to 700 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian / Common Era. Celts (ˈkɛlts or /ˈsɛlts/, see Names of the Celts The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of the three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. [1] Although its precise boundaries are unclear, it appears to have been bordered by the River Sheaf in the south and the River Wharfe in the east. The River Sheaf is a river in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The River Wharfe is a River in Yorkshire, England. For much of its length it is the County boundary between West Yorkshire and It adjoined Deira and Mercia to the north and south respectively and its western boundary appears to have been drawn near Craven, which itself was possibly a minor British kingdom. Deira was a kingdom in Northern England during the 6th century AD Mercia (ˈmɝsiə was one of the kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy. Craven is an area in North Yorkshire, England. The name Craven is Celtic ( Cumbric) in origin and is related to the Welsh word

Elmet was invaded and conquered by Northumbria in the autumn of 616 or 626. Events By Place Europe Eadbald succeeds Ethelbert as king of Kent. Events By Place Byzantine Empire The Byzantines defeat the Avars and Slavs, who were besieging Constantinople Little now remains to attest its former existence, with only scanty archaeological and historical evidence still existing. The only physically extant traces of this realm, apart from writings in Sub-Roman annals, are the defensive earthworks in and around Barwick-in-Elmet, the names of other villages in the area (e. Sub-Roman Britain is a term derived from an Archaeologists ' label for the material culture of Britain in Late Antiquity. Barwick-in-Elmet is a Village 8 km (6 miles east of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. g. Sherburn-in-Elmet), and in the Celtic roots of several local toponyms. Sherburn-in-Elmet is a Village in the Selby district of North Yorkshire, England, situated close to Selby. The local parliamentary constituency is also called Elmet. A constituency is any cohesive corporate unit or body bound by shared structures goals or loyalty Elmet is a County constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

Contents

History

Elmet was one of a number of Sub-Roman Brythonic realms of northern Britannia that existed during the Early Middle Ages (often referred to as the Dark Ages). Sub-Roman Britain is a term derived from an Archaeologists ' label for the material culture of Britain in Late Antiquity. Britannia was the term originally used by the Romans to refer first to the British Isles, and later to the island of Great Britain. As well as Elmet, these included Rheged, Strathclyde, Ebrauc, Bryneich and Gododdin. Rheged IPA r̥ɛgɛd was a Brythonic kingdom of Sub-Roman Britain, whose inhabitants spoke Cumbric, a dialect of Brythonic closely related Strathclyde ( Gaelic: Srath Chluaidh) (lit "Valley of the Clyde" originally Brythonic Ystrad Clud, was one of the kingdoms Ebrauc is the suggested name for a Brythonic kingdom of Sub-Roman Britain, based on the city of York. Bernicia was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom established by Anglian settlers of the 6th century in what is now the South-East of Scotland and the North-East of The Gododdin (goˈdoðin were a Brythonic people of north-eastern Britain (modern north-east England and south-east Scotland) in the sub-Roman It is unclear how Elmet came to be established, though it has been suggested that it may have been created from a larger kingdom ruled by the semi-legendary Coel Hen. A legendary king of Celtic Britain, about all that can be said about Old King Cole with any certainty is that Old King Cole was a merry The historian Alex Woolf suggests that the region of Elmet had enjoyed a distinct tribal identity in pre-Roman times and that this had re-emerged following the collapse of Roman rule. Alex Woolf is a medieval historian based at the University of St Andrews.

The existence of Elmet is attested by Nennius in his History of the Britons, in which he writes that King Edwin of Northumbria "occupauit Elmet, et expulit Certic, regem illius regionis" ("occupied Elmet and expelled Certic, king of that country"). Nennius, or Nemnivus, is either of two shadowy personages traditionally associated with the history of Wales. The country of Wales, or Cymru in Welsh has been inhabited by modern humans for at least 29000 years though continuous human habitation Saint Edwin (alternately Eadwine or Æduini) (c 586 &ndash 12 October 632/633 was the King of Deira and Bernicia - which would Bede's Ecclesiastical History mentions that Hereric, the father of St Hilda of Whitby, was killed at the court of King Ceretic. Bede (ˈbiːd (also Saint Bede, the Venerable Bede, or (from Latin Beda (beda (c The Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum (in English: Ecclesiastical History of the English People) is a work in Latin by the Hilda of Whitby (c 614&ndash680 is a Christian Saint. The source of information about Hilda is The Ecclesiastical History of the English It is generally presumed that Ceretic/Certic were the same person, otherwise known as Ceredig ap Gwallog. Ceretic of Elmet, or Ceredig ap Gwallog, was the last king of Elmet, a Brythonic kingdom that existed in the West Yorkshire area of Northern However, Bede does not speak of Elmet as the name of a kingdom but rather as that of a forest (of) Elmet, silva Elmete. He mentions a royal residence and the battle of Winwaed in the region of "Loidis"* (perhaps the area covered by the present day City of Leeds metropolitan district). The Battle of the Winwaed was fought on November 15, 655 (or perhaps in 654, according to one interpretation of the chronology between King This article discusses the metropolitan district of the City of Leeds. (The reference to a royal residence is: "Reges posteriores fecere sibi villam in regione quae vocatur Loidis"). *Nennius uses the term "Loid". Nennius, or Nemnivus, is either of two shadowy personages traditionally associated with the history of Wales.

Elmet appears to have had ties with Wales; an early Christian inscription found in Gwynedd reads "ALIOTVS ELMETIACOS HIC IACET", or "Aliortus the Elmetian lies here". A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth History Gwynedd was an independent kingdom from the end of the Roman period until the 13th Century when it was conquered and subjugated by England A cantref (administrative division) of Dyfed was also named Elfed, the Welsh equivalent of Elmet. A Cantref (ˈkantrɛ(v was a Medieval Welsh land division particularly important in the administration of Welsh law. Dyfed ('dɪ ved is a preserved county of Wales. Dyfed was created by the Local Government Act 1972 on 1 April 1974. Welsh ( cy Cymraeg or cy y Gymraeg, kəmˈrɑːɨɡ and {{IPA|[ə ɡəmˈrɑːɨɡ]}}, is a member of the Brythonic branch of Celtic A number of kings of Elmet are recorded in Welsh sources. One of Taliesin's poems is for Gwallog ap Llaennog, who ruled the kingdom near the end of the 6th century. Taliesin (c 534 – c 599 (spelled as Taliessin in Alfred Lord Tennyson 's Idylls of the King and in some subsequent works was a Brythonic Gwallog ap Llaennog (several Middle Welsh variant orthographies include Gwallawc fab Lleynawc; standard Welsh: Gwallog ap Llëenog or The 6th century is the period from 501 to 600 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian / Common Era.

Towards the end of the 6th century, Elmet came under increasing pressure from the expanding Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of Deira and Mercia. The 6th century is the period from 501 to 600 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian / Common Era. The History of Anglo-Saxon England covers the history of Early medieval England from the end of Roman Britain and the establishment of Anglo-Saxon Forces from Elmet joined the ill-fated alliance in 590 against the Angles of Bernicia who had been making massive inroads further to the north. Events By Place Byzantine Empire Summer - Maurice agrees to Khosrau's entreaties and agrees to restart the war with Persia The Angles is a modern English word for a Germanic-speaking people who took their name from the cultural ancestral region of Angeln, a modern district located in Bernicia was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom established by Anglian settlers of the 6th century in what is now the South-East of Scotland and the North-East of During this war it is thought Elmet's king Gwallog was killed. The northern alliance collapsed after Urien of Rheged was murdered and a feud broke out between two of its key members. Urien was a late 6th century king of Rheged, an early British kingdom in northern England and southern Scotland. It appears that after this, and the subsequent unification of the Anglian kingdom of Northumbria, Elmet was compelled to construct a series of defensive ditches to the north and west of Barwick-in-Elmet in an apparent attempt to provide an extra line of defence for their king's hill fort - the remains of which can still be seen in this village. Barwick-in-Elmet is a Village 8 km (6 miles east of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.

The Northumbrians invaded and overran Elmet in 616. Events By Place Europe Eadbald succeeds Ethelbert as king of Kent. It is not known definitely what prompted the invasion, but it has been suggested that the casus belli was the death by poisoning of the Northumbrian nobleman Hereric, who was an exiled member of the Northumbrian royal house residing in Elmet. Casus belli is a Latin language expression meaning the justification for acts of war It may have been that Hereric had been poisoned by his hosts and Edwin of Northumbria invaded in retaliation; or perhaps Edwin himself had Hereric poisoned and invaded Elmet to punish Ceredig ap Gwallog for harbouring him.

After the conquest of Elmet the realm was incorporated into Northumbria - on Easter day, 627 [2] - and the people were known as the Elmetsæte. They are recorded in the late 7th-century Tribal Hidage as the inhabitants of a minor territory of 600 hides. The Tribal Hidage is a list of territorial assessments in Anglo-Saxon England which lists regions and the number of hides those regions contained The hide was a unit used in assessing land for liability to " Geld " or land tax in Anglo-Saxon England from the 7th to the 11th centuries They were the most northerly group recorded in the Tribal Hidage. The Elmetsæte probably continued to reside in West Yorkshire as a distinct group throughout the Saxon period and may have colluded with Cadwallon ap Cadfan of Gwynedd when he invaded Northumbria and briefly held the area in 633. West Yorkshire is a Metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of Cadwallon ap Cadfan (died 634 was the King of Gwynedd from around 625 until his death in battle Events By Place Europe Oswald of Bernicia becomes Bretwalda. Osric becomes king of Deira.

The survival of the local Brythonic community is probably responsible for the large number of Brythonic-derived placenames in the area, notably the numerous placenames beginning Ecles- and Wal-. The inhabitants of Elmet are believed to have called themselves the Loides, a name which is still reflected in multiple placenames: notably Ledston, Ledsham, Leathley and the modern city of Leeds ("Ledes" in 1086 Domesday Book). Ledston is a Village 4 km (3 miles north of Castleford and 17 km (10 miles east of Leeds in the County of West Yorkshire, England Ledsham is a village 7  km (4  Miles north of Castleford and 19 km (11 miles east of Leeds in the county of West Yorkshire Leathley is a village and Civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. Leeds ( is located on the River Aire in West Yorkshire, England The Domesday Book (ˈduːmzdeɪ bʊk also known as Domesday, or Book of Winchester) was the record of the great survey

Kings of Elmet

Further reading

The area is the subject of an acclaimed 1979 book combining photography and poetry; Remains of Elmet, by Ted Hughes and Fay Godwin. Year 1979 ( MCMLXXIX) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1979 Gregorian calendar) Edward James Hughes OM ( 17 August 1930 &ndash 28 October 1998) was an English Poet and children's Fay Godwin ( 17 February 1931 – 27 May 2005) was a noted British photographer most widely known for her black-and-white landscapes of The book was re-published by Faber in 1994 simply titled Elmet, and with a third of the book being new additional poems and photographs. Year 1994 ( MCMXCIV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1994 Gregorian calendar)

References

  1. ^ "Kingdom of Elmete", Heartland, 24 October 2007. Events 69 - Second Battle of Bedriacum, forces under Antonius Primus the commander of the Danube armies loyal to Vespasian, defeat Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century.  
  2. ^ Upper Wharfedale, Harry Speight, 1900, page 29

External links

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