Elmet
Kingdom of Elmet | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
circa 4th century | |||||||||||
Gwallog ap Llaennog | |||||||||||
• fl. before 616 | Ceretic of Elmet | ||||||||||
Historical era | Early Middle Ages | ||||||||||
• Established | circa 4th century | ||||||||||
• Initially Conquered | 616 | ||||||||||
• Yorkshire Genocide Harrying of the North | Winter of 1069-1070 | ||||||||||
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Elmet (Welsh: Elfed), sometimes Elmed or Elmete, was an independent Brittonic Celtic
The people of Elmet survived as a distinctly recognized Brittonic Celtic group for centuries afterwards in what later became the smaller area of the
Geography
The precise borders of the original kingdom of Elmet are unclear. Some[who?] have argued that, until the 7th century, it was bounded by the rivers Sheaf in the south and Wharfe in the east. It adjoined the kingdom of Deira to the north and Mercia to the south, and its western boundary appears to have been near Craven, which was possibly also a minor British kingdom. As such, it was not conterminous with other territories of the Britons at the time, being well to the south of others in the Hen Ogledd ("Old North"), such as Strathclyde, and north-east of Wales, Cornwall and Dumnonia. As one of the south-easternmost Brittonic regions for which there is reasonably substantial evidence, Elmet is notable for having survived relatively late in the period of Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain.[2]
The term is used as an affix to place names between
History
Elmet is attested mainly in
From this evidence it appears that Elmet was one of a number of
Towards the end of the 6th century, Elmet came under increasing pressure from the expanding Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of
After the unification of the Anglian Kingdom of Northumbria, King
However some sources do indicate that Elmet was actually peacefully annexed by Northumbria and that there was no direct military confrontation.[5]
After the annexation of Elmet, the realm was incorporated into Northumbria on Easter in 627.[5] Its people were known subsequently as the Elmetsæte. They are recorded in the late 7th century Tribal Hidage as the inhabitants of a minor territory of 600 hides. They were the most northerly group recorded in the Tribal Hidage. Probably continuing as a distinct Brittonic Celtic tribe throughout most of the Anglo-Saxon period, the tribe may have colluded with Cadwallon ap Cadfan of Gwynedd when he invaded Northumbria and briefly held the area in 633.
A major battle between Northumbria and Mercia, the Battle of the Winwaed took place in the area in 655, according to Bede, somewhere in the region of Loidis.
The Life of Cathróe of Metz mentions Loidam Civitatem as the boundary between the Norsemen of Scandinavian York and the Celtic Britons of the Kingdom of Ystrad Clud (Strathclyde). This is thought to suggest that the Kingdom of Elmet may have either regained independence soon after Northumbria's original annexation of it (Bede makes note of the fracturing of Northumbria after Edwin's death) or later up to the time.[6][7][8]
Interestingly; as late as 1315, a Florentine bill of sale (wool) records:
- d'Elmetta (Elmet) 11 marks per sack
- Di Ledesia (Leeds) 12½ marks per sack
- di Tresche (Thirsk) 10½ marks per sack
- de Vervicche (York) 10½ marks per sack.
The distinction between Leeds and Elmet in the bill is unexplained.[9][10][11]
According to a genetic study published in Nature (19 March 2015), the local population of West Yorkshire is genetically distinct from the rest of the population of Yorkshire.[12] The 2015 Oxford University study compared the current genetic distribution in Britain to the geographical maps of its historic Kingdoms, and found that the distinct genetic cluster closely corresponds to Elmet’s known territories.[13]
Aliotus Stone
Around 1865, a Pillar stone with a 5th or early 6th century inscription was found at St Aelhaearn's Church, Llanaelhaearn in Gwynedd. The Latin inscription reads "ALIOTVS ELMETIACOS/HIC IACET", or "Aliotus the Elmetian lies here". It is believed that this refers to an otherwise unattested Aliotus from the Kingdom of Elmet who may have been active in the area before Saint Aelhaiarn founded his church.[14][15]
Legacy
The name survives throughout the area in place names such as
The area to the western
A novel by Fiona Mozley called
References
- ^ "Kingdom of Elmete". Heartland. 24 October 2007. Archived from the original on 28 March 2008.
- ^ Koch 2006, p. 670.
- ^ a b c Smith, A. H. (1961). The Place-names of the West Riding of Yorkshire. Vol. 4. Cambridge University Press. pp. 1–3.
- ^ John T. Koch, 'Elfed/Elmet', in Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia, ed. by John T. Koch (Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2005), pp. 670–71.
- ^ a b Speight, Harry (1900). Upper Wharfedale: being a complete account of the history, antiquities and scenery of the picturesque valley of the Wharfe, from Otley to Langstrothdale. London: Elliot Stock. p. 29.
- ^ Anderson, A. O. (1922). Early Sources of Scottish History: AD 500–1286. Vol. I. Edinburgh: Oliver & Boyd. p. 441.
- ISBN 978-1903765890.
- ISBN 978-1851824861.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link - ^ Cox, Tony. "The Ancient Kingdom of Elmet". www.historyfiles.co.uk. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
- ^ "The Ancient Kingdom of Elmet". www.barwickinelmethistoricalsociety.com.
- ^ E Wroot, Herbert. Yorkshire Abbeys and the Wool Trade.
- ^ https://www.nature.com/news/uk-mapped-out-by-genetic-ancestry-1.17136 citing Leslie, S., Winney, B., Hellenthal, G. et al. The fine-scale genetic structure of the British population. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature14230
- ^ "Population genetics".
- ^ Nash-Williams, V. E. (1950). The Early Christian Monuments of Wales. (No.88).
- ^ "Aliortvs Stone, Llanaelhaearn Church (57658)". Coflein. RCAHMW. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
- ^ "Remains of Elmet - The Ted Hughes Society Journal". Thetedhughessociety.org. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
- ^ Murphy, Richard. "Last Exit to Nature by Richard Murphy". The New York Review of Books. Nybooks.com. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
- ^ "Man Booker Prize 2017: shortlist makes room for debuts alongside big names". The Guardian. 13 September 2017. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
Further reading
- Koch, John T., ed. (2006). Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia. Santa Barbara, CA: ISBN 1-85109-440-7.
- Rollason, David (2003). Northumbria, 500–1100. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- ISBN 9780631222606.
- Woolf, Alex (1998). "Romancing the Celts: a segmentary approach to acculturation". In Laurence, Ray; Berry, Joanne (eds.). Cultural Identity in the Roman Empire. London: Routledge.
External links
- Skea, Ann (2001) [1994]. "Regeneration in Remains of Elmet". Ann Skea.
- Echoes of Elmet group
- The Elmet Trust – Ted Hughes Festival, Mytholmroyd