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YORKSHIRE,
PAST AND PRESENT,
YORKSHIRE,
PAST AND PRESENT:
A HISTORY AXD A DESCRIPTION OF
THE THREE RHMGS OF THE GREAT COUNTY OF YORK,
FROM THE EARLIEST AGES TO THE YEAR 1870;
WITH AX ACCOUNT OF ITS
MANUFACTURES, COMMERCE. AND CIVIL AND MECHANICAL ENGINEERING.
BY THOMAS BAIXES,
AUTHOR OP "LANCASHIRE AND CHESHIRE. PAST AXD PRESENT," ETC.
IXCI-VDIXG
AN ACCOUNT OF THE WOOLLEX TRADE OF YORKSHIRE.
BY EDWARD BAIXES, M.P.,
AITTHUR OF "THE HISTORY OF THE COTTOS 3IANL'FACT(T.E." ETC.. ETC.
VOL. I.
[ft.
WILLIAM MACKENZIE, 22 PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON;
LEEDS, 27 PAEK SQUARE; Ln*ERPOOL. 14 GREAT GEORGE STREET;
MANCHESTER, 65 DALE STREET; NEWCASTLE-ON-TYNE, 74 CLAYTON STREET.
9 2 3 S 'J 3
PRINTED BY WILLIAM M.vfKENZIK, LONDON,
il, AND GLASGOW.
!
PAST AND PRESENT. 353
CHAPTER VI.
*
SETTLEMENT OF THE ANGLES, OR ENGLISH, IN YORKSHIRE.
THE Angles, or English, as they have been called from the time of
their arrival in Britain, established themselves in that part of Eng-
land which lies to the north of the river Humber, between the years
420 and 600 of the Christian era. During that period they overran
and conquered the whole of the district included in the present
county of York, and from that and other conquests formed the
kingdom to which they gave the name of Northumberland or
Northumbria. This kingdom extended from the great river Hum-
ber, the southern boundary of Yorkshire, at least as far north as
the river Tweed; and at one time even reached to the estuary of
the Forth.'* It thus included the greater part of the present
counties of York, Lancaster, Durham, Northumberland, and the
less mountainous parts of Westmoreland and Cumberland, with
some portions of what now form the lowland counties of Scotland.
The Roman city of York became the capital of the kingdom of
Northumbria, and the residence of the Northumbrian kings, at a
very early period. The Anglian Northumbria, like the ancient
British kingdom of the Brigantes, extended from the German
Ocean to the Irish Sea; and at the most flourishing period of
its history included some of the principal islands of the latter
sea, amongst which were Anglesea, or the island of the Angles,
and Mona, the present Isle of Man.t
The early history of the Angles and Saxons, especially in this
part of Britain, is very obscure, and so mixed with fables that it is
scarcely possible to distinguish where fiction ends and history com-
mences. Almost all that is known with certainty is, that the
Romans retired from Britain about 420 of the Christian era,
leaving the country in the hands of the aboriginal Britons, who were
of the Celtic race ; and that about the year 600, when Augustine
the monk, and Paulinus the apostle of the Northumbrians, came to
preach Christianity in this country, they found nearly the whole of
* Bed* (Venerabilis) Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorutn, lib. iv. c. 26. f Ibid - ^"^ c - 5 -
2 V
VOL. I.
354 YORKSHIRE :
the present England peopled by the Angles and Saxons, and under
the rule of Anglian and Saxon kings, of Germanic or Teutonic
origin or extraction. Between the times of those two events there
is scarcely a date in English history that can be relied upon ; and
though it is stated in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, that Ida, the first
king of the Angles of Northumbria, landed and began to reign, on
the north-east coast of England, in the year 547 of the Christian
era, it is not altogether certain that such a person as Ida ever
existed ; and there is still greater doubt as to the year in which the
Anglian chiefs and their followers first landed on that part of the
coast which lies to the north of the river Humber. If the date of
547 is correct, then a period of about one hundred years elapsed
between the time usually assigned to the landing of Hengist and
Horsa on the coast of Kent (which is generally assumed to have
taken place in the year 449), and the date of the landing of Ida in
Northumbria.
Arrival of the Saxons in the Eastern and Southern parts of
Britain. We know from classical authority that the Saxons and
the Angles were tribes of Germanic origin, residing near each other
on the north-western coasts and islands of Germany. Tacitus and
Ptolemy speak of the Saxons and Angles by those names and
in those positions, some hundred years previous to the earliest
record of their incursions into Britain."" The first of these two
tribes which we read of in connection with Britain, are the Saxons,
the frequenters or inhabitants of the littus Saxonicum per Dntannias,
even during the time of the Roman dominion, t They appear
in the first instance to have occupied the coasts of the counties
of Kent, Essex, Middlesex, and Sussex. In a later age they
extended westward, along the valley of the Thames, on both sides
of that river, to the Severn and the Bristol Channel ; and along
the south coast of England to the borders of Cornwall. The Saxons
seem also to have been the first Germanic settlers in Norfolk and
Suffolk, though those two counties were afterwards overrun and
conquered by the Angles. Not merely were the original Germanic
conquerors or settlers in Britain known to the Romans by the
name of Saxons, but they seem also to have been known to all
the Celtic tribes in different parts of Britain, and even of Ireland,
as Saeson, Saoz, Sasunnaich, and Sagsonach, all of which are
* C. Cornell! Taciti Germania, cap. 40. Ptoletnsei Geographia, lib. ii. cap. 10 p. 148.
f Notitia Imperil.
PAST AND PRESENT. 355
intended to express the now familiar name of Saxons."" The
Saxons being the first comers from Germany, introduced into
Britain the name which was afterwards applied by the Romans
and the original natives of Britain to all Germanic invaders and
settlers. But the Angles, who conquered much the larger part
of the central and northern provinces of Britain, were always
known to themselves as Angles or English, and ultimately gave
the name of England to the whole of South Britain.
The incursions of the Saxons and the Angles into the British
Islands differed .greatly, as relates to the rapidity of the conquest
and settlement of the country, from the irruptions of the other
Germanic tribes into Gaul, Italy, and Spain, though the most
important of them took place in the same age, and were accel-
erated, if not produced, by the same cause; namely, the irruption
of immense tribes of Huns into Germany, and as far westward as
the river Marne between the years 440 and 452 under the com-
mand of the terrible Attila, noted even among barbarian conquerors
us the Scourge of God. On the Continent the incursions of the
Germanic tribes were made by land, and were effected by vast armies
of fighting men, accompanied by their wives and children. These
hordes, after a few victorious battles, either extirpated or reduced to
subjection the original inhabitants, and in a few years took posses-
sion of, settled in, and peopled the conquered countries. This was the
case with the Franks in Gaul, the Goths in Spain, the Lombards in
Italy, and even the Vandals in North Africa. In those countries
the invading armies, amounting in some cases to many hundred
thousands of fighting, men, with their. wives and children, in a few
years established the dominion of the .new and victorious races over
whole nations and vast ranges of country;:' .
But in Britain, the only mode of invasion being by sea, and in
small vessels, few of which exceeded in size the boats or barges
of the present day, the progress of the invading Saxons and Angles
into the interior was much less rapid. The first Saxon and Anglian
invaders seem to have landed at strong points on the coast, such
as the Isle of Thanet, Flamborough Head, and Bamborough Castle,
where they constructed stockades of timber, within which they
received supplies and reinforcements from Germany, and from which
they gradually fought their way into the fertile districts of the
interior. But their numbers must have been small at first, from
* Words and Places, Rev. Isaac Taylor, p. G2.
356 YOEKSHIRE :
.the difficulty of crossing the ocean ; and owing to the smallness
of their numbers the progress of their conquests was slow. Many
years elapsed before either the Saxons or the Angles succeeded
in fighting their way across even the moi - e level parts of Britain,
from the German Ocean to the Irish Sea; and in the more moun-
tainous parts of Wales and among the more rugged parts of
the western coasts of England, the Celtic tribes were never com-
pletely subdued, either by the Saxons or by the Angles, though
they were ultimately overcome by the more formidable arms and
the more skilful military system of the Normans, who first con-
quered the Saxons and Angles, and then with their assistance
completed the conquest of the Celts in the more mountainous
districts. The mountains or hills of the Northumbrian kingdom
thus enabled the Celtic tribes, in the north of England, to make
a very long, and for many ages a successful defence, of the dis-
tricts of Cumberland, Westmoreland, and of the hilly country
which extends from the borders of Scotland to the south of
Yorkshire. So long and obstinate was the resistance, that some
of these districts, including the kingdom of Cumberland, were not
conquered by the Saxon and Anglian kings until more than four
hundred years after the time when the Saxons formed their first
settlements on the coasts of Norfolk, Kent, and Sussex, or less than
three hundred years after Ida and his immediate successors landed
on the eastern shores of the kingdom of Northumberland.
It is also probable that, owing to the difficulty of crossing
the stormy ocean in small and generally open boats, few of the
original members of the Saxon and Anglian tribes, except full-grown
resolute men capable of contending with the perils both of the sea
and of warfare, took part in the early expeditions to Britain. Even
in modern times, with immensely increased facilities for crossing the
sea, and for settling in foreign lands, it is found that the number
of female emigrants is comparatively small. This must have been
much more the case in those rude ages in which the Saxons and
the Angles first settled in Britain. Hence it is probable that most
of the early Anglian settlers found wives amongst their female
prisoners of war; and that the present English race is almost as
much Celtic in origin as it is Saxon, Anglian, or Danish. This
may serve in some degree to account for the points of difference
which are still found to exist, along with many points of resem-
blance, between the Germanic and the English races.
PAST AND PRESENT. 357
The Angli, from whom the Angles were probably descended,
according to Tacitus, formed a clan of the great tribe of the Suevi,
who occupied the greater part of Germany, but were divided into
separate tribes with names of their own, though they were called
by the general designation of Suevi.* The Angli resided near the
shores of the Baltic, and were fenced in by rivers and forests. This
position corresponds sufficiently with that assigned to them by
Bede, and other early writers, who speak of the Angles as residing
between the country of the Jutes, which is the present Jutland,
and the country of the Saxons, which in ancient times extended to
the German Ocean. The Angles must, however, have been merely
the leaders of a confederation of invading tribes : for the whole
district which the Angles occupied in Germany appears to have
been no larger than a good-sized English county, whilst in Eng-
land they overran and occupied the whole of the kingdom north of
Essex, Middlesex, and the valley of the Thames, and extended
their settlements northward even as far as the Frith of Forth.
The German Angli could have furnished only a small portion of
the conquerors of this great range of country; but they were no
doubt reinforced by the other tribes of the Suevi, and probably by
all the tribes of Germany. This is confirmed by the ancient
British writer, Nennius, who, speaking of the German invaders
of Britain, states, that the more they were resisted, the more
they sought for new reinforcements from Germany; so that kings,
commanders, and military bands, were invited over from almost
every province. And this practice, Nennius adds, " they con-
tinued till the reign of Ida, who was the son of Eobba; who
was the first king of the Saxon race in Bernech, or Bernicia,
and in Cair-Affrauc, or Ebrauc." These were the British names
for the city of York, and for the northern part of the kingdom
of Northumbria. t Gildas a still older writer, who lived in the
sixth century, and is supposed to have written about the year
546, speaks of the German invaders, by the name of Saxons,
"as a fierce and imperious race, hateful to both God and man;"
and describes their ravages "as extending from sea to sea, com-
mencing on the east and not ceasing, until, ai'ter destroying the
neighbouring towns and lands, they reached the other side of
the island, and dipped their red and savage tongue in the
western ocean." Gildas also speaks of the battle fought in
* C. Cornelii Taciti Germania, cap. 40. f The History of the Britons by Nennius, p. 29.
358 YORKSHIRE :
the neighbourhood of Bath, near 'the Bristol Channel, as having
taken place forty-four years and one month after the landing of
the Saxons.*
In the north and centre of Britain the progress of the Angles
was still slower ; but they gradually overran the extensive
districts afterwards included in the Anglian kingdoms of North-
umbria, Mercia, and East Anglia. It is no wonder, therefore, that
the whole of the southern part of Britain ultimately acquired the
name of England, the land of the Angles or English.
The Earliest Anglian Kings of Northumbria. So far as reliance
can be placed on the names and dates which the Venerable Bede,
and the authors of the earlier part of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle,
collected from the traditions still current in their times, or from
ancient annals, the Anglian kingdom of Northumbria, of which the
city of York was the capital, and the county of York the larger
and more fertile portion, was founded by an Anglian or English chief
named Idat the Flame-bearer who is said to have landed on the
eastern coast of Britain in the year 547, with a company of warlike
Teutonic followers, conveyed in forty or fifty vessels, and probably
not amounting to more than a few hundred fighting men. Two
places of landing are mentioned in the early traditions ; the one
being Flumborough Head on the coast of Yorkshire, and the other
the rock of Bamborough on the coast of Northumberland, both
commanding positions, and capable when fortified, even with
earthworks and a stockade of timber, of giving shelter to an
invading force against large bodies of the native Britons. Accord-
ing to the more generally received opinion, the first settlement
of the Angles of the kingdom of Northumberland was at Bam-
borough in Northumberland. This steep and almost inaccessible
rock is said to have been originally named Bebbanburh by the
Angles, from the name of Bebba the queen of Ida, the Anglian
chief who led the expedition, and whose successors gradually
conquered the countiy as far south as the river Humber,
and, according to Nennius, captured York, the Roman capital of
Britain. Both at Bamborough and at Flamborough Head are
marks and remains of ancient fortifications.
The following is the brief account of Ida, first king of North-
umbria, given in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle :
* The Works of Gildas, edition of J. A. Giles, LL D. 1841.
t The Anglo-S;ixon Chronicle, edited, with a Translation, by Benjamin Thorpe, London, 1861
FAST AND PRESENT. 359
"A.D. 547. In this year Ida assumed the kingdom, from whom arose the royal race
of the Northumbrians, and reigned twelve years ; and he built Bebbanburh (Bamborough\
which was at first inclosed by a hedge (a stockade of timber), and afterwards by a wall.
Ida was son of Eoppa, Eoppa of Esa, Esa was son of Ingui, Ingui of Angewit, Angewit
of Aloe, Aloe of Benoc, Benoc of Brand, Brand of Bceldaeg, Bceldaeg of Woden, Woden
of Freothelaf, Freothelaf of Freothewulf, Freothewulf of Finn, Finn of Godulf, Godulf of
Geat."
The whole of the above names are probably those of gods and
demigods in the Anglian mythology; or if any of them are the names
of men, it is impossible to separate them from those of imaginary
beings. One name is invariably found in those lists, namely, that ot
Woden, whom Tacitus mentions ages before, under the name of Mer-
cury, as the supreme object of worship of all the Germanic tribes;
and probably no Anglian or Saxon king would have been considered
to belong to the royal race, if he had not included the name of
Woden amongst his ancestors. But it will be seen that the makers
of Ida's pedigree were not content to stop with Woden, but went
back to still older gods.
Ida is said to have been succeeded by another chief, of whom
the following short history and long pedigree have been preserved
in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle :
" A.D. 559. In this year Ceawlin succeeded to the kingdom of the West Saxons,
and ^Elle assumed the kingdom of the Northumbrians, Ida being dead ; and each of them
reigned thirty winters. JElle was son of Yffe, Yffe of Uxfrea, Uxfrea of Wilgils, Wilgils of
Westerfalcna, Westerfalcna of Ssefugl, Ssefugl of Ssebald, Ssebald of Sigegeat, Sigegeat of
Swebdseg, Swebdocg of Sigegar, Sigegarof Wsegdoeg, WsegJsogof Woden, Woden of Frithowulf."
In the earlier period of the history of the Anglian kingdom
of Northumbria, it appears to have been subdivided into two
smaller kingdoms or districts. One of these was Deira, extending
from the river Humber to the Tyne, and including the present
Yorkshire, Durham, and perhaps Lancashire ; the other was Ber-
nicia, extending from the Tyne, certainly to the Tweed, and at
some periods even to the Forth. It is uncertain at what time
and under what circumstances the kingdoms of Deira and Bernicia
originated; but they were united into the kingdom of Northumbria
soon after the time of the introduction of Christianity into that
state. The country about York, the capital, belonged to the king-
dom of Deira; as well as the county of Durham, which perhaps still
preserves some trace of the original name. Deira extended south-
ward to the rivers Hull arid Humber, and the district of Holder-
ness is also supposed to preserve a trace of the same name.
Ethelfrid, the last Pagan king of Northumbria. The first of the
360 YORKSHIRE :
Anglian kings of Northumbria, mentioned by the Venerable Bede,
whose name and history bear undoubted marks of reality, is Ethel-
frid or Ethelfrith the Noble Peace, or Peace-giver. He lived and
reigned about the time of the introduction of Christianity into the
kingdom of Kent. He was the last and greatest of the pagan
kings who reigned on the northern side of the Humber. He
was also the immediate ancestor of some of the most celebrated
of the earlier Christian kings of Northumbria; and to that cir-
cumstance we owe the interesting account that Bede has left of
his life and exploits.
Speaking of the events of the year 603, Bede says, " that at this
time Ethelfrid, a most worthy king and ambitious of glory, governed
the kingdom of the Northumbrians, and ravaged the Britons more
than all the other chiefs of the English; insomuch that he might be
compared to Saul, once king of the Israelites, excepting only in this,
that he (Ethelfrid) was ignorant of the true religion." " For," says
Bede, " he conquered more territories from the Britons than any
other king or chief, either making them tributaries or driving
the inhabitants clean out, and planting English in their places.''
"To him," says Bede, " might justly be applied the saying of the
patriarch (Jacob), blessing his son 'Benjamin shall ravin as a
wolf; in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he
shall divide the spoil." This formidable Anglian chief appears
to have been victorious over ^Egthan king of the Scots, " who
inhabited Britain;" that is, the Erse or Highlanders, who occupied
the northern part of Scotland, and were closely connected with the
Scots or Erse of Ireland. In the year 603 Ethelfrid repulsed
and defeated ^Egthan, who had invaded Northumbria, at a place
called Degaston,t inflicting on the invaders so complete an over-
throw, that they never afterwards attempted to invade the Anglian
kingdom. Ethelfrid was equally successful in a great battle with
the Britons of Wales, fought in the neighbourhood of Chester,
the City of the Legion, in 607. As Bede informs us, Ethelfrid,
having raised a mighty army, made a very great slaughter of
the unfortunate Britons, whom Bede describes as " that perfidious
nation, at that City of the Legion, which by the English is called
Legacester, but by the Britons more correctly Caer Legion." Bede
further informs us, that on this occasion Ethelfrid caused to be
' Bede's Ecclesiastical History, lib. i. c 34.
f Perhaps Dalston, near Carlisle; or Dauston, near Jedbnrgh.
PAST AND PRESENT. 361
attacked and slain several hundred Christian priests of the famous
British monastery of Bangor, on the banks of the river Dee, who
had accompanied the army of the Britons to the battle-field near
Chester, to encourage them with their presence and their prayers.
: 'Thus," adds Bede with a violent burst of national and polemical
hatred very unusual in so good and kind-hearted a man "was
fulfilled the prediction of the holy Bishop Augustine (though he
himself had been long before taken up into the heavenly kingdom),
that those perfidious men should feel the vengeance of the temporal
death also, because they had despised the offer of eternal salvation."""
In addition to the national hatred of the Angle and the Briton in
those early times, was the fact that the Britons had received
the doctrines and the practices of Christianity some hundred years
before Augustine landed in England, and did not see fit to
abandon the practices and the traditions of their ancestors, in
obedience to the haughty commands of Augustine.
The close of the career of Ethelfrid was as unfortunate, as
its commencement and its progress had been brilliant. Having
ventured to engage in war with Raedwald, the king of the East
Angles, he was defeated and slain, his dominions were overrun,
and those of his children who escaped from the slaughter were
compelled to take refuge among the Christian Britons, in the
northern part of the island. There they were kindly received,
and were taught the doctrines of Christianity, as held amongst
the ancient British race. There also one of the most distin-
guished of them (Oswald), who was afterwards celebrated amongst
the Christian kings of Northumbria, acquired a knowledge of the
language of the Britons. This seems to have been either the
Gaelic, still spoken in the Western Highlands and Islands ol
Scotland, or some other Celtic dialect spoken amongst the Picts
in the south-western districts of Scotland, and probably in Cum-
berland. The former is an Erse or Gaelic dialect; the latter is
supposed to have been a Welsh or Cymrian dialect.
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle gives the following summary of the
three great battles fought by King Ethelfrid; in the first and
second of which he was victorious over the Scots and Welsh, and
in the third of which he was defeated by Raedwald, king of the East
Angles. He ruled a large portion of the country between the
Humber and the Thames, over which Ethelfrid also asserted a right,
* Bede, lib. ii. c. 2.
VOL i.
362 YORKSHIRE :
Speaking of the battle with the Scots, fought in the year 603,
the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle says
"A.D. 603. In this year ^Egthan, king of the Scots, fought against the Dalreods
and against ^Ithelferth, king of the Northumbrians, at Deegastan (Dauston), and almost
all his army was slain. There was slain Theodbald, ./Ethelferth's brother, with all his
host. Since then no king of Scots has dared to lead an army into this nation. Hering, eon
of Hussa, led the army hither."
Ethelfrid's battle with the Welsh is thus described in the
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle :
" A.D. 606. In this year JSthelfrith led his army to Chester, and there slew number-
less Welsh ; and so was fulfilled the prophecy of Augustine, which he uttered : ' If the
Welsh refuse peace with us, they shall perish at the hands of the Saxons.' There were
also slain 200 priests, who came thither that they might pray with the army of the Welsh.
Their chief was named Scromail (Brocmail), who escaped thence with some fifty."
The following is the account of the defeat and death of Ethelfrid :
" A,D. 617. In this year ^Ethelfrith, king of the Northumbrians, was slain by Esed-
wald, king of the East Angles ; and Eadwine, son of ^lle, succeeded to the kingdom, and
ravaged all Britain, save the Kentish people only; and drove out the Athelings, sons
of ./Etlielfrith ; that was, first, Eanfrith and Oswald ; then Oswin, Oslac, Oswudu, Oslaf,
and Offa."
Eadwine, the first Christian King of Northumbria. There was no
fixed law of succession to the throne either among the Angles or
the Saxons, except that it was required that its occupant should
be a member of the royal family, and a supposed descendant
of Woden, and the other kings and heroes of the Anglo-Saxon
mythology. This want of a fixed rule of succession continued even
down to the time of the Norman conquest ; and was one principal
cause of the incessant civil wars which so much weakened the
Anglian and Saxon kingdoms. In the present case the throne left
vacant by the death of Ethelfrid was seized by Eadwine the Pros-
perous Chief, or Man the son of ^Elle, who not only made himself
king of Northumbria, but ravaged the whole of Britain, with the
exception of the kingdom of Kent. Indeed it appears that the kings
of Northumbria and Kent regarded themselves as the only lawful
kings of Britain, and waged war with great fury, though ultimately
without success, against the East Anglian and the Mercian kings,
who between them claimed the territory from the Humber to the
Thames. When Eadwine seized the kingdom, after the death of
Ethelfrid, the children of the latter were compelled to take flight,
and found shelter amongst the Christian population of the kingdom
of Scotland. Amongst them were Eanfrith, Oswald, and Oswy,
PAST AND PRESENT. 363
the two latter of whom adopted the Christian religion durinw their
exile, and afterwards succeeded to the throne of Northumbria.
But Eadwine, the fierce warrior above-named, and the successor
of Ethelfrid, was the first Christian king of Northumbria. He
was chiefly induced to adopt this religion by the influence of
Ethelberga the Noble Pledge his wife, a daughter of the Chris-
tian king Ethelbert of Kent; and by the teaching of Paulinus, a
companion of Augustine, and ultimately the first archbishop of
York, who had accompanied Ethelberga to Northumbria. She
had been received by Eadwine in marriage, on condition that he
would in no manner act in opposition to the religion which she
professed, but give leave to her, and to all who came with her,
to follow the faith and worship of the Christians. The adoption
of the Christian religion by Eadwine was accelerated by a narrow
escape which he had from assassination, and by the destruction of
his enemies, which he attributed to the influence of Paulinus, and
the religion of his own wife Ethelberga.
According to the narrative of Bede, in the year following the
marriage of Eadwine with Ethelberga, there came into the province
of Northumbria, to the neighbourhood of York, an assassin, sent
by Cuichelm, king of the West Saxons, to murder King Eadwine.
This desperate wretch had a two-edged dagger dipped in poison,
in order that if the wound was not sufficient to kill the king,
he might be destroyed by the poison. The assassin came to the
king on the first day of Easter, as Bede informs us, at the river
Derwent, where then stood the royal residence (supposed to have
been the Roman city Derventione, on the river Derwent, seven
or eight miles from York the Northumbrian capital). Being
admitted to deliver a message from his master, the king of the
West Saxons, whilst he was in an artful manner discharging his
pretended embassy, the assassin rushed forward suddenly, and
drawing his dagger, assaulted the king. Lilla, Eadwine's favourite
minister, seeing the danger of his master, and having no buckler at
hand to protect the king, sprung forward, and received the stroke
of the assassin in his own body. So violent was the blow, that
the point of the dagger wounded the king through the body
of his follower. The assassin, being then attacked on all sides,
after slaying another soldier, whose name was Forthhere, was him-
self overpowered and killed. " On that same holy night of Easter
(Sunday)," says Bede, " the queen had brought forth to the king a
364 YORKSHIRE :
daughter called Eanfled the Happy Birth. The king, in the
presence of Bishop Paulinus, gave thanks to his gods for the
birth of his daughter ; and the bishop, on the other hand,
returned thanks to Christ, and endeavoured to persuade the
king, that by his prayers to Christ he had obtained that the
queen should bring forth the child in safety, and without much
pain. The king, delighted with his words and with his own
narrow escape from the assassin's dagger, promised that if God
would grant him life and victory over the king of the West
Saxons, he would cast off his idols and serve Christ ; and, as a
pledge that he would perform his promise, he delivered his infant
daughter to Paulinus to be consecrated to Christ. She was the
first baptized of the nation of the Northumbrians, the rite being
performed on Whitsunday, when twelve others of the king's rela-
tions were also baptized."*
After King Eadwine had recovered from the wound of the
assassin, he marched with his army against Cuichelm, the king of
the West Saxons, defeated his forces, and either slew or subdued
all who had been engaged in the conspiracy. Before consenting to
adopt the Christian religion himself, King Eadwine spent much
time in inquiring from Paulinus as to the evidences of its truth ;
and in consulting with his wisest councillors ; " and being a man of
extraordinary sagacity, he often sat alone by himself for a long
time, silent as to his tongue, but deliberating in his heart how
he should proceed, and which religion he should adhere to."
According to the narrative of Bede he was finally induced to
decide in favour of Christianity, by a belief that he had seen
Paulinus in a dream, at a time when he was in great distress in
his earlier days, and that he had promised to him the security
and restoration to power, at a future time, which he afterwards
attained.
After holding a witari or parliament of his principal friends and
councillors (the proceedings of which are preserved by Bede), Ead-
wine decided to adopt the Christian religion, the high priest of the
heathen gods taking the lead in profaning the temple and then
destroying it by fire. Bede adds, " The place where the idols were
is still shown, not far from York, to the eastward, beyond the river
Derwent, and is now called Godmundingham " the Home Protected
by the Gods.t This is supposed to be at Godmanham, not far from
" Bede's Ecclesiastical History, lib. ii. c. 9. f Bede, lib. ii., c. 14.
PAST AND PRESENT. 365
Market- Weighton, or Mechil-Wongtune, as the name is written in
the " Historia Begum " of Simeon of Durham.*
The Religion of the, Angles and Saxons. The heathen gods wor-
shipped by the Angles and the Saxons were probably the same as
those worshipped by the other tribes of the Germanic race. We
know this from the names in some cases, and from a resemblance of
the supposed attributes in others. There appears to have been a cer-
tain degree of dignity even in the superstitions of the Teutonic race.
According to the statement of Tacitus on this subject, the Germans
did not " consider it consistent with the grandeur of celestial beings
to confine the gods within walls, or to liken them to the form of
a.ny human countenance. They consecrated woods and groves, and
applied the names of deities to the abstraction which they saw
only in spiritual worship." t
Woden, whom the Romans identified with their own god, Mer-
cury, was the deity whom the Angli and other Germanic tribes
chiefly worshipped ;J and to this day there are numerous places
and objects in England, whose names are derived from the fact
of their having been places or objects dedicated to the worship
of Woden. Among others is the river Woden, or Ouden, amongst
the hills in the south of Yorkshire. All the kings of the Angles
and Saxons claimed to be descendants of Woden, so that there
is no difficulty in tracing the pedigrees from Woden down to
Alfred the Great, and from him down to Queen Victoria. The
name of Wednesday also preserves the name of Woden, in a
slightly altered form.
Another of their gods was Tuisco, "an earth-born god, and his
son Mannus," whom they regarded as the founder of mankind, at
least so far as the Germanic race was concerned. The name of
Tuisco is still preserved in the name of Tuesday.
In some respects Thor was considered even greater than Woden,
as he was supposed to have the control of the thunder and the
lightning. The god of war was worshipped under the name of
Wig; the supposed goddess of war under that of Hulda. The
village of Wigston in Yorkshire, and the town of Wigan in Lan-
cashire, with many other in places in England, derived their 'name
from Wig, the heathen god of war. Fridaythorpe, in the East
Riding of Yorkshire, still preserves the name of the Teutonic
Simeon of Durham, vol. i.; the Surtees Society's publications, vol. li. pp. 21 and 210.
f The Gel-mania of Tacitus, section 9. t Ibid. Ibid, section 2.
366 YORKSHIRE :
Venus, Friga ; whilst Satterwaite may perhaps preserve the
memory of the fancied deity from whom Saturday was named.
Amongst the Germanic tribes on the shores of the ocean, of
whom the Angli or Angles formed a part, there also prevailed
a custom of worshipping the Earth as a goddess or divinity.
Speaking of the Angli and other powerful tribes belonging to
the Suevic race, Tacitus gives the following account of their
worship of the goddess Eartha : " None of these tribes," he
says, "have any note-worthy feature except their common wor-
ship of Eartha, or Mother Earth, and their belief that she inter-
poses in human affairs, and visits different nations. In an island
of the ocean," perhaps Heligoland, the only point of Germany
now belonging to the English race, "there is a sacred grove, and
within it a consecrated car, covered over with a garment. Only
one priest is permitted to touch it. He can perceive the presence
of the goddess in the sacred recess, and walks by her side with
the utmost reverence, as she is drawn along by heifers. It is a
season of rejoicing, and festivity reigns wherever she deigns to
go and to be received. Then they neither undertake a war nor
assume their arms, and every weapon is locked up; peace and
tranquillity are known and welcomed only on these occasions,
till the goddess, weary of human intercourse, is at length restored
by the same priest to her temple. Afterwards the car, the vest-
ments, and if you like to believe it, the divinity herself, are purified
in a secret lake. Slaves perform the rite, who are instantly
swallowed up by its waters. Hence arises a mysterious terror
and a pious ignorance, concerning the nature of that which is seen
only by men doomed to die."""
The two great lights of heaven, the Sun and the Moon, were
highly honoured, and probably worshipped by our pagan ancestors,
as they have been by so many other nations. Thus the Sun and
the Moon joined, with Tuisco, Woden, Thor, Friga, and perhaps
Sataere, to give the old English names to the days of the week,
which still continue to be used wherever the English language is
spoken. There was also an ancient Anglian or Germanic divinity,
to whom our ancestors gave the name of Eastre. This name has
been preserved in the English Easter, the great festival, of the
Christian world. As we are informed by the Venerable Bede, it
was at that beautiful season of the year, and at that interesting
* C. Cornell! Taciti Germania, cap. 28.
PAST AND PRESENT. 367
festival of the church, that the Christian religion was introduced
amongst our pagan ancestors :
" King Eadwine, therefore, with all the nobility of the North-
umbrian nation, and a large body of the common people, received
the Christian faith and the washing of regeneration in the eleventh
year of his reign, which is the year of the incarnation of our
Lord 627, and about 180 years after the coming of the Angles,
or English, into Britain. He was baptized at York on the holy
day of Easter, being the 12th day of April, in the church of
St. Peter the Apostle, which he himself had built of timber,
whilst he was being catechised and instructed to receive baptism.
In that city also he appointed the see of the bishopric of his
instructor and bishop, Paulinus. But as soon as he was baptized,
he took care, by the direction of the same Paulinus, to build in
the same place a larger and nobler church of stone, in the midst
whereof that same oratory which he had first erected should be
inclosed. Having therefore laid the foundation, he began to build
the church square, encompassing the former oratory. But before
the whole was raised to the proper height, the wicked assassination
of the king left that work to be finished by Oswald, his successor."
After describing the progress of the Christian religion under
the teaching of Paulinus, Bede observes : " These things hap-
pened in the province of the Bernicians," that is, between the
Tyne and Tweed; "but in the province of Deira also," which
included the present county of York, "where Paulinus was wont
often to be with the king, he baptized in the river Swale, which
runs by the village of Cataract "-the Cataractonium of the
Romans, and the Catterick bridge of modern times. In those
days rivers and streams were the favourite places of baptism; for,
as Bede observes, "as yet oratories or fonts could not be made in the
early infancy of the church in those parts. But Eadwine built a
church in Campodonum" (either Doncaster the camp on the Don
or the present Almondbury, near Huddersfield, which is by many
writers supposed to be the ancient Cambodunum), "which after-
wards the pagans, by whom King Eadwine was slain, burnt together
with all the town. In place of which the later kings of Northum-
bria built themselves a country seat in the district called Loidis,
or Leeds." But the altar, being of stone, escaped the fire, and
was still preserved, at the time when Bede wrote his history, in
the monastery of the most reverend abbot and priest, Thridwulf,
368 YORKSHIRE
which was in Elmett Wood. By some modern writers of authority
Barwick-in-Elmett, in Skyrack wapentake, a few miles north-east
of Leeds, is supposed to have been the site of this ancient residence
of the Anglian kings.
"Of Paulinus," Bede informs us that "he also preached the
word of God to the province of Lindsay" (a part of Lincolnshire),
" which is the first district on the south-side of the river Humber,
stretching out as far as the sea." According to the testimony of a
priest of Bardney Abbey, who had received the information from a
person who had been baptized by Paulinus, " he was tall in stature,
a little stooping, his hair black, his visage meagre, his nose slender
and aquiline, his aspect both venerable and majestic." Paulinus had
also with him in the ministry, James the deacon, a man of zeal and
great fame in Christ's church, of whom Bede says, " that he lived
even to our days."
Eadwine was the first Northumbrian king who held the rank of
Bretwalda, or paramount sovereign in England, so named from the
Anglian words " brytt," powerful or supreme, and " walda," lord.*
This was an honour assumed by the most powerful of the Anglian
and Saxon sovereigns, and submitted to by those of their contem-
porary princes who were not strong enough to resist their authority.
The dignity of Bretwalda bore a faint resemblance to that of the
German emperors, at the time when they were chosen by the old
electors of the empire; but it was not permanent even as an office,
and was never hereditary in any one of the royal families of the
English or Saxon race. According to Bede, " Eadwine was king
of the nation of the Northumbrians, that is, of those who live on
the north side of the river Humber, and also, probably as Bret-
walda, with great power he commanded all the nations, as well of
the English as of the Britons, except only the people of Kent.
He also reduced under the dominion of the English the Mevanian
islands of the British, lying between Ireland and Britain, that is
to say, the Isle of Anglesea (the island of the Angles, or the Eng-
lish) and the Isle of Man."
According to Bede, the reign of the first Christian king of
England was a period of remarkable peace and public happiness.
" It is reported," he says, " that there was such perfect peace in
Britain, wheresoever the dominion of King Eadwine extended, that,
according to the common saying, a woman with her new-born babe
Bosworth's Compendious Anglo-Saxon and English Dictionary, London, 1848.
PAST AND PRESENT.
might walk throughout the island, from sea to sea, without receiv-
ing any harm."
But few kings or chiefs died peacefully in those days, and King
Eadwine was not more fortunate, in that respect, than most of his
contemporary chiefs. His overthrow, was brought about by a con-
spiracy and combination of Penda, king of Mercia, the last great
heathen chief of the Anglian race, and Cadwalla, king of the
Christian West Britons. A furious and senseless hatred existed
between the Anglian and Saxon Christians trained by Augustine
and other Romish teachers, and the British Christians, who spurned
their authority, though they were willing to live with them as
equals. These two powerful chiefs having united their forces, led
them across the river Humber; and a great battle having been
fought, on the plain that was then called Heathfield, and is now
known as Hatfield Chase, situate in the West Riding of Yorkshire
about seven miles from Doncaster, Eadwine was defeated and slain on
the 12th October, in the year 633, being then forty-seven years of
age. In the same year was slain Osfrid, one of the sons of Eadwine ;
and another of them, Eanfrid, was afterwards killed by the ferocious
Penda. " At this time," says Bede, " a great slaughter was made in
the church and nation of the Northumbrians, and the more so because
one of the commanders was a pagan, and the other a barbarian more
cruel than a pagan : for Penda, with all the nation of the Mercians,
was an idolater, and a stranger to the name of Christ; but Cadwalla,
though he bore the name and professed himself a Christian, was so
barbarous in his disposition and behaviour, that he neither spared
the female sex nor the innocent age of children, but with savage
cruelty put them to tormenting deaths, ravaging all their country
and resolved to cut off all the race of the English within the borders
of Britain." Nor did he pay any respect to the Christian religion,
which had newly taken root among them ; it being to this day,
says Bede, the custom of the Britons not to pay any respect to the
faith and the religion of the English, nor to correspond with them
any more than with pagans. King Ead wine's head was brought
to York, and afterwards into the church of St. Peter the Apostle,
which he had begun, but which his successor Oswald finished. It
was deposited in the porch of St. Gregory, pope, from whose
disciples he had received the word of life.
The affairs of the Northumbrians being in utter confusion by
reason of this disaster, without any prospect of safety except in
VOL. I. 3 A
370 YORKSHIRE :
flight, Paulinus, taking with him Queen Ethelberga, whom he
had brought into Northumbria, with her returned into Kent
by sea, and was honourably received by the Archbishop Honorius
and King Eadbald. He also took with him many rich goods of
King Eadwine, amongst which were a large gold cup, and a gold
chalice, dedicated to the use of the altar at York, which were long
preserved and shown at the church of Canterbury.*
The Reign and History of King Oswald. The death of King
Eadwine, the first Christian king of Northumbria, and the flight of
his sons, who were of tender age, for a time left the kingdom of
Northumbria without a head. But an avenger and a vindicator
of its independence was soon found in the person of Oswald
the Hero Chief the son of King Ethelfrid, who has already
been mentioned as the last pagan king of Northumbria, who,
after gaining many victories, was himself killed in battle with
Redwald, king of East Anglia. Amongst the sons of Ethelfrid
were Oswald and Oswy, who were in succession kings of North-
umbria, and who, after many struggles with Penda and the pagan
Mercians, ultimately succeeded, not only in restoring the indepen-
dence of the kingdom of Northumbria, but in conquering the
kingdom of Mercia, and in establishing Christianity throughout
the greater part of the central districts of England. But these
great results were not attained without long and sanguinary con-
flicts, in the course of which Oswald fell beneath the sword of the
heathen Penda, who was himself ultimately slain by his brother
Oswy the Hero of War.
The first battle between Oswald the son of Ethelfrid, and the
pagan and British invaders of Northumbria, was fought near the
present borders of Scotland, at a place named in the English
language, Denisisburn, supposed to be Dilston, though the site
is somewhat doubtful.t In this battle Oswald was victorious.
Another engagement took place at a spot named Heavenfield,
which seems to have been not far from Hexham. Speaking of
the scene of this battle, Bede says. " The same place is near the
wall with which the Romans formerly inclosed the island from sea
to sea, to restrain the fury of barbarous nations." He adds, " Hither
also the brothers of the church of Hagulstad (Hexham), which is
not far from thence, repair yearly, on the day before that on which
King Oswald was afterwards slain, to watch there for the health
* Bede. f Bede, lib. c 3, s. 2.
PAST AND PRESENT.
of his soul; and having sung many psalms, to offer for him in the
morning the sacrifice of the Holy Oblation." About the year 673
Wilfrid, archbishop of York, founded a monastery and erected a
church at this place, which church, according to Richard of Hex-
ham, was the most beautiful and magnificent ecclesiastical edifice
in the kingdom. In both the above battles Oswald was victorious,
and gradually recovered the whole of the kingdom of Northum.
bria, as far south as the city of York and the river Humber.
As soon as Oswald had recovered the throne of Northumbria,
being desirous that all his people should receive the Christian faith,
he sent to the chiefs of the Christian Scots, among whom himself
and his followers, when in banishment, had received the sacrament
of baptism, desiring that they would send him a bishop or teacher
by whose instruction and ministry the English nation, or the nation
of the Angles, which he governed, might be taught the doctrines,
and partake the sacraments, of the Christian faith. In compliance
with this request, the Scots sent to Oswald, Aidan, "a man of
singular meekness, piety, and moderation." He was appointed
bishop of Lindisfarne, afterwards known as Holy Island, on the
coast of Northumbria, from which place all the churches of Ber-
nicia, from the Tyne to the Tweed, had their beginning or their
revival, as had also some of those of Deira between the Tyne and
the Humber. *
We are told that King Oswald, after recovering his hereditary
dominions, extended them so far as to bring under his authority
races of men speaking four languages, namely, those of the
Britons, the Picts, the Scots, and the English. These were all
dialects either of the Celtic or the Teutonic languages the lan-
guage of the Britons, then spoken in the mountains of Cumbria,
being certainly of the former, and that of the English of the
latter. Some authors believe that the language of the Picts was
a Germanic or Scandinavian dialect spoken in the lowlands of
Scotland ; but others maintain that it was the ancient British
language, that long continued to linger in Galloway and
the more mountainous districts of the south-west of Scotland.
The language of the Scots was the Erse, or ancient Gaelic lan-
guage, then and still spoken in the highlands and islands of
Scotland, in Ireland, and in the Isle of Man. The existence of
four languages is mentioned by Bede in his account of the reign
* Bede, lib. iii. c. 3.
372 YORKSHIRE :
of King Oswald. Oswald was educated among the Scots and
spoke their language, as well as that of the Angles of North-
umbria. Bishop Aidan, when he first came into England, does
not appear to have understood the English language, Oswald
having had to act as his interpreter.
King Oswald appears to have been a man of distinguished virtue
and piety, and, according to the belief of that age, to have worked
many wonderful miracles. Unfortunately, neither his real virtues nor
his supposed miraculous powers were sufficient to preserve his own
life or kingdom. In the year 642, after a reign of nine years, his
dominions were again invaded by Penda., and as Bede informs us,
" Oswald was killed in a great battle, by the same pagan nation,
and pagan king of the Mercians, who had slain his predecessor
Eadwine." The place of his death is called in the English tongue
Maserfelde, which corresponds more nearly with Makerfield, in Lanca-
shire, than with any other place. The district is at the south-
western pass leading into Northumbria from Mercia, the kingdom
of Penda; and at the time of the Domesday survey there were
already lands and a church in the parish of Winwick, and dis-
trict of Makerfield, dedicated to St. Oswald. There is also an
inscription of great antiquity on the outside of the south -wall of
the parish church, in which the death of Oswald is stated to
have taken place in that district. In Penda's first invasion of
Northumbria he appears to have entered the kingdom by the
Roman road leading through Doncaster, and to have defeated and
slain King Eadwine on Hatfield Chase. In his second invasion he
seems to have entered Northumbria on the south-western frontier,
by the Roman road leading through the district of Makerfield,
and to have defeated King Oswald in the parish of Winwick, in
that district. We know from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, that
the rivers Mersey and Humber were the south boundaries of the
kingdom of Northumbria; and that Manchester, as well as Maker-
field, Warrington, and Winwick, were in that kingdom.
The Reign and Victories of King Oswy. After the death of
King Oswald, the throne of Northumbria was claimed by Oswin
the son of King Eadwine, who for seven years governed that part
of Northumbria which extends from the Humber to the Tyne.
But at the end of that period Oswin was dethroned and slain by
Oswy, the brother of Oswald, and son of Ethelfrid, who had been
succeeded by Eadwine.
PAST AND PRESENT. 373
King Oswy, or Oswig, which means in the Anglian language
the warlike hero, or the hero of Mars, appears to have been one
of the ablest and most prudent, as well as the most successful
chiefs of that age. To him belongs the honour of having finally
vanquished Penda, the last great heathen chief of the Anglian
race, who had destroyed in successive invasions his predecessors,
Eadwine and Oswald. For a while King Oswy appears to have
avoided a struggle with Penda by prudent concessions ; but at
length the insolence and the threats of the pagan chief became
so unbearable, that King Oswy collected all his forces and prepared
for a final struggle with Penda, who was advancing against him
at the head of an immense army, formed of his own forces and of
those of no less than thirty allied or tributary chiefs. The great
battle, which probably decided whether the kingdom of Northum-
bria should be Christian or Pagan, was fought in the district of
Loidis, or Leeds, in the year 655. " The engagement beginning,"
says Bede, " the pagans were defeated ; " the thirty commanders
and all those who had come to their assistance were put to flight,
and almost all of them slain. Amongst them were Penda him-
self and Ethelhere, brother and successor to Anna, king of the
East Angles, who had been the occasion of the war, and who was
now killed with all his soldiers. The battle was fought near the
river Winwed, which then with recent rains had not only filled
its channel, but overflowed its banks, so that many more of the
defeated army were drowned in flight than destroyed by the
sword. Some uncertainty exists as to the river which Bede
describes by the name of the Winwed, which means the battle
stream, or meadow; but he states that the war with Penda was
concluded in the country of Loidis, or Leeds, and it has been
generally assumed that the decisive battle was fought on Winmoor,
between the Aire and the Wharfe, and not far from Barwick-iu-
Elmet, where the Anglian kings had a royal residence.
Previous to the great battle which decided his own fate and
that of his army, King Oswy, according to the superstitions of
that time, devoted to perpetual virginity his infant daughter
Enfleda, who was scarce a year old. After his decisive victory
over Penda, he dedicated to the founding of monasteries twelve
portions of land, six of which were in the province of Deira,
between the Humber and the Tyne, and the other six in the
province of the Bernicians, to the north of the latter river. Each
374 YORKSHIRE :
of the said possessions, as Bede informs us, contained ten families,
that is, 120 in all. He does not inform us whether these were
families of freemen or serfs ; but from his language we should rather
infer that they were attached to the soil, and not altogether free.
Even previous to the invasion of Britain by the Angles a kind of
serfdom prevailed amongst the German tribes, which no doubt con-
tinued after their arrival in Britain. On this subject Tacitus says
in his "Germania," that "the other slaves are not employed after
our (the Roman) manner, with distinct domestic duties assigned to
them, but each one has the management of a house and home of
his own. The master requires from the slave a certain quantity of
grain, of cattle, and of clothing, as he would from a tenant; and this
is the limit of subjection. All other household functions are dis-
charged by the wife and children. To strike a slave, or to punish
him with bonds or with hard labour, is a rare occurrence. They
often kill them, not in enforcing strict discipline, but on the impulse
of passion, as they would an enemy, only it is done with impunity.
The freedmen (those who have been slaves) do not rank much above
slaves, and are seldom of any weight in the family, never in the state,
with the exception of those tribes which are ruled by kings. There
indeed they rise above the free born and the noble; elsewhere the
inferiority of the freedman marks the freedom of the state." These are
the sentiments of a Roman patrician and slave-owner, who " thought
it freedom when himself was free." They serve to show that there
were degrees in ancient slavery, and that that of the rude Germans
was not quite so hard as that of the polished Romans. A serfdom
or slavery of the kind described, in the first part of the above quo-
tation from Tacitus, as existing amongst the Germans, continued
to prevail amongst their Anglian or English descendants for many
hundred years after the adoption of Christianity in this country;
but it was mitigated in its spirit by the influence of Christianity,
and it finally disappeared, about three hundred years from the
present time, under the influence of religion, knowledge, and the
love of freedom.
The daughter of King Oswy, like the daughter of Jephtha, was
sacrificed to insure victory for her father, but the sacrifice was one
of freedom, and perhaps of happiness, not of life. The venerable
Bede gives the following brief account of her life and fortunes : :
" The aforesaid daughter of King Oswy, thus dedicated to God, was
put into the monastery called Heruteu (Hartlepool), or the Island
PAST AND PRESENT. 375
of the Hart, where at that time the Abbess Hilda presided; and two
years after, having acquired a possession of ten families at the place
called Streaneshalch, the Bay of the Lighthouse, (Whitby, in the
North Riding of Yorkshire), she built a monastery there, in which
the aforesaid king's daughter (Elfleda) was first a learner, and
afterwards a teacher, of monastic life. In that same monastery,
she and her father Oswy, her mother Ealfled, her brother's father
Edwin, and many other noble persons, are buried in the church of
the holy apostle Peter. King Oswy concluded the aforesaid war
in the district of Loidis (Leeds) in the thirteenth year of his reign,
on the 13th of November, to the great benefit of both nations; for
he both delivered his own people from the hostile depredations of
pagans, and having cut off the wicked king's (Penda's) head, con-
verted the Mercians and the adjacent provinces to the grace of the
Christian faith. " w
Before taking leave of the great civilizing event in the history
of the Angles of Northumbria, namely, the introduction of Chris-
tianity in the place of Heathenism, we ought briefly to mention the
names of three other eminent men who took part in bringing about
that result. We have already spoken of Paulinus, of Eadwine, and of
Oswald, and ought not to pass without notice the names of Aidan,
Chadd, and Coleman, three great teachers, all belonging to the
early Christian church of Britain. The Venerable Bede, though
he looked upon them with disapprobation, as members of a
church which differed in some respects from his own, has done
justice to their great qualities.
TJie Life and Character of Bishop Aidan. Aidan, the Scottish
bishop sent into Northumbria at the request of King Oswald, may
justly claim to share with Paulinus the title of the apostle of the
Angles. After the Christian religion, as introduced by Paulinus
amongst the Angles in the country lying to the north of the river
Humber, had for a time been extinguished by the ravages of the
pagan armies of Penda ; and after Paulinus himself had been com-
pelled to take refuge in the more peaceful regions of Kent, in which
kingdom he held the office of bishop of Rochester to the time of his
death Christianity slowly revived under the influence of King
Oswald and of Bishop Aidan, whom Oswald had introduced to
instruct his subjects of the Anglian race. Although Bede enter-
tained some prejudice against Aidan, on account of his refusal to
Bede, c. 24, p- 152.
376 YORKSHIRE :
follow the teaching of the Romish priests on the subject of the
keeping of Easter, he seems to have been greatly struck with the
noble character of the Scottish bishop. Of him he says : " I have
written thus much concerning the person and works of the aforesaid
Aidan, in no way commending or approving what he imperfectly
understood in relation to the observance of Easter ; but, like an
impartial historian, relating what was done by or with him, and
commending such things as are praiseworthy in his actions, and
preserving the memory thereof for the benefit of my readers :
namely, his love of peace and charity ; his continence and humility ;
his mind superior to anger and avarice, and despising pride and
vainglory ; his industry in keeping and teaching the heavenly com-
mandments ; his diligence in reading and watching ; his authority,
becoming a priest, in reproving the haughty and powerful ; and at
the same time, his tenderness in comforting the afflicted, and reliev-
ing or defending the poor. To say all in a few words, as near as
I could be informed from those who knew him, he took care to
omit none of those things which he found in the apostolical or
prophetical writings, but to the utmost of his power endeavoured to
perform them all."""
The Bishop Cedd or Chadd. After the death of Aidan, another
bishop of the Scottish race, named Cedd or Chadd, appears to have
been appointed as his successor. King Ethelwald, the son of King
Oswald, who reigned for a short time amongst the Deiri, or people
of the kingdom of Deira, which included the present counties of
York and Durham, finding him to be a holy, wise, and good man,
desired him to accept some land to build a monastery, to which the
king himself might frequently resort to offer his prayers and hear
the word of God, and where he might be buried when he died.
In consequence of this request he built a monastery, which in
Bede's time was named Lestingau, in the North Riding of York-
shire, and therein established the religious customs of Lindisfarne,
in which he had been educated. It is supposed that this monas-
tery was situate at Lastingham, in Cleveland. Dugdale says in his
"Monasticon," vol. i. p. 342, that it was situated in the deanery
of Rydale, at no great distance from Whitby. It was completely
ruined in the invasions of the Danes, in the year 870. "The
beautiful old Saxon church at Lastingham," remarks Mr. Steven-
son, in his edition of Bede's "Ecclesiastical History," "if not the
* Bede, Eccles. Hist. lib. iii. c. 17.
PAST AND PRESENT. 377
original building of Cedd, or his brother Chadd, is one of the
oldest churches in the kingdom." " When seeking for a situa-
tion," as Bede informs us, " Chadd chose himself a place to build
a monastery among ci-aggy and distant mountains, which looked
more like lurking-places for robbers and retreats of wild beasts,
than habitations for men." *
Bishop Coleman. After the death of Bishop Cedd, or Chadd,
Coleman became bishop of the Northumbrians. In his time, the
dispute between the Scottish and Romish priests about the mode
and time of keeping Easter, which had raged more or less fiercely
from the time of Augustine, again broke out. In the hope of
bringing the controversy to a close, King Oswy and his son Alfrid
called together a synod at the present town of Whitby, in York-
shire. After a long debate King Oswy and the synod came to the
conclusion that the followers of Augustine had made out the better
case, and gave the decision in their favour. The result was that
Coleman, the leading bishop of the Scots, " perceiving that his
doctrine was rejected and his sect despised, returned to Scotland,
carrying with him part of the bones of Aidan, but leaving part of
them in the church where he had resided, ordering them to be
interred in the sacristy."
The Eeign of King Egfrid, Oswy, king of the Northumbrians,
died in the year 670, in the fifty-eighth year of his age, and was
succeeded by his son Egfrid. In the eighth year of the reign of
Egfrid, or Ecefrid Eternal Peace, in the Anglian language
in the month of August appeared a comet, which continued
visible for three months, "rising in the morning and darting out,
as it were, a pillar of radiant flame." This seems to have been
thought ominous by some, as Bede informs us that in the same year
a dissension broke out between King Egfrid and the most reverend
prelate, Wilfrid; who was driven from his see, and two bishops
substituted in his stead, to preside over the nation of the North-
umbrians ; namely, Bosa to preside over the nation of the Deiri, and
Eatoe over that of the Bernicians. The former had his see in the
city of York, the latter in the church of Hagulstad, or Hexham, or
at Lindisfarne.t
Egfrid appears to have been an unfortunate prince, unhappy in
his marriage with a woman who seems to have been encouraged
by the priests in her worst follies, and whose strange and unnatural
* Bede's Eccles. Hist. lib. iii. c. 23. f Ibid, lib. iv. o. 12.
VOL. I. 3 U
378 YORKSHIRE :
history caused her to be an object of admiration to the priests,
by whom she was surrounded and misled during her life, and
almost canonized after her death.* Her husband also seems to
have been alike unfortunate in his life and death. Bede tells us
that " in the year of our Lord's incarnation 684, Egfrid, king of
the Northumbrians, sending Beort his general with an army into
Ireland, miserably wasted that harmless nation, which had always
been most friendly to the English, the invaders in their rage
sparing not even the churches and monasteries. The Irish to
the utmost of their power repelled force with force, and, imploring
the assistance of the Divine mercy, prayed long and fervently
for vengeance. Though such a curse," says Bede, "cannot possess
the kingdom of God, it is believed that those who were justly
cursed on account of their impiety did soon suffer the penalty of
their guilt. For the very same year, that same king rashly
leading his army to ravage the provinces of the Picts (that is, of
the Britons of Strathclyde), much against the advice of his friends,
and particularly of Cuthbert, of blessed memory, who had been
lately ordained bishop, the enemy made show as if they fled, and
the king was drawn into the straits of inaccessible mountains,
and slain, with the greatest part oi* his forces, on the 20th of
May, in the fiftieth year of his age, and the fifteenth of his reign. "t
After this great disaster, the kingdom of Northurnbria, with the
hopes and strength of the Anglian crown, began to waver and
retrograde ; for the Picts recovered their own lands, which had
been held by the English and the Scots that were in Britain,
and some of the Britons their liberty, which, says Bede, " they
have now enjoyed for about forty-six years. Among the many
English who then either fell by the sword or were made slaves,
or who escaped by flight out of the country of the Picts, was
the most reverent man of God, Trumwine, who had been made
bishop over them, and who withdrew with his people that were
in the monastery of Abercurnig (Abercorn) seated in the country
of the English, but close by the arm of the " sea which parts
the lands of the English and the Scots." J It would appear from
this passage of Bede, that in this age the kingdom of North-
urn bria extended from the Humber as far north as the river Forth.
Notwithstanding these and other misfortunes, the Northumbrian
kingdom seems to have enjoyed greater peace and happiness during
* Bede, Ecclos. Hist. lib. iv. c. 111. f Ibid. lib. iv. c 5. * Ibid. lib. iv. c. G.
PAST AND PRESENT. 379
the latter years of the life of the Venerable Bede (731-35),
than it had done at any previous time, and sanguine hopes were
then entertained of still happier times to come. Bede thus winds
up his great work in the latter years of his life, about 731 :
" In the province of the Northumbrians, where King Ceolwulf reigns,
four bishops now reside, Wilfrid, in the church of York; Ethelwald,
in that of Lindisfarne (or Holy Island) ; Acca, in that of Hagulstad
(or Hexham) ; Pechthelm, in that which is called White House, or
Whiterne (Candida casa), which, from the increased number of
believers, has lately become an episcopal see, and has him for its
first prelate. The Picts also (probably the Britons ol Strathclycle,
and of Western Scotland), at this time are at peace with the
English nation, and rejoice in being united in peace and truth
with the whole Catholic church. The Scots that inhabit Britain
(probably the Scottish Highlanders and Islanders), satisfied with
their own territories, meditate no hostility against the nation of
the English. The Britons (perhaps the British inhabitants of the
Cumbrian mountains, and the Welsh also of the British race),
though they for the most part, through innate hatred, are
adverse to the Anglian (or English) nation, and wrongfully and
from wicked custom, oppose the appointed Easter of the whole
Catholic church ; yet, from both a divine and human power
withstanding them, can in no way prevail as they desire ;
though, in part, they are their own masters (as in Cumbria
and Wales), yet, elsewhere, they are also brought under subjec-
tion to the English. Such being the peaceable and calm disposi-
tion of the times, many of the Northumbrians, as well of the
nobility as private persons, laying aside their weapons, rather
incline to dedicate both themselves and their children to the ton-
sure and monastic vows, than to study martial discipline. What
will be the end hereof the next age will show." The next age did
indeed show the consequence of laying aside the study of martial
discipline ; for in that age the Danes and other northern invaders
commenced their savage inroads into England, which continued,
almost without cessation, for upwards of three hundred years,
laying waste great part of the island, and introducing a new race
of men in that part of England which lies between the Humber
and the Tyne.
Having followed the first great historian of Northumbria, the
Venerable Bede, to this point, we shall now take up the annals
380 YORKSHIRE :
and the history of Simeon of Durham, who, like his predecessor,
was a native of the same kingdom, and who has brought down
the history of the northern districts of England from the time
when Bede concluded his history, which was about the year
735, to 1129, the twenty-ninth or thirtieth year of Henry I. But
before proceeding with the narrative of Simeon of Durham, it will
be well to give some account of the language, the literature, and
the arts of life of the Angles, or English, of Northumbria, whose
books and traditions contain the earliest contemporary accounts of
the English nation.
PAST AND PRESENT. 381
CHAPTER VII.
THE ANGLES OR EARLY ENGLISH IN YORKSHIRE.
The Habits, Occupations, Territorial Arrangements, Literature, and
Language of the Angles, or Earliest English, of Yorkshire, and the
other Provinces of Northumbria. Before narrating the events
which led to the overthrow of the Anglian power in the districts
now included in the county of York, and made the city of
Eboracum, to which the Angles gave the name of Eoforvic,""" the
military capital and the principal settlement of the Danes, the
Norwegians, and the other Scandinavian invaders of Britain, for a
period of more than two hundred years, it will be desirable that
we should give a brief account of the habits of life of our Anglian
ancestors; of the territorial divisions and arrangements which they
made in this part of the Northumbrian kingdom, for the purposes
of civil government; of the origin of Anglian or English literature,
poetry, and historical composition in Northumbria ; and of the
Anglian language, which is much the oldest dialect of the English
tongue of which we possess any written records. It is in the
words of this most ancient language that we find the explanation of
the origin and meaning of the names of persons and places in
Yorkshire, and the other northern districts, even to the present day:
and from its words and grammatical forms that we find how great was
the resemblance between the earliest modes of writing and speaking
the English language, and those dialects, now considered provincial,
which still exist in Yorkshire, in the other northern districts of Eng-
land, and even in the lowlands of Scotland. In the ages of which
we are writing, the Anglian language appears to have been spoken,
on the eastern side of Britain, from the river and estuary of the
Humber to the river and estuary of the Forth ; whilst the old
British language still held its ground in the whole of the moun-
tainous district included in the counties of Westmoreland and
Cumberland, and through great part of the south-western portion
* Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, vol. i. ,p. 15.
382 YORKSHIRE :
of Scotland, then still inhabited by the Picts of the ancient
British race.*
The Habits and Occupations of the Angles, or Earliest English.
One principal point in which the Angles and Saxons differed
from the Romans, and probably from the Romanized Britons, was
that their free population chiefly dwelt in forests or in the open
country, whilst the freemen of Rome and those trained under their
institutions were principally inhabitants of towns and cities, leaving
the rural districts to be cultivated by the labour of slaves. At
the time when Tacitus wrote his account of the Germanic tribes,
from whom the Angles sprang, they possessed neither towns nor
cities, but dwelt either in small villages, or in farm-houses or
cottages, on the banks of streams, on fertile plains, or in small
clearings, in their boundless forests. "It is well known," says
Tacitus, "that the nations of Germany have no cities; and they
do not even inhabit closely contiguous dwellings. They live
scattered and apart, just as a spring, a meadow, or a wood
has attracted them. Their villages they do not arrange in our
fashion, with the buildings connected and joined together, but
every person surrounds his dwelling with an open space, either
as a precaution against the disasters of fire, or because they do
not know how to build. No use is made by them of stone or
tile ; they employ timber for all purposes, rude masses Avithout
ornament or beauty."t This continued to be the case, both as
to their dwellings and their mode of building, to the time of the
Germanic invasion of Britain; for their buildings in early times were
scattered widely, and their name for building was " getimbring," or
putting together of timber. This was the case even after they
had learned the art of building with stone and lime. Thus we
are told in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, that the first church or
minster built by King Eadwine at York was formed of trees or
wood (getimbrian of treone) ; but that the larger minster which he
afterwards built was formed of stone (timbrian of stane)4 The
country life of England seems to have been chiefly formed by our
Anglian and Saxon ancestors, who dwelt in wooden houses, and
divided the land into what they called marks or districts, con-
structed small villages in most of those marks, and founded few
towns, although their chiefs and leading men generally established
* Bede's Ecclesiastical History, b. 3. c. 7. f C. Cornell! Taciti Germania, c. 16.
| The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, vol. i. p. 43; edited by Benjamin Thorpe, 1861.
PAST AND PRESENT. 383
their courts and seats of justice in the ancient deserted cities,
from which the Romans had retired, and the Britons had been
expelled. To the present time a considerable portion of the
towns and cities of Britain bear names which are clearly either
of Roman or British origin ; whilst nearly all the villages, of
which thousands existed at the time when the Domesday Survey
was made hundreds of which have since become towns in the
modern sense retain for the most part the names given to them
by the Angles, by the Saxons, or by the Danes, the last of whom
were also, to a considerable extent, a people of rural habits
though with a strong leaning to nautical life.
The Towns and Villages founded by the Angles in Yorkshire.
The great majority of the names of places in Yorkshire are of
Anglian or Teutonic origin. This is especially the case in the
interior of the county, and throughout nearly the whole of the
West Riding. In the districts along the sea-coasts, both of the
East and the North Riding, and along the Humber and other navi-
gable rivers, a large portion of the names of places are of Danish
or Scandinavian origin. But the Anglian names, even in the East
and North Ridings, are numerous, and are of greater antiquity
than the names given to the same places by the Danes. Thus
the old Anglian name of Whitby was Streaneshalh (supposed to
mean the Lighthouse, or the Bay of the Lighthouse), in the
time of the. Venerable Bede, though that name was afterwards
changed to Whitby (or the White ton or town) by the Danes,
who settled on the Yorkshire coast a hundred years after the
time of Bede. Many other changes of name, either entire or
partial, took place in the same age, and from the same cause ; but
the Anglian or Germanic language is still the foundation of the
greater part of the Yorkshire names of places. We have already
traced the origin of such of the Yorkshire names of persons and
places as appear to be derived from the old British language, which
greatly resembled the Welsh and the Gaelic of the present day;*
and in the course of this and succeeding chapters, after giving
a general account of the Anglian or English language, as it existed
in the present Yorkshire more than a thousand years ago, we shall
show the roots from which a considerable portion of the names of
persons once celebrated in this district, and of those of many of the
See List of " Celtic, Roman, and Greek Words found in the Names of Persons and Places, in the Terri-
tory of the Brigantes, of which the Present Yorkshire was a part," p. 310, vol. i. of this work.
384 YORKSHIRE :
towns and villages founded in the early Anglian times, and which
are still in existence, were probably derived.
The Anglian Tun, or Town, and the Township which sprang
from it. The Anglian and Saxon word tun, or tun, expanded
by modern usage into town, is said to be a sort of test word by
which we may distinguish Anglian and Saxon settlements.""" This
seems to be the case. But it is very remarkable that this word
ton, or town, which is so frequent in England, is scarcely found
at all in any part of Germany, as the name of a place, though it was
introduced into England by German settlers and conquerors. The
original meaning of the word ton, or town, appears to have
been very much the same as that in which it is still used in the
country districts, in the north of England and in the south of
Scotland, where it means a farm-steading, or inhabited inclosure,
frequently containing only one, two, or three houses. Sir Walter
Scott, in describing the residence of the famous Dandie Dinmont,
says : " Descending by a path towards a well-known ford, Dumple
crossed the small river, and then quickening his pace, trotted about
a mile briskly on its banks, and approached two or three low
thatched houses, placed with their angles to each other, with a great
contempt of regularity. This was the farm-steading of Charlie's-
hope, or, in the language of the country, 'the Town." + Writing
on this word, the Rev. Isaac Taylor, the learned author of " Words
and Places," says: "The primary meaning of the suffix 'ton' is
to be found in the Gothic 'tains,' the old Norse 'teinn,' and the
Frisian ' tene,' all of which mean a twig, or measuring rod, a sig-
nification which survives in the phrase the ' tine ' of a fork. We
speak also of the tines, as stags' horns. In modern German we find
the word ' tzaun,' a hedge, aud in the Anglo-Saxon we have the verb
'tynan,' to hedge. Hence a 'tun,' or 'ton,' was a place surrounded
by a hedge, or rudely fortified by a palisade. Originally it meant
only a single croft, a homestead or farm; and the word kept this
meaning in the time of Wycliffe. He translates Matthew xxii. 5 :
' But thei dispiseden, and wenten forth, oon into his toun (agros),
another to his merchandise.'" This usage is still retained in Scot-
land, where a solitary farm-stead goes by the name of "the toun;"
arid in Iceland, where the homestead, with its girdling wall, is called
* Words and Places, or Etymological Illustrations of History, Ethnology, and Geography, by the Rev. Isaac
Taylor, M.A., p. 126.
t The Waverley Xovels, Guy Mannering, or the Astrologer, by Sir Walter ScUt, Bart.
PAST AND PRESENT. 385
a tun. In the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle we are told that when
Ida, the first king of Northumbria, landed at Bebbanburh, or
Eamborough, the position was surrounded by him, first with a
hedge or wooden fence, and afterwards with a wall; or in the
words of the original, " seo was arost mid hegge betyned, and
thar after mid walle."'""
The number of names of places ending in ton, or town, still
existing in Yorkshire is upwards of 450, and in many instances a
ton, or town, which originally contained half a dozen persons,
has increased in population until it contains from 10,000 to
20,000, or even 100,000 inhabitants. In Germany, where there
was in those remote ages no permanent private property in land,
owing to the immense extent of uninclosed ground, at the disposal
of any one who chose to raise crops upon it, and where, even in
modern times, it is very difficult to raise thorn hedges, owing to
the severity of the winter frosts, there were and are few inclo-
sures. But in England, where growing fences are easily formed
and preserved, and where the whole quantity of land is small and
its value great, the numerous tribes of German invaders, who con-
tended with the native Britons for the possession of the soil, soon
began to form inclosures on the conquered land and in the primeval
forests, to which they gave the name of tons, or towns, meaning
inclosures. These spread over the whole of England and of the
lowlands of Scotland.
The Township. The township naturally arose out of the town,
including the town itself and a portion of the surrounding lands.
At a very early age the township became an area of local gov-
ernment, and was used in combining the efforts of the people for
the opening and upholding of roads, and for other useful and
necessary purposes. The number of townships in Yorkshire at
the middle of the present century amounted to many hundreds, most
of which have probably existed from the early Anglian period.
The Parish, and the uncertainty as to the time at wliich it was
introduced into England. The division into parishes is of still
greater antiquity; but it originated with the Greeks and Romans,
and it is rather uncertain whether it was introduced into Britain
by the Romans, when they conquered this country, or whether it
was established at the time when the Christian religion was first
organized in England. Parishes, and parishioners described as
* Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, vol. i. p. 28.
VOL. I. 3 C
386 YORKSHIRE
paroclii, are mentioned by the poet Horace, in the amusing
account that he has left of his journey from Rome to Brundusium,
made in the time of Augustus. As he was accompanied by
Maecenas, and by some of the friends of Marc Antony, and made
the journey for a public purpose, he and his friends claimed sup-
plies of firewood and salt from the paroclii, at the places at which
they stopped, to rest or revel for the night.""" These payments of
the parochi seem to have been those of a small district, for
public purposes; and it is very probable that the Romans may have
introduced this division of territory after they had conquered Britain.
But there is no positive evidence of this; and it is quite possible
that the name and division of parish may have been introduced
by some of the followers of St. Augustine the Monk, after the
establishment of Christianity in England. Parish, in its present
form, has a slightly French or Norman sound; but the parochi
mentioned by Horace originated either with the Greeks or the
Romans; and the word "paroisse" is merely a French translation
of a Greek or Latin word. Camden states in his " Britannia"
that there were over 104 parishes, besides chapelries, in Yorkshire,
in the time of Queen Elizabeth. t
The Anylian Mark. The mark was one of the oldest territorial
divisions of our Anglian ancestors. Originally the term mark
was applied to the lands of a small sept or tribe ; but it ultimately
came to be applied to the boundaries of considerable kingdoms,
as in the case of Denmark, and of Mercia, or the Markland,
on the southern border of Northumbria, the present Yorkshire.
These boundaries, whether large or small, were watched and
guarded with the greatest care; they were marked, wherever it
was possible, by some natural object, as the stream of a river
or brook, a deep ravine, a lofty rock, a large tree (cut and
marked), and where there was no natural obstacle, by heaps
of stones, piles of wood, mounds of earth, deep ditches, and
other conspicuous objects. The removing of a landmark was,
is, and ever will be, regarded as a crime. In the poems of
Crcdmon, which were written at Whitby about the middle of the
seventh century, and which form the oldest work in the English
language, the mark or, as it was then written, the "mearc," is
frequently mentioned. He also mentions " mearc-land," as the
border-land, and "mearc weards/'J as guards appointed specially to
* Horatius, Sat. i. lib. v. f Camden's Britannia, p. 589 ; edition 1599. % Csedmon's Poems, p. 181.
PAST AND PRESENT. 387
watch a frontier or other boundary. Amongst the places in York-
shire erected on or in ancient marks we may mention Markington,
Friesmark (the mark of the Frisians), and perhaps Marton, Marston,
Marsden, all of which names are believed to preserve the memory
of ancient Anglian marks. The names mentioned in Domesday
Book which appear to preserve the recollection of the Yorkshire
marks are : Merchfield, Merchinton, Merchintone, Merse, Merse
Parva, Mersche, Mersetone, Mersintone, and Merstone.* Some of
these names may also mean a marsh ; but that, too, was a frequent
mark or boundary.
The Anglian Ga, or Gau, and the English Shire. Another
most ancient division was that of the ga, which originally
meant an extensive district of country governed by an officer
named the ga-reeve, or garefa, as the word was then written
by Csedmon and other early writers, t The ga-reeve was the
steward of the king in the district, managed his revenues, and
carried out the decisions of the courts of justice. He was, in fact,
what the high sheriff has been, since England was divided into
shires, and in old documents the sheriff is often called the garefa.
The division of the ga was much older than that of the shire ;
and at one time prevailed throughout England, as it still prevails
on the Continent, in the case of the Rhingau, Aargau, and the
innumerable other " gaus " of Germany and Switzerland. The
name scarcely remains in this part of England, though it is pro-
bably found, in slightly altered form, in the name of Thurgoland,
or the ga of the lands of Thor, the most formidable of the gods
of our pagan ancestors, in the south-west of Yorkshire ; and in Las-
tingau, the gau of some now forgotten tribe, whose chief ham,
or home, was at Lastingham in Cleveland, in the north-eastern
division of the county. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle mentions, that,
in a great insurrection in the kingdom of Northumbria, in the year
778, three " heah-garefas," or as we should say, three high sheriffs,
were slain ; and also that in the following year the surviving
"heah-garefas" rose and put to death the earl, or ealdorman, of
the same district.
The English Schire. -The Shire, or as it was called in the
Northumbrian provinces, the Skyre, has been a familiar word
from very early tunes, meaning, in' its original form, merely a
share or division of territory. Some of the present names of the
Domesday Book, fol. 302o, 303, 303, 303a, 322, 329o, 3034, 329<i. f Common's Poems, p 131.
388 YORKSHIRE :
English shires existed before the time of Alfred the Great, and
others, were formed by him, his son Edward the Elder, and
his grandson Athelstane. This does not, however, seem to have
been the case with Eoforwicshire or Yorkshire, which is not
mentioned by its present name until near the time of the Norman
conquest ; or with Lancashire, which is not mentioned by that
name before the reign of Henry II. But some of the smaller
divisions, which are now only hundreds or wapentakes, seem
to have been called shires in very early times. Thus we have
Skyrack, or the Shireoak, in the West Riding, which seems to
belong to a very early period, both shire and oak being found,
in their earliest forms, in the name of the wapentake of Skyrack.
The people residing in Yorkshire, in their collective capacity,
seem to have been known from the earliest Anglian times by
the names of Eoforwicingas, or inhabitants of York. The names
of Eoforwicshire, Euerwicshire, and finally of Yorkshire, t came
into use before or about the time of the Norman conquest.
Symeon of Durham, writing in the Latin language, uses also the
word, Eborasciseira.
The Anglian Ceastres and the Danish Casters. Ceastre, pro-
bably pronounced Keastre (being derived from the Roman
casirum), was the name by which cities were described by the
Angles in the time of Csedmon, about A.D. 670.J We find from
the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle that the city of York was sometimes
called Eoforwic-Ceastre, or Ceastre only, by pre-eminence, to dis-
tinguish it from other places, and especially from other Roman
encampments in the district. It is probable that Doncaster was
called by nearly its present name, both by the Angles and the
Danes, though caster is a decidedly Danish rendering of castrum.
The Anglian Burhs, or Boroughs. But the principal name
employed by the Angles, or earliest English, in describing large
or strong towns or cities, was burh, sometimes altered into
burgh, and byrig, and ultimately into the more familiar form
of borough. Thus we have in CaBdmon, "burh-stede," as the
place on which a borough or burh stood; "burh-leod," as the
people of a borough ; " burh-wearde," as the keeper of a borough ;
" burh-geate," as the gate of a borough ; and " burh-faesten,"
as the fastenings or fortifications of a borough. Frequently,
* Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, vol. i. pp. 192, 193. f Symeon of Durham, vol. i. pp. 155, 157, 221, and 222.:
J Caedmon's Poems, p. 100. Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, vol. i. pp. 63, 89, 95.
PAST AND PRESENT. 389
however, the word burh, a borough, is now confounded with
beorh, a hill or mountain, as in the case of Ingleborough, Rhos-
bury ; and sometimes with the word burh, meaning a company
or clan bound to each other. Csedmon, however, never does so.
Thus he speaks of a " beorh-hlither," or a mountain height; and of
" maeg-burh," or a clan or kindred. Most of the following places
still bearing the name of burh, burg, or borough, meaning a
fortress or place of strength, must have been of some consequence,
at least as military positions, soon after Yorkshire was first peopled
by the English race. In the West Riding we find Aldborough,
the old Roman Isurium, and in that parish is Boroughbridge, or
the bridge of the borough; Almondbury, is said to be the successor
of the Roman Cambodunum, and probably the meaning of this word
is the " all-protecting or well protected fortress," from the Anglian
words al, mund, and burh. Barmbrough, in the same parish; Burg
Wallis, the hill or fortress of the Welsh, or ancient Britons,
in Burgh Wallis parish ; Conisbrough, or the King's borough, in
Conisbrough parish ; Worsbrough, in Darfield parish ; Barough
or the borough, or hill, in Darton parish; Kexborough, perhaps
from the word keck or bold, in Darton parish ; Dewsbury, either
from the British word Diu, God, or the Anglian word Tiu,
Tuesco, one of the Teutonic gods; Goldsborough, in Goldsborough
parish ; the lofty Inglebrough where there are clear marks of
ancient fortifications ; Knaresborough, or the tribe's fortress, from
the Anglian word cneoris, a tribe, in Knaresborough parish ;
Mexborough, or the union of the family or clan, which in the
Anglian language was maeg-burh, in Mexborough parish ; Greas-
brough, or the grassy hill, in Rotherham parish ; Sedbergh, or the
broad or firm hill or fortress, in Sedbergh parish ; Stainbrough, or
the stone hill or fortress, in Silkstone parish; Thrybergh, probably
the third fortress on the Anglian frontier, in Thrybergh parish ; and
Horbury, the hord or treasure burh, in Wakefield parish.
In the East Riding the following places include burh, burgh,
or borough, in their names : Aldbrough, in Aldbrough parish,
which like the Aldbrough already mentioned, marks it as the site
of an old fortification, even in the time of the Angles ; Flam-
borough, the hill of flame, or of the lighthouse, in Flamborough
parish, the most conspicuous object on the Yorkshire coast, with
many marks of ancient fortifications; Hemingbrough, in Heming-
brough parish; Londesbrough, or the Landsburh, in Londes-
390 YORKSHIRE :
brough parish ; Scorborough, perhaps the burh of the scur, storm,
or tempest, in Scorborough parish ; Brough, the burh, or the hill ;
and Bilbrough, probably the fortress of the bill, beil, or battle-axe,
in Bilbrough parish.
The number of burhs, burgs, or boroughs in the North Riding
is also considerable. Amongst these is Brough in Catterick parish,
no doubt built from the old ruins of the Roman Cataracton; New-
brough, in Coxwold parish ; Thornbrough, in Kilvington parish ;
Barugh, or the hill or fortress, in Kirby Misperton parish ; Brecken-
brough, or the hill of the brackens or ferns, or, perhaps, of the
broken land, in Kirkby Wiske parish ; Middlesborough, or the
middle fortress, now a parliamentary borough, and a flourishing
town ; Scarborough, the hill or fortress of the scar or cliff, now
the queen of watering-places, which however, probably received the
present form of its name from the Danes or Norwegians ; Corn-
brough, the high sheriff's storehouse, in Sheriff Hutton parish ;
Aldbrough, in Stanwick, St. John's parish, another place of great
antiquity, on the stoneway or Roman road ; and Guisbrough, the
castle of which is said to have been built by an Earl Guy in Nor-
man times, though the name seems to be much older.
Most of the places above named stand either on lofty hills, or on
elevated grounds, and some of them may have been named from
that circumstance alone; but the Anglian burh was a place inhabited,
fenced, and inclosed, and many of the burhs above named are still
amongst the chief places of the districts in which they stand.
The Anglian Wics, or Military Stations. The numerous places
whose names terminate in wic, derive that portion of their name
from having been the sites of camps, or permanent military
stations, during the early ages of the Anglian occupation of what
now forms the territory of Yorkshire. This we learn from the
pages of Caedmon, who was a contemporary witness of the events
of that time, and who informs us that the meaning of the old
English word " wicigean " was to encamp an army. Thus, after
describing the march of the children of Israel out of Egypt, he
informs us that they were ordered by their illustrious chief, and
the direction of God, to encamp, or as the original Anglian
expresses it, "wicigean.""' He subsequently speaks of the third
station of the army as the " thridda wic," or third encampment, t
and soon after, at the close of the day or journey, he states
* Csedmon, p. 181. f Cffidmon, p. 183.
PAST AND PRESENT. 391
that a camp for the army arose, or as he expresses it in the
original, "fyrd-wic aras."*
Of all the camps or wics of Yorkshire, the most distinguished
was that of Eoforwic or York, the great military capital of the
Anglian capital of Northumbria. The termination wic in this
name is manifestly Anglian, being substituted for the syllables
acum, in the Roman word Eboracum. The efor is also probably
an Anglian variation of the Roman syllables ebor. But there
may have been an accidental, or possibly an intentional, play
upon words in the substitution of efor for ebor. Efor, as well as
ebor, was the Anglian name for the wild boar, which was dedicated
by the Angles to their god of war, whom they called Wig, and
the wild boar was considered to be especially under his protection.
In using the word Eoforwic the Angles may possibly have intended
to speak of it as the camp of the Wild Boar ; and as a place under
the especial protection of their god of war.
The number of camps or wics spread over the county of York
was large ; and with regard to some of them it is easy to see
what was the origin of the name.
In the West Riding, taking them in their alphabetical order, we
ancient Anglian language means a place of sacrifice, and is repeat-
find Adwick-le-street and Adwick-upon-Dearne. The ad in the
edly mentioned by Caedmon with that meaning, as in the syllables
Adfyr,* the first being the ad, or altar, and the second the fire
blazing upon it, in the case of the offered sacrifice of the youthful
Isaac by Abraham.! The next is Appletreewick, or the camp of the
appletree. Then comes Austwick, or the eastern camp. This is
followed by Barnoldswick, or the camp of Barnold. The name of
Barwick-in-Elmett probably means the barred or fortified camp, in
the elmtree wood, the word bar being used, in this case, in the
same sense in which it is employed in that of Bootham Bar and
Micklegate Bar at York. Cowick probably means the camp of the
cow or cows. Fenwick is perhaps named from the then adjoining
fens. Giggleswick, for which we cannot find any meaning in its
present form, is perhaps Gieselwick, the camp of the gushing water.
The syllable el is occasionally introduced to improve the sound,
as in Heidelburg. The two Hardwicks probably mean the steep
or lofty camps. Keswick East probably derives its name from the
German word kies (gravel) ; and Professor Phillips is of opinion
* Ctrdmon, pp. 173, 203. f Cscdnion, p. 185.
392 YORKSHIRE :
that the name Hessle is derived from kiesel, which means a
flint. Kildwick means the camp of the spring or fountain, kild or
kelde being translated fons, a fountain, by Sjmeon of Durham.
Nunwick probably means the camp of the nuns ; and Westwick
the western camp. Wixley is merely the field of the camp, or
wic. Heckmondwike probably means the camp of Egmond, an
Anglian chief mentioned by Symeon of Durham.
It is important to keep in mind the difference between the Ang-
lian word wic, a camp, and the Norse or Danish word vie, a bay
or gulf, which is an entirely different word, though they are both
found in many places in Yorkshire. In general the former of these
words is still written wick, in Yorkshire names, whilst the latter,
vie, is now generally written wike or wyke. The wics are also
usually found in the interior, whilst the vies are of course found
along the sea coast.
In the East Riding we find several examples both of the wic
and of the wike or vie. Amongst the former Beswick, Burstwick,
and also probably Catwick, belong to this class of names. Elstron-
wick is probably the camp of the holtster, the name given by the
Angles to a cavern overgrown with trees. Kilnwick, as well as
Kilnwick Percy in the West Riding, are most likely both named
from kilds, or springs of water. Welwick is the camp of the well
or spring.
In the interior of the North Riding, in which the greater part of
the old villages were renamed by the Danes, the number of places
ending with the Anglian word wic is small; whilst the number of
places along the sea coast ending with the Danish termination vie,
now turned into wike, is very large. Amongst the Anglian wicks
are Oswaldwick or Oswald's wic or camp ; Butterwick ; Earswick,
probably Eas or the Aaterwick; Holwick, or the camp in the hollow;
and Stanwick, or the camp on the stone or Roman road, which ran
a mile or two east of Stanwick. These appear to have been the
most celebrated of the permanent camps formed by the Angles in
the present territory of Yorkshire.
The Ridings, Wapentalf.es, and Hundreds. The shire of York, being
too large to be administered as a whole, was divided into third
parts or Thridings, corrupted afterwards into Ridings. The meaning
of the name was well known down to the time of the Norman
conquest, one of the Ridings, the North, being spoken of as a
Riding, or Triding, in Domesday Book.
PAST AND PRESENT. 393
The word wapentake is of Anglian origin, and means a district in
which the people were organized to take arms, when summoned to
do so by their kings or their local chiefs. The names of most of
the Yorkshire wapentakes are older than the Danish invasion,
and most of them are derived from Anglian or English roots.
The wapentakes or hundreds were more numerous before the
Norman conquest than they are now; but the greater part of the
names of the ancient wapentakes are still preserved, either in
those of the modern wapentakes, or in those of the lieutenancy
divisions, which were formed, though in a very much later age,
for the purpose of organizing the military forces of the crown in
each of the three lord-lieutenancies of the county. We shall give
the modern names of the wapentakes of the three Ridings ; the
names of all the Yorkshire wapentakes, as written in the Domes-
day Survey, A.D. 1084-86; and those of the modern lieutenancy
divisions, made in a much later age, but for the same pur-
pose. Even the ancient names, though now gone out of use, throw
light on the early organization of the county for civil and military
purposes.
The Wapentakes of Yorkshire. The origin of the names of most
of the Yorkshire wapentakes is very evident, and most of them
belong to the Anglian period. There are a few, however, which
belong to the age of the Danes ; and one or two may belong to the
still later times of the Normans. Taking them in their alphabetical
order they are as follows :
The Ainsty of York we may take first. In the Domesday Sur-
vey it is described as the Ainesti or Einesti wapentake. It derives
its name from the circumstance of its standing ana, ein, or alone.
Agbrigg (West Biding) in the Domesday Survey is Hagebrige, which,
like Agbrigg, means the oak bridge. Allerton (North Riding)
spelt Alvertone in Domesday, is named from North Allerton, the
town of the alder trees. Barkston Ash (West Riding) appears in
the Domesday Survey as Barcheston, Barchestone, Borchesire, and
Borgesire. There is no mention in Domesday of the ash tree,
which has since become part of the name of the district. All the
names of this wapentake, given above, mean the ton, town, or
inclosure, of the birch tree. Buckrose (East Riding) does not
appear in Domesday. It may be named from some famous hoc
or beech tree ; or possibly, from the rising of the buck, in some
great hunting party. Birdforth does not appear in Domesday ;
VOL. I. 3D
394; YORKSHIRE :
but probably means the bird's ford. Bulmer (North Biding)
is given in Domesday as Bolesford, which means the bull's ford,
as Bulmer means the bull's mere. The name of Claro (West Hiding)
does not appear in Domesday. It is probably derived from the
Norman French clairaux, or the clear waters ; all the streams
of that district flowing over rocks or pebbles, and being beautifully
clear and bright. Dickering (East Riding) appears in Domesday
Book, under the short title of Die wapentake ; and is probably
derived from the dykes or drains which had already begun to
be constructed. Derwent (East Riding) does not appear, either
with or without the Ouse, in Domesday Survey. The name is
evidently derived from the river Derwent, which flows through
it. Ewecross (West Riding) is not mentioned in Domesday. It
either means the ewe's cross or the yew-tree cross. Gilling East
(North Riding) and Gilling West (North Riding) are both of them
mentioned in Domesday. They derive their name from Gilling
Castle, which was a very strongly fortified castle of Alen, the first
earl of Richmond, and of his successors in after times. Halikeld
(North Riding) appears in Domesday as Halichelde, or the holy
kelde or spring. The wapentakes of Hang East (North Riding)
and Hang West (North Riding), mean the eastern and western
dependencies or ranges. Harthill (East Riding) is not mentioned in
Domesday; it no doubt means the hill of the hart. Neither is
Howdenshire (East Riding) mentioned in Domesday, the name of
that district being at that time derived from its caves. Howden
is merely an abbreviation of Hovenden, or the high valley. Lang-
bargh (North Riding) is spelt Langeberg-vel-Langeberige wapen-
take, in Domesday Survey, which means a long hill, or chain of hills.
Morley (West Riding) is written Moreleia in Domesday, and pro-
bably means the field of the mor, or moor. Osgoldcross is spelt
Osgotcross in Domesday. These names either mean Oswaldscross,
or the cross of the hero's (Os) god, or the hero's gold cross. We
suspect the first to be the correct mode of spelling the word, and
greatly prefer it, as it retains the name of the noble Oswald. But
custom has fixed the last. Ouse wapentake (East Riding) is given
singly, without the Derwent, in the Domesday Survey, and is
always spelt Hase in Domesday, to the great discredit of the Nor-
man scribe who could thus miswrite the fine old name of the river
Ouse. Pickering Lythe (North Riding) is the only place in York-
shire which bears the name of a lythe; but that term occurs in
PAST AND PRESENT. 395
some of the southern counties, where it has the same meaning as
wapentake or hundred. In this case it is named after the town and
castle of Pickering ; but there is no mention of the Pickering Lythe
in Domesday Book. Ryedale (North Riding), the dale or valley of
the river Rye, is not mentioned by that name in Domesday. Sky-
rack (West Riding) is mentioned in Domesday as Siraches. It
evidently means the shire oak, which, according to tradition, was
either the ancient tree at Headingley, of which some remains still
exist, or an older oak growing near the same spot, from which the
present tree may have derived its name, and probably its germ.
Staincliffe appears in Domesday, in the form of Staingrif. Its
meaning evidently is the stone cliff. Staincross appears in Domes-
day almost without any change, as Stancros. Strafforth (West
Riding) appears in Domesday as Strafordes; but without any men-
tion of Tickhill, which was first a great Anglian castle and was
afterwards much strengthened by its Norman lords. The meaning
of the word Strafforth is the same as that of Stafford, Stratford, and
several other places which are named from the fact of the Roman
road, the street or stratum, running through the district, and cross-
ing the ford of its principal river, or perhaps from the British word
fyrd, a road. Whitby Strand (North Riding) is the strand or
shore of Whitby. It is not mentioned by that name in Domesday,
though there was an alderman, or earl, and a borough-reeve in the
town and neighbourhood, 100 years before the Danes gave it
the name of Whitby, and about 400 years before the Norman
conquest.
Cleveland (North Riding) is not mentioned as a wapentake in
the Domesday Survey, but it is spoken of by Symeon of Durham, in
his account of events which occurred hundreds of years earlier, under
the name of Cleaveland, Cliveland, and Clyveland.* Cleveland was
probably too extensive to be united into one wapentake. Its name
is, of course, derived from the cliffs and slopes, which form so strik-
ing a portion of its fine scenery.
Craven (West Riding) is repeatedly mentioned in Domesday Book
as a district, but not as a wapentake or hundred. The name of this
beautiful and interesting district is derived from the Anglian name,
Screfan, for the wonderful caves which are found at so many places
in its mountain limestone rocks. These caves were amongst the last
places of refuge of the unfortunate Britons, when they were driven
Syraeon of Durham, vol. i. pp. 28, 87, 104, 258, 261, 2G6n.
396 YORKSHIRE :
into the mountains, rocks, and caverns, by the victorious Angles.
Numerous remains of the Romanized Britons and of their con-
querors have been found in the caves of Craven and Ribblesdale
during the last few years, of which we shall speak more fully when
we describe the district of Craven in detail, in a subsequent part
of this work. We may mention now, however, that the ancient
Anglian name for caves or caverns was screfan a name which
occurs, almost in its original form, in that of the parish of
Scriven, near Knaresbrough, and in the Scraftun mentioned in
Domesday Book ; and no doubt in the name of the great district of
the caves, though there softened down into Craven. Csedmon, the
Anglian and Yorkshire poet, writing in the seventh century, uses,
this word repeatedly in his poems. Thus he speaks of an ever open
den as "open ece scraef ;"* of a dreary den, as "atole scref."t This
latter expression he employs three times ; and he afterwards speaks
of the "hate scraef," or the hot den. In the name of Scriven the
s and c are both retained, whilst in that of Craven the s has
gradually, or perhaps suddenly, been dropped to please, it may be,
the Norman scribe.
The district of Holderness (East Riding) is mentioned in Domes-
day as Heldernesse. This ancient name is derived by Professor
Phillips and other writers from the three words hohl, deir, and
nesse, meaning the promontory of the hollow lands of Deira. The
derivation of the first and third of these syllables is evident, and
that of the second syllable is very probable; for we are informed,,
both by the Venerable Bede and by Symeon of Durham, that the
cell of St. John of Beverley stood in Deira Wudu, or the forest of
Deira, which then covered a great part of the East Riding. The
Ness or Promontory belongs to the old Norse, or ancient Nor-
wegian language. The name of Driffield is also supposed, by the
same accomplished writer, to be a contraction of Deira-field, or the
field of Deira.
Hallam, but not Hallamshire (West Riding), is mentioned in
Domesday Book. It is a name of great antiquity, and is very
frequently spoken of in early times.
The following names of wapentakes or hundreds which have
now gone out of use are mentioned in Domesday Book: Burton
hundred, Cave hundred, Drifel or Drifield hundred, Gerlestre
wapentake, Hacle hundred, Huntou hundred, Maneshou wap-
* Ciedmon's Poems, pp. 266, 2C9, 272. f Ibid- P 26G.
PAST AND PRESENT.
397
entake, Mith hundred, Nort hundred, Poclinton hundred, Scard
hundred, Sneculfcros hundred, Torbar hundred (otherwise spelt
Turbar), Toreshou hundred, Uth hundred, Warte hundred, Welle-
ton hundred, and Wicstou hundred. Some of these names, now
almost forgotten, are of Danish origin, and will be spoken of in a
subsequent chapter. Most of them seem to have been changed or
dropt soon after the Norman conquest.
THE MODERN NAMES OF THE YOEKSHIEE WAPENTAKES.
West Riding.
East Riding.
North Riding.
Ainsty.
Buckrose.
Allerton.
Agbrigg.
Dickering.
Birdforth.
Barkston Ash.
Harthill.
Bulmer.
Claro.
Holderness.
Gilling, East.
Morley.
Howdenshire.
Gilling, West.
Osgoldcross.
Ouse and Derwent.
Halikeld.
Skyrack.
Hang, East.
Staincliffe and Ewe-
Hang, West.
cross.
Langbargh.
Staincross.
Pickering Lythe.
Strafforth and Tick- |
Ryedale.
hill.
Whitby Strand.
It is stated in the laws of Edward the Confessor that "York-
shire (Eurwichescire), Lincolnshire (Nicholescire), Nottinghamshire,
Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, and as far as Watling Street,
and seven miles beyond Watling Street, were under the law of
the Angles, and what others called Hundreds the above-named
counties call Wapentakes."""
The Gilds and Fridborhs of Yorkshire. A further subdivision
of this and other counties, which existed in ancient times, was
that of gylds, or tithings, within which each man became a pledge
or surety, both to his fellow men and to the state, for the main-
tenance of the public peace and the observance of the laws. On
this subject one of the laws of Edward the Confessor states as
follows :- " Another peace, the greatest of all there is, whereby
all are maintained in firmer state, to wit, in the establishment of
a guarantee, which the English call Frithborgas, or Fridborgas,
with the exception of the men of York, who call it Tenmannetale,
that is, the number of the men, namely, ten. And it consists
in this, that in the vills throughout the kingdom all men are
bound to be in a guarantee by tens, so that if one of the ten men
offend, the other nine may hold him to right. But if he should
Lappenberg's " England tinder the Anglo-Saxon Kings," vol. i. p. 90.
398 YORKSHIRE :
flee, and they allege that they could not have him to right, then
there should be given them by the king's justice a space of at least
thirty days and one ; that if they could find him they might bring
him to justice. But if, within the aforesaid term, he could not
be found, since in every Frithborh there was one headman whom
they called Frithborh Heved, then this headman should take two
of the best men of his Frithborh, and the headman of each of
the three Frith borhs, most nearly neighbouring to his own, and
likewise two of the best in each if he can have them ; and so
with the eleven others he shall, if he can, clear both himself and
his Frithborh, both of the offence and flight of the aforesaid male-
factor, which if he cannot do, he shall restore the damage done out
of the property of the doer so long as this shall last, and then out of
his own and out of his Frithborh ; and they shall make amends
to the justice according as it shall be by law adjudged them.""""
The Hams, or Homes, of the Anglian Tribes. There are up-
wards of one hundred places in Yorkshire, the names of which
terminate with the syllable ham ; and there are many hundred
places, in different parts of England, which have the same ter-
mination. This termination also occurs in many German names
of places, only altered to heim ; and in some Frisian names
of places, though in the less familiar form of um. The mean-
ing, under these different forms, is said to be the same, namely, a
home or dwelling-place. It is thus an entirely different word from
the Danish or Scandinavian name holme, which is also frequent
in Yorkshire, and which means a small island, generally in a
river, or a meadow on a river's bank. The word ham, or home,
as used in the names of places, is generally, though not always,
accompanied with some preceding word, either expressive of the
nature of the home, as Newsham, Oldham, Eastham, Westham;
or it is found in combination with the word ing, as in the words
Addingham, Manningham, and Bellingham. In the latter case it
is now generally supposed to indicate the home or dwelling-place
of some ancient Anglian sept or tribe ; as, in the above case,
the home of the Adelings, the Mannings, and the Billings, or
Belini.
Places in Yorkshire supposed to be named from Anglian Septs or
Tribes. The word ing, though sometimes used as the name of a
meadow, and in several other senses, is frequently used as the name
* Kemble's Saxons in England, vol. i. p. 251.
PAST AND PRESENT. 399
of an Anglian or Saxon tribe or clan. The original meaning of
ing was "the son of," like Mac in the Gaelic, and in the
Irish language. Thus we are told, in the pedigree of Ida, the
first king of Northumbria, that Ida was " Eopping," that is, the
son of Eoppa; that Eopping was " Esing," or the son of Esa; that
Esa was " Inguing," or the son of Inguy; and that Inguy was
" Angenwiting," or the son of Angenwit. According to the late J.
M. Kemble, there are no less than 1329 English names which
contain this root ; and subsequent examination of the Ordnance
maps shows the number of places containing the root ing to be
more than 2000. Many of these are supposed to be the names of
ancient tribes, or of the numerous offshoots which they sent out
over the country, for the purposes of conquest or colonization.
Much the greatest number of names of this description are found
in the counties of Kent, Sussex, Middlesex, Essex, Norfolk,
Suffolk, Bedford, and Huntingdon, on the sea coast, and on
navigable streams, in the counties in which the Saxon settlers
or conquerors of England made their first landings. From these
districts the Angles or Saxons appear to have spread over the
whole of England. In Yorkshire the number of names of original
German tribes, which appear to have come directly from the Conti-
nent, is said to be not more than three ; but the number of tribes
which originally landed in the south of England, fought their
way to the north, and sent out colonies which reached Yorkshire,
is nearly thirty. This confirms the statement of Bede, that when
the great pagan chief, Penda, led his army into Yorkshire, on his last
expedition, he was accompanied by no less than thirty tribes, with
their leaders. This was his third invasion of the country lying to
the north of the river Humber, and in his two previous invasions he
had overrun Northumbria, at least as far north as Holy Island, and
probably even as far as the river Forth, with a mixed host of Angles
and Saxons, supported by large bodies of Britons, under the com-
mand of Caedwalla. Many of the names of the Anglian tribes can
still be traced in the names of places in Yorkshire, and the other
northern counties.
Among the Anglian septs and tribes whose names are supposed to
be traced in Yorkshire are the following : The Scyldings, an ancient
family, to which Beowolf, the Anglo-Saxon hero belonged, who gave
name to Skelding. The Irings of the royal family of the Aruns are
supposed to have left traces of their name and residence at Errington.
400 YORKSHIRE :
The Billings of the royal race of the Varini are said to have given
their name to Billingham in Yorkshire ; as well as to many other
places in different parts of England. The Adelings are supposed
to have given their name to Addingham ; the Collings to Colling-
ham ; the Ellings to Ellington ; the Eorings to Erringden ; the Gills
to Gilling ; the Hoardings to Heardinctona, mentioned in the
Domesday Survey ; the Helvelings to Elvington ; the Myrcings to
Markington ; the Millings to Millington ; the Mannings to Mann-
ingham; the Sinnings to Sinnington; the Feorlings to Forlington;
and the Wadings to Waddington.*"
The Anglian yard or gard, and the Norse word garth, had
nearly the same meaning as ton. Both denote a place girded
round or inclosed. The Tains, a twig, stands in relation to the
word ton as the old English word yard, a switch or rod, does to
yard, garth, and garden. The inclosure is named from the nature
of the surrounding fence, t
Worth, woerth, or worthy, signifies a place warded or protected.^
Hay, or haigh, is a place surrounded by a hedge ; but the
word hay is probably of Norman origin.
Fold, or field, originally meant a wide open plain, but has
gradually been limited to a single inclosure.
Stoke, is a place surrounded by stocks or piles.
Park, is supposed to be derived from the Celtic word parwg,
an inclosed field.
Beorgan and Bergan, to shelter or hide, is said to be the verb
from which burh, bury, borough, burgh, brough, and burrow are
all derived.
The Arclibisliopric, of York under the Anglian Kings. York has been
the seat of an archbishopric almost from the time when Christian-
ity was introduced into Britain, and is still the see of the northern
province of England. A circumstance which shows the important
position of the city at the time when Christianity was introduced
amongst the Angles, is that Pope Gregory I., in writing to
Augustine, says, ' ' But we will have you send to the city of York
such a bishop as you shall think fit to ordain ; yet so, that if that
city, with the places adjoining, shall receive the word of God, that
bishop shall also ordain twelve bishops and enjoy the honour of a
metropolitan ; for we design, if we live, by the help of God, to
* The Rev. Issue Taylor's Names of Persons and Places; p. 517.
f Ibid. p. 128. I Ibid. p. 128. Ibid. p. 130.
PAST AND PRESENT. 401
bestow on him also a pall, and yet we will have him to be subser-
vient to your authority ; but after your decease he shall so
preside over the bishops he shall ordain, as to be in no way subject
to the jurisdiction of a bishop of London. But for the future let
this distinction be between the bishops of the cities of London
and York, that he may have the precedence who shall be first
ordained.""*
It is said by some authorities that York and London were the
first metropolitan sees amongst the ancient Christian Britons ; but
however that may be, they were at that time the two principal
cities of Britain. The archbishopric of York, as at present con-
stituted, extends over an area of 9,294,065 statute acres. In
1861 it contained 1,161,208 inhabited houses, and a population
of 6,138,507 persons. The population of the several dioceses
included in the province of York, was as follows, in 1861 : Carlisle,
266,591 ; Chester, 1,248,416 ; Durham, 858,095 ; Manchester,
1,679,326 ; Kipon, 1,103,394; Sodor and Man, 52,469; and York,
930,216. Of these dioceses, York and Ripon are included in
the county of York. The diocese of York consists of the whole
of the North Riding, the city of York, and that portion of the
West Riding which lies eastward of the western boundaries of the
parishes' of Monkton-Moor, Bilton, Walton, Thorpe-Arch, Bramham,
Aberford, Ledsham, Castleford, Featherstone, Normanton, Warm-
field, Crofton, Wragby, Felkirk, Roystone, Darfield, Tankersley,
and Ecclesfield. The number of inhabited houses in the diocese
of York in 1861 was 84,121, and the population 404,402.
The Bishopric of Eipon. The diocese of Ripon, formed in the
year 1836, in consequence of the immense increase of population in
the West Riding of York, includes that portion of the West Riding
which lies westward of the eastern boundaries of the parishes of
Nun-Monkton, Kirk Hammerton, Whixley, Hunsingore, Cowthorpe,
Kirk Deighton, Spofforth, Collingham, Bardsey, Barwick-in-Elmett,
Garforth, Kippax, Methley, Wakefield, Sandal Magna, Darton, Silk-
stone, and Penistone. The diocese of Ripon, in 1861, contained
231,610 inhabited houses, and a population of 1,103,394 persons.!
Origin of English Literature, in the Poems of Ccedmon of Wliitby
and the Historical Works of the Venerable Bedeof Wearmouth. Both
English poetry and English history originated amongst the Angles
or English of the kingdom of Northurnbria, the former in that portion
* Bede, b. i. c. 29. f Census of England and Wales, 1861, Population Returns, vol. i. pp. 26 and 29.
VOL. i. 3 E
402 YOBKSHIBE :
of the Northumbrian kingdom which now forms the county of York;
the latter in that now included in the county of Durham. In
England, as in Greece, the poet preceded the historian, in order
of time ; the earliest of English poets, Caedmon of Streaneshalh,
now called Whitby, in the North Riding of Yorkshire, having
composed his poems in the Anglian or English language, near
the end of the seventh century, or about A.D. 670, whilst the
Venerable Bede composed his " Ecclesiastical History " of the
English, at Wearmouth, in the county of Durham, about A.D.
720.* Both of these early and distinguished authors wrote in the
language most suited to their powers, the former producing a series
of fine poems on the creation and the fall of man, and all the great
events recorded in the Old and New Testaments, in the English
language, which alone was intelligible to the mass of his fellow
countrymen; whilst the latter wrote in the Latin language, which
was then, and for many succeeding ages, the language of the clergy,
and of a few learned men belonging to the laity, in this and other
countries. It was owing to the circumstance of the works of the
Venerable Bede having been written in the Latin language that
the wise and accomplished king, Alfred the Great, more than
a century after the death of Bede, devoted his energies to the
noble task of rendering them intelligible to the English people, by
translating them into the English language, as it was then spoken
in the kingdom of the West Saxons, which included the south of
England from the valley of the Thames to the British Channel.
The Life and Works of the Venerable Bede. The Venerable
Bede, as he well deserves to be called, was born at Jarrow, near
Wearmouth, in the county of Durham, in 673, on the lands
belonging to the twin monasteries of St. Peter and St. Paul.
The place of his birth was only a few miles south of the
Roman Wall, whose eastern extremity was at Wallsend on
the river Tyne. Something of the civilization introduced by the
Romans, in the neighbourhood of their settlements in Britain,
as well as a knowledge of the Christian religion, remained among
the Britons after the Romans had retired ; and seems to have
exercised a certain influence on the Anglian settlers, after they
had been settled in those parts of Britain for a few years.
William of Malmesbury, writing on the subject of the birth of
Bede, the first English historian, a few years after the Norman
* Wright's Easay on the Literature of the Anglo-Saxons.
PAST AND PRESENT. 403
conquest, says, " that Britain, which some writers have called
another world, because from its lying at a distance it has
been overlooked by most geographers, contains in its remotest
parts a place on the borders of Scotland, where Bede was born
and educated. The whole country was formerly studded with
monasteries, and beautiful cities founded therein by the Romans ;
but now, owing to the devastations of the Danes and Normans,
it has nothing to allure the senses. Through it runs the Wear,
a river of no mean width, and of tolerable rapidity. A certain
Benedict built two churches on its banks," and founded there
two monasteries named after St. Peter and St. Paul, and united
together by the same rule and bond of brotherly love." Bede was
born in the third year of the reign of Egfrid, son of Oswy, the
first of the kings of Northumbria after the complete establish-
ment of Christianity in that kingdom. The capital of Egfrid's
kingdom was York, and the principal journey of Bede's life seems
to have been from the monastery of St. Paul, at Jarrow on the
banks of the Tyne, to the city of York, and afterwards to Can-
terbury. Nearly the whole of Bede's life seems to have been
spent in the monastery at Jarrow; but in a letter to Egbert,
archbishop of York and nephew to king Coelwulf of Northumbria,
he alludes to a visit which he paid to that nobleman and prelate;
and in another letter, addressed to Wictred king of Kent, he speaks
of the kindness and affability with which he had been received
by him on a former occasion. After a life of learning, industry,
and piety, in which he may be said to have laid the foundations
of English history, the Venerable Bede died on Ascension-day in
the year 735, which was the 26th of May in that year.
The Venerable Bede, in writing that part of his "Ecclesiastical
History" which relates to the kingdom of Northumbria, of which
York was the capital, and the territory included in the county
of York the most fertile and populous part, had great advantages
beyond those which he possessed in preparing the other parts of his
history. It is stated by Stevenson, in his valuable edition of the
" Historia Ecclesiastica," published by the English Historical Society
in the year 1838, "That, in the history of Northumbria, Bede, as
a native of that kingdom, was particularly interested, and would
probably exert himself to procure the most copious and authentic
information regarding it. Although he gives no intimation of having
had access to previous historical documents, when speaking on his
404 YORKSHIRE :
sources of information, yet there seems reason to believe that he
had made use of such materials. We may infer from what he says
of the mode in which Oswald's reign was generally calculated, that
in that king's time there existed annals or chronological tables, in
which events were inserted as they occurred; the regal year of the
monarch who then filled the throne being at the time specified.
These annals appear to have extended beyond the period of the
conversion of Northumbria to Christianity, although it is difficult to
imagine how any chronological calculation or record of events could
be preserved before the use of letters had become known. But the
history of Eadwine, with its interesting details, shows that Bede must
have had access to highly valuable materials, which reached back
to the very earliest era of authentic English history ; and we need
not be surprised at finding information of a similar character
throughout the remainder of the history of Northumbria.
" A considerable portion of Bede's ' Historia Ecclesiastica,' espe-
cially that part of it which relates to the kingdom of Northumbria,
is founded upon local information which its author derived from
various individuals. On almost every occasion Bede gives the name
and designation of his informant^ being anxious, apparently, to show
that nothing is inserted for which he had not the testimony of
some respectable witness. Some of these persons are credible from
having been present at the event which they relate ; others from
the high rank which they held in the church, such as Acca bishop
of Hexham, Guthfrid abbot of Lindisfarne, Berthun abbot of Bever-
ley, and Pechthelm bishop of Whitehern. Bede received secondary
evidence with caution, for he distinguishes between the statements
which he received from eye-witnesses, and those which reached him
throuo-h a succession of informants. In the last of these instances,
o
the channel of information is always pointed out with scrupulous
exactness, whatever opinion we may entertain, as in the case of some
visions and miracles, of the credibility of the facts themselves.''
Of the value of this work, as Giles observes in his edition of the
Venerable Bede's " Ecclesiastical History of England," we can have
no better evidence, than the fact of its having been so often trans-
lated into the vernacular tongue. King Alfred thought it not
beneath his dignity to render it familiar to his Anglo-Saxon sub-
jects by translating it into their language.
Bede's principal authority in his "Ecclesiastical History," was
the learned and reverend Abbot Albiuus, who was educated in
PAST AND PRESENT. 405
the church at Canterbury, by the venerable and learned Theodore,
archbishop of Canterbury, a Greek by birth, born at Tarsus in
Cilicia, in an age when the language and literature of Greece
were familiarly known, and usually read and spoken, in that
district of Asia. With the instruction of such teachers Bede
appears to have become well acquainted with the literature of
Greece and Rome, as well as with the writings and the traditions
of the Anglian race. In addition to these attainments he seems
to have possessed great natural good sense, and a candid and
generous disposition. It was a happy circumstance for the English
race, that their first historian should have possessed such admirable
qualifications and attainments. He must have had considerable
influence in forming the character of our Anglian ancestors.
T/te Anglian Library at York. From the death of the Vene-
rable Bede to the time of the overthrow of all learning in England,
by the irruption of the Danish and other northern tribes, who were
at once pagans and barbarians when they first burst into England,
though they afterwards became fully equal to the Angles, or English,
in all the arts of life during that period a considerable know-
ledge of Latin literature was spread amongst the clergy in the north
of England.
Amongst the Anglian bishops and chiefs who took a con-
spicuous part in laying the foundations of literature in this
portion of England was Egbert, archbishop of York, the brother
of Eadbert, king of Northumbria. He founded a noble library
in his metropolitan city of York, which was probably furnished
from Rome and Constantinople with the works of the best Latin
and Greek authors. Our countryman Alcuinus, or Alcyn, who
was a pupil of Archbishop Egbert, and the keeper of the library
at York, left a catalogue of the books in it. It appears from
his letters that the state of learning in* the Anglian kingdom
of Northumbria was considerably advanced. This is shown by
a letter addressed by him to his pupil and valued friend the
Emperor Charlemagne, after Alcuin had retired to the abbacy at
Tours, to which he had been appointed by the emperor. In his
privacy he addressed a letter to his royal and imperial patron, whence
the following extracts are taken : " The employments of your
Alcuinus in his retreat are suited to his humble sphere ; but they
are neither inglorious nor unpleasing. I spend my tune in the
* Gale, Scrip, xv. p. 730. De Pontificibus Sanct. Eccles. F.bo. I. 1536.
406 YORKSHIRE :
halls of St. Martin, in teaching some of the noble youths under my
care the intricacies of grammar, and inspiring them with a taste
for the learning of the ancients ; in describing to others the order
and revolutions of those shining balls which adorn the azure vault
of heaven ; and in explaining to others the mysteries of divine
wisdom, which are contained in the Holy Scriptures ; suiting my
instructions to the views and capacities of my scholars, that I may
train up many to be ornaments to the church of God, and the court
of your imperial majesty. In doing this, I find a great want of
several things, particularly of those excellent books in all arts and
sciences, which I enjoyed in my native country, through the expense
and care of my great master, Egbert. May it therefore please your
Majesty, animated with the most ardent love of learning, to permit
me to send some of our youth into England, to procure for us those
books which we want, and transplant the flowers of Britain into
France, that their fragrance may no longer be confined to youth,
but may perfume the palaces of Tours." This letter concludes with
a noble statement of the advantages of knowledge to men of every
rank. Alcuin, addressing Charlemagne, says: "I need not put
your majesty in mind, how earnestly we are exhorted in the Holy
Scriptures to the pursuit of wisdom ; than which nothing is more
conducive to a pleasant, happy and honourable life ; nothing a
greater preservation from vice ; nothing more becoming or more
necessary to those especially who have the administration of public
affairs and the government of empires. Learning and wisdom
exalt the low, and give additional lustre to. the honours of the
great. By wisdom kings reign, and princes decree justice. Cease
not then, ever gracious king, to press the nobility of your court to
the eager pursuit of wisdom and learning in their youth, that they
may attain to an honourable old age and a blessed immortality.""""
No stronger perception of the value of knowledge can be conceived
than is expressed in this admirable letter; though written in the
eighth century, it is worthy of the most enlightened period of
the human race.t
Account of Ccedmon, the first Anglian or English Poet. Csedmon,
the poet of Streaneshalh, or Whitby, to whom we owe the first poems
in the English language, flourished about the year 680. The merits
of his poems are considerable; and it is even thought that the germ
of some of the descriptions in Milton's " Paradise Lost " may pos-
* The Works of Nennius, edition of J. A. Giles, LL.D. 1841. f Henry's Hist. Eng. vol. iv. p. 37.
PAST AND PRESENT. 407
sibly have been sown in these fine old poems. The subjects are
to a considerable extent the same, namely, the delights of para-
dise, the rebellion of the angels, and the fall of man. Csedmon's
poems, however, touch on nearly all the great events described in
the Old Testament; and also contain some poems on the life and
passion of Jesus Christ.
These poems possess a great additional interest from the circum-
stance of their being not only the earliest work of any kind written
in the Anglian or oldest English language, but from their also being
the most ancient specimens, not only of English, but of Teutonic
or German literature, now in existence, with the exception of a
translation of some portions of the New Testament into the Mseso-
Gothic, another Teutonic language, which was spoken by the Goths
who captured Rome under their king Alaric, and who dwelt on the
banks of the Danube.
What gives the poems of Caedmon a particular interest to us is,
that they were originally written in the dialect which was spoken
in the present Yorkshire and the other northern districts of Eng-
land about 1200 years ago; and that, though afterwards translated
into other Anglian and Saxon dialects, they contain many of the
words and forms of expression which still continue in use in
the Yorkshire and other northern dialects.
Before proceeding to give a brief sketch of the poems of
Csedmon, and some account of that earliest of all the forms
of the English language in which they are written, and in which
they have now been preserved for so many ages, it may interest
our readers to read a slight sketch of his life, and of his first
inspiration, by what we may venture to call the Muse of English
Poetry. He was a self-formed poet, created, not made, as we are
told by the high authority of Horace that all true poets must
be. His first compositions in sacred poetry excited unbounded
admiration, and his poetical gift was considered by his contem-
poraries to be something, not only wonderful, but miraculous. It
was regarded by them as the special gift of God to a pure and
simple-minded man.
We are informed by the Venerable Bede, in his history of the
Anglian church and nation, that Csedmon lived about the middle
of the seventh century. He does not mention the place of Csedmon's
birth, but the poet seems to have spent the greater part of his
life, and was no doubt born, in the town or neighbourhood of
408 YORKSHIRE :
Whitby, in what we now call the North Riding of Yorkshire. At
that time Whitby was named Streaneshalh, or the Bay of the
Lighthouse. There is no record of the age in which the light-
house was built, but it is supposed to have stood on or near
the site of the Roman port of Dunum Sinus, and may very
probably have been in existence from the time of the Roman
occupation of Britain. At or near this celebrated spot the first
English poet produced his earliest poems, and here he spent the
whole of his life.
The account of the early life and of the first poetical inspiration
of Caedmon, written in Latin by the Venerable Bede, and translated
into the language of England by Alfred the Great about two
hundred years later, is so simple and beautiful that we give
it in modern English. Before doing so, however, we may state
that Caedmon seems to have found a kind friend and pro-
tector in Hilda the abbess of Whitby, who was a friend and
connection of the great Anglian King Oswy, of Northumbria, who
successfully defended the Christian kingdom of Northumbria from
the attacks of the pagan army of Mercia, commanded by the
terrible Penda, the scourge of the Northumbrian race, and the most
formidable enemy of the Christian religion, when it was first intro-
duced into the north of England. It was in commemoration of
this great victory that the abbey of Whitby was founded, and
there no doubt the daughter of King Oswy (Elfleda), who had been
devoted to a life of perpetual seclusion and virginity by her father,
in acknowledgment of the victory, spent her time with Hilda her
aunt, and the other votaries of that institution. Hilda appears
to have been an excellent and kind-hearted woman, and has even
received the honour of being ranked as a saint, chiefly in reliance
on a supposed miracle, in turning vast swarms of serpents into
twisted stones. Modern science has put an end to the faith in
this miracle, by proving that the remains, which are still so abund-
ant near Whitby, are not those of serpents, but of very harmless
and beautiful creatures which formerly existed in the northern seas,
and whose petrified remains are found in vast numbers in the Lias
formation. But nothing can deprive the good Hilda of Whitby
the honour of having been the kind friend and protector of Csedmon.
She seems also to have been a warm friend of Coleman, and other
teachers of the old British church in Scotland, who came into this
country at the request of King Oswald, to instruct the Northumbrians.
PAST AND PRESENT. 409
The following is Bede's account of Csedraon's first inspiration
as a poet :
SOME ACCOUNT OF C^EDMON, FROM BEDE's ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY
AND KING ALFRED'S ANGLO-SAXON TRANSLATION.
" In this abbess's minster * was a certain brother extra-
ordinarily magnified and honoured with a divine gift; for he
was wont to make fitting songs which conduced to religion and
piety; so that whatever he learned, through clerks, of the Holy
Writings, that he, after a little space, would usually adorn with
the greatest sweetness and feeling, and bring forth in the Eng-
lish tongue; and by his songs the minds of many men were
often inflamed with contempt for the world, and with desire of
heavenly life. And, moreover, many others after him in the Eng-
lish nation sought to make pious songs; but yet none could do
like to him, for he had not been taught from men, nor through
man, to learn the poetic art; but he was divinely aided, and
through God's grace received the art of song. And he therefore
never might make aught of leasing or of idle poems, but those
only which conduced to religion, and which it became his pious
tongue to sing.
"This man (Csedmon) was placed in worldly life until the time that
he was of mature age, and had never learned any poem ; and he,
therefore, in convivial society, when for the sake of mirth it was
resolved that they all in turn should sing to the harp, when he
saw the harp approaching him, then for shame he would rise from
the assembly and go home to his house.
"When he on a certain time left the house of the convivial
meeting, and was gone out to the stall of the cattle, the care
of which that night had been committed to him, he there, at
proper time, placed his limbs on the bed and slept ; then stood
some one by him, in a dream, and hailed and greeted him, and
named him by his name, saying, ' Csedmon, sing me something.'
Then he answered and said, ' I cannot sing any thing, and therefore
I went from this convivial meeting, and retired hither, because I
could not.' Again, he who was speaking with him said, 'Yet
thou must sing to me.' Said he, ' What shall I sing \ ' Said he,
' Sing me the Origin of things.'
* Hilda of Streaneshalh, or Whitby.
VOL. 1. 3 F
410 YORKSHIRE :
" When he received this answer, then he began forthwith to sing,
in praise of God the Creator, the verses and the words which he
had never heard the order of which is this :
Now must we praise Nu we sceolan herian
The Guardian of heaven's kingdom, Heofon-rices weard,
The Creator's might. Metodes mihte,
And His mind's thought ; And his mod-gethonc
Glorious Father of men ' Wera wulder-faeder !
As of every wonder he, Swa he wundra gehwaes
Lord eternal, Ece Dryhten,
Formed the beginning. Oord onstealde.
He first framed He serest gesceop
For the children of earth Eorthan bearnum
The heaven as a roof ; Heofon to hrofe ;
Holy Creator ! Halig Scyppend !
Then mid-earth, Tha middangeard,
The Guardian of mankind, Money nnes weard,
The eternal Lord, Ece Dryhten,
Afterwards produced JEfter teode
The earth for men ; Firum foldan ;
Lord Almighty ! Frea jElmihtig !
" Then he arose from sleep, and had fast in mind all that he
sleeping had sung, and to those words forthwith joined many
words of song, worthy of God, in the same measure.
" Then came he in the morning to the town-reeve (tun-garefa),
who was his superior (euldormon), and said to him what gift he
had received ; and he forthwith led him to the abbess, and
told, and made that known to her. Then she bade all the most
learned men and the learners to assemble, and in their presence
bade him tell the dream, and sing the poem, that, by the judg-
ment of them all, it might be determined why or whence that
was come. Then it seemed to them all, so as it was, that to him,
from the Lord himself, a heavenly gift had been given. Then
they expounded to him and said some holy history, and words of
godly lore ; then bade him, if he could, to sing some of them,
and turn them into the melody of song. When he had undertaken
the thing, then went he home to his house, and came again in the
morning, and sang and gave to them, adorned with the best
poetry, what had been bidden him. Then began the abbess to
make much of and love the grace of God in the man ; and she
then exhorted and instructed him to forsake worldly life and
take to monkhood: and he that well approved.
" And she received him into the minster with his goods, and
united him with the congregation of those servants of God,
PAST AND PRESENT. 411
and caused him to be taught the series of the Holy History and
Gospel. And he, all that he could learn by hearing meditated with
himself, and, as a clean animal ruminating, turned into the
sweetest verse : and his song and his verse were so winsome to
hear, that his teachers themselves wrote and learned from his
mouth. He first sang of earth's creation, and of the origin of
mankind, and all the history of Genesis, which is the first book
of Moses ; and then of the departure of the people of Israel from
the Egyptians' land, and of the entrance of the land of promise,
and of many other histories of the canonical books of Holy Writ ;
and of Christ's Incarnation, and of his Passion, and of his Ascen-
sion into heaven ; and of the coming of the Holy Ghost, and the
doctrine of the apostles ; and also of the terror of the doom to
come, and the fear of hell-torment, and the sweetness of the
heavenly kingdom, he made many poems. And, in like manner,
many other of the divine benefits and judgments he made ; in
all which he earnestly took care to draw men from the love
of sin and wicked deeds, and to excite to a love and desire of
good deeds."
So far the Venerable Bede. The poems of Csedmon, after having
been preserved in manuscript for nearly a thousand years, were
published at Amsterdam in the year 1655, by the celebrated
Anglo-Saxon scholar, Francis Junius, and were republished by the
Society of the Antiquaries of London, in the year 1832, under
the superintendence of a not less celebrated scholar, Benjamin
Thorpe, F.S.A., with the title of " Casdmon's Metrical Para-
phrase of parts of the Holy Scriptures, in Anglo-Saxon." With
regard to these poems, Sir Frederick Madden observes, in his intro-
duction to WyclifFe's Bible : " To commence with the Anglo-Saxon
period. The poem which bears the name of Ca?dmon gives several
passages of the Scriptures with tolerable fidelity, and it might
require extended notice if the epic and legendary character of the
composition suffered it to be ranked among the versions of Holy
Writ."*
Casdmon's poems make no pretensions to be a translation of the
Old or New Testament, though it is probable that they formed the
only summary of the contents of those books that was accessible
* The Holy Bible, containing the Old and New Testaments, with the Apocryphal Books in the earliest
English versions made from the Latin Vulgate, by John Wydiffe and his followers: edited by the Rev. Josiah
Forster, F R.S., &c., late Fellow of Exeter College, and Sir Frederick Madden, K.H.F.R S., Keeper of the MSS.
in the British Museum: Oxford, at the University Press, 1850.
412 YORKSHIRE :
and intelligible to the English laity for many ages. Their value
even in that respect is very considerable, more especially as they
could easily be committed to memory, and would thus be remem-
bered by those who had no other books in their native language.
Their chief merit, however, is as poems, and in that respect their
epic and legendary character may be considered as amongst their
greatest merits. The glory of Csedmon's numbers, like that of
Chaucer's, is past and gone, but they have still contributed not
a little to fill that well of English un denied, from whose waters
English poets have drawn both language arid inspiration.
Ctedmon's first poem commences with an invocation of the
Almighty, in which he declares that it is most right that we the
Guardian of the Skies, the glorious King of Hosts, with our words
should praise in our minds' love. He is of power the essence, the
head of all exalted creatures, the Lord Almighty, without beginning
or end, the eternal Lord, ruling with high majesty the heavenly
concaves, which were placed far and wide through the power of
God, for the children of glory, the guardian of spirits.
He then proceeds to describe the lustre and joy (gleam and
dream) of the hosts of angels, and their bright bliss before their
fall; he afterwards describes how one of them became discontented
and began to frame evil councils :
First to frame, jErcst fremman,
To weave and agitate. Wcfan and weccean.
Then spake he the words, Tha he worde cwaeth,
From malice thirsty, Kithcs of thyrsted,
That he in the North part Tha he on North-daele
A home and lofty seat Ham and heah-setl
Of Heaven's kingdom Heofena-rices
Would possess. Agan wolde.
He then describes God as angry with the rebellious angels, and
as driving them from heaven into the fiery abyss.
When he knew it ready, Tha he hitgearc wiste,
Furnished with perpetual night, Sinnihte beseald,
With sulphur charged, Susie geinnod,
With fire filled throughout Geond-folen fyre
And cold intense, And faer cyle,
Smoke and red flame. Rece and reade lege.*
* Coidmon, pajje 3.
PAST AND PRESENT. 413
After speaking of the fall of the angels, Csedmon proceeds to
describe the creation of the world and of man. He commences
by speaking of chaos as spreading over the whole universe.
There had not here as yet Ne waes her tha giet
Save cavern-shade Nymthe heolster-sceado
Aught been ; Wiht geworden ;
But this wide abyss Ac thes wida grund
Stood deep and dim Stod deop and dim
Strange to its Lord. Drihtne fremde.
Idle and useless : Idel and unnyt.
The earth as yet was Folde waes tha gyt
Not green with grass. Graes ungrene.
Ocean covered, Garsecg theahte,
Swart in eternal night, Sweart synnihte,
Far and wide Side and wyde
The dusky ways. Wonne waegas.*
The poet then proceeds to describe the creation of light, of the
firmament, of the plants, the animals, and finally of man, but un-
fortunately three pages of the manuscript have been destroyed.
He gives, however, a fine account of the creation of Eve.
THE CREATION OF EVE.
Then seemed it not fitting Ne thuhte tha gerysne
To the Guardian of the firmament Eodora wearde
That Adam longer Tha Adam leng
Were alone Ana waere
Of Paradise, Neorxna wonges,
Of the new creation, Niwre gesceafte,
Keeper and ruler ; Hyrde and haldend ;
Therefore for him the High King, Forth on him Heah-cyning,
The Lord Almighty, Frea ^Elmihtig,
Created a helpmate, Fultum tiode,
Raised up a woman, Wif-aweahte,
And her gave for a support And tha wrathe sealde
The Author of life's light Lifes leoht-fruma.
To the beloved man. Leofum rince.
He the substance He tha andweorc
From Adam's Of Adames
Body dismember'd, Lice aleothode,
And from it skilfully extracted And him listuin :\teah
A rib from the side. Kib of sidan.
He was fast at rest, He waes reste-faest,
And softly slept, And softe swaef,
Knew not pain, Sar ne-wiste,
No share of Bufferings, Earfotha dael,
Nor came there any Ne thaer aenig com
Blood from the wound ; Blod of benne ;
But from him the Lord of angels, Ac him Brego engla,
From his body drew Of lice ateah
A jointed bone, Liodende ban,
* I'age 8.
414 YORKSHIRE :
The man unwounded, Wer unwundod,
Of which God wrought Of tham worhte God
A goodly woman, Freolicu faemnan,
Inspired life into her, Feorh in-gedyde,
An immortal soul : Ece saule :
They were like unto angels. Heo waeron Englum gelice.
Then was Adam's bride Tha waes Adames bryd
With spirit endued. Gaste gegearwod.
They in youth both, Hie on geogothe bu
Bright in beauty, were Wlite beorht waeron
Into the world brought forth On woruld cenned
By the Creator's might. Meotodes mihtum.
Crime they knew not Man ne cuthon
To do nor suffer ; Don ne dreogan :
But of the Lord was to them Ac him drihtnes waes
Both, in their breasts, Bam on breostum,
Burning Love. Byrnende Lufu.
Then blessed Tha gebletsode
The blithe-heart King, Blyth-heort Cyning,
The Lord of all things, Metod alwihta,
Of mankind Monna cynnes
The first two, Tha forman twa,
Father and Mother, Faeder and Moder,
Female and Male. Wif and Waepned.*
We give the above extracts both in the oldest form of the
English language that is known to exist, and in that of the present
day, in order to show how that language was written in Yorkshire
and in the north of England so many hundred years ago. We
add a few additional passages in modern English.
THE COMMENCEMENT OF CREATION.
Here first-shaped The Lord of life,
The Lord eternal Light to come forth
Chief of all creatures, Over the spacious deep.
Heaven and earth, Quickly was fulfilled
The firmament upreared, The High King's behest,
And this spacious land For him was holy light
Fstablished Over the waste,
By his strong powers, As the Maker bade.
The Lord Almighty. Then sunder'd
The earth as yet was The Lord of triumphs
Not green with grass; Over the ocean flood
Ocean cover'd, Light from darkness,
Swart in eternal night, Shade from brightness ;
Far and wide Then gave names to both,
The dusky ways. The Lord of life.
Then was the glory-bright Light was first
Spirit of heaven's Guardian Through the Lord's word
Borne over the deep, Named Day ;
With utmost speed : Beauteous bright creation !
The Creator of angels bade,
Page 12.
PAST AND PRESENT.
415
THE GARDEN OF EDEN.
Then beheld
Our Creator
The beauty of his works
And the excellence of his productions,
Of the new creatures.
Paradise stood
Good and spiritual,
Filled with gifts,
With forward benefits.
Fair washed
The genial land
The running water,
The well-brook ;
No clouds as yet
Over the ample ground
Bore rains
Lowering with wind ;
Yet with fruits stood
Earth adorn'd.
Held their onward course
ESver-streams
Four noble ones
From the new
Paradise.
These were parted,
By the Lord's might,
All from one
(When he this earth created)
Water with beauty bright,
And sent into the world ;
Which the first men call
(Earth's inhabitants),
(The men of the country) Pison,
The marine parts
It widely compasseth :
With its bright streams
He shut it out.
In that country
Men find,
From near and far,
Gold and gems
(The children of men)
The most excellent,
From what books tell us.
Then the next
The Ethiop-land
And territory
Encompasseth,
Ample realms ;
Its name is Gihon.
The third is Tigris,
Which towards the nation
(The river in its flow)
Of Assyria lieth.
This is the fourth,
That now, 'mongst many folks,
Men Euphrates
Widely call.
After describing the temptation and the fall of man with great
beauty, Casdmon proceeds to trace the history of the human race,
in a succession of scenes drawn from the Old and the New Testa-
ments. He descends step by step through the ages before the Flood.
He describes Cain and Abel, one of whom "his strength to the
earth applied," whilst the other kept cattle, or, as he expresses it
of the former, "earthan tilode," and of the other, "aehte heold."
After describing the murder of Abel by Cain, he speaks of the
different patriarchs before the Flood in succession. He describes
Cain as building a city, " ceastre timbran," and of that city being
inhabited by men who were the first sword-bearers, "sweord-berende."
He speaks of Jubal, who "first on the harp with his hands, the
sound awoke of melodious strains," and of Tubal Cain, who by dint
of skill was a smith-craftsman, "smith-craeftega," and the inventor of
the plough and of plough work upon earth, " sulh geweorces." The
expression the sole of the plough still remains. He afterwards
416 YORKSHIRE:
speaks of Tubal Cain as the first worker in brass and iron, "acres
and isernes."
Csedmon then proceeds to describe the Flood and the great sea-
house built by Noah, "Mere Hus micel." He describes him as
sending forth first the raven, "sweartan hrefne," and afterwards
the livid dove, "hasur culufran." To the wife of Noah and the
wives of his three sons he gives the names of Percova, Olla, Olliva,
and Ollivani.
Passing forward, Csedmon describes the descendants of Noah
spread over the plain of Shinar, spacious and wide, "sidne and
widne," engaged in building a tower, "beacne torr" which might
reach to the stars of heaven; and then describes the confusion of
tongues, when as he says, " Neaig wiste, waet other cqaeth."
He next proceeds to describe Haran and Abraham, whom he
speaks of as two " earls, of whom God was the friend and patron."
He afterwards describes Lot as an "earl," and then relates fully
all their wanderings in the Promised Land and in the land of Egypt.
He gives a fine picture of a campaign of his own times, in his
account of the war between the five kings and the cities of the
plain, and describes Earl Abram, and his victory over his enemies,
with wild triumph. He subsequently gives a very fine account
of God's command to Abram to sacrifice his only son Isaac, and
describes the conveying of the child to the high downs, " hea dune"
in a distant land ; the building of the " ad," or altar of sacrifice ;
Abram standing, ready to light the fire : and at the moment
when the pile stood on fire, " ad stod onaled," God calling from
heaven; the ram, "rom," caught in the branches, "bremburn faestne,"
and of the altar reeking with the ram's blood, "rommes blode," sacri-
ficed to God, in place of Isaac.
The poem then passes on to the time of Moses and the deliver-
ance of the Hebrews from Egyptian bondage. The finest portion
of this part of the poem is the account of the march of the
children of Israel out of Egypt; the crossing of the Eed Sea; the
destruction of the Egyptian hosts in its waters; and the encamp-
ments, marches, and battles of the Hebrew host, and its final arrival
in the Promised Land.
The poem then passes on to the times of the two great kings,
David and Solomon, the former of whom is described as a great
warrior; the latter, as the wisest of men. Of David Caedmon
says
PAST AND PltESENT. 417
He in exile lived, He on wraece lifde,
After he had led, Sitthan he gelacde,
Most beloved of men, Leofost feora,
At Holy One's behest Haliges haesum
A high land to ascend, Heah lond stigun,
His kinsmen on Sion's hill. Sib-gemagas on Seone beorh.
In describing Solomon in his glory, Caedmon says
There afterwards the sagacious Thaer eft se snottra
Son of David, Sunu Dauides,
Glorious king ! Wuldorfaest cyning !
By the prophet's counsels Witgan laruin
Built Getimbrede
To God a Temple, Tempel Gode,
A Holy Fane Alhn haligne
(Of earthly kings (Eorth-cyninga
The wisest in Se wysesta on
The world's realm'), Woruld-rice),
Highest and holiest, Heahst and haligost,
Amongst men most famed, Haelethum gefreagost,
Chiefest and greatest Maest and maerost
Of those that the sons of men, Thara the manna beam,
Of mortals throughout earth, Fira aefter foldan,
Have wrought with hands. Folmum geworhte.
The poem then passes on to the captivity of the Jews at Babylon,
to the wisdom of the prophet Daniel, the pride and insolence of
Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar, and finally to the capture and
destruction of Babylon. This part of the poem contains a very fine
version of the song of the three Hebrew children, Hananiah, Azariah,
and Mishael, in the fiery furnace. There are two versions given of
this part of the poem, one of them apparently of Northumbrian
origin, and perhaps written at York; the other long preserved in
manuscript in the cathedral at Exeter. The latter may perhaps be
regarded as the West Saxon version of these fine poems, which
were adapted to all the dialects of the English language. The first
part of the poems of Csedmon ends with the death of Belshazzar,
the overthrow of Babylon, and the triumph of Daniel.
The second book of Caedmon, which is very much shorter than
the first, and appears to have suffered much from ignorant tran-
scribers, bears, if we may venture to say so, a somewhat similar
relation to the first, to that which the "Paradise Regained " of
Milton bears to "Paradise Lost." It .is confined to a few of the
most striking scenes in the history of the birth, the preaching,
and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
VOL. I. 3 G
418 YORKSHIRE :
The Close of the Life of Ccedmon. We have spoken of the early
part of the life of Csedmon, from the time when he first discovered
his poetic talent, to the time when he gave up his occupation as a
herdsman ; and went to reside in the abbey at Whitby, under the kind
patronage of Hilda, giving himself up entirely to the composition
of poetry. He there seems to have lived a peaceful and happy life;
for we are told by Bede that he was a very pious man, zealous
for what he believed to be truth, " and with a fair end he closed his
life." The following is the Venerable Bede's account of the last days
and the death of this ancient Anglian poet, the worthy founder of
the poetry of a language which will soon be, if it is not already,
more widely spoken than any other language of the civilized world.
Bede thus concludes the notice of his life :
" For when the time approached of his decease and departure,
then was he for fourteen days ere that oppressed and troubled
with bodily infirmity ; yet so moderately, that, during all that
time, he could both speak and walk. There was in the neighbour-
hood a house for infirm men, in which it was their custom to bring
the infirm, and those who were on the point of departure, and
there attend to them together. Then bade he his servant, on
the eve of the night when he was going from the world, to prepare
him a place in that house, that he might rest. Whereupon the
servant wondered why he this bade, for it seemed to him that
his departure was not so near : yet he did as he said and com-
manded. And when he there went to bed, and in joyful mood
was speaking some things, and talking with those who were
therein previously ; then it was over midnight that he asked,
' Whether they had the Eucharist within ? ' They answered,
' What need is to thee of the Eucharist ? Thy departure is not
so near, now thou thus cheerfully and thus gladly art speaking
to us.' Again he said, 'Bring me nevertheless the Eucharist.'
When he had it in his hands, he asked, ' Whether they had all
a placid mind and kind, and without any ill-will towards him ? '
But they all were very kindly disposed ; and they besought him
in turn that he would be kindly disposed to them all. Then he
answered and said, ' My beloved brethren, I am very kindly
disposed to you and all God's men.' And he thus was strength-
ening himself with the heavenly viaticum, and preparing himself
an entrance into another life. Again he asked, ' How near it was
to the hour that the brethren must rise and teach the people of
PAST AND PRESENT. 419
God, and sing their nocturns ?' They answered, 'It is not far to
that.' He said, 'It is well: let us await the hour.' And then
he prayed and signed himself with Christ's cross, and reclined
his head on the bolster and slept for a little space : and so with
stillness ended his life. And thus it was that as he, with pure
and calm mind and tranquil devotion, had served God, he, in
like manner, left the world with as calm a death, and went to
his presence ; and the tongue which had composed so many holy
words in the Creator's praise, he then, in like manner, its last
words closed in his praise ; crossing himself, and committing his
soul into his hands. Thus it was seen that he was conscious of
his own departure, from what we have now heard say."
The Anglian Language and its resemblance to the Yorkshire and
other Northern dialects. The Anglian language as spoken in the
present Yorkshire, and in Northumbria generally, and probably also
as employed in those eastern districts of England which constituted
the kingdom of East Anglia, though derived from the same Teutonic
root, differed considerably from the English language as spoken fur-
ther south, in the central districts of England, then known as the
kingdom of Mercia ; and still more from the language of the West
Saxons, which was used in the valley of the Thames, and with
some variations, from the coast of Kent to the borders of Cornwall.
All these languages have been blended and united together to form
the modern English language ; but the preponderating dialect in
modern English is that of Mercia, and not that of Northumbria.
The influence of London, the capital of the kingdom, where the
English parliaments have met and the government has been carried
on for more than eight hundred years ; the influence of the two
universities of Oxford and Cambridge, at which the clergy and the
flower of the English youth have been educated for as long a period ;
the writings of Shakspeare and Milton, of Camden and of Bacon,
all of whom wrote in the language of the central districts of England;
and the translation of the Bible into the English tongue, by men
thoroughly acquainted with the language of the universities and
the capital have given a decided preponderance to the dialects of
Mercia, and even to the West Saxon dialects, over the Northum-
brian. No writers of any great note have written in the North-
umbrian dialect of the English language, from the time of Gower
and Wycliffe, though in more recent times multitudes of the old
Anglian words have given additional zest to the poems of Robert
420 YORKSHIRE :
Burns, to the Scottish dialogues in the novels of Walter Scott,
and to the Yorkshire stories of Charlotte Bronte, who gloried in
being a Yorkshire woman, and who knew the old dialect well. In
earlier times, this was the language of statesmen and historians, and
it still retains its hold amongst the lovers of antiquity, and amongst
the labouring classes in the country districts from the Humber to
the Forth.
The following are a few specimens of the old Anglian language
which may be clearly traced in the pronunciation and the grammat-
ical forms of the present Yorkshire dialect : Aefter, after or next ;
aet, eat; alh, a hall; abrocen, broken; adrincan, to drink; abidan, to
abide, or like ; acsian, to ask ; afyrran, to frighten or deter ; areccan,
to reckon or count; awinnan, to win or overcome; axan, ashes.
Beam, a child; beam, a beam or tree; beor-sele, a beer-hall, or house;
brennan, to burn ; befeore, before ; beacen, a beacon ; ban, a bone ;
bald, bold ; blod, blood. Com, come ; ciste, a chest ; candel, a candle;
cwic, quick ; cwen, a quean, a woman ; cynn, kindred. Deorc, dark;
don, to do ; deaw, dew ; deop, deep ; de-ath, death ; deor, deer.
Eorth, earth ; eal, ale ; eorl, an earl. Forborsten, burst ; fyr, fire ;
fyerna sweorde, fiery swords ; feower, four ; flod, flood ; folc, folk or
people ; flor, floor ; forst, frost ; foreswapen, swept ; freolic, frolic-
some. Gast, a ghost ; grund, ground ; gang, to go ; gefylled, filled ;
geblonden, blinded ; gemercod, marked ; graedig, greedy. He-ap,
a heap ; heo, she ; hea, high ; hus, a house ; handweorc, handywork ;
hreown, to rue ; healig, holy ; hired, hired. Idel, idle ; iren, iron.
Leng, long ; licod, liked or pleased ; langsome, tiresome ; lacunde,
larking or playing ; leoflic, lovely ; leoht, light ; lie, like ; lim, lirne ;
lof-song, love song. Mistas, mists ; maest, the mast of a ship ; maest
rapas, mast ropes ; mon, a man ; meal rnete, a meal's meat ; mire,
dark. Nacod, naked ; riiht, night ; niht-lang, night-long. Other,
either, and also owther ; ongan, began ; offan, an oven. Path, a
path ; plegan, a plague. Ilic, rich ; and rom, a ram ; regn,
rain ; rand, round ; reke, smoke ; reccan, to count. Stod, stood ;
sar, sore ; straete, street ; stane, a stone ; sweart, swart or black ;
saule, a soul ; seofan, seven ; snawas, snows. Thrang, throng or
crowded ; twa, two ; tor, a tower ; thur, through ; theccan, to thatch ;
thurst, to thirst ; and thuht, thought. Uht, out ; uplang, uplong ;
and unweaxen, ungrown. Wefan, to weave ; weater, water ; waepen,
weapon ; weald, a wild ; weall, a wall ; wuluf, a wolf; woruld, the
world ; weder, the weather ; wyde stodun, widely stood ; weorc,
PAST AND PRESENT. 421
work ; wracca, a wreck ; wynsom, winsome ; and wrixle, to wrestle.
We give the above merely as specimens, which might be increased to
any extent. At the same time there are a considerable number of
characteristic Yorkshire words which are not of Anglian origin, but
are derived either from the Frisian or from the old Norse or Nor-
wegian language, which was spoken by the Danes and Norwegians
during the Danish dominion in Yorkshire. We shall show the
influence of the Norse or old Scandinavian language in the next
chapter.
The influence of the Frisian Language on the Yorkshire and other
Northern dialects of England. It has been stated by some writers
of judgment and learning, that the old Frisian language, as it was
spoken at the time of the conquest of England, had a considerable
influence on the old English language, especially as it is employed
north of the Humber. If we may judge from the remains of a
language which is rapidly dying out under the pressure of the
German language on one side, and the Danish on another, and
which is now chiefly confined to a few small islands and districts
along the German and Danish coasts, we should be disposed to say
that this was the case. We should also add that the Frisian dialect
has had a considerable influence on the English language generally.
This is shown by a glossary of this language, composed a few years
ago by a Frisian clergyman, named Outzen, who lived for a period
of forty years in the district in which the language was spoken,
and who made it his object to collect and arrange the words of
the old language, in order to show the points in which it agreed
with, and those in which it differed from, the German, Danish, and
English languages.
The names of the days of the week are much more like the Eng-
lish in the Frisian, than they are in any other Germanic language.
Beginning with Sunday, they are stated by Outzen to be as follows:
Senndi, Mondi, Teisdi, Weensdi, Tursdei, Freidei, and Saterdei.
It appears also that the use of the indefinite article in the Frisian
language very much resembles its use in the English, being a and
an, just as we use them. The north of England forms for yes
and no, ae or a, and na or nea, also exist in the Frisian lan-
guage. There are a great many words in the Frisian which very
closely resemble the same words in the English language, and
more especially the Yorkshire and other Northumbrian dialects
of that language, and also several which seem to have been used in
422 YORKSHIRE :
giving names to persons and places in Yorkshire, in very early times.
Thus we have arn, an eagle, which is found in the name of Arncliffe ;
aesk, an ash tree, found in the name of Askrigg, or the ridge of
ash trees; babe, the name given to a baby or infant; barm, the
name of yeast, or something used to raise bread ; bar, for barley, or
bere, as it is still called in the north; banner, for a flag or colour
used in war ; barn, a child, just as in Yorkshire ; beest, used for
horned cattle, as it is probably found in the name of Beeston;
bull, a bull, as in English ; bos, a small cottage (occurring in the
names of places, as Boston, which is not always a contraction of
Botolphs town, as it is in the Lincolnshire Boston) ; dam, an em-
bankment ; dead, the dead ; dor, a door ; duf, a dove ; Dus, the
Deuce, a demon worshipped or dreaded by Frieslanders.
The Frieslanders call themselves, and were pleased to be called,
"Elafria Fresena," which means the noble free Frieslanders. The
name Ela is probably that of two of the Northumbrian kings, one
named -Elle and the other Ella, the latter of whom was the founder
of the church at Kirk Ella, near Hull. Eske means ask, even
means even, and feder means father, in the Frisian language. In
taking leave of each other they exclaimed, Fahrwhel! Feest with
them was a fist ; finger was a finger; tome was a thumb ; skotfinger
was the finger used in shooting with the bow ; longe finger was
the middle ; gold finger was the ring finger ; and the lightge finger
was the little finger. Fletan, was to flit or move from one house
to another ; flieten was to float ; flock was a flock of birds ; firk
was a fork, and freese meant to freeze. They called grass gars,
as in Garsdale ; gavel, the gable end of a house ; glas, glass,
and gyld, a company. They called God God, as we do. The
managers of the public dykes or ditches they named the Dik-
graves ; and the managers of the land, the Gagraves or Gargreves,
which is translated into Latin by Outzen, as Comes limitis.
An oak they named an ik ; and fire they named ild. They
used the word ing to describe the descendants of a family, even as
late as the year 1499, whilst, according to Outzen, the English
gave up the use of the word ing after the year 901, when they
described Alfred the Great, as Aelfred Adulfing, or Alfred the
son of Ethelwulf. An Angle or Englishman they named an Ingel ;
England, Ingkland, and the English language, Ingklisch. This
is probably the origin of the name of the place in Yorkshire still
known as Ingleton, and of that of the noble mountain of Ingle-
PAST AND PRESENT. 423
borough, or the mountain or hill, and perhapsalso the fortress,
of the Angles or the English.
Amongst other Frisian words in use in Yorkshire, where the
old language is still spoken, we may venture to mention kaat,
a cat ; kai, a key ; kiste, a chest ; klaid, a set of clothes ; klaver,
a field of clover ; klay, a bed of clay ; klock, or the noise that a
hen makes after laying an egg ; co, a cow ; krune, the crown
of the head ; kickkuk, a cuckoo ; kulf, a calf ; and kys when they
call home the cows.
In the time of the Frisians lime was called leahm, which is
probably the origin of Leeming Lane, a portion of the old Koman
road, which runs in that part of its course with an abundant
supply of lime on one side, and a country that is greatly benefited
by the free use of it on the other. Pliny informs us that the
Gauls were well acquainted with the use of lime for the improve-
ment of land ; and there is no reason to suppose that our Anglian
ancestors were less intelligent. Mar was used as a Frisian con-
traction for a mark or boundary. According to Outzen this is the
meaning of the syllable mar, in the names Colmar, Cismar, Wismar,
and also in Teahmern, and Stormar. This also gives a key to the
use of the same word in many English names of places. In the same
language min means little ; molke, milk ; marg means marl ; nagt,
the night ; nom, a name ; oel, oil ; onkel, an ancle ; and ower,
over, as in Northowrarn and Southowram ; paer or peer means
a pear or pear tree ; quey, a young cow ; quern, a hand mill or
millstone ; reit is reed ; rek is smoke ; rin, is a run of water ;
rock is a rook or crow ; rum is a room ; sammar is summer ; saed
is seed for sowing ; siel is the soul ; skal is skill ; skere, is to
share or divide ; skog is a wood ; spad, a spade ; span, to spin ;
stahl, to steal ; stane is a stone ; sted is a place ; steer is a
star ; stien is also a stone ; tid is time, which form of the word
is also in use ; tree is a tree ; tun is an inclosure, or a town ;
ur is an ear ; use is use or custom ; welp, a young hound ; the
weg is the way ; wiht is wheat ; wold is a wold, the exact
form of the name in the wolds of Yorkshire ; wong is a field or
garden, and neorxna-wong is a garden of pleasure, or paradise.
On the whole it appears as if Frisian colonists or conquerors
had taken a considerable share in the formation of the old Northum-
brian language, once universally spoken in Yorkshire, and not yet
quite forgotten ; as well as in that of the English language in general.
424 YORKSHIRE :
Original Meaning of Names of Places in Yorkshire derived from
the Anglian or Early English Language. The names of most of
the mountains, hills, dales or valleys, cities, boroughs, castles, and
villages, existing in Yorkshire at the time of the Domesday Survev,
1084-86, were given by the Angles or English, and were chiefly
derived from the natural features of that district. At the
time when those names were .given Yorkshire was in a great
measure covered with forests of natural timber, composed of oak,
ash, elm, birch, beech, linden or lime, and other forest trees.
In each of the three Ridings there was one great forest, and
many smaller ones. In the West Eiding the forest of Sherwood
extended from the banks of the rivers Aire and Calder, south-
ward, to the neighbourhood of Sheffield and Rotherham, and far
beyond the southern boundaries of Yorkshire, covering great
part of the neighbouring counties of Nottingham and Derby. In
the East Riding the great forest or wood of Deira, mentioned by
Bede and Symeon of Durham, extended widely over the wolds and
deep valleys of the chalk district almost to the sea, the cell of
St. John of Beverley standing in the recesses of that ancient
forest. In the North Riding the great forest of Galtrees stretched
northward from the neighbourhood of the city of York to Cric
or Creyke Castle, so-named from the crags on which it was built,
and thence still farther northward towards the mountains and
cliffs of Cleveland. Many smaller forests existed, and the whole
region of Craven was covered either with natural woods or with
grassy hills. The general aspect of the county was that of a
countiy of hills or mountains covered in many places with cliffs and
rocks, and sinking, with shelving sides, into numerous dales or
valleys watered by rivers or smaller streams. The hills were
still inhabited by wild cattle and herds of deer, the forests by
bears and wolves; and along the banks of the numerous streams
the otters, badgers, or brocks, and even the beavers, formed their
dwelling-places. The arn or earn, afterwards named the eagle
by the Normaus, built its nest amongst the cliffs, and the hawk
and raven still frequented the rocks, where also the rock pigeon
or culfer built its nest, whilst the wood pigeons collected in vast
flocks, in the beech-tree woods. The fox and other smaller animals
were found on the moors and cliffs, and the wild boar still infested
the oak forests.
It was in clearings of these forests or in natural meadows that
PAST AND PRESENT. 425
the Angles began to form and to inclose their tuns, or towns ;
their worths ; their yards, their folds, and their fields ; and there
also, in a later age, the Danish settlers formed their bys, their
byrs, their tofts, their garths, and their throps, or country seats.
Occasionally sites originally insignificant became connected with
important events ; with the names of English or Danish chiefs,
with those of the imaginary gods of the Anglian and Scandina-
vian mythologies, with holy fountains or wells, and with various
ancient superstitions. In two, if not three different ages, this
county was covered with churches ; first by the Britons ; then by
the Angles, who adopted the Christian religion about A.D. 600,
and again by the Danes, who received the same religion about
A.D. 1000. In the latter part of the Danish period the Danes
settled in England- whose descendants still dwell there built from
eighty to a hundred churches, chiefly in the counties of York,
Lincoln, Derby, and Nottingham, most of which give the name
of Kirk, Kirby, or Kirkdale to the towns, villages, and pleasant
dales in which they are situated.
In quiet times, the Angles, and afterwards the Danes, cultivated
the apple tree in their orchards, and named many of their villages
from that tree and fruit, which was no doubt introduced into
Britain by the Romans. They probably also cultivated the pear tree,
so named by the Frisians, but not by the other Germans; the plum
tree, especially the delicious Winesour plum, and the cherry tree; and
gathered the produce of such fruit-bearing bushes as grow naturally
in this mild climate, including the hazel, the elder bush, and even
the bramble, with its pleasant fruit. The various crops which the
Angles and Anglo-Danes cultivated in their inclosures were bere,
or barley, the chief bread corn of early times; a little wheat,
in favoured situations ; perhaps rye ; hafer, or oats, from which
they made their haver, or oaten cakes ; and beans, pease, and
kale ; kle, or clover of the perennial kind, grew naturally ; and
flax and hemp were cultivated. Their clothing consisted either
of tanned skins and furs, or of coarse cloth formed of flax or
wool, and generally spun and woven by the females of every
family, from the queen to the peasant. The domestic animals in
these early times were what were called neate, or horned cattle,
including the bull, the cow, the ox, the steer, the heifer, the quey,
and the calf. They had also the horse, the mare, and the colt.
They had sheep, originally called skeep (as in Skipton), and also
VOL. I. 3 H
426 YORKSHIRE :
hammel. They had numerous dogs to guard their flocks. Their
swine were also very numerous, but more than half wild, and lived
chiefly on acorns, beech-mast, and the roots that they could pick
up in field or forest.
From a very early period there were hedges of hawthorn round
their fields, wherever the land was of good quality. Large quanti-
ties of hay were made in the summer months for the support of
cattle, which at that time had no food in the winter except
small branches of trees brought from the forests, and the withered
grass which they could pick up in the fields. Large quantities of
fern grew on the drier grounds, and was no doubt used along with
straw for the bedding of cattle.
The climate of Yorkshire was then, as it still is, cold, but fresh
and wholesome. It was probably colder than it is now, owing to
the great extent of the forests and of the marshes and mosses near
the mouths of the rivers, and amongst the undrained moors. Many
places were named chill, or cold, both of which words were used in
the same sense then as they are now.
The rivers had nearly the same names as at present ; and all the
smaller streams were known as burns or becks, as in Sherburn,
Holbeck, and almost innumerable other streams.
The only roads of any value existing in Yorkshire in those
ages, were such as had been left by the Romans. To those they
gave the name of Watling Street ; Deer Street, or the road
of Deira ; Leeming Lane, or Street ; without any other distinction.
Dykes, or ditches, were constructed in early times for military de-
fence, and perhaps in a few of the districts most liable to be flooded.
We have enumerated all these circumstances connected with the
natural aspect of the country its form and levels, its forest and
fruit trees, its plants, its animals, its crops, its rivers, and its
streams- because in these we find the explanation of most of the
names given to the towns and villages of the county by our
Anglian ancestors.
Names of Places derived from Forest Trees. A large number of
the names of places in Yorkshire are derived from the kinds of forest
trees growing upon them at the time when they were inclosed,
as the oak, the ash, the alder, the beech, the linden or lime, the
birch, the maple, and the poplar.
The number of places named from the oak tree, which then
grew everywhere on the stronger soils, is very great ; but we
PAST AND PRESENT. 427
always find the name with some one of the old Anglian forms of
spelling, as ac, ack, ag, ach, ec, eg, hac, hag, heck, hick, and even og
and ug. The ancient names of the oak, with these numerous variations
of sound and spelling, occur in the Domesday Survey, in the names
of the following places : Ach (pronounced ack, as in Ackworth
and Skyrack), Acheburg, Acheford, Achelu, Achu, Aclum, Aclun
(in four places), Actone (twice), Actum (twice), Acurde, Acum,
Echescard, Echescol, Echope, Ecinton, Eclesfelt, Ectone, Egescop,
Egetune, Egistun, Eglestun, Hacestone (twice), Hagebrige, or
Agbrigg wapentake, Hagnesse, Hageneword, Haghedeneby, Hickle-
ton, Occany, Oglestorp, Ogleston, Ughetorp, Ughill, and Uggle-
berdesby. The name of the oak rarely, if ever, occurs in its modern
form in this part of the Domesday Survey, though it is now found
in the names of many places in Yorkshire.
The ash tree, or as it was then spelt, the aesk. or esk, which
at that time must have abounded on the Yorkshire hills, as it does
to the present day, has given its name to a multitude of places.
The tough wood of the ash tree was generally used for the pur-
pose of making spears for war; and the spearman was called the
" aesk-bearer." Thus in Ccedmon's poems we have the spearmen
described as " aesc-berend." ~" We also read in his poems of
"aesk-tir,"t and of "aesc-thraec."J The presence of the ash tree we
find in the names of the Barkstone Ash wapentake; also in Askrigg,
Escrick, Ashton, Aston, Eshton, and probably in all the following
names which occur in the . Domesday Survey of Yorkshire : Ascain,
Asch, Aschebi, Ascheltorp, Aschilebi, Aschilesmeres, Aschiltorp,
Ascri, Ascric, Ascvid, Asebi, Aserla, Aslachesbi, Astune, Esca-
felde, Eschalchedene, Eschedala, Escriangham, Escrieghan, Esdesai,
Esingeton, Esingetone, Esingetune, Eslingsby, Hesintone, and
Hessam. There are, however, two other words that are frequently
found in the Yorkshire names of places, which are liable to
be confounded with the old names partly derived from the ash
tree. These are ais, a word found in such words as Aysgarth and
Aismunderby. which is derived from the word aesir, the inferior
gods of the Danish or Norwegian mythology ; and es, as a contrac-
tion of east.
The linden tree, named the lime tree by the French and
Normans, was also much cultivated by the Angles, who made
the shields which they used in battle from the wood of the
Common's Poems, pp. 123-27. f Ibid- PP- 124-27. } Ibid. pp. 130-32.
428 YORKSHIRE :
linden, as they made their spears from the tougher wood of the
ash tree. In CaBdmon's poems the linden is called the fealwe
linden, from the light colour of its wood," 5 ' and he mentions a noble
race of warriors as assembling under linden-bucklers, "under linden."
The name of the linden occurs in Domesday Book in the words
Lindlie, Linlie, and Lintone, and is still preserved in the modern
names of Linton-upon-Ouse, Lindley, Lindrick, Lingarth, Linthorpe,
and Linthwaite. Some of these places may perhaps be named
from another very valuable product, namely, the flax, named by
the Northmen lin, which supplied them with linseed, and from
which they spun the linen which formed the finest part of their
clothing.
The name of the- beech tree, called by the Angles buc (as in
Buckinghamshire, which was named from its woods of beech), is
found in the names of many ancient places, sometimes under the
forms of buc, bee, boc, bach, or bag. It is probably found in
Domesday in the words Bagenton, Bagentone, Becvi, Bocheton,
Bogewurde, Buchetorpe, and Bughetorpe.
The name of the birch tree, written berk, and pronounced bark,
as in Berkshire, is found in the name of the Barkstone wapentake,
which at the time of the Domesday Survey was described as Bar-
cheston, Barchestone, or Borchescire, and is also found in the
following places mentioned in Domesday Berch, Berchinge, Ber-
cervorde, Bercevorde, Bore, Borch, Borctune, and Burc.
The name of the elm tree is found in Elmeslac and Elmeswelle
in Domesday Book, and with the aspirate in Helmeswelle, and
Helmsley.
The alder, or aller, tree appears to have been very abundant
along the rivers of Yorkshire, when the names of places were
fixed. It is found in the name of the wapentake of Allerton,
in Northallerton, the capital of the North Riding, and the chief
place of the Allerton wapentake, which is described as the Alverton
wapentake in the Domesday Survey. From the alder, or aller, are
probably derived the names of the following places mentioned in
the Domesday Book Alrebec, Alrecher, Alreton, Alretone, Alretun,
Alretune, Alverton, Alvertone, Alvertune, Alvestune, Alvretona,
and Alvertone.
The poplar tree seems to have been cultivated, if we may judge
by the name of Popleton, which occurs three times in Domesday.
* Cscdmon, p. 123.
PAST AND PEESENT. 429
The apple tree was at that time the best known fruit tree,
and the apple the best known fruit, and hence, probably, it is
that we have it mentioned by Caedmon as the fruit which was
offered by Eve to Adam in Paradise. We find this word in
Appletreewick, and the apple is also mentioned in the Domesday
Survey in the names of Apeltona, Apelton, Apeltun, Aplebi, and
Apeltone, Apletune.
The cherry tree is mentioned very early in Cherry -Burton,
but we do not find it in Domesday. The Anglo-Saxon name of
the cherry is Crisetreow.
Begbeam is said to have been the name of the mulberry tree,
and also of the blackberry bush. The former is very rare in
Yorkshire, the latter very abundant. It is not improbable that
Bagbi and Bagentone, mentioned in Domesday, may have been
named from the latter bush. Bremble was also the name for a
bramble, and brom for a broom.
The plum is mentioned at an early age in the name of
Plumpton. In Domesday we have Plumpton and Plontone.
Other places were named from various kinds of plants : as,
Farnley, Thornton, Bramley, Bramham, Farnham, Brierley, Weeton,
Bramwith, Scammonden, Grassington, Clotherholme, Hazelwood,
Wortley, Thorne, Thornhill, Thornes, Brackenholme, and Bracken.
B-osedale, however, is probably named from the neighbouring hill
of Rohsbury.
The number of places named from the kinds of crops grown
upon the land, or for which it was supposed to be specially favour-
able, is very great. Amongst them are Hampole, Havercroft,
Haverah park, Hemsworth, Otley, Barton, Ryehill, Flaxton, and
Cornbrough.
A great number of places were named from the wild animals,
and the birds of prey, with which they were originally infested, as
Arncliffe, Buckden, Hawkswith, Brogden, Barlow, Hartshead ;
Hiendley, Swinden, Heptonstal, Hipperholme, Harthill, Hartwith,
Wooldale, Otterbuin, Ouston, Ravenfield, Catcliffe, Oulton, Atter-
cliffe, Buckton, Ellerton, Foxholes, Cranswic, Scrayingham, Wheldrake ;
Appleton-Roebuck, Everston, Foston, Broxa, Harwood, Hawkwell,
Ravensworth, and perhaps Goathland.
Several places are also named from the domestic or tamed animals
found upon them, as Stourton, Coxwold, Cookridge, or Cockridge 5
Hunsworth, Shipley, Hambleton, Pigburn, Calveiiey, Shafton, Fish-
430 YORKSHIRE :
lake, Hammerton, Handsworth, Harewood, Cattal, Stotfold, Cow-
ling, Fowlston, Hunshelf, Studley, Rossington, Woolley, Beeford,
Catton, Cowlam, Hambleton, Laxton, Skipwith, Swine, Oxton,
Coneysthorpe, Troutsdale, Cowton, Catton.
Yorkshire is a district of mountains, hills, slopes, cliffs, dales, and
valleys, in which a large portion of the towns and villages are high
or low, up or down, in comparison with other and neighbouring
places. There are also many places built on the shelving sides
of steep hills, which take their names from their position. Amongst
the high towns we have : High Abbotside, High Bishopside, High
Hoyland, High Molton, and High Worsal. We have still more
names in which the old Anglian word heah, or hea, appears in the
place of the modern word high. Thus we have Heaton, Earls-
Heaton, Cleckheaton, Healaugh, or the high hill, in the Anglian
speech, Helaugh, Hedon, and Heworth. We have also other ancient
words expressing the same idea of elevation, including a multitude
of hills ; such as Hillam, Hilston, Hilton, Harthill, Farnhill, Pickhill,
Monkhill, and Ryehill. The same idea of height of position is
contained in the words, Hovingham, Upton, Ouram, Lofthouse,
Cleveland, Upsal, Overton, Upleatham, High Catton, Overton,
Broughton, Brotton, Coxwold, and Easingwold. If we include the
words of Norse or Danish origin, we have the same idea of elevation
or height conveyed in the familiar names of Hutton, Hetton, Hoton,
Hooton, Howgrave, Huggate, and perhaps of Heydon, Hotham,
Howden, Howthorpe, Quernhowe, and Hodon. We may also include
the great number of places named from cliffs and rocks, ridges,
and what are called edges, such as Arncliffe, Pioecliffe, Langcliffe,
Cookridge, Liversedge, Clifford, Clifton, Wycliffe, Whitestonecliffe,
Witcliffe, Catcliffe, Attercliffe, Cliffe, Topcliffe, Cliffe-with-Lund,
Blackston-edge, Stanege, Wincobank, and others that might be
mentioned.
The number of places built on the side of hills, and bearing
the Anglian name of shelf, is very considerable, and was much
greater formerly. We have still the villages of Shelf, Tanshelf, near
Pontefract, Ulleskelfe, and Underskelfe. There are also a great
number of places mentioned in the Domesday Survey which begin
with the syllable chel, some of which are probably derived from
the same word. There are also a considerable number which begin
with the syllable seel, which is probably also an old form of the
word shelf.
PAST AND PRESENT. 431
The number of dales, and of towns and villages named after them,
is very great. Thus we have Airedale, Eskdale, Niddale, Swale-
dale, Teesdale, and Wharfedale ; and along with the greater dales,
we have the less familiar names of Arkengarthdale, Bishopdale,
Bedale, Givendale, Garsdale, Gordale, Harwood-dale, Bilsdale, Kil-
dale, Bransdale, Farndale, Staintondale, Dinsdale, Thorntondale,
Westerdale, Askdale-side, Grindale, Thixendale, Kirkdale, Trouts-
dale, and Cundale.
The number of places named from rivers, becks, burns, meres,
flowing waters and wells and springs, is much greater. Thus we
have Airton, on the river Aire, Kirkby-on-Wharfe, Burton-on-Ure,
Linton-on-Ouse, Barmby-on-Don, as well as Doncaster on the
same river ; and Hull, on the river Hull. The number of places
named from the burns or brooks is also very great. Thus we have
Gisburn, Winterburn, Eastburn, Stainburn, Fairburn, Glusburn,
Otterburn, Kirkburn, Southburn, Nunburn, Colburne, Kilburn, Stock-
burn, Leyburn, Ellerburn, and Welburn. There are a few places
in which the streams bear the Norse name of becks, as Sandbeck,
Firbeck, Holbeck, Melbeck ; and there are two or three places, but
scarcely more, in which the beck is called a brook. The number of
places which end in ea, or in ey, as it is now generally spelt, which
also means a flowing stream, is rather considerable. Thus we have
Kilnsey, Brierey, Arksey, Bardsey, Haddlesey, and Kilnsey. Wells,
springs, and keldes, which is an Anglian name for a spring of
water, have also given names to many places, as in the instances
of Well, Churwell, Bracewell, Wombwell, Letwell, Rothwell,
Shadwell, Hemswell, Hartswell, Kettlewell, Welbury, Welwick,
Welburn, Hipswell, Whitewell, Hawkswell, Caldwell, Hurdswell,
Hinderwell, and what was called Hunderthwaite by the Danes,
but was previously named Hunderkelde by the Angles, which
meant the hundred springs or fountains.
A number of Anglian names of persons also appear as forming
a portion of the names of places, though the Angles were not so
much accustomed to give personal names to places as the Danes.
Amongst the Anglian names of this description in Yorkshire are
Alurestan, Alwintone, Arnold, Barnoldswick, Bened, or Bennets-
field, Burnulfeswick, Brandsburton, Cotherston, a contraction of
St. Cuthberston, Ella, East and West, Emeric, Feliskirk, Fel-
kirk, and Fellisclifle, from Felix, the apostle of the East Angles ;
Flixton, named from the same saint, Osset, the hero's seat,
432
YORKSHIRE :
Oswaldkirk, Romaldskirk, and Wilfrid, after the archbishop of that
name.
In addition to the above names, which are derived from
general causes, there are a great number which are drawn from
peculiar and local circumstances. The following alphabetical list
will show the roots from which a considerable number of these
local names, derived from Anglian, that is from Teutonic roots, are
drawn :
PROBABLE ORIGIN OF YORKSHIRE NAMES OF PLACES AND PERSONS DERIVED FROM
THE ANGLIAN OR ANCIENT ENGLISH, THE ANGLO-SAXON, THE FRISIAN, AND OTHER
GERMANIC OR TEUTONIC DIALECTS.
The Common Words from which the Proper
Names given in the following list of Yorkshire
Names of Persons and Places are probably
derived, are taken chiefly from the following
works :
1st. (C. P.) Casdmou's Metrical Paraphrase
of Parts of the Holy Scripture, in Anglo-
Saxon. By Benjamin Thorpe, F.S.A.
Published by the Society of Antiquaries
of London. 1832.
2nd. (B.W.) Bede's Works: (B.V. 0.). Bedaj
(Venerabilis), Opera Omnia. J. A. Giles,
8vo. Oxon. 1843-5.
3rd. (S. of D.) Symeon of Durham, the Stir-
tees Society, 1867, vol. 51. Symeonis Dunel-
mensis Opera et Collectanea, vol. i. 1868.
4th. (B. A.-S. D.) Bosworth's Compendious
Anglo-Saxon and English Dictionary, 1848.
5th. (O. G. F.) Outzen's Glossary of the Fries-
landish Language. Kopenhagen, 1837.
6th. (A. - S. C.) Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.
Edited by Benjamin Thorpe. 1861.
7th. (F. G. D.) FlugePs Dictionary of the
German and English Languages. London.
1853.
8th. In a few instances the initials of the
author (T. B; are given as the authority,
which in such cases he wishes to be regarded
as merely conjectural.
Ac, or ack, an oak (B. A. S. D.). In Ackworth,
the oakinclosure,and Skyrack, the shire oak.
Ad, a funeral pile or place of sacrifice (C. P.
p. 175). Adwick, the camp of the pile, and
Adwalton, the walled town of the pile.
Adel, noble (C. P. p. 83). In Adel and Adling-
fleet; and in Adelfrid, the noble peace, the
name of one of the Northumbrian kings.
JE, lawful (C. P. p. 217), legitimate, in the
names of the two Northumbrian kings
jEle, jElla, from one of whom Kirk Ella, is
named.
Aesc, an ash tree (C. P. p. 123). In Escrick,
the ash ridge, and Eshton, the ash town.
Aid, old (C. P. p. 209). In Aldbrough, the old
burh, the Roman Isurium, and in Aldfrid,
old or general peace, the name of one of the
Northumbrian kings.
Aller, an alder tree (B. A.-S. D.). In Chapel
Allerton, Northallerton, and Allerton By-
water.
Arn, an eagle (0. G. F. at word). In Arncliffe,
the eagle's cliff.
Balder, a chief (C. P. p. 163). In the name
of the river Balder.
Bael, a fire of sacrifice (C. P. p. 172). In
Baildon.
Bar, a bear (B. A. S. D.). In Barden, the
bear's den or valley, and Barlow, the bear's
hill, perhaps in Bierlow.
Bar, barley (B. A.-S. D.). In Barton.
Beaber, or Beafer, a beaver (B. A.-S. D.). In
Beverley.
Beaceii, a beacon (C. P. p. 64). In Wilton
Beacon.
Beam, a tree (C. P. p. 15). In Bampton.
Bee, a beck or brook (C. P. p. 15). In Hoi-
beck, Sandbeck, &c.
Beofor, a beaver (A.-S. C. p. 173). In Beverley.
Beorh, a mountain or hill (C. P. p. 206). In
Ingleborough.
Beorn, a chief (B. A.-S. D.). Probably in
Barnsley and Barnbow ; or these words
may be derived from barn, a child.
Bio, a bee (B. A.-S. D.). Perhaps in
Bedale.
PAST AND PRESENT.
433
Bleo, the colour blue (B. A.-S. D.). In Bleo-
ber-houses, the Blueberry houses ; not
Blubberhouses, as spelt at present.
Brand, fire (C. P. p. 21). In Brand, the name
of an Anglian chief, and in Brandsburton.
Brember, a bramble (C. P. p. 177). In Bram-
ham Moor. Bramley, &c.
Brim, the ocean (C. P. p. 13). Perhaps in
Brimham, from a supposed resemblance of
the rocks to the sea cliffs ; though some
derive the name of those wonderful rocks
from the Norse word brime, a flame or fire
beacon.
Brom, or broom,a flowering shrub (B. A.-S.D.);
in Bromley, and in Brompton.
Brunnen, springs of water, as in Brunnenburh
(A.-S. C. vol. i. p. 200), the scene of a great
battle in the reign of King Athelstane.
Brycg, a bridge (B. A.-S. D.). In Brighouse
and Briggate.
Burh, a borough or city (C. P. p. 65). In
Boroughbridge.
Burn, or Burne, a burn or brook (C. P. p. 14).
In Sherburn, Fairburn, and numerous other
Anglian names of streams and places.
Caegun, keys (C. P. p. 211). In Caeton.
Cald, cold (C. P. p. 20); in Caldwell or the
Coldwell.
Campa, warriors (C. P. p. 260). In Campsal,
the warrior's hall.
Ceape, cattle or goods, or a place at which
they were sold (C. P. p. 115). In Chipping.
Cneoris, a tribe or sept (C. P. p. 117). Probably
in Knaresborough, or the Tribe's Camp.
Culufr, a dove or wood pigeon (C. P. p. 87).
In Coverham, Coverdale, and perhaps in
Calverley.
Cumbrian, a Cumber or Briton (T. B.) This
may be the origin of Cumberworth.
Cwic, lively or active (C. P. p. 79). In the
township of Quick, in Saddleworth.
Cyme, sources or springs (C. P. p. 240). In
Newton Kyme.
Cyning, a king (C. P. p. 1). In Conisborough.
Daele, a dale or division (C. P. p. 2.). In the
numerous dales of Yorkshire.
Den, a den or valley, both in the Anglian and
British languages. In Denton, Shibden,
Todmorden, Holden, and many other
names.
Deop, deep (C. P. p. 2). In Deep or Deep dale.
Deor, a wild beast (C. P. p. 240). As in the
kingdom of Deira, which included the
ancient Yorkshire and Durham.
VOL. I.
Dere, the people of Deira (A. S. C. vol. ii. p.
63). In Derawudu, the forest of Deira,
near Beverley.
Don or Dun, a down or hill, both in the
Anglian and British languages (C. P. 84).
In Baildon, or the hill of sacrifice, and in
Yeadon, which is a very ancient form of
Headon, the high hill.
Ea, a stream of water (C. P. p. 14). In Eaton,
probably Elland, and at the close of many
Yorkshire names of places, generally in the
form of ey, as in Kilnsey, or the spring
water.
Ece, eternal (C. P. p. 1). In Egfrid, or Ecfrid,
king of Northumbria, whose name means
lasting or eternal peace, though he lived in
war and died in battle.
Ecge, an edge or ridge (C. P. p. 109). As
in Stanege or Stanedge, and Blackstone
Edge, meaning the Stone ridge and the
Blackstone ridge.
Eger, a torrent (C. P. p. 83). Perhaps in
Egton.
Ellen, courage, bravery (C. P. p. 78). In
Ellenton.
Eorl, an Earl (C. P. p. 72). In Earlsheaton.
Fang, capture or imprisonment (T. B.). In
Fangfoss, near York.
Farn, fern. In Farnley.
Feax, hair (C. P. p. 141). In Halifax and
Fairfax, the holy hair and the fair hair.
Feld, a plain or field (C. P. p. 100). As Stan-
feld, Wakefield, Sheffield.
Folc, folk or people (C. P. p. 10). In Folkton.
Fold, a field, or sometimes the earth (C. P. p. 7).
Frid, or Frith, peace (C. P. p. 2). In Frith-
burh.
Fyrd, a march or an army (C. P. p. 180). In
Strafforth.
Garefa, the chief of the ga (A.-S. C. vol. ii.
p. 322). In Gargrave.
Giess, a torrent (F. G. D.). In Gisburn,
Guisley, and perhaps in Gieselwick or
Giggleswick.
Gled, a place of sacrifice (C. P. p. 108). In
Gledhow, the hill of sacrifice.
Gold, gold (C. P. p. 14). As in Goldsborough.
God, God (C. P. p. 230). In Godmundham,
the God-protected home.
Graes, grass (C. P. p. 7). In Graesdale.
Gumena, men (C. P. p. 111). Perhaps in
Gomersal, the common hall.
Gyld, a gild (C. P. p 226). Perhaps in
Gildersome, or the home of the gyld.
3 i
434
YORKSHIRE :
Halga, holy (C. P. p. 18). In Halifax, and,
according to Domesday, in Helgafelde, now
written Hellefield.
Halle, a home (C. P. p. 261). Perhaps in
Hallam.
Halse, the neck (C. P. p. 24). Perhaps in
Hawes, which, according to Professor
Phillips, stands on a neck of land between
two valleys.
Ham, a home or residence of a tribe (C. P. p.
3). In Addingham, and numerous other
places in Yorkshire.
Hammel, a sheep (F. G. D.), or wether. In
Hambledon, the sheep downs.
Hart or Heort, a hart (0. P. p. 252). In
Hartshill.
Hath or Haeth, a heath (C. P. p. 185). In Hat-
field chase, and in Heath, near Wakefield.
Heah, high (C. P. p. 1). In Heaton.
Heolden, a lair of wild beasts (0. P. p. 248).
In Holden.
Hild, favour (0. P. p. 214). In Hilda.
Hleo, a law or hill (0. P. p. 88) ; as in Hca-
laugh, the high hill.
Holt, a wood (C. P. p. 53). In Holton.
Hord, a hoard or treasure (0. P. p. 121). In
Horbury, the treasure town of some ancient
Anglian tribe.
Humbcr, the Humber river, in Humberton.
Hweurfe, to turn or wind (C. P. p. 47) ; in
Wharfe river and Wharfedale.
Idel, idle, aud perhaps the place of an idol
(C. P. p. 7). Idle, and in the river Idle, a
slow flowing stream.
Kelde, a spring or water (S. of D.). As
in Halicheldc, the holy well, and Hunder-
kelde, the hundred springs.
Kluft, a cleft, in Clough (F. G. D.). As in
Barrowclough, Deadmansclough, and many
other names.
Lang, long, in Langclifli-.
Lea or Ley, a field or pasture (S. of D.).
In Aclea, the oak, and Shipley, the sheep
pasture.
Leod, the people (C. P. p. 14).
Leod-Bruh is the peoples, or a populous town.
This is perhaps the root of the word
Loidis, mentioned by Bede (pp. 98, 152),
though some authorities derive the name
of Leeds from the British city of Caer-
Loid.
Lehm, lime (0. G. F.). In Leeming lane.
Lind, a linden or lime tree (G. P. p. 120).
In Linton and Lindley.
Locan, a recess (C. P. p. 226). Perhaps in
Leconfield.
Lond, land (C. P. p. 10). In Londesbrough.
Maegburg, a tribe or family (G. P. p. 68).
Probably in Mexborough.
Mearc, a mark or boundary (C. P. p. 104). In
Frismark, Marston, Marsden, and perhaps
in Mirfield.
Mere, the sea or lake (C. P. p. 9). In
Merton.
Methel, a council, as in Methel-stede, the
council place (C. P. p. 224). In Methley.
Micel, much or great (C. P. p. 1). In
Micklefell, Micklegate, and numerous other
names.
Molan, earth (C. P. p. 251). Perhaps in Mold-
Green.
Mon, man (C. P. p. 25). In Monton.
Mor, a moor. In Morley and Morton.
Mundbyrde, protection (C. P. p. 111). Per-
haps in Almondbury, which may mean
either all protection, or the all protected or
protecting burh.
Ofn, an oven (C. P. p. 229), Pot-Ovens.
Os, a hero (B. A.-S. D). In Oswald and in
Ossett, the hero's seat.
Rinc, a prince or chief (C. P. p. 98). In
Runcton.
Scroef, a cavern ; Scraefen, caverns (0. P. p.
156). In Scriven and probably in Craven,
the land of caverns.
Seld, a seat (C. P. p. 260).
Sele, a hall or palace (C. P. p. 111). In
Gomersal, the common hall, or the people's
hall.
Setel, a seat or abode (0. P. p. 6). In Settle.
Sige, victorious (G. P. p. 107). In Siggles-
thorne.
Snawas, snows (C. P. p. 239). In Snaton.
Staeth, the shore (C. P. p. 83).
Stan or Stean, a stone (0. P. p. 101). In
Stanclift'e, Stanfeld, Stanedge, and Stanton.
Stathol, stations (C. P. p. 196). In Lang-
strothdale.
Stowe, a place (C. P. p. 6). In Temple-
Stowe.
Straete, a Roman road (C. P. p. 147). In
Stratford, Appleton-le-Street, Barton-le-
Street, and Stretton.
Strith, or Strid, strife (G. P. p. 19). The
strid or conflict of waters in the river
Wharfe.
Sumera, summer (C. P. p. 233). In Simmer-
water.
PAST AND PRESENT.
435
Sweart, swart or black (0. P. p. 7). In Swart-
fell or the Blackfell.
Thorn, a thorn tree. In Thornton.
Torr, a tower (C. P. p. 102). In Torton.
Waepen, a weapon (0. P. p. 178). Hence,
wapentak or wapentake.
Wang, or Wong, a plain or open country (C.
P. p. 100). In Wetwong. The Anglian
name for Eden or Paradise was Neorxna
Wonges, or the field of rest and peace (C.
P. p. 11).
Weall, a wall (C. P. p. 108). In Adwalton.
Weorc, a work or fortification (0. P. p. 49).
In Aldwark.
Westen, a waste (0. P. p. 8).
Wic, a camp (C. P. p. 183). In Eofervic,
Adwic, and many other places.
Wig, war (C. P. p. 125). In Wigton.
Wille, a well (C. P. p. 14). In Well,
Welton, Ohurwel, which is probably
Shirewell.
Winnan, to fight (C. P. p. 135). In Winweyd,
the battle-field or meadow.
Wudu, a tree or wood (0. P. p. 54). In Wood-
lesford.
Wynsum, delightful, or winsome (C. P. p.
237). In the Winsour plum.
436 YORKSHIRE :
CHAPTER VIII.
THE DANISH INVASION OF ENGLAND, AND THE SETTLEMENT OF THE
DANES AND NORWEGIANS IN YORKSHIRE.
THE Anglian rule in Yorkshire, and in the other districts included
in the ancient kingdom of Northumbria, continued from the landing
of Ida, the first Anglian king, in the year 547, to the time of
the conquest of the same districts of England by the Danes and
Norwegians. This was effected about the year 867 of the Christian
era, making the period of Anglian rule about 320 years. In 867
the two rival Anglian kings of Northumbria, Osbert (which means
the bright hero), and ./Ella (the lawful chief), were slain, at the
storming of York by the Danish armies. The Danes then obtained
possession of that city, and York, or as they named it Jorvik,
continued to be the chief stronghold of their power in England,
down to the time of the Norman conquest, in the year 1066.
At that time the Danish settlers and their descendants formed
a considerable portion of the inhabitants of the city and county
of York, though the Angles were intermixed with them, and
possessed the hilly districts in the interior.
Though the Danish and Noi-wegian incursions, during the
next 200 years, extended more or less to all parts of the coasts
of England, and although their armies repeatedly marched across
and wasted the whole country, their settlements, properly so called,
were confined to the north-eastern districts of England, and more
especially to the counties of York and Lincoln. In those counties
they established themselves, chiefly on the coasts and along the
navigable rivers, in fixed homes, building numerous towns and
villages, intermarrying with the Anglian population, cultivating
the soil, and opening a considerable commerce from the River
H umber, with all the countries discovered, conquered, or peopled
by the Scandinavian race. Those countries extended ultimately
from the deepest bays of the Baltic Sea and the coasts of Russia,
on the east, to Iceland and Greenland, if not beyond the mouth
of the St. Lawrence, on the mainland of America ; and from the
FAST AND PRESENT. 437
Icy Cape and Spitzbergen, on the north, to the Mediterranean,
with Sicily, Constantinople, and Palestine on the south. In the
north and eastern districts of England, there must from that time
have been a large intermixture of the Scandinavian blood with the
Teutonic blood of the Angles. This union of the most energetic
and enterprising people of Northern Europe with the calmer and
more patient Anglo-Saxons, has no doubt had a considerable
influence in forming the character of the northern races of England,
which have ever been, and still are, remarkable for industry at
home, and for enterprise abroad.
At the time when the Danish and Norwegian power in England
had obtained its fullest development, England was divided between
the Anglo-Saxon and the Scandinavian races, by a line extending
along the old Roman road, to which the English gave the name
of Watling Street, from London, by Bedford, to Chester. The
territory to the south and west of this line was governed by the
West Saxons and Mercians, under King Alfred and his successors ;
whilst that to the north and east of it was ruled by the Danish
race, under Guthrum, Eric, and other chiefs, who were themselves
more or less subject to the kings of Denmark and Norway. The
district subject to the Danelagh, or Danish law, included the
counties of York, Lincoln, Nottingham, Dei-by, Leicester, and
Chester, with the five or six great towns which form the capitals of
those counties or shires. But the border line was often contested,
and frequently varied. There were times when the Anglo-Saxons
were driven back into the west of England, and others when the
Danes could scarcely hold their ground to the north of the Humber.
First Landing of the Danes, Norse, or Northmen, in England.
The first landing of the Danes or Norwegians in England seems to
have been in 787, in which year "there first came three ships
of Northmen out of Haretha-land." These were mere pirates,
or, as they were then called, vikings, the inhabitants of viks, or
creeks, who in those days were all given to piracy. The reeve
or boroughreeve of the place, the name of which is not given,
endeavoured to drive them to the king's town as prisoners. On
this they attacked and slew the reeve. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
says : " These were the first ships of Danish men which sought
the land of the English nation." *
The impunity with which the earlier attacks of the vikings were
* Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, AD. 787.
438 YORKSHIRE :
made, encouraged them to renew their predatory excursions on a
larger scale. In the year 793 "dire forewarnings came over the
land of the Northumbrians, and miserably terrified the people."
According to the Anglo Saxon-Chronicle, there were in that year
excessive whirlwinds and lightnings, and fiery dragons were seen
flying in the air. These were probably meteors or falling stars,
the recurrence of which on St. Lawrence's day, August 10, and at
other seasons, has been rendered highly interesting by modern
science.* Famine and war soon followed. On the sixth day before
the ides of March, the Danes landed on Holy Island, and "the
ravaging of the heathen men lamentably destroyed God's church
at Lindisfarne, through rapine and slaughter.'' In the following
year the heathen (Danes) again ravaged the country of the North-
umbrians, and plundered Egferth's monastery, at the mouth of
the river Wear. There, however, the invaders met with a repulse.
One of their leaders was slain ; some of their ships were wrecked
by a tempest, and many of their men were drowned. Those
who escaped to the land were slain at the river's mouth.~f"
From the year 793, for many succeeding years, the Danes effected
almost yearly landings on the eastern, southern, or western coasts of
England. Every year their numbers became larger ; and ultimately
they fitted out fleets consisting of hundreds of vessels, conveying
thousands of men. After overrunning extensive districts, and
plundering the country, they generally returned home to gather
in the crops, which they had sown before they sailed on their
naval expeditions. In those days, amongst the northern tribes,
piracy was not considered a crime, any more than amongst the
ancient Greeks, in the time of Homer, or among the early Angles
and Saxons.
Encouraged by the success of numerous piratical chiefs, the
kings of Denmark and Norway ultimately took the command of
these expeditions, and formed plans for conquering, first the separate
provinces of England, and ultimately the whole island. For the first
time the Danish armies remained in England during the winter
in the year 865. Their main army then occupied an impreg-
nable position in the Isle of Sheppy, at the entrance of the Thames
and the Medway, near the modern fortified lines of Chatham.
At this time the Saxons and Angles, though originally the boldest
seamen on the German Ocean, had allowed their navy to go to
Humboldt's Cosmos, vol. i. p. 107. f Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, vol. i. p. 49.
PAST AND PKESENT. 439
ruin, and had thus lost the power of resisting the Danes at sea.
In consequence of this gross neglect, the invaders landed when-
ever and wherever they thought fit ; occupied and fortified strong
positions on islands, and in bays and creeks ; there drew together
large armies from the coasts of Scandinavia ; and with them
marched into the interior, to plunder and ultimately to conquer
the country.
At this time England, instead of being united under one govern-
ment, was divided into the four kingdoms of Northumbria, East
Anglia, Mercia, and the kingdom of the West Saxons. In only
one of those kingdoms was there any good military organization,
or any leader capable of conducting a successful contest for the
independence of England. Northumbria was at that time weakened
by a desperate civil war. The kings of Mercia and East Anglia
were entirely governed by the monks. It was only in the kingdom
of the West Saxons, and in the family of which Alfred the Great
was the brightest ornament, that there was a man found capable
of organizing and of leading a nation to victory and independence.
In the same year one large Danish army occupied Kent and Essex,
and threatened London, which was only saved by the strength
of its fortifications and the courage of its citizens, whilst another
great heathen, or Danish army, ''came to the land of the English
nation, and took up their winter quarters in the kingdom of the
East Angles,'' which then extended along the eastern coast of Eng-
land, from the Thames to the Humber. This country the Danes
conquered, compelling the East Angles to pay tribute to them, and
to supply them with horses, for the purpose of overrunning the
rest of the kingdom.
The Conquest of the Anglian Kingdom of Northumbria by the
Danes. "In the year 867," as the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle informs
us, "the Danish army went from East Anglia, over the mouth of the
Humber, to York, in Northumbria. At that time there was much
dissension amongst the Northumbrian people, who had cast out
their king, Osbert, and had taken to themselves a king, ^Ella, not
of royal blood.'' But late in the year, on hearing of the approach
of the invaders, the rival kings, with their armies, concluded a peace,
and marched to the city of York, which had already been attacked
by the Danish army. A furious battle took place, partly within
and partly outside the walls. In this battle, after enormous loss
on both sides, the two Anglian kings, Osbert and ^Ella, were slain ;
440 YORKSHIRE :
their armies were defeated ; and the survivors were compelled to
make peace, and to submit to the Danish yoke. Such was the close
of the Anglian kingdom of Northumbria, which commenced with Ida,
in 547 (or perhaps from fifty to a hundred years earlier), and ended
in 867, with the storming of York, and the death of Osbert and
^Ella."" From that time, what we now call Yorkshire became a
Danish or Norwegian province, and with a few intervals continued
to be so till the Norman Conquest, in the year 1066. The Danish
chiefs of York first called . themselves kings of Northumbria, and
ruled as independent princes ; but with the Danes and Norwegians
on the one side, and the Mercians and West Saxons on the other,
they were frequently overrun by each, and were compelled to
seek protection from both of them in turns.
For some time Nottingham, the strongest city of Mercia, held
out against the Danish army, being powerfully assisted by a
West Saxon army under the youthful Alfred, who had been sent
by his brother Ethelred to assist in the defence of the kingdom of
Mercia. But his efforts were for a while unavailing, and he was
ultimately compelled to fall back to the banks of the Thames,
where the West Saxon king with his people were preparing to defend
themselves against the Danish armies, which were, collecting on
every side. Before renewing the contest the Danish forces rested
for some time at York, and in the neighbourhood ; and on again
advancing southward, they left the third part of their forces to
defend and hold their conquests in Northumbrian They then again
advanced southward with two thirds of their forces, secured their
conquests of Mercia and East Anglia, forming the central and
eastern counties of England, and then joined the main Danish army
in the valley of the Thames, to complete the conquest of England, by
the subjugation of the West Saxon kingdom.
It is not our intention to refer at length to the events of the
conflict, of two hundred years' duration, which raged between the
Danish and the English races, for the possession of England. We
shall speak very briefly of the events which occurred beyond the
limits of the present county of York, and shall only refer to them
so far as is necessary to show the course and causes of the events
which ultimately decided the fortunes of that portion of England,
of which Yorkshire forms a part.
In the year 871-72 the Danish invaders collected all their forces
' Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, p. 357. f The Snrtees Society, Symeon of Durham, vol. i. p. 144.
PAST AND PRESENT. 441
for the conquest of England, and sailing up the Thames, passed
London, which at that tune was well fortified, and advanced into the
centre of the West Saxon kingdom between Kingston-on-Thames
and Reading, where they were encountered by King Ethelred and
Alfred his brother. The Danes were commanded by Guthrum, or
Guthorm, who was their chief leader or king, and by two other
Danish kings named Bagsecg and Helfdean, the last-named of
whom was the chief who had conquered York, and who ruled the
kingdom of Northumbria. The West Saxons were finally driven
back, after nine general battles fought on the south of the Thames ;
and after a struggle which continued for five or six years,
Alfred, who had succeeded to the crown, was compelled to take
refuge in the island of Athelney, in the marshes of Somersetshire.
There he again began to muster an army, and in the seventh
week after Easter, in the year '878, he advanced with his army
to Selwood Forest ; " where there came to meet him all the men
of Somerset, and the men of Wiltshire, and that portion of the
men of Hampshire, which was on this side of the sea ; and they
were joyful at his presence." On the following day Alfred ad-
vanced from that station to Iglea (Ely), and on the next day to
Heddington. There he fought a great battle against the whole
Danish army, put it to flight, and pursued it to its fortress.
This fortress Alfred besieged for fourteen days, and in the end
compelled the Danish army and its leaders to surrender. This
they did on condition that they should either leave the kingdom,
or receive the sacrament of baptism, and become subject to
the West Saxon rule. In about three weeks after this aoreement
o
Guthrum, the king of the Danes, came to Alfred, with about
thirty of his principal chiefs, and was baptized, Alfred acting as
sponsor to Guthrum, and giving him the name of Athelstane (the
noble rock or stone) as his Christian name. At the same time
Alfred and Guthrum divided England between them, Alfred retain-
ing his own hereditary kingdom of the West Saxons, and that part
of the kingdom of Mercia which lay to the south and the west
of Watling Street ; and the Danes being acknowledged by him
as the masters of those portions of England which extend from
Watling Street, eastward and northward, to the German Ocean,
and the present borders of Scotland. By this arrangement the
dominions of Alfred, who was originally merely king of the West
Saxons, and whose territory lay chiefly to the south of the
VOL. i. 3 K
442 YORKSHIRE :
Thames, were greatly extended, both to the north and east; but
on the other hand, the Danes obtained peaceful possession of
extensive territories in the north and east of England, which
they at once proceeded to settle and to occupy as masters. The
Danish provinces were considered to be equal in value and extent
to one-third of England.
It was in the year 876 that the Danes settled permanently on
the lands of Yorkshire and the neighbouring districts. As the
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle informs us, "in that year Helfdean, the
Danish chief, apportioned the lands of Northumbria, and from
that time they (the Danes) continued to plough and to till the, soil."
The conquered Angles became subject to them, and, no doubt,
assisted in tilling the ground. In the same year Hollo, the
ancestor of William the Conqueror, overran Normandy with his
army, and there reigned during many years ; thus founding
another race of conquerors, in the north of France, of whom we
shall have to speak again in a subsequent chapter. Neither
England nor France at that time had a fleet, whilst the fleets of
the Danes and Norwegians swept every sea, and threatened the
shores of every land, from Iceland to the British Islands, and
from these islands to Sicily. It is said that Charlemagne, powerful
as his armies were on land, shed tears, when he saw for the first
time the Danish and Norwegian fleets in the Mediterranean.
From this time to the year 893 England appears to have
enjoyed comparative tranquillity, the Danes under Guthrum being
overawed by the military genius of King Alfred, and remaining
quiet in the north-eastern and northern districts of England,
according to the agreement between Alfred and Guthrum. This
tranquillity, however, did not continue long ; for in that age the
Danish chiefs, from being mere pirates, had begun to aspire to
the conquest of whole kingdoms, and were powerfully assisted by
those of their fellow-countrymen who had been established in
the threatened countries in former incursions. Thus, in the
incursions into England, which commenced in the year 893, the
invaders were powerfully assisted by the Danes of Northumbria
and East Anglia.
In the year 893 a great army of Danes, under the command
of a most formidable chief named Hasten, conveyed by 250 ships;
landed at Limnemouth on the coast of Kent, overran that county,
and seized the principal islands and other strong positions on the
PAST AND PKESENT. 443
banks of the Thames, laying siege to the city of London. In the
following year, 894, the Danes of Northumbria and East Anglia,
" although they had given oaths and hostages to King Alfred,
contrary to their plighted troth, advanced into his kingdom, and
joined their strength with that of the invaders, besides fitting
out a fleet of a hundred ships, with which they went about
south, as far as Devonshire, where they laid siege to the city
of Exeter." But though thus attacked on all sides, Alfred not
only held his ground through three successful campaigns, but drove
the Danish invaders from one position to another, finally com-
pelling the army of Hasten to retire from England, and not
merely forcing the Northumbrian Danes back beyond Watling
Street, but compelling them to pay tribute to him, as their
master and lord. Had his life been prolonged for a few years,
he would no doubt have made himself undisputed master of the
whole of England, and have formed it into one kingdom.
"But in the year 901 died Alfred, the son of Ethel wulf, six
days before the Mass of All Saints. He was king of the whole Eng-
lish nation, except that part which was under the dominion of
the Danes; and he held the kingdom one year and a half less
than thirty years."*" He was succeeded by his son Edward, known
in history as Edward the Elder ; but in those times the rule of
succession to the throne was very unsettled, and the crown was
claimed by Ethelwald, the Atheling or prince, his uncle's son,
who stole away by night, and joined the Danish army, in
Northumbria. The Danes received him as their king, and, under
his command, waged war against Edward, the son of Alfred
the Great.
The Conflicts between the Danes and Edward the Elder, Ethelfleda
and Athelstane. But Edward the Elder was scarcely less dis-
tinguished as a warrior than his father Alfred, and what is even
more remarkable, Ethelfleda, the daughter of Alfred, who was
married to the Anglian earl of Mercia, was fully equal in
military talents and statesman-like views to her father Alfred
and her brother Edward. Under her command the kingdom of
Mercia, which had been completely overrun by the Danes, was
gradually reconquered by the West Saxons and the Angles. After
her death the earls of Mercia lost their independent position, though
without being reconciled to the rule of the West Saxon kings.
* Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, vol. ii. p. 75.
444 YORKSHIRE :
From this time England was thus divided : -The kingdom of
the West Saxons, the capital of which was first Winchester and
afterwards Kingston-on-Thames, was governed by Edward the
Elder, and by the other direct male descendants of Alfred the
Great. The earldom of Mercia, of which sometimes Tamworth and
other times Coventry and Warwick were the capitals, was governed
by descendants of the ancient kings of Mercia, with the title of
earls, and under a nominal subjection to the kings of the West
Saxons. At the same time the kingdom of Northumbria, which
gradually sank into an earldom, together with a considerable
part of East Anglia, was governed by Danish earls or kings,
who were generally independent both of the West Saxon kings
and the Mercian earls, although on some occasions the kings of
the West Saxons succeeded in establishing their authority in
Northumbria, even as far north as the borders of Scotland.
In the four years which followed the death of Alfred the Great,
from the year 901 to the year 905, Ethel wald, the nephew of Alfred,
held his ground against Edward the Elder, his son. But in the
year 905, Ethelwald and his ally and supporter Eric, the Danish
king who ruled at York, were defeated with great slaughter
by the West Saxons and the Mercians, and both Ethelwald
and Eric were left dead on the field of battle, with many chiefs.
In the following year, 906, Edward the Elder was recognized
as king of the West Saxons, and of great part of Mercia;
the Danish kings being again acknowledged as the masters of all
the territories lying to the north and east of Watling Street.
This arrangement continued until the year 911, when, as we
are told, the Northumbrian Danes broke the peace, and despising
the terms which King Edward and his witan, or parliament, offered
them, overran the land of Mercia. But Edward had now the
advantage of the powerful fleet which his father Alfred had
built ; and with these and his land forces he fell upon the Danes as
they were marching back into Northumbria, fought against them,
and put them to flight, slaying many thousands.
In the following year King Edward pressed forward into Mercia
in one direction, taking possession of London and Oxford, " and of
the land which owed obedience thereto." He also continued to
advance northward, conquering the western part of England,
as far as the ancient Roman and British cities of Chester and
Manchester.
PAST AND PRESENT. 445
Meanwhile Ethelfleda, his sister, " the lady of the Mercians," was
equally successful. She defeated the Danes in many battles, and
built fortresses at Derby, Tarn worth, Stafford, Warwick, Eddisbury,
in Cheshire, and at Chirbury. In the following year, 917, the
Danes having again advanced from Northampton and Leicester,
she defeated them in a great battle, took those cities, and also
captured the town and fortress of Derby.
In the year 918, Ethelfleda appeared to be about to complete
her conquests by the capture of the great Danish fortress of York.
As we are told in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, "In the year 918,
in the early part of the year, by God's help, she got into her
power by treaty the fortress of Leicester, and great part of the
Danish arrny which owed obedience thereto became subject to
her ; and the people of York had also covenanted with her, some
having given a pledge, and some having bound themselves by
oath, that they would be at her command."*
Unfortunately the career of this able and heroic woman was
cut short by death, in the year 918. After recording her triumphs,
and the submission of nearly all the Danish chiefs, we are told that
" very shortly after they had become subject, she died at Tamworth ;
twelve days before Midsummer, in the eighth year of her rule and
lordship over the Mercians ; and her body lies at Gloucester, within
the east porch of St. Peter's church." Another still briefer chronicle
says, "This year died Ethelfleda, the Lady of the Mercians."
King Athelstane s Victory at Brunnenburh. Between 918 and
924, Edward the Elder succeeded in establishing his authority
over the whole of Mercia and part of Northumbria, but leaving
the Danish chiefs in possession of York. In the year 925 King
Edward the Elder died, and Athelstane his son succeeded to the
throne. In the first year of his reign, Athelstane and Sihtric,
the king of the Northumbrians, came together at Tamworth, and
Athelstane gave him his sister as his wife. The peace between
them was, however, very short, for in the year 926, we are
told in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, that "this year fiery lights
appeared in the north part of the heavens, and King Athelstane
obtained the kingdom of Northumbria." Not satisfied with this,
Athelstane set up a claim to the obedience of Constantine, king of
the Scots, and to that of Aldred, the Anglian or Danish chief of
Bamborough ; the result was a coalition of ah 1 the Danish, Scottish,
* Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, vol. i. p. 81.
446 YORKSHIRE :
and Anglian chiefs against Athelstane. This led to the great battle
of Brunnenburh, one of the most important battles ever fought
between the Germanic and the Scandinavian races. In this battle
Athelstane and his brother, Edmund Atheling, were completely
victorious ; and for some years the Saxon rule was established
throughout England, the Danish chiefs at York being reduced to
the rank of earls, and to the position of tributaries.
For some years after the battle of Brunnenburh, the authority
of the West Saxon kings was partially established in the northern
parts of England. It was about this time that the English begin
to be spoken of as the Anglo-Saxon race, chiefly in honour of
the West Saxon kings, from Alfred to Edgar, who for five genera-
tions produced princes and princesses possessing many of the
noble qualities of Alfred himself. At this time the West Saxon
kings paid great attention to the maintaining of a powerful
naval force in all the English seas ; and so great was the influ j
ence of this policy that when King Edgar visited Chester, a
few years later, all the Danish and Norwegian and other chiefs,
from the surrounding coasts and islands, came and paid homage
to him there.
In the year 946 the West Saxon king Eadred, a descendant
of Alfred the Great, marched into Northumbria, to Taddescliff, or
Tanshelf, near Pontefract ; and there Wulfstan, the archbishop of
York, and the Northumbrian witan, or parliament, came to meet
him, plighted their faith to him, and acknowledged him to be
their lord and master. But within a few months they broke
away from their allegiance ; and in the year 948 King Eadred
ravaged all Northumbria, because the people had taken Eric, a
Danish or Norwegian chief, to be their king. During this devasta-
tion the great minster at Bipon, built by St. Wilfrid, was burned
to the ground. As King Eadred marched southward, the Danish
army of York followed and overtook him, when the rear of his
forces was at Chesterfield ; and there they made great slaughter
in his ranks. " Then," as we are told, " was the king (Eadred) so
wroth that he would have marched his forces into Northumbria
again, and wholly destroyed the land ; but when the Northumbrian
witan heard of his approach, they forsook Eric, and made com-
pensation to King Eadred."
During the reign of Eadgar all parts of England were compara-
tively quiet, and at this time the Danes of Northumbria appear
PAST AND PKESENT. 447
to have turned their attention to the arts of peace. But Eadgar
died in the year 975, and Edward, Eadgar's son, was murdered
in the year 979. From that time the kingdom again fell into
confusion. Edward was succeeded by Ethelred, known as the
Unready, during whose reign the navy formed by Alfred and
his successors was destroyed by negligence or treason. From
that time large bands of Danish and Norwegian invaders began
again to overrun England, under the command of the kings of
Norway and Denmark, Olaff, Svein, and ultimately of Canute
the Great.
Invasion of England by Olaff, Svein, and Canute the Great,
Kings of Norway and Denmark. In the year 993 the Danish
and Norwegian fleet and army came to the mouth of the Humber,
and there "wrought great evil" both in Lindsey and in North-
umbria, that is, in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. In the following
year, 994, Olave, or Olaff, and Svein, chiefs or kings of Norway and
Denmark, invaded England with large armies. By this time
Christianity had been established amongst the Scandinavian races,
and Olaff on his death received the honour of a Christian saint, as
St. Olave, or Olaff. The church of St. Olave, at York, as well as
many other churches in the northern and eastern parts of the king-
dom, were named after him. Svein, king of Denmark, was also a
powerful chief in the northern parts of England; and memorials
of his exploits are still found in the names of places in Yorkshire
and other counties, as in Svein or Swine, and Swinefleet, on the
Humber, and probably . Swinegate, or Sveingate, one of the oldest
streets in the town of Leeds.
In the year 1013 King Svein, with his fleet, entered the
river Humber, and sailed along the Trent until he came to Gains-
borough. There Uchtred, the earl of Northumbria, and all the
people from the Humber northward submitted to him, as well as
those of Lindsey (or Lincolnshire), and afterwards the people of the
five boroughs, namely, Lincoln, Nottingham, Stamford, Leicester,
and Derby, and of all the Danish districts north of Watling Street.'"
After thus possessing himself of the ancient Danish territory in
England, King Svein marched southward, committing the ships
and the hostages to his son Canute, who advanced along the coast.
When the Danish army had passed Watling Street, which divided
the Anglian and Saxon from the Danish parts of the kingdom,
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, vol. ii. pp. 118, 403.
448 YORKSHIRE :
"it wrought the most evil that any army could do." In fact, it
laid waste, and ultimately conquered the whole of the southern
parts of England.
In the year 1014 Svein ended his days, and all his fleets
and army chose his son, Canute, as their king. Canute put to
death Uchtred, the earl of Northumbria, in his advance upon York.
He afterwards again overran the southern parts of England, and
firmly established himself as king and lord of England, as well
as of Denmark. King Canute died in the year 1035, after having
reigned in England for about twenty-eight years. *
A period of anarchy followed the death of Canute ; but in
1043 Edward the Confessor, the last representative of the race of
the Anglian and Saxon kings of England, succeeded to the throne.
During his reign Godwin, earl of Kent, obtained the command of
the military forces of England, and Harold, Tosti, and the other
sons of Godwin, governed the kingdom, as lieutenants of the king,
gradually concentrating all power in their own hands. In the early
part of this reign the county of York, and the whole of Northumbria,
were governed by Siward, the Danish earl, who is chiefly memorable
in history for having led the army into Scotland which defeated
Macbeth, t and, in doing so, formed a subject for one of the noblest
creations of the genius of Shakspeare.
In the year 1055 died Siward, the earl, at York; " and his body
lies within the minster at Galmanho, which himself had before built
to the glory of God and all his saints." Galmanho was an Anglian
abbey, merged afterwards in the abbey of St. Mary of York.
After the death of Earl Siward, who was the last of the Danish
earls of Northumbria, Tosti, a younger son of Earl Godwin, and the
brother of Harold, the last Saxon king of England, was appointed
earl of Northumbria. He appears to have been a cruel tyrant ; and
in the year 1065 he was driven from his earldom by an insurrection
of the people.
However richly Earl Tosti may have deserved expulsion from
the earldom of Northumbria, that event was followed by most dis-
astrous consequences. On the death of Edward the Confessor,
Harold, the elder brother of Tosti, had succeeded in causing himself
to be elected king of England, although there were members of the
royal race of Alfred still living, whilst he did not belong to the
royal family. Indeed Harold had no claim to the throne, according
* Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, vol. ii. p. 129. f Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, vol. ii. p. 156.
PAST AND PEESENT. 449
to the recognized principles of the Anglian and Saxon laws. The
seizing of the throne by Harold, gave William duke of Normandy,
who had just as little right as he, a pretence for claiming the
throne of England; and being supported by a numerous fleet and
a powerful army, he passed over into England, and won the crown
and the kingdom at the battle of Hastings.
One principal cause of the defeat of King Harold at Hastings
was, that his brother, Earl Tosti, had about a month previously
landed in the neighbourhood of York with a large army, composed
partly of his own followers, and partly of the Norwegian followers of
Harald Hardrada, king of Norway, who, though both of them
defeated and slain, inflicted very heavy losses on the English army
which afterwards fought with the Normans at Hastings. We
possess both Anglian and Norwegian accounts of the battles
fought in the neighbourhood of York, which had so great an
influence on the fortunes of England. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
gives the following account of these last glories of the Saxon
race. In recording the events of 1066, the Anglo-Saxon chronicler
says : " In this year King Harold came from York to West-
minster at Easter, which was after the mid-winter in which the
king (Edward the Confessor) died. Then was seen over all
England such a sign in the heavejis as no man ever before saw ;
some said it was the star Cometa, which some men call the
haired star; and it first appeared on the eve of Litani-major, the
8th of the Kalends of May (April 24th), and so shone all the seven
nights. And shortly after, Earl Tosti came from beyond the sea
into (the Isle of) Wight, with as large a fleet as he could get ; and
then he was paid (by the inhabitants) both in money and provisions.
And King Harold, his brother, gathered so great a naval force and
also a land force, as no king here in the land had before him ; because
it had been made known to him that William the Bastard (of
Normandy) would come hither and win this land all, as it afterwards
came to pass. And the while came Tosti into the Humber with
sixty ships, and Earl Eadwin came with a land force and drove him
out. And the butse-carls (seamen) forsook him ; and he went to
Scotland with twelve smacks, and there Harald, king of Norway,
met him with three hundred ships ; and Tosti submitted to him,
and became his man (or dependent). Then they both went into
the Humber, until they came to York ; and there fought against
them Earl Eadwin and Earl Morcar, his brother; but the Normen
VOL. I. 3 L
450 YORKSHIRE :
(Norwegians) had the victory. It was then made known to Harold,
king of the English, that this had thus happened ; and this battle
was on St. Matthew's eve (September 20th). Then came Harold
our king, unawares, on the Normen (Norwegians), and met them
beyond York, at Stamford Bridge, with a large army of English
folk ; and there, during the day, was a very severe fight on each
side. There were slain Harald Hardrada and Earl Tosti ; and the
Normen (Norwegians) who were there left were put to flight, and
the English hotly slew them from behind, until they came to their
ships. Some were drowned, some also were burnt, and so diversely
perished, that few were left ; and the English had possession of
the place of carnage. The king then gave peace to Olaf, the
Normen (Norwegian) king's son, and to their bishop, and to the
earl of Orkney, and to all those who were left in the ships ; and
they then went to our king, and swore oaths that they would
ever observe peace and friendship to this land, and the king let
them go home with twenty-four ships. These two great battles
(namely, those of Fulford near York, and Stamford Bridge near
the same city), were fought within five nights (or, as we say, days),
of each other."
Norse Account of the Campaign, and of the Defeat and Death of
Harald Hardrada (the Stern) in Yorkshire, A.D. 1066. We have
another and much fuller account of the battles fought at Fulford
on the Ouse, and at Stamford Bridge on the Derwent, both of them
in the immediate neighbourhood of the city of York, in the "Heims-
kringla," or Chronicle of the kings of Norway, in the Icelandic of
Snorro Sturleson. In his saga or history of Harald Hardrada, he
informs us that Harald was the son of Sigurd Syr, brother of Olaff
the saint, by the same mother, and that he reigned from about the
year 1046 to 1066. He was the most successful of all the Nor-
wegian kings during the greater part of his career, and his adven-
tures extended over the greater part of Europe. At the beginning
of his career he went eastward in the summer months to Russia, to
King Jarisleif, and was with him all the following winter, having
fought many battles with his own enemies and those of the king of
Russia. After spending several years in Russia, and travelling
through eastern lands, he began an expedition against Greece,
proceeding in the first instance to Constantinople, which was at that
time ruled by the Empress Zoe the Great, and with her by Michael
Catalactus. On arriving there, Harald and his warriors entered into
PAST AND PRESENT. 451
the service of the empress, went on board the Greek galleys, and
made a voyage amongst the Greek islands, giving battle to the
Mahomedan corsairs who infested those seas. He afterwards com-
manded in a great expedition against the Saracens' land, in which he
took eighty castles, some of which surrendered, whilst others were
stormed by him. There, we are told, he gathered together extra-
ordinary treasure, plundering that part of the world which is richest
in gold and articles of value. Thence Harald went to Sicily, where
he captured several strong castles held by the Saracens, and fought
numerous battles, it is said no less than eighteen in number.
Thence, according to the saga, Harald went with his men to the
land of Jerusalem, and then up to the city of Jerusalem, and where-
soever he came in the land all the towns and strongholds were
given up to him. From Jerusalem he went to the river Jordan,
and bathed in the river, according to the custom of other pilgrims.
Harald, also, according to the saga, gave great gifts to our Lord's
grave, to the Holy Cross, and to other holy places, in the land
of Jerusalem. He also cleared the road all the way to the river
Jordan, by killing robbers and other disturbers of the public peace.
After performing these acts of piety and war, he returned to
Constantinople, where he soon involved himself in a quarrel with
the Empress Zoe, by making love to a young and beautiful girl
named Maria, a brother's daughter of the empress. The empress
having refused to give her niece to Harald, he finally retired from
Constantinople, and again entered into the service of King Jarisleif
of Russia, who willingly gave his daughter Elizabeth to Harald
in marriage. In the next summer, journeying by Novogorod, he
returned to Sweden, and afterwards to Norway, where, after a
variety of adventures, he obtained half the kingdom from King
Magnus, and ultimately the whole of it, on the death of that
king. From that time he was known as King Harald Sigurdsson,
being the son of Sigurd the brother of King Olaff. He soon made
himself the most formidable sovereign in the north, waging war
with the Danes, the Swedes, and numerous small chiefs in the
islands of the Baltic.
The last great exploit of Harald Hardrada, or Sigurdsson, was
the invasion of Northumbria, at the invitation and solicitation of
Earl Tosti, the brother of Harold, king of England, whom the Norse
writers describe as Harold Godwinsson, he being the son of Godwin,
earl of Kent. After numerous adventures the armies of the two
452 YOEKSHIRE :
kings met in battle-array at Stamford Bridge, near York, where
Harold, king of England, entirely defeated his rival the king of
Norway. The following are a few particulars of this memorable
campaign, according to the Scandinavian historian.*
The first landing of the Norwegian Harald in Yorkshire was in
Cleveland, or as the Norse writers call it, Kliflond. There he went
on shore, and plundered and brought the country into subjection to
himself without opposition, the district being chiefly inhabited by
Danes and Northmen. Thence he sailed to the strong fortress of
Scarborough, or as the Norse writers call it, Skardaborg, and fought
with the people of the place. We are told that he led his army
to the top of a hill that overlooks the town, and made a great
pile of fagots there. This he set on fire, and when the fire was
burning fiercely, his men took large forks and pitched the burning
wood into the town, setting it on fire in many places and compelling
the inhabitants to surrender. "There the Northmen killed many
people, and took all the booty they could lay their hands on."t
From Scarborough, King Harald marched with the Norwegian army
into Holderness, called Hellorness in the saga, where he was joined
by his fleet, and where he defeated a force that had come out to
meet him. At this time the Scandinavians had a fortress at
Grimsby on the south side of the Humber, and there is reason to
believe that they had a naval, if not a military position at the vik
or wyke, that is to say, the bay or creek, through which the river
Hull flows into the Humber. What the Scandinavians call the Vik,
and the English Wyke or the Wyke, was the fine natural harbour
of the present port of Hull, which was growing up to be a place
of trade long before it received the name of Hull from the river,
or of Kingston-upon-Hull, from the favour of King Edward I.
The following is a summary of the Norse account of the sub-
sequent battles fought in the neighbourhood of York, or as the
Norwegian writers call it, Jorvik, after King Harald of Norway
had sailed up the Humber and the river (Ouse), and had landed
near Biccall. In York were Earls Morcar and Eadwin ; and while
the English army was coming down from the upper part of the
country, the fleet of King Harald of Norway lay in the Ouse or Usa.
The Battle ofFulford. When the English were assembled, Harald
* The Heimskringla ; or Chronicle of the Kings of Norway. Translated from the Icelandic of Snorro Sturleson,
with a preliminary Dissertation by Samuel Laing, Esq. London, 1844.
f The Heimskringla or Chronicle of the Kings of Norway, vol. iii. p. 83.
PAST AND PRESENT. 453
landed and drew up his men. The one wing of his line stood at the
outer edge of the river supported by his ships, the other turned up
towards the land along a ditch ; and there was also a morass, deep,
broad, and full of water. The English earls led their army slowly
down the river side, with all their troops in line. The Norwegian king's
banner was next the river, where the line was thickest. It was thin-
nest at the ditch, where also the weakest of the men were. When the
earls advanced downwards along the ditch, the wing of the North-
men's line which was at the ditch gave way ; and the Englishmen
followed, thinking the Northmen would fly. The banner of Earl
Mauro-Kaare (Morcar) advanced then bravely. When King Harald
saw that the English array had come to the ditch against him, he
ordered the charge to be sounded, and urged on his men. He
ordered the banner, which was called " the Land-ravager," to be
carried before him, and made so fierce an assault that all had to
give way before it. There was a great loss among the men of the
two English earls, and they soon broke into flight, some running up
the river, some down, and the most leaping into the ditch, which
was so filled with dead that the Norsemen could go dry foot
over the fen. Earl Walthiof and the people who escaped fled up to
the castle in York; and there the greatest loss of men had been.
This battle took place upon the Wednesday next Mathias' day
(20th September).
" Earl Tosti had come from Flanders to King Harald as soon as
he arrived in England, and the earl was present at all these battles.
It happened, as he had foretold, that many people flocked to them,
as being friends and relations of Earl Tosti, and thus the Norwegian
forces were much strengthened. After the first battle, many of the
people in the nearest districts submitted to Harald, but some fled.
Then the Norwegians advanced to take the castle of York, and led
their whole army to Stamford Bridge.""" King Harald having gained
so great a victory, against so great chiefs and so large an army,
the people were dismayed, and doubted if they could make any
opposition. The men of the castle therefore determined, in a council,
to send a message to King Harald, and deliver up the castle into his
power. All this was soon settled ; so that on Sunday the king of
Norway proceeded with the whole army to the castle, and appointed
a Thing (general assembly) of the people without the castle, at
which the people of the castle were to be present. At this Thing
* Stafnferdo-bryggia.
454 YORKSHIRE :
all the people accepted the condition of submitting to Harald, and
gave him, as hostages, the children of the most considerable persons ;
for Earl Tosti was well acquainted with all the people of that town.
In the evening the Norwegian king returned to his ships, after this
victory achieved with his own force, and was very merry. A Thing
was appointed within the castle early on Monday morning, and then
King Harald was to name officers to rule over the town, to give out
laws, and bestow fiefs.
The Battle of Stamford Bridge. But the same evening, after
sunset, King Harold Godwinsson (King Harold of England), came
from the south to the castle with a numerous army, and rode
into the city, with the goodwill and consent of the people of the
castle. All the gates and walls were beset by the English, so that
the Northmen could receive no intelligence, and the English
remained all night in the city. On Monday, when King Harald
Sigurdsson had taken breakfast, he ordered the trumpets to
sound for going ashore. The army accordingly got ready, and
he divided the men into the parties who should go, and who
should stay behind. In every division he allowed two men to
land, and one to remain behind. Earl Tosti and his retinue
prepared to land with King Harald; and for watching the ships,
remained behind the king's son Olaf; the earls of Orkney, Paul and
Eclend ; and also Eystein Orre, a son of Thorberg Ameson, who was
the most able and best beloved by the king of all the lendermen,
and to whom the king had promised his daughter Maria. The
weather was uncommonly fine, and it was hot sunshine. The men,
therefore, laid aside their armour, and went on the land only with
their shields, helmets, and spears, and girt with swords ; and many
had also arrows and bows, and all were very merry. Now as they
came near York a great army seemed coming against them, and
they saw a cloud of dust as from horses' feet, and under it shining
shields and bright armour. The king of Norway halted his people,
and called to him Earl Tosti, and asked him what army this could
be. The earl replied that he thought it most likely to be a hostile
army ; but possibly it might be some of his relations who were
seeking for mercy and friendship, in order to obtain certain peace
and safety from the king. Then the king said, "We must all halt,
to discover what kind of a force this is." They did so ; and the
nearer this force came the greater it appeared, " and their shining
arms were to the sight like glancing ice."
PAST AND PRESENT. 455
A few minutes were sufficient to convince them that it was the
English army, commanded by the king in person, which was advancing
from York on Stamford Bridge, or, as the saga expresses it, "that
King Harold Godwinsson had come up with an immense army both
of cavalry and infantry." This being the case, the Norwegian king, or
as he is called King Harald Sigurdsson, rode round his army to see
how every front was drawn up. He was on a black horse, as we are
told, and the horse stumbled under him, and so the king fell off.
Harald got up in haste, and said, "A fall is lucky for a traveller."
The English King Harold said to the Northmen who were with him,
" Do ye know the stout man who fell from his horse, with a blue
kirtle and the beautiful helmet." " That is the king himself," said
they. The English king said, " A great man, and of stately appear-
ance is he ; but I think his luck has left him."
After this conversation, it is said that an interview took place
between King Harold of England and his traitor brother Earl Tosti,
in which the king of England offered to restore to him the whole
of Northumbria, from the Humber to the Tweed, and even to give
him the third part of his kingdom, to prevent a war. But the
English king refused to make any concession to the king of Norway,
saying, " I will give him seven feet of English ground ; or as much
more as he may be taller than other men."
After this defiance the battle began, or, as the saga states, "the
Englishmen made a hot assault upon the Northmen, who sustained
it bravely. It was no easy matter for the English to ride against
the Northmen on account of their spears ; therefore they rode in a
circle around them, and the fight at first was but loose and light,
as long as the Northmen kept their order of battle; for although
the English rode hard against the Northmen, they were unable to
break through their array of spears, and fell back immediately. Now
when the Northmen thought that the English were making weak
assaults, they set after them and would drive them into flight; but
when they had broken their shield rampart, the Englishmen rode up
from all sides, and threw arrows and spears on them ; and when King
Harald Sigurdsson, the king of Norway, saw this, he went into the
affray where the greatest crash of weapons was ; and there was a sharp
conflict, in which many people fell on both sides. King Harald was
then in a rage, and ran out in front of the array, and hewed down
with both hands; so that neither helmet nor armour could withstand
him, and all who were nearest gave way before him. " It was then
456 YORKSHIRE :
very near with the English," as we are told, "that they had taken
to flight." But, however, they did not do so, and at this moment
Harald, king of Norway, was hit by an arrow in the windpipe, and
that was his death wound. He fell, and all who had advanced
with him, except those who retired with the banner.
" There was afterwards the warmest conflict, for Earl Tosti had
taken charge of the king of Norway's banner. Before the battle
began again, King Harold of England offered his brother Earl Tosti
peace, and also quarter to the Northmen who were still alive ; but
the Northmen called out all of them together, that they would
rather fall one across the other, than accept of quarter from the
Englishmen. Then each side set up a war shout, and the battle
began again."
"At this moment, one of the most distinguished of the fallen
king's warriors, by name Eystein Orre, came up from the ships of
the Norwegian fleet, which were anchored in the Ouse near Biccall,
at the head of an army of Norwegians all clad in armour." Then
Eystein got King Harald's banner named Land-ravager ; and now
was for the third time one of the sharpest of conflicts, in which many
Englishmen fell, and they were near to taking flight, as the Nor-
wegians supposed, though no flight took place. This conflict was
called Orre's storm. " Eystein and his men had hastened so fast from
the ships that they were quite exhausted, and scarcely fit to fight
before they came into the battle ; but afterwards they became so
furious, that they did not cover themselves with their shields so
long as they could stand upright. At last they threw off their coats
of ringmail, and then the Englishmen could easily lay their blows
on them ; and many fell from weariness, and died without a wound.
Thus almost all the chief men fell among the Norway people. This
happened towards evening, and then it went, as one might expect,
that all had not the same fate, for many fled and were lucky enough
to escape in various ways, and darkness fell before the slaughter was
altogether ended."
The king of Norway's eldest son, Olaf Haraldsson, had not gone
out on land with the others, and when he heard of his father's fall
he made ready to sail with the men who remained.""'
The Battle of Hastings. The Anglo-Saxon chronicler then pro-
ceeds with the account of the landing of William the Conqueror
and the battle of Hastings : " Then came William, count of
* Chronicles of the Kings of Norway, vol. ii. p. 93.
PAST AND PRESENT. 457
Normandy, to Pevensey (on the coast of Sussex), on St. Michael's
Mass eve (September 28); and immediately after they were ready
they constructed a castle (or rather a stockade) at the town of
Hastings. This was then made known to King Harold, and he
gathered a great army, and came to meet him at the Hoar Apple-
tree (near Battle Abbey) ; and William came against him unawares,
ere his people were in battle order. But the king, nevertheless,
boldly fought against him, with those men who had followed him ;
and there was a great slaughter made on each side. There were slain
King Harold, and Earl Leofwine his brother, and Gyrth his brother,
and many other good men; and the French (Normans) had pos-
session of the place of carnage, as to them God granted, for the
people's sins."*
There is no more reason to suppose that the brave King Harold,
and the gallant English warriors who fell with him at Hastings, in
defence of their native land, were greater sinners than William
the Conqueror and his invading hosts of Normans and Frenchmen,
than there is to believe that the eighteen men on whom the tower
in Siloam fell and slew them, were greater sinners than the other
dwellers in Jerusalem. The Anglo-Saxon kingdom was conquered
by the Normans, because the government and people had neglected
to adopt sufficient means for its defence. The powerful fleets of
large and swift vessels constructed by Alfred the Great, by his son
Edward the Elder, his grandson Athelstane, and even down to the
time of King Edgar, had been allowed to disappear from the seas,
sacrificed by neglect, by false notions of economy, or by wilful
treason. The first line of national defence had thus been lost,
and the fleets of hostile nations, conveying powerful armies, were
able to approach the shores of England, whenever and wherever
they chose. The result was, that the Norwegian army landed on
the coast of Yorkshire, almost at the same time at which the
Norman army landed on the coast of Sussex ; the English having
only one army to resist the whole strength of Normandy and
Norway. So far as mere courage could enable them to do this, they
did it nobly ; but owing to the fatal loss of the sea, and to the want
of sufficient reserves of well-trained troops on land, they were over-
whelmed in successive battles, and the Normans remained masters
of England, after the Norwegians and their king had fallen under
the walls of York.
* Anglo-Saxon Chronicle A u. 1066.
VOL. I. 3 M
458 YORKSHIRE :
The Influence of the Danish and other Scandinavian Settlements
in Yorkshire. The Danish or Scandinavian dominion in Yorkshire
continued through a period of more than two hundred years, and
left marks in the names, the language, and in the commercial
relations of the district with foreign countries, which endured
for many ages after the Norman conquest, and are not altogether
obliterated at the present time. The Danish occupation of
Northumbria, and especially of those parts of that ancient king-
dom which extend from the Humber to the Tees, was not a mere
military occupation, but a permanent colonization and settlement.
The proof of this is to be found in the fact, that there are still
some hundred villages or towns in Yorkshire bearing the names
that were given to them by the Scandinavian settlers ; which names
differ altogether from the Anglian and Anglo-Saxon names, found
in those parts of England that were merely overrun, without being
colonized, by the Norwegians or the Danes. The two great colonies
of the Scandinavian race were Northumbria in England, and the
island of Iceland, which is now generally considered to be a part
of America. Iceland was discovered by the Norwegians at a very
early period, and began to be peopled by them in 874, at the
time when the kindred race of the Danes were pressing the conquest
of England. Together with these two great settlements, and the
duchy of Normandy, an infinite number of islands in the Atlantic
Ocean were occupied or conquered by them, extending from the
Faroe Islands in the Icy seas, as far south as the Scilly Islands,
and what we now call the Channel Islands, on the coast of France.
Amongst the other islands subject to the Norwegian or Danish
authority were the groups of the Shetland, the Orkney, and the
Hebrides, together with the Isle of Man, which became one of the
great centres of their naval power, from which they sent numerous
expeditions against the western coasts both of England and Scot-
land. The power of the Danes and Norwegians was also very
great in Ireland, where they held the cities or ports of Dublin,
Strangford, Wexford, Waterford, and Limerick, with most of the
islands on the Irish coast. On the continent of Europe they were
masters of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, also of the whole
of the islands of the Baltic, and of several ports and towns on
the coasts of the present empires both of Germany and Kussia.
In the interval of two hundred years that elapsed between the
landing of the Danes in England and the Norman conquest, the
PAST AND PRKSEOT. 459
Danes and Norwegians had formed a large commercial and military
marine, and traded, as well as warred, with many parts of Northern
and Central Europe. Amongst the most important ports in their
English possessions were York, and probably the Vik or Wyke, that
is to say, the bay or harbour, of the river Hull ; with Scarborough,
Whitby, and Bavenspurn, or Ravensaer, on the Yorkshire coast, and
Grimsby, on the southern bank of the Humber. The commerce
of the Humber with Iceland, with the northern fisheries, and with
the n^rth of Europe, commenced in those ages, and maintained the
direction thus given to it until the discovery of America, by
Christopher Columbus, in the year 1492. In the trade with
Iceland in those early ages, England is said to have supplied meal
and malt to the Norwegian settlers in that inclement island, where
it is almost impossible to bring any kind of grain to maturity ;
Norway furnished timber and ships to the Icelanders ; whilst the
Icelanders in return supplied this part of England and Norway
with dried fish, oil, feathers, skins, dried meat, butter, cheese, wool,
and coarse woollen and linen cloth. These are all articles of great
value and necessity, and formed the basis of an extensive trade
between England, Iceland, and the extensive regions of Scandi-
navia, for several hundred years.* We shall trace the history of
this trade more fully, when we come to describe the early commerce
of the port of Hull.
The Influence of the Norse Language on the English Language, and on
the Yorkshire and other Northern Dialects. The old Norse language,
as we are informed by JR-ask and Haldorsen, was the language which
was conveyed from Norway to the island of Iceland by the first
colonists, who migrated to that country, near the end of the ninth
century, and which is still spoken, with slight alteration, in the
interior parts of that island.t This language rose to a high reputa-
tion in those early ages, and produced a literature which still ranks
amongst the oldest and the most varied of northern literatures.
From this language nearly all the names of the places which
originated in that age, and amongst that people, were formed ; and
it also entered extensively into the words and construction of
the languages spoken in the countries that were conquered and
peopled by the Danes and Norwegians. The English language,
* Laing's Ileimskringla, or Chronicles of the Kings of Norway. London, 1844. Vol i. p. 58.
f Introduction to the Lexicon Islandico-Latino-Danicum, Biornonis Haldursenii, Havnia: (.Copenhagen), 1814
Vol i. p. v.
460 YORKSHIRE :
even as it is now spoken, throughout this country generally, has
been much more extensively influenced by the old Norse language
than is commonly supposed, many of the most familiar words now
in use in England being derived from the Norse, and not from the
ancient Anglian language. But this is especially the case in York-
shire, and the other districts of the ancient Danelagh, in the northern
and eastern counties, in which the provincial dialects are full of
words and forms of expression derived from the Norse. The follow-
ing list of words, from Haldorsen's Norse or Icelandic Lexicon,
may serve as evidence of the similarity of the two languages ;
and it might be very greatly extended. We shall afterwards
endeavour to show, chiefly from the same authority, how con-
siderable a portion of the existing Yorkshire names of places are
derived from the same source :
English Words derived from the Norse Language. Almr, an elm
tree ; askr, an ash tree ; asna, an ass ; austan, eastern ; ax, an axe ;
axhamar, an axe hammer ; alfr, an elf ; alun, alum ; apalldr, an
apple tree ; areid, a raid, or incursion on horseback ; aska, ashes.
Bak, the back ; bakari, a baker ; bakbitari, a backbiter ; bana,
bane or injury ; batr, a boat; bedr, a bed ; bein, a bone ; byrdengr,
a ship of burden ; bi, a bee ; bid, to invite ; bior, beer ; blek, the
colour black ; blom, a bloom or flower ; bitr, bitter ; boga-strengr,
a bow-string ; blastr, a blast ; brirni, flame ; bygg, barley ; bravd,
bread ; byr-log, a byelaw ; balkr, balks of wood ; beckr, a beck ;
barn, a child ; berg, a rock ; biork, a birch tree ; blaber, a blaeberry ;
bland, to blend ; blinda, blindness ; blod, blood ; blok, a block ;
buckr, a buck ; bole, a bull ; by, an abode ; briest, the breast.
The letter c was seldom, if ever, used in the Norse language,
its place being supplied by the letter k or the letter s.
Daggedr, a dagger ; damur, a dam ; dar, dour ; dregg, the dregs ;
dyki, a dyke or ditch ; dripp, to drip ; dockr, to dock the tail
of a horse or dog; drag-net, a drag-net; dom-hringer, a judgment
circle.
Efter, after ; egg, an egg ; egg, an edge ; einn, one ; eliding,
lightning; ellitree, an elder tree; epla-gardr, an apple orchard ; eski.
an ash tree ; eyk, an oak tree ; espi, an aspen tree ; ern, an earn
or eagle ; elldi, to kindle fire.
Fell, the steep side of a hill ; fell, a skin ; fell, fallen ; fen, a
marsh; fiskr, a fish; floti, a fleet; fodr, fodder; fol, a fool; folk,
people ; fyr, a fire ; fox, a fox ; flotman, a seaman.
PAST AND PRESENT. 461
Gangr, a goer ; gata, a road or street ; gledra, a glede or kite ;
gra, grey ; gras, grass ; griepa, to gripe ; greyhunder, a greyhound.
Haftr, a field of oats ; hagthorn, a cornel tree ; half-brodr,
half-brother ; hammr, a hammer ; hampr, hemp ; har, hair ; hasl,
a hazel bush ; hawkr, a hawk ; heim, a home ; heima, at home ;
heri, a hare ; hay, hay ; haystackr, a haystack ; heytoft, a hay
field ; hloupe, a leap ; hunder, a hound or dog ; huss-modr, the
mother of the house ; hus-rum, house-room ; haena, a hen.
la, yes ; iarn, iron ; inntek, an intake or inclosure ; Jol, Yule or
Christmas ; is, ice ; iarl, an earl ; iarldomer, an earldom.
Kabal, a cable ; kalfr, a calf; kenni, to know; kid, a kidd ; kida-
hus, a goat-fold ; kioll, a keel ; klek, a clang of birds ; korn, corn ;
korn akr, a corn field; korn seedi, corn seed; kraka, a crow; kross,
a cross ; ku, a cow ; kyn, kindred ; kyrkai, a church ; kyrtill, a
kirtle or tunic ; kal, kail ; kalk, chalk ; kindi, to kindle ; kirne, to
churn ; klo, a claw ; klaedr, clothes ; knefall, falling on the knees ;
kingr, a king ; kyll, a stream ; klappa, to clap ; klif, a cliff.
Lamb, a lamb ; land, the land ; langskip, a long ship ; langer,
longer; ligg, to lie down; leik, to lake or play; lembing, lambing;
litill, little ; lolla, to loll ; lam, lame ; langkal, longkale.
Manfolk, mankind ; manslag, manslaughter ; mansal, the selling
of men ; mar (masc.), a horse ; mere (fern.), a mare ; markar, a
marker ; mata, meat ; mel, to meddle ; midrieti, midnight ; mid-
sumr, midsummer; miolk, milk; miol, meal; mis, to lose the way;
mold, dust or earth; mouldvarpe, a mole; mot, a meeting; mylna,
a mill ; mani, the moon ; margrenn, sea-green.
Nal, a nail ; nebbi, the neb or beak of a bird ; ness, a nose or
projection of land ; nop, a hill or promontory; naer, near; naerst,
nearest ; natt, night ; naut, neat-cattle ; neip, to nip.
Ofran, an offering ; opin, open ; otr, an otter ; ox, an ox ; oxn,
oxen ; ol, ale ; odal, allodial ; ord, a word.
Paloxi, a pole-axe ; Paskir, the Passover or Easter ; plogr, a
plough ; plomertre, a plum tree ; poki, a poke or bag ; pottermakir,
a potmaker ; Puki, Puck, a mischievous elf.
Quak, to quack ; quernstone, a millstone ; quorn, a millstone ;
quik-sand, quicksand ; quan, a queen ; quikr, quick or living.
Raftr, a rafter ; ransaka, to ransack ; reid, riding ; reimr, a
rhymer ; renta, rent ; rodu-kross, the cross ; rockr, a tunic ; ros,
a rose ; rum, a room or place ; raef, a roof.
Sad-akr, a sown field; saffran, yellow; saungr, a song; saup,
462 YORKSHIRE :
soup ; seckr, a sack ; sel, to sell ; selr, a seal ; serkr, a shirt ; seydr,
cyder or juice; skynn, the skin; skipri, a sailor or skipper; sky, the
sky or clouds ; snakr, a snake ; sodall, a saddle ; spann, a spoon ;
spinn, to spin ; steinn, a stone ; stiki, a stick ; stingr, a sting ; stod,
a stud of horses ; stoll, a stool ; stra, straw ; strond, strand ; sveinn,
a swain, a boy or youth, as a boatswain ; svin, swine ; svina-ste, a
swine stye ; surbraud, sour bread ; saga, a saga or story.
Ta, a toe ; tar, a tear ; tek, to take ; tel, to tell or count ; tern,
to tame ; tenter, toothed ; tik, a tyke ; tolla, to impose toll ; tollfri,
toll-free ; ton, a tone ; tre, a tree ; tru, true ; tunna, a ton ; turtil-dufa,
a turtle-dove ; time, time ; tun, a field or inclosure.
Vax, wax (the letter w does not appear in the Norse vocabularies,
the letters v or u being employed in its place) ; varp, to throw or
cast ; vatn, water ; verk, work ; vindr, the wind.
Ull, wool; undar, a wonder; uns, once; upp, up; uppur, upper;
ut, out ; utan, without ; utlcegr, an outlaw.
The th is a separate letter ; as in thing, a public assembly ;
thing, a parish or district; thingmenn, men having the right to take
part in public assemblies ; thorn, a thorn ; Thorsdager, Thursday.
The th, though written by the Danes in England, was seldom,
if ever, pronounced by them. The th and the w were, and are,
peculiarly English sounds. A Dane spoke of a viti; or look-out;
an Anglian, of a with, as in Skipwith and Bromwith.
Norse and Danish Names of Places in the Interior of Yorkshire.
The Scandinavian names of places differ very considerably from the
Anglian and Saxon names, although both the Scandinavian and the
Teutonic languages belong to the same great family of languages
which is generally called the Gothic, and which extended from the
banks of the Danube to the borders of Finland and Lapland. From
this circumstance there are some points of resemblance between the
Anglian and the Danish names found in Yorkshire, and in other
districts in which those two races have struggled for ascendancy.
But there are also many points of difference, which may be very
easily traced.
The principal Scandinavian or Norse terminations of names and
places found in Yorkshire are the following :
The most frequent and familiar of all the Scandinavian termina-
tions is that of By, an abode, of which termination there are said to
be upwards of 200 examples in the county of York, including the
names of nearly one hundred townships or towns, the rest being
PAST AND PEESENT. 463
the names of hamlets or separate estates. The meaning of the word
By, is a place inhabited and cultivated, as stated by Haldorsen in
his "Lexicon Islandico-Latino-Danicum." The Latin words which
he gives as expressing the meaning of By, are habitare, incolere,
parare, adornare, and rusticare. The word By is as characteristic
of a Scandinavian town or village, as the word Ton or Tun is
of an Anglian or Anglo-Saxon ; indeed, more so, for the Icelanders
had the word Tun, an inclosure, whilst the English did not use the
word By in that sense.
Much less frequent is the word Byr, which means a city or town,
or, as Haldorsen gives it, urbs, a city. The Danes and Norwe-
gians had many villages, but few towns. This word Byr is now
seldom found in English names, though the original name of
Grimsby in Lincolnshire was Grymsbyr, and we still find in York-
shire, Ackber, Langber, Birstal, or Byrstal, and a few other names,
of Danish Byrs. It seems to be an equivalent to the Anglian
burh, and has probably been merged in that word, in many cases.
The term bye-laws is originally byr-laws, and means the laws of
the particular By or Byr, that is town or village, in which such
laws were established. The Northmen, amongst other public assem-
blies, had Byr Things, or what we should call town meetings
or councils, in which the government of their towns was regu-
lated. These meetings were held at the moot or meeting halls;
such as the Moot Hall at Leeds, which some of the readers
of this work will remember, though in a comparatively modem
form.
The Norse word Berg or Borg, which originally means a rocky
hill, from berg, saxum, is occasionally applied to a fortress, as in the
case of Skardeborg, the modern Scarborough.
The word Holme, which occurs very frequently in Yorkshire
names, means originally a small island in a river, from holmi, insula,
but is sometimes applied to a meadow on the river's banks. The
word Holme chiefly prevails in Sweden, as in the word Stockholm,
and the names of many other places on the Swedish coast. It
is also very prevalent in Yorkshire down to the present time, a
fact which shows that those portions of the Northmen or Scan-
dinavians, whom we now call Swedes, were amongst the early
colonists of that part of Northumbria. It is sometimes confounded
with the Anglian word Ham, a home, but had originally quite a
different meaning.
464 YOBKSHIEE :
The word Thwaite is said to be of Norwegian origin, and to
mean a forest-dear ing. * It occurs very frequently in Cumberland
and Westmoreland, and occasionally in Yorkshire.
The word Garth is another northern word, and means a place
guarded or inclosed, agger, prcedium nobile.
Haugr is the Norse name for a hill ; or as Haldorsen renders
it, haugr, collis, tumulus mortuorum. In English names the last
syllable, gr, is often dropped. Hoi is the Norse name for a hollow,
cavitas; holr, cavus.
Fiord, which means a bay or harbour, is occasionally found in
Yorkshire names, but is very liable to be confounded with the
Anglian word Ford, which has quite a different meaning.
The word Thorpe is a Norse word meaning a village, town,
or district, oppidum, pagus. It also means a country seat or landed
estate, and is found in the Danish districts of England more
frequently than any other name except By. The word Thorpe, or
torp, occurs very frequently in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.
Things, or popular assemblies, for making laws, were held in
numerous places, amongst the Scandinavians, which were often
designated from that circumstance. Thus we have Thingwalls both
in Lancashire and Cheshire, as well as in Iceland and Norway ;
Tynwald in the Isle of Man ; Dingwall in Scotland ; and several
places in Yorkshire, which seem to have been named from being
the sites of these ancient national assemblies. The word is
preserved in the English word Hus-tings. Amongst the places in
Yorkshire at which Tilings were held were probably Thwing, Tinsley,
Dinsley, and Morthing, in the south of Yorkshire. Laughton-en-
le-Merthen, is the law town at the moor Thing ; the great object of
the Norse Things being the passing of laws, the execution of which
was committed to the laghman, who was at once the lawyer and
judge of the district, and scarcely inferior in power to the king.
Tarikersley, Upper Thong, and Nether Thong, near Huddersfield,
and Tong, near Bradford, may perhaps, some or all of them, have
been the seats of ancient Northumbrian Things or councils.
One of the Norse names for a clearance in a forest was Riodr, locus
arboribus nudatus, according to Haldorsen's Lexicon, and the word
royd or royds, which is found in one of the Yorkshire valleys, and
scarcely anywhere else in England, is probably derived from this
root. The name Ackroyd seems to mean the clearing in the oak
* Isaac Taylor, Xaraes of Places, p. 77.
PAST AND PEESENT. 465
forest; Ormroyd is the clearing in the elm forest; Holroyd is the
clearing in the hollow. Murgatroyd is probably the great clearing ;
and Mythomroyd is perhaps the clearing in the girls' meadow.
The roots of these names will be given in a subsequent page.
Holt is the Norse name for a rough stony hill. Haldorsen
gives as its meaning, colliculus saxeti.
The word Nope, means, in the Norse language, a recess, and also
the source of a river, recessus, derwatio fluminis.
The words Nope, Nop, and Gnope, mean a hill, a slope, or
projection of land, from gnop, prominentia.
The Norse word Viti, pronounced with, in English names,
means specula, a look-out.
The Norse word for a river or stream contained only one letter,
namely, the first. A, in the Norse language, meant a flowing stream
or river. It was, however, frequently spelt Aa, and sometimes
as Au. It is found in one form or other in such words as Becka,
the water-beck, and in Aburn or Auburn. It is also found in the
name given to those curious land springs or temporary streams,
which burst out at the foot of the Wolds, in the chalk districts of
Yorkshire, after long-continued rains; but cease to flow on the
return of dry weather. These streams are named Gypsies, a word
which is derived from the Norse Gypa, a whirlpool, or sudden gush
of water; or as Haldorsen gives the meaning of the word Gypa,
vorago, which Riddle renders a deep and almost bottomless place,
an abyss in water, also a deep chasm or hole in the earth.
The Norse Names of Places on the Sea Coasts and on the Navigable
Ewers of Yorkshire. Nearly all the names of the bays, ports,
creeks, headlands, and promontories on the Yorkshire coast, are of
Norse or Scandinavian origin, and must have been given at the time
when the Danes and Norwegians were masters of those coasts.
They seem even to have changed the ancient names of the towns
and villages along the coasts, as in the case of Whitby and other
places, which had originally either British or Anglian names. There
is scarcely any exception to this remark, unless in the case of
Flamborough Head, and perhaps of Bridlington, near the base of
that great promontory. The names of these two places may perhaps
be of Anglian origin, though they are both quite capable of being
accounted for by Norse derivations.
The most frequent and characteristic of the Norse names along
this coast is that of Vik, which in the Norse language means a
VOL. I. 3 N
466 YORKSHIRE :
creek, harbour, or port, and which was originally given as a general
name to all ports and harbours, independent of their local names.
Thus, Filey Bay was known to the Norwegians as Philey Vik, and
is so described in one of their oldest Sagas, or historical narratives.
In that case, however, the name of vik does not appear to have
gone into use locally, as it has done in so many others. After the
influence of the Norsemen had been superseded by that of the
English or Angles, the word vik, meaning a harbour or port, was
generally changed to wyke, which is the form in which it is now
usually written. But the Norsemen had no such letter in their
alphabet as the W, and invariably used the V or the U in its
place. They could not even have pronounced the word wyke,
except by a great effort. One inconvenience arising from the
change of the word vik into wyke is, that it is liable, in the latter
form, to be confounded with the Anglian word wic, or wyke, which
has a totally different meaning, namely, that of a military
encampment.
In the earlier peiiods of Scandinavian history, the sea-faring
population along the coasts and bays were named vikingrs, or
inhabitants of the viks, and had the reputation generally of being
pirates rather than fishermen or traders. Hence a vikingr became
the name for a pirate, and viking meant piracy or piratica. These
vikingrs were amongst the earliest plunderers of the English coast,
and formed settlements throughout all the northern seas; but as the
Norwegian and the Danish kings became more powerful, regular
war took the place of piracy, and gradually the vikingrs united
commerce with war, and ultimately became traders instead of
pirates.
The two most celebrated viks on the coast of Yorkshire, and in
the Humber, were the vik or wyke on the River Hull, from which
the port of Hull draws its origin, and the vik on the Ouse or the
Yore, to which the Scandinavians gave the name of Jorvik, or as we
now pronounce it, York. Previous to the Norman conquest, and
down to the reign of King John, Hull seems to have been known by
the name of Wyke-upon-Hull. In the reign of King John it is
described as the port of Hull ; and in the reign of King Edward I.
it received the name of Kingston-upon-Hull, from that monarch.
York was known in succession to the Romans, as Eboracum ; to
the Angles as Eoferwic ; to the Norse and Danes as Jorvik ; and
to the English, from the Norman times, by the name of York.
PAST AND PRESENT. 467
Next to the viks or ports and harbours, the most important
points along the coasts were the headlands or promontories, known
by the Norse name of Nesses, as in the celebrated case of the great
promontory of Holderness ; also in that of Haconess, named after
the Norwegian king,' or earl, Hacon. The headlands along these
coasts were generally known by the Norse name of Nabs, which
means heads, or headlands. The smaller points were named Nebs,
from a fancied resemblance to the nebs or beaks of birds.
At numerous places along the Yorkshire coast the land rose into
what the Norwegians called skars or skers, as at Scarborough and
other conspicuous points. The Norse word Berg, a sea cliff, was
also sometimes combined with the word Sker, as in the name of
Scarborough.
The word Spern, which is the great point of look-out at the
entrance of the Humber, may be equally well explained as an
Anglian or a Norse word. In both it means a look-out or place of
inquiry. The German word Sporn means a place of marks, the
Norse word Sperni means a place of inquiry. It was the point first
made by the Norwegian fleets in approaching the Humber ; and
whether these fleets came in peace or in war, their approach must
have been watched with great anxiety.
In order to show more clearly the influence which the Norse
language has had in fixing the names of the villages, towns, and
country residences of the Norse or Norwegians in the interior of
Yorkshire, in common with the other districts of the Danelagh ; and
also the influence which it has had in fixing the names of the har-
bours, promontories, headlands, and points along the coast ; we
conclude this chapter with the following list of names of places in
Yorkshire which are not derived either from British or from Anglian
roots, but are supposed by Norse scholars to be derived from the
Norse or Scandinavian language. In giving these derivations we
chiefly follow the Lexicon of the Icelandic or Norse language,
translated into Latin and into the modern Danish, which was pub-
lished at Copenhagen, in the year 1814, under the direction of the
celebrated northern scholar, R. K. Eask. We occasionally also
use the authority of the late S. Laing, the translator of the
" Heimskringla, or Chronicles of the Kings of Norway;" and also the
translations from the Norse, and the dissertations on the language
and literature of the northern nations, of Dr. Dasent, who justly
ranks as one of the first Norse scholars of modern times.
468 YORKSHIRE :
NAMES OF TOWNS AND VILLAGES IN YORKSHIRE DERIVED FROM THE NORSE OR SCANDI-
NAVIAN LANGUAGE, AND ENDING IN BY AND BYR, MEANING A VILLAGE OR TOWN.
Aikbar, North Biding, Ley. The Oak-town, from aik or eyk, an oak, and
byr, a town.
Ainderby, Myers, N. R. A contraction of Aismunderby, the God-given
town. See below.
Ainderby, Quernhow, N. R. Do. do.
Ainderby Steeple, N. R. Do. do.
Aislaby, N. R, Whitby. The town of the Aiser or gods.
Aislaby, N. R, Pickering. Do. do.
Aismuuderby, W. R., Ripou, Pickering. The God-given town, from Ais or Aisir, the
name of one of the orders of Scandinavian
gods, rnundr, a gift, and by, a village or
town.
Amotherby, N. R., Malton district. Perhaps the God-minded town, from Aisir and
inodr, animus, the mind.
Andlaby, E. R., Sculcoates district. Amands town.
Asselby, E. R, Howden district. The God's town.
Balby-with-Hexthorpe, W. R., Doncastcr dis. The Baldric town, from bal, vagina ensis, or
perhaps from bal, meaning rogits, pyra,
strues lignorum,
Baldersby, N. R., Ripon district. Balder's town, from Balder, one of the
northern gods.
Barlby, E. R., Selby, W. R. district. Fruitful-town, from barlegr, ad/iuc Jertilis,
prulifer.
Barlby with-Islebeck, N. R, Thirsk. Do. do.
Banuby-oii-the-Marsh, E. R., Howden. Brother's town, from barnii,/rafer ex eodem
sinu.
Ijarmby-on~the-Moor, E. R, Pocldington. Do. do.
Barnby, N. R., Whitby district. The Child's town, from barn, puer, proles
humana, or from Beorn, a chief, making it
Chief's town.
Barnby-upon-Don, W. R., Doncastcr district. The Child's town or Chiefs-town on the river
Don.
Battersby, N. R., Stokcsley district. Boat town, from batr, cymba, navicula,
scajiha.
Baxby, N. R., Easingwold district. Back town, from bak, dorsum.
Bellerby, R. N., Leyburn district. Cow's town, from belia, vacca.
Bessiugby, E. R., Bridlington district. The Bear's town, from bessi or bersi, ursus.
Bielby, E. R., Pockliugton district. Perhaps Ugly town, from bilfi, informis.
Birkby, N. R, Northallerton district. The Birch-tree town, from birki, betula.
Bultby, N. R., Thirsk district. The Bolt town, or bolted town, from bolti,
clavis jerreus.
Bonowby, N. R., Northallerton district. Sledge town, from boner, a sledge, tralia.
Bonowby, N. R, Whitby district. Do. do.
Brandsby, N. R, Easingwold district. Perhaps Sword town, from brandr, lamina
ensis ; or it may be from Brand, the name
of a northern hero.
Brawby, N. R, Malton district. Bread town, from bravd, panis.
Burnby, E. R., Pocklington district. Perhaps the Burn town, from the Anglian
word burn, a brook.
PAST AND PRESENT.
469
Busby, Great and Little, N. R,
Cadeby, W. E., Doncaster district.
Carnaby, E. R, Bridlington district.
Carpetsby-cum-Thoresby, N. R, Askrigg.
Cleasby, N. R, Darlington district.
Coldkirkby, N. R., Helmsley district.
Crosby, N. R, Northallerton district.
Dalby, N. R, Easingwold district.
Danby, N. R., Guisborough district.
Danby Wiske, N. R, Northallerton district.
Denby, W. R, Wortley district.
Duggleby, E. R, Malton district.
Easby, N. R, Richmond district.
" " Stokesley district,
Eastby, W. R, Skipton district.
Ellerby, E. R., Skirlaugh district.
" N. R, Whitby district.
Eppleby, N. R., Richmond district.
Exelby, N. R., Bedale district.
Faceby, N. R, Stokesley district.
Farmanby, N. R., Pickering district.
Fearby, N. R., Leyburn district.
Fernsby, W. R., Knaresborough district,
Ferriby, E. R., Sculcoates district.
Firby, E. R., Malton. N. R.
Firby, N. R, Bedale district.
Fixby, W. R,, Halifax district.
Flasby- \vith-Winterburn, W. R., Skipton dist.
Fockerby, W. R, Goole district.
Foulby, W. R, Hemsworth district.
The plough or coulter town, from basi, culler
obtusus.
Poultry town, from kada, gallina, pulletra.
In the Norse language the letter k was
always used for the letter c hard.
Perhaps the shipbuilding town, from the
Norse word karina, which, however, is
taken from the Latin word carina, the keel
of a ship, upon which it is built, or the
ship itself.
Perhaps the town of strife, from karp, con-
tentio.
Perhaps Cluster town, from klasl, racemus,
a cluster of grapes or berries.
Perhaps the Coal or Charcoal town, with the
church, from the Norse words, kol, carbo,
and kyrkia, ecclesia.
The town of the Cross, from the Norse, kross,
crux, a cross.
The Dale town, from dalr, a dale or valley.
The Danes' town, from Dani, the Danish people.
The Danes' town on the river Wiske.
Probably the Danes' town.
The Fisherman's town, from dugga, navis pis-
catoria, and duggari, nauta, piscatur.
Perhaps Mare's town, from ess, equa, jumen-
tum, or possibly East town.
Do. do.
East town.
Elder-tree town, from ellc-trc, aluus.
Do. do.
Apple town, from epli, ponmm.
Axe-town, from oex, securis, an axe ; or axle-
town, from oexl, scapula, ala, axilla.
The Boaster's town, from the Norse word
fakr, thraso.
The Sailor's or Traveller's town, from farmadr,
nauta, peregrinator.
Sheep town, from faer, ovis.
Perhaps Fourth town, feruir, quaterni.
Ferry tow.n, from feria, cymba, ponto, linter;
or from feria, transportare, to transport or
set over.
Far town, from from firr, procul, eminus.
Do. do. "
The Fish or the Fishing town, from fiskr,
piscis.
Perhaps Hurried town, from flasa, precipit-
anter opus agyredi; but "the flashes" is
sometimes used fora sudden flush of water.
The Folk's town, from folk, populw.
Perhaps Snow town, from foel, nix; or foelna,
pallescere.
470
YORKSHIRE
Gatenby.
Grisby, N. R, Darlington district.
Great Busby, N. R., Stokeslcy district.
Haldenby, W. R, Goole district.
Hawnby, N. R, Helmsley district.
Haxby, N. R, York, E. R
Hellaby, W. R., Doncaster district.
Helperby, N. R., Easingwold district.
Holtby, \V. R, York, E. R
Holtby, N. R., Bedale district.
Hornby, N. R, Leyburn district.
Hornby, N. R., Northallerton district.
Huby, N. R., Easingvvold district.
Ingleby Arncliffe, N. R., Stokesley district.
Ingleby Barwick, N. R., Stockton district.
Ingleby Grcenho, N. R., Stokesley district.
Kexby, E. R, York.
Kirby, W. R., Knaresborougli district.
Killerby, N. R, Bedale district.
Kirby Hill, N. R, Ripon, W. R.
Kirby in Cleveland, N. R, Stokesley district.
Kirby Knowle, N. R, Thirsk district.
Kirby Wiske, N. R., Thirsk district.
Kirk Branrwith, W. R., Doncaster district.
Kirkby-Grindalyth, E. R., Malton, N. R.
Kirkby-Hall, W. R., Knaresborougli district.
Kirkby Malbara Dale, W. R., Settle district.
Kirkby Malzeard, W. R, Ripon district.
Kirkby Misperton, N. R., Malton district.
Kirkby Moorside, N. R., Helmsley district.
Kirkby-on-the-Hill, N. R, Richmond district.
Kirkby-on-the-Moor, N. R., Ripon district.
Kirkby Overblow, W. R., Knaresborough dist.
Kirkby Ravensworth, N.R., Richmond district.
Kirkby South, W. R, York.
Kirkby-under-Dale, E.R., Pocklington district.
The Town on the Gata or Road, from gata,
a road.
Grice, or Pig town, from gris, porcellus.
Plough town. See Busby.
Hill town, from halendi, loca superiora, mon-
tana.
Perhaps Goat's town, from haudna, capra.
Axe town, from oex, an axe.
The Rock town, from hella, petra.
Helper's town. Helper was the name of one
of the Northern gods.
The Hill town, from holt, colliculus saxeti.
Do. do.
Horn or Pointed town, from horn, angulus;
a name applied to towns built on pointed
hills.
Do. do.
The Hill town, from haugr, a hill, collis,
tumulus mortuum.
The English town at the Eagles' cliff.
The English town at the barred or fortified
camp.
The English town at the green hill.
Lance town, from kesia, ccestwm, a heavy
javelin or lance.
The Church town, from kyrkia, the general
name given by the Danes to the towns or
villages in which they erected churches.
Stream town, from kyll, a stream, rivus.
The Church town at the hill.
Do. in Cleveland.
Do. at the knoll or hill.
Do. on the river Wiske.
The Church town at the signal hill, from
brand, tiimultus, and vik, with, specula.
The Church town in the green dale.
Do. at the hall.
Do. in Malham-dale.
Do. afterwardsnamed Malzeard,
from a Norman family.
Do. do.
Do. on the side of the moors.
Do. on the hill.
Do. on the moor.
Do. According to Thoresby
named from the iron ore
blowers of the district.
Do. in Ravensworth, or the
Ravensfield ; the latter
both an Anglian and a
Norse name.
Do. to the south.
Do. in, or under, the dale.
PAST AND PKESENT.
471
Kirkby Wharfe, W. R, Tadcaster district.
Lazenby, N. E., Northallerton district.
Leckby, N. R, Eipon.
Little Busby. N. R, Stokesley district.
Lumby, W. R, Pontefract district.
Maltby, W. E., Eotherham district.
Maunby, N. E., Thirsk district.
Melmerby, N. E., Leyburn district.
Melmerby, N. R, Eipon, W. E.
Meltonby, E. E., Pocklington district.
Mickleby, N. R, Whitby district.
Milby, N. E., Eipon district.
Moxby, N. E., Easingwold district.
Netherby, W. E., Knaresborough district.
Newby, N. E., Stokesley district.
Newby, N. E., Scarborough district.
Newby, W. E., Settle district.
Newby, W. E., Eipon district.
Newby Wiske, N. R, Thirsk district.
Newby with Mulwith, W. E., Eipon district.
Normanby, N. E., Helmsley district.
North Ferriby, E. E., Sculcoates district.
Ormsby, Ni R, Guisborough district.
Osgodby, E. R, Selby, 'W. E.
Osgodby, N. E., Scarborough district.
Osgodby, N. E., Thirsk district.
Quarmby, W. E., Huddersfield district.
Eisby, E. E., Beverley district. .
Eokeby, N. E, (Teesdale Dhm).
Eoxby, N. R, Wliitby district.
Eudby in Cleveland, N. R, Stokesley district.
Scalby, E. E., Howden district.
Scalby, N. E., Scarborough district.
Scausby, W. R, Doncastcr district.
Scoreby, E. E., York district.
Selby, W. R, Selby district.
Skeeby, N. B., Richmond district.
South Kirkby, W. E., Hemsworth district.
Sowerby, W. E., Halifax district.
Sowerby, N. E., Thirsk district.
Sowerby-under-Cotcliffe, N. E., Northaller-
ton district.
The Church town on the Wharfe.
Perhaps the Feeble town, from lasiun, invali-
dus, debilis.
Perhaps Dripping town, from leki, stillatio ;
or Luck's town, from loka, good fortune.
See Busby, Little.
Perhaps Grove town, from lundr, nemus, a
grove or sacred wood.
Malt town, from malt, far tostum, roasted
grain.
Little town, from minni, minimus.
Miller's town, from melder, farina, meal or
ground corn.
Do. do.
Meeting town.
Great or large town, from mikill, magnus.
Mile town, from mila, milliare lapis.
Sleeping town, from mok, somnus levissimus.
Lower town, from nedar, inferius.
New town.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
The Northman's town.
See Ferriby.
Orm's town, from King Orm of Norway, or
some other chief named Orm; originally
from ormr, serpens, a serpent or dragon.
The Ais, or Aisers, God town.
Do. do.
Do. do.
The Quern, or millstone town, from quarnar-
stein, lapis nwlaris.
Perhaps Giant's town, from risi, gigascyclops;
or rising town, possibly from ris, surf/ere.
Book's town, from hrokr, avis, a rook.
Do. do.
Perhaps Cross town, from rodu-kross, the
cross.
Skald's, or prophet's town, from skalld,/>oeto.
Do. do.
Perhaps Saucy town, from skass, insolens.
Sker or Scar town.
The selling or trading town, from sel, vendere,
tradere.
Perhaps Lost town, from ske, damnum, loss.
South church town.
Sowertown, from sai, serere, to sow corn.
Do. do.
Sowertown, from sai, serere, to sow corn.
472 YORKSHIRE:
Swainby-with-Allerthorpe, N. R, Bedale dis. Youth's town, from Sveinn, puer castus, or
from King Svein.
Thirkleby, N. R., Northallerton district. Thirkel's town ; the name of a Danish chief.
Thirtleby, E. R, Shirlaugh district Thurtel's town, Do.
Thoralby, N. R, Askrigg district. Thorold's town, Do.
Thorganby, E. R, York district. The Thor-going town, from Thor, and ganga,
gressus, incessws.
Thormanby, N. R, Easingwold district. The Thor or God given town, from Thor and
mundr, a gift.
Thornaby, N. R., Stockton, Durham district. Thor's Stream town, from thor and A, rims
Throxenby, N. R, Scarborough district. Perhaps the Market town, from torg, Jorum,
or torga, consumere, vendere.
Uckerby, N. R, Richmond district. The Oak-tree town.
Ugglebarnby, N. R., Wliitby district. The Child's-oak town.
Warlaby, N. R, Northallerton district. Difficult town, from varla, aegre, item caute.
The Norse did not use the letter W., em-
ploying V in its place.
Wetherby, W. R., Knaresborough district. The Ford or ferry town, from ved, vada,
vadre, a ford or ferry town.
Whenby, N. R, Easingwold district. Perhaps Weaving town, from vend, textum,
woven ; textura.
Whitby, N. R, Wliitby district. The White town, from hvitr, albus, candidus.
Willerby, E. R., Scarborough, N. R Perhaps Pleasant town, from villiabundr,
bene placiturn.
Willerby, E. R., Sculcoates district. Do. do.
NAMES OF THE PLACES IN YORKSHIRE WITH THE NOIiSE TERMINATIONS THORPE AND
TOFT, A LANDED ESTATE OR FIELD.
Allerthorpe, East Riding, Pocklington district. The Alder-tree thorpe or country house, from
clni, the alder tree.
Allerthorpe, N. R., Bedale district. Do. do.
Altofts, W. R., Wakefield district. The Old inclosurcs, or home field, from aid,
old, and toft, area domus vacua.
Alverthorpe, W. R., Wakefield district. The Elf s thorpe, from alp and elf, generis
faunus, or perhaps from alft, cygnus, olor,
a swan.
Agglethorpe, N. R., Layburn district. The Oak-tree thorpe, from eyk, quercus, an
oak.
Armthorpe, W. R., York district. The Elm-tree thorpe, from almr, ulmus.
AusthoriJC, W. R., Hunslet district. The East thorpe.
Barthorpc, E. R, Malton district. The Budding thorpe, from bar, a bud, gemma
vel oculus arborum.
Belthorpe, E. R., Pocklington district. The Cows' or cattle thorpe, from belia, vacca.
Bishopthorpc, N. R, Ainsty district. The Bishop's thorpe, or country seat.
Bishop Wilton-with-Belthorpe, E.R. Pockling- TheCows' or cattle thorpe, near Bishop Wilton.
ton district.
Blacktoft, E. R., Howden district. The Black or dark field, or croft.
Bowthorpe, E. R., Howden district. Bowthorpe, from bogr, a bow.
Boy thorpe, E. R., Driffield district. Boys' thorpe, from boer, Jilius.
Bugthorpe, E. R., Pocklington district. The Beech tree thorpe, from boeg, or beyki,
fagus, a beech tree.
PAST AND PRESENT.
473
Burythorpe, E. R, Malton district.
Carthorpe, N. R, Bedale district.
Cowthorpe, W. R, Knaresborough district.
Eastoft, W. R., Goole district.
Eddlethorpe, E. R, Malton district.
Ellenthorpe, N. R., Knaresborough district.
Everthorpe, E. R, Howden district.
Fraisthorpe, E. R, Bridlington district.
Fridaythorpe, E. R, Pocklington district.
Ganthorpe, N. R., Malton district.
Gawthorpe, N. R, Dewsbury district.
Gowthorpe, N. R., Pockliugton district.
Gruelthorpe, W. R, Ripon district.
Gribthorpe, E. R, Howden district.
Grimthorpe, E. R, Pocklington district.
Gristhorpe, N. R., Scarborough district.
Histhorpe, E. R., Bridlington district.
Harmby, N. R., Leyburn district.
Helperthorpe, E. R. Driffield district.
Hilderthorpe with Hilsthorpe, E. R. Bridling-
ton district.
Howthorpe, E. R, Malton district.
Hunmanby, E. R., Bridlington district.
Ingerthorpe, W. R., Ripon district.
Kennythorpe, E. R, Malton, N. R.
Langthorpe, N. R., Ripon, W. R
Langtoft, E. R, Driffield district.
Laysthorpe, N. R., Helmsley district.
Linthorpe, N. R. (Stockton).
Lowthorpe, E. R., Driffield district.
Menethorpe, E. R., Malton district.
Menthorpewith Bowthorpe, E.R., Howden dis.
Nunthorpe, N. R, Stokesley district.
Ousethorpe, E. R, Pocklington district.
Pinchingthorpe, N. R, Guisborough district.
Raisthorpe, E. R., Malton, N. R
Scagglethorpe, E. R, Malton, N. R
Scorthorpe, W. R., Settle district.
Thorpe Arch, Ainsty, Tadcaster, W. R.
VOL. I.
Countrythorpe, from buri, rusticus, rural.
The Carle's thorpe, from karl, vir, a man, a
small cultivator.
The Cows' or Cattle thorpe.
The East Toft or Croft.
The Nobles' thorpe, from edla, nobilis.
The Elder-tree thorpe, from elli tre; the elder
bush.
Higher thorpe, from efra, superius.
Freya or Venus' thorpe, from Freya, the
Northern -goddess of love.
Fridur or Fridesthorpe, from Frider, the name
of a nymph in the Eddas.
Magic thorpe, from gan, mac/ica machinatio.
Gaudsthorpe, from Gaud, numen ethnicorum,
one of the gods of the Scandinavians.
Do.
Perhaps from Gracl-thorpe, from grae,
flourishing, florescere.
Perhaps Gridthorpe, from grid, peace, pax,
securitas.
Grim's thorpe, from a celebratedNorthem hero.
Grice or Pig thorpe, from gris, porcellus, por-
culus.
From lies, astraw yard for oxen, paleare bovum.
Harm or Grief town, from haruir, luctus, dolor,
grief or lamentation.
Whelpsthorpe, from hvelpr, catulus, canis.
Hilder's thorpe, from Hulder, Jiellona, the
Northern goddess of war.
The Hill thorpe, from haugr, mills, tumulus
mortmim.
The Hundred Men's town, or town of the
hundred.
Perhaps Entrance thorpe, from ingangr,ttrfi<!ts.
Perhaps Teaching thorpe, from kain, docere.
Long thorpe.
The Long toft.
The Lea or Pasture thorpe.
Either Line or Flax thorpe, from lin, flax,
or hlinden, a lime tree.
The Low thorpe.
The Little thorpe, from minni, minor,minimus.
Do. do.
The Nun's thorpe.
The Ouse thorpe.
Pinching thorpe, from pim,cruciatus, to pine,
or perhaps from pindingar, exactiones.
The Roe or Deer thorpe, from ra, caprea.
The thorpe of the point, from skagi, promon-
torium.
The Skar thorpe, from sker, a scar.
The Thorpe of the Archis family.
3o
474
YOKKSHIRE
Thorp Audlin, W. R., Hemsworth district.
Thorpe, E. R, Howden district.
Thorpe, W. R, Teesdale district.
Thorpe, W. R., Wakefield district.
Thorpe, W. R, Ripon district.
Thorpe Bassett, E. R., Malton, N. R.
Thorpe Brantingham, E. R., Beverley district.
Thorpe in Balne, W. R., Doncaster district.
Thorpe le Street, E. R., Pocklington district.
Thorpe Salvin, W. R., Worksop district.
Thorpe Stapleton, W. R., Hunslet district.
Thorpe sub-Montem, W. R., Skipton district.
Thorpe Willoughby, AV. R., Selby district.
The Thorpe of the Audlins.
The Thorpe.
Do.
Do.
Do.
The Thorpe of the Bassetts.
Do. at Brantingham.
Do. at Balne.
Do. on the Roman road or street.
Do. of the Salvins.
Do. of the Stapletons.
Do. under the mountain or hill.
Do. of the Willoughbvs,
NORSE NAMES IX YORKSHIRE ENDING IN HOLME, MEANING AN ISLAND OR
MEADOW.
Aryholmc, N. R., Malton district.
Bcllingholme, E. R., Skirlaugh district.
Bracken Holme, E. R, Howden district.
Clotlierholine, AY. R., Ripon district.
Downholme, N. R.. Richmond district.
Eryholme, N. R, Darlington district.
Hempholmc, E. R, Skirlaugh district.
flipperholme, W. R., Halifax district.
Holme, E. R, Howden district.
Holme, N. R., Thirsk district.
Holme, AY. R., Huddersficld district.
Holme, Holme North, N. R.
Holme-on-the-AYolds, E. R., Beverley district.
Holme, South, N. R.
Holme-upon-Spalding-Moor,E.R. Howdendis.
Holmfirth, AY. R, Huddersfield district.
Holmton, E. R., Patrington district.
Moorsholm-cum-Grivock, N. R., Guisborough
district.
Newholm-cum-Dunsley, N. R., AA'hitby dist.
North Holme, N. R., Helmsley district.
Nun Burnholme, E. R., Pocklington district.
Sandholme, E. R., Beverley district.
Thornholme, E. R., Bridlington district.
Eagle-holme, from ari, an eagle, and holme
insuta, an island or meadow.
The Cattle's meadow, from belia, vacca, and
holme.
The Bracken meadow.
The Clover meadow.
The Lower meadow.
The Eagle holme or meadow.
The Hemp meadow.
The AVikl Boar's meadow.
The Holme or meadow.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
The Meadow inclosure. Firth is probably
from the British word Frith, an inclosure.
The Holme or meadow town.
The Holme on the Moors, with the Grieve's
Oak.
The New Meadow with Dunsley ; the latter
supposed to be the Dunum Sinus of Ptol-
emy, near to the present port of AVhitby.
The Northern meadow.
The Nun's-burn meadow.
The Sandy holme or meadow.
Thor's Meadow, or the Thorn meadow.
NORSE NAMES IN YORKSHIRE ENDING IN KNOPE, NOFE, OR GNOPE, WHICH MEANS A
HILL OR PROMINENCE, AND HOPE, A RECESS.
Adel-cum Eccup, AY. R, Otley district. The Nobles' town, with the oak slope, from
adel, nobilis, eyk, quercus, an oak-tree,
and hofe or hope, recessus.
PAST AND PRESENT.
475
Boysnope.
Bramhope, W. R., Otley district.
Knapton, E. R, York district.
The Boys' hill, from boy, and gnope, pro-
minentia.
The Bramble slope or hill.
The Knop or hill town.
NORSE NAMES IN YORKSHIRE ENDING IN THWAITE, MEANING A CLEARING IN A FOREST.
Gunthwaite, W. R, Wortley district.
Hampsthwaite, W. R, Knaresborough dist.
Husthwaite, N. R, Easingwold district.
Langthwaite, W. R., Donc'aster district.
Linthwaite, W. R, Huddersfield district.
Longthwaite, W. R, Doncaster district.
Micklethwaite, W. R, Keighley district.
Slathwaite, W. R, Huddersfield district.
Fighting thwaite, fiomgmm,pugna, orgunni,
vir pugnax.
The Hemp clearings, or the clearings for hemp.
The Clearing about the house.
The Long clearing
The Linden or Lime tree clearing.
The Long clearing.
The Great clearing.
The Sloe-tree clearings, from sla, a sloe tree.
Thornthwaite, W. R, Pateley Bridge district. The Thorn clearings.
Wallerthwaite, W. R., Ripon district. The Great clearing, from valdr, -validus.
NORSE NAMES IN YORKSHIRE ENDING Oil BEGINNING WITH THORN, WHICH MEANS
A THORN HEDGE OR ENCLOSURE.
Arrathorne, N. R., Ley burn district.
Bogthorn, W. R, Keighley district.
Cawthorn, N. R, Pickering district.
Cawthorn, W. R, Wortley district.
Crathorne, N. R, Stokesley district.
Owthorne, E. R., Patrington district.
Eagle thorn, from ari, an eagle.
The Beechtree inclosure, from bog, a beech-
tree, and Thorn.
The Cows' thorn, from ko, vacca, and thorn.
Do. do.
The Crows' thorn.
Perhaps Wolfthorpe, from ulfer, a wolf.
Paythorne, W. R., Clitheroe, Lancas. district. Perhaps Priesthorpo, from pavi, ponlifex.
Sigglesthorne, E. R, Skirlaugh district.
Thearne, E. R, Beverley district.
Spennithorne, N. R, Leyburn district,
Thorne, W. R, Thorne district.
Thorn Gumbold, E, R, Patrington district.
The Thorn of victory.
The Thorn.
The Spreading thorn tree, from spenni,
amplecti.
The Thorn-tree, spina.
The Thorn or inclosure of the Gumbold family.
Thornton-le-Beans, N. R., Northallerton dist. Thornton beanfield, from baun,/</6a.
Thornton-le-Moor, Thirsk district.
Thornton-le-Street, N. R, Thirsk district.
Thornton-on-the-Hill, N. R., Easiugwold dis.
Thornton Risebrough, N. R, Helmsley dist.
Thornton Rust, N. R, Askrigg district.
Thornton Steward, N. R., Leyburn district.
Thornton Watlas, N. R., Bedale district.
Do. on the moor.
Do. on the street.
Do. on the hill.
Do. on the rising hill, from ris, siirgerc,or
perhaps risi, yiyas, a giant.
Rusty or rude, from rust, nidus.
Do. of the Steward.
Do. Waterless, from vatn, water.
NORSE NAMES IN YORKSHIRE ENDING IN GATA, OR GATE, MEANING A ROAD.
Bondgate, W. R, Ripon district.
Fulford Gate, E. R., York district.
Gateforth, W. R , Selby district.
Gate Helmsley, N. R, York, E. R
The Farmers' or Peasants' road, from bondi,
colonus, and gata, a road.
Fulford on the gate or road.
The Gate or Road ford.
Helmslry on the gata or road.
476 YORKSHIRE :
Harrogate, W. R, Knaresborough district. The Hero's or the King's road, from harri, a
hero, rex, heros, and gata, a road.
Holdgate, Ainsty, York, E. R The Commander's road, from hold, a com-
mander, and gata, a road.
Holgate, Ainsty, York, E. R. Either the Commander's road, or the road
through the hollow.
Huggate, E. R, Pocklington district. The High or Higher road, from hogr, a hill,
and gata, a road.
Tentergate, W. R., Knaresborough district. The road by the Tenters, or the rough road,
from tentr, dentatus.
NORSE NAMES IN YORKSHIRE ENDING IN GARTH, WHICH MEANS AN
INCLOSURE OR A GARDEN.
Applcgarth. The Apple tree inclosure.
Aysgarth, N. R, Askrig district. The garden of the gods, from gardr, an
inclosure, and sesir, a name of the Scandina-
vian gods.
Lingards, or Lingarths, W. R., Huddcrsficld The Flax Garths or inclosures, or perhaps the
district. Linden tree inclosures, from hlin, a linden.
NORSE NAMES IN YORKSHIRE ENDING IN HAUGR, HAW, OR HOE, MEANING
A HILL OR HEIGHT.
Aiskew, N. R., Bedale district. The Ash-tree height, from askr, an ash tree,
and haugr, a hill or height.
Askew, N. R, Bedale district. The Ash-tree height.
Gre;it Houghton, W. R., Hemsworth district. The Large town on the hill.
Hutton-Rudby, N. R, Stokesley district. The High town, with the rood or cross town.
Little Houghton, W. R, Hemsworth district. The Little high town.
Middleton-Quernhow, N. R, Ripon, W. R. Middlcton at the Millstone hill.
Sexhow, N. R., Stokesley district. The Six hills.
Skellow, W. R, Doncaster district. The Scalds' hill.
Skirlaugh, E. R The Shire hill, or perhaps the Clear hill, from
skir, clear, perspicmts, and hlaw, a hill.
Stangow, N. R., Guisborough district. The Stone hill, from stan and haugr, a hill.
NORSE NAMES IN YORKSHIRE ENDING IN HOL, OR BEGINNING WITH THAT
WORD, WHICH MEANS A HOLLOW.
Holbeck, W. R, Hunslet district. The Beck in the hollow.
Holderness, E. R, Holdcrness district. The Hollow-ness, or promontory of the hollow.
Hollym, E. R. Patrington district. The Hollow meadow or holme.
Hull, E. R The River Hull, or river of the hollow.
NORSE NAMES IN YORKSHIRE BEGINNING OR ENDING WITH THE WORD SCAR
OR SKER, MEANING A ROCK OR PRECIPICE.
Preston-under Scar, N. R, Leyburn district.
Redcar or Scar. The Red Scar, from ryd, red or blood-coloured
rubescere, and sker, scopulus marinus.
Scarborough, N. R The Sea-cliif, rock, or hill.
Scargill, N. R,, Teesdale district. The Cliff-gill or ravine.
Skerne, E. R, Driffield district. Perhaps the Cliff town, from sker, a cliff.
PAST AND PRESENT.
477
West Scar.
Salt Scar.
Hummersea Scar.
Bias Scar.
The West Scar.
The Salt Scar.
The Western scar, from humar, vesperascere.
The Stained Scar, from bias, macula.
NOKSE NAMES IN YORKSHIRE ENDING IN VIK OR WYKE, WHICH MEANS A
CREEK, BAY, OR HARBOUR.
Atwick Sands, near Atwick village.
Blea Wyke Point.
Cloughton Wyke.
Deepgrove Wyke.
Elstronwick, E. R., Skirlaugh district.
Hay burn Wyke.
Loop Wyke, near Goldsborough.
Overdale Wyke.
Kosedale Wyke.
Eunswick Bay.
Sandsend Wyke, or Dunsley Bay.
Saltwich Scar.
Thornwick Nab.
Vik, or Wyke-upon-Hull.
At the vik or harbour.
Blue Harbour point, from blae, ceruleus.
The Kluft, Clifton vik, or harbour.
The Vik of the deep trench, from grof, fovea,
a pit or trench, or perhaps a hollow.
Perhaps the Safe harbour, from integer, sanus,
prosper.
The Vik or the harbour of the Hayburn, or
perhaps Eaburn, the waterburn.
Perhaps the Lofty bay, from loop, aer, aura,
ccdum.
The Vik, or Wyke, of Overdale.
The harbour of Rosedale.
The Round Vik, or the bay of the Runir or
Runes.
Sands-end Vik, or Dunsley bay.
Salt vik rocks.
Thor's vik, or Harbour head.
The Vik or Harbour on the river Hull. The
Scandinavian name of Kingston-upon-Hull.
NORSE NAMES IN YORKSHIRE DERIVED FROM NAB, WHICH MEANS A HEAD, OR
HEADLAND.
Black Nab.
Cat Nab.
Cunstone Nab.
Long Nab.
Old Nab.
Saltwich Nab.
The Scale Nab.
The White Nab.
Yous Nab.
The Black head.
The Cat's head.
The Long head or headland.
The Old Headland.
The Salt vik or bay head.
The White head.
NORSE NAMES IN YORKSHIRE BEGINNING OR ENDING WITH A OR AD, OR
KIL, OR BECK, ALL OF WHICH MEAN A RUNNING STREAM.
The Water-burn, from A, flmnen, and burn,
a brook.
Brock's, or Badger water, from brock or
badger, and A, a stream of water.
The Elder-bush beck.
The periodical streams at the foot of the chalk
wolds.
The Mill beck.
The Mill stream.
The Stone beck.
Auburn, E. R, Bridlington district.
Broxa, N. R., Scarborough district.
Ellerbeck, N. R, Northallerton district.
Gypses.
Melbecks, N. R., Reeth district.
Melsa, E. R., Beverley district.
Stonebeck-down, W. R
478 YORKSHIRE :
NORSE NAMES IN YORKSHIRE ENDING WITH RIODR, WHICH MEANS A
CLEARING IN A FOREST.
Akroyd. The Oak clearing, from ack, an oak tree, and
riodr, a clearing.
Barker-royds. The Bark clearings, from bark-riodr, the
clearing of the bark of trees.
Eckroyd. The Oak clearing, from eyk, an oak tree, and
riodr, a clearing.
Ellenroyd. The Elder-tree clearing.
Greenroyd. The Green clearing.
Hollinroyd. The clearing in the Hollies.
Ormroyd. The Elm-tree clearing, from almr, an elm tree >
and riodr, a clearing; or perhaps Orm's
clearing, that being the name of a cele-
brated Danish chief.
Murgatroyd. The Great clearings, from margr, great or
wide, and riodr, a clearing.
Mytholmroyd. The Girl's Meadow clearing, from mey, a girl,
holm, a meadow, and riodr, a clearing.
Royds. The Riodrs or clearings, applied to most of the
clearings in the original forest, made by the
Norse settlers in the vale of the Calder.
NORSE NAMES IN YORKSHIRE BEGINNING OR ENDING WITH THE WORD THING,
WHICH MEANS A PARLIAMENT OR POPULAR ASSEMBLY.
Brampton-en-le-Morthen, W. R., Rotherham The Town of Tumult, at the Moor Thing, from
district. braml, tumultus, or bramla, tumultuari.
Dringhoe, E. R, Bridlingtuii district. Either the Warrior's hill, or the Thing, or
Public Meeting hill. If the former, from
drengr, a dreng or warrior, vir animo for-
tis et mrtuosus ; if the latter, from ting, a
Norse Parliament.
Dringhouses, E. R., York district. Either the Soldiers' houses, or the meeting
place of the Thing.
Landmoth-with-Catto,N.R.,Northallerton dis. The Land-owners' Meeting place or Tiling.
Catto is either a contraction of Catterick,
or means the Cat's hill.
Laughton-en-le-Mortheu,W.R.Rotherhamdis. The Law town at the Moor-thing, or Parlia-
ment.
Tanfield, East, R. N., Ripon, W. R. Either Thanefield or Thingfield.
Tanfield, West, N. R., Ripon district. Do. do.
Tankersley, W. R, Wortley district. Perhaps Thingersley, or the field of the Thing
or Parliament. There is a Tankerness in
the Orkney Islands.
Tong, W. R Perhaps the place of the Thing or Parliament
Thong, Nether, W. R, Huddersfield district. Perhaps the Lower Thing.
Thong, Upper, W. R, Huddersfield district. Perhaps the Upper Thing.
Thrin Toft, N. R, Northallerton district. The Parliament field.
NORSE NAMES IN YORKSHIRE ENDING WITH STALL, WHICH MEANS
A STATION OR PLACE.
Heptonstall, W. R., Todmorden district. Fortunate place, from happ, bona sors or good
fortune, and stallr, a place or habitation.
PAST AND PRESENT.
479
Tunstall.
Kirkstall.
The Town place or residence.
The Church place or abode.
NOESE NAMES IN YORKSHIRE BEGINNING OR ENDING WITH THE WORD NESS,
WHICH MEANS A PROMONTORY.
Reedness, W. R, Goole district.
Holderness.
Kettle Ness.
Sandsend Ness.
Scalby Ness Point.
The Reedy promontory.
Hellerness, in the Chronicles of the kings of
Norway.
Kettle's, or Chetel's, ness or point.
Sand-end Point.
The Scalds' Town ness or promontory.
MISCELLANEOUS NORSE WORDS FOUND IN THE NAMES OF PLACES IN YORKSHIRE.
Acklam, N. R., Malton district.
Aldinergill, N. R., Skipton district.
Angram, Ainsty district.
Angram Grange, N. R., Easingwold district.
Armin, W. R, Goole district.
Aske, N. R, Richmond district.
Askern, W. R , Doncaster district.
Austerfield, N. R., Doncaster district.
Balk, N. R., Thirsk district.
Bolesford.
Brafferton, N. R., Easingwold district.
Burlington.
Dishforth, N. R., Ripon district.
*
Doncaster, W. R., Doncaster district.
Sculcoates, E. R., Sculcoates district.
Faxfleet, E. R., Howdcu district.
Gilberdike, E. R., Howden district.
Hunslet, W. R.
Idle.
Laxton, E. R., Howden district.
Lillings Ambo, N. R.. York, E. R.
Lissett, E. R., Bridlington district.
Little Kelk, E. R., Driffield district.
Little Preston, W. R., Preston district.
Lockton, N. R., Pickering district.
Lockwood, W. R., Huddersfield district.
The Broken Oak, from eyk and lomi,/rac<,s.
The old mere gill
Narrow home, from angr, locus angustus.
Do. do.
The Little home, from ar, focus domesticus,
and niinni, minor.
The Ash tree, from askr, fraxinus.
The Ash trees.
The Eastern field, from austcrn, eastern.
The balks or stumps of trees, from balker,
strues.
Bulls' ford, from bole, taurus.
Steep town, from bratter, acclivis, arduus.
Perhaps from berlinger, a moderate working
of the sea, modicaftuctiiatio maris.
The Ford of the funeral pile, from dis, a
funeral pile.
The Caster, or camp on the river Don. Caster
is the Danish form of the Latin name of
caslrum a camp ; Chester is generally the
Anglian and the Saxon form.
The Safety cottages, from skuli, prolector.
Serpent's harbour, from faxi, coluber, the
name sometimes given to a Danish ship of
war.
Crooked dyke, from gilbia, crooked, incequali-
tas, sinus.
If derived from the Norse, the Hound's field,
from hund, and sletta, a plain, planities.
Constant, from idal, continuus.
Salmon's town, from lax, salmo.
The Two Little Ones, though the ambo is
Latin and the liliings Danish.
Perhaps Lisseat, from list, skill, or art, and
seat.
Chalk, from kalk, calx, cementum.
Priests' town, from prestr, the Norse form of
presbyter.
Luck's town.
Luck's wood, from lurka, fortuna, son.
480
YORKSHIRE
Lund, E. R, Beverley district.
Lythe, N. R, Whitby district.
Marfleet, E. R., Sculcoates district.
Marishes, N. R, Pickering district.
Markengfield Hall, W. R, Ripon district.
Marrick, N. R, Reeth district.
Marske, N. R, Guisborough district.
Minskip, W. R, Knaresborougli district.
Molescroft, E. R, Beverley district.
Muscoates, N. R Helmsley district.
Nafi'erton, E. R, Driffield district.
Nappa, W. R., Settle district.
Nesh'eld-with-Lan<, r bar, W. R., Skipton dist.
North Griinston, E. R., Malton district.
Old By land, N. R., Helmsley district.
Osmotherley, N. 11., Nortliallertou district.
Ouseflect, W. R., Goole district.
Oxendike, \V. R., Selby district.
Paul, E. R., Patriugtou district.
Pickering.
Rastrick, W. R, Iluddersfield district.
Ravensaer.
Redmire, X. R., Leyburn district.
Seamer, N. R., Stokesley district.
Seamer, N. R., Scarborough district.
Sineaton.
Sigston Kirby, N. R, Northallerton district.
Skelding, W. R, Ripon district.
Skelton, E. R., York district.
Skelton, E. R., Howden district.
Skelton, N. R., Richmond district.
Skelton, N. R., Guisborough district.
Skelton, N. R, York, E. R.
Skelton, W. R, Ripon district.
Storkhill-with-Sandholme, E. R., Beverley dis.
Swine, E. R., Skirlaugh district.
Swinefleet, W. R., Goole district.
The Sacred grove, from lundr, nemns, a grove.
From leidangr, a leading, a naval expedition,
or district, expeditio navalis.
The Sea fleet or float.
The Marshes Milton uses the word marish
for marsh.
The Woodland field, from Marklond, loca
sylvestris,
The Marsh.
The Marsh.
The Boat or little ship, from minni, minor,
and ship, navis.
The Moles' croft or field. The mole was called
mold varpa, as it is still called in Yorkshire.
The Mouse cottages, from mus, a mouse.
The Name town, or the famous town, from
nafn, nomen, honos.
The Slope or Gnope water.
The Ness field with the Long Byr.
Grim's town, named from a popular Danish
hero, named Grim the Stern.
The Old-town land.
The Field of the mother of the gods, sesir, or
of the heroes.
The Harbour of the Ouse.
The Oxen dyke.
Probably the Pool, from pula, palus limosa.
The Maiden ring, from pika, virgo, and liringr,
circulm, a circle or ring.
The Roe's track, from ra, a roe, and strika,
recta fugere.
The Ravens' sea, from hrafn, and sser, mare,
the sea.
The Red Mere.
The Open sea, from sa;r and mergd, greatness
or vastness.
Do.
Smalltown, from smar, small ,parvus ; or clover
town, from smari, white clover, trifolium
pratense album.
The Town of victory, from sigra, to conquer,
vincere.
The Meadow on the river Skell.
The Scalds' town, from skald, a prophet ; or
perhaps, Skel town, a shell town.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Stork hill, from storkr, a stork, ciconia.
Sveins' town, or Youths' town.
King Svein's harbour.
PAST AND PRESENT. 481
Swinton- with-Warthermask,N. R, Bedaledis. Svein's town.
Sledmere, E. R, Driffield district. The Sledging mere, from sledi, traha, a sledge.
Snaith, W. R., Selby district. A segment or piece of land cut off, from sneid,
segment, or snerdi, secure.
Snape, N. R, Bedale district. The Gnope, or hill, prominentia.
Snydale, W. R, Wakefield district. Winding-dale, from sny, vertere, jlectere, to
wind.
Stancil-with-Wellingley, W. R, Doncaster dis. The Standing water, from stan-kyl, the stand-
ing kyld.
Startforth, N. R, Teesdale, Durham district. The Difficult ford, from stata, conatus dijjl-
cilis.
Stillingfleet-with Moreby, E. R, York disk The Fortified harbour, or fleet, from still i,
agger, and fleet, a fleet or harbour.
Stirton- with-Thorlby, W. R, Skipton district. Sturlo's town.
Stoneferry, E. R., Sculcoates district. The Stone ferry.
Stonegrave, N. R, Helmsley district. The Stone grave, from stan, and groef, a grave.
Thirsk, N. R, Thirsk district. Thors' Ash-tree, from Thor, and askr, an ash
tree.
Threshfield, W. R, Skipton district. Threshing-field, from threska, tribula, an
instrument for threshing corn.
Thurlstone, W. R, Wortley district. Thorald's town.
Towthorpe, E. R, Driifield district. Turf thorpe, from to, ccespes, a turf.
Weaverthorpe, E. R., Driffield district. Weaver's thorpe, from vefari, textor.
Willitoft, E. R., Howden district. Wild thorpe, from villi, wild.
Wilsthorpe, E. R., Bridlington district. The Wild thorpe.
Wilsthorpe, Ainsty, Tadcaster, W. R Do.
Wrenthorpe, W. R, Wakefield district. Stream thorpe, from renni, fluere.
Waghen, E. R, Beverley district. The Waggon town, from vagn, currus, plaus-
trum, or the road town.
Warsill, W. R, Pateley bridge district. Grass hill, from var, gramina, or perhaps the
Market hill, from vara, merx.
Was, N. R., Helmsley district. From vasl, a marsh, udus per pahides cursus.
Wetwang, E. R, Driffield district. Vetfang, a neighbourhood or proximity, as in
Vetfangs-buar, the next neighbours, proximi
vicini.
Youlthorpe-with-Goldthorpe, E. R, Pockling- Yule, or Christmas thorpe, from Yol, Yule.
ton district.
Such appear to us to be some of the principal Yorkshire names
of places derived from the old Norse, or Scandinavian language.
We now take leave of this great, free, and noble race; and proceed
to describe the stern but able rule of the Norman conquerors of
England.
VOL. i. 3 P
482 YORKSHIRE :
CHAPTER IX.
YORKSHIRE UNDER THE NORMAN AND PLANTAGENET KINGS.
Resistance to the Normans in Yorkshire and the other Northern
Counties. The resistance both of the English and the Danish
population of Yorkshire, Durham, and the other northern counties,
to the Norman invaders, was long and obstinate, and did not cease
until the greater part of Yorkshire had been reduced to the state
of a wilderness, desolated by fire and sword, and with a population
all but extirpated in those districts into which the Normans were
able to penetrate. For some years, this district was the battlefield
on which not only the English and the Normans contended for
victory, but on which the Danes and Norwegians made repeated
efforts to retain or to re-establish their authority. But finally all
these efforts proved unavailing, against the skill and determination
of the Conqueror, and the superior discipline of his troops ; and
the result of the struggle was to unite the whole of England
lying north of the river Humber to the rest of the kingdom, under
the stern but able rule of William the Conqueror.
In the month of May (1067), William, having occupied London
and overrun the southern and central districts of the kingdom,
immediately after the battle of Hastings, and having heard that the
people in the north had gathered themselves together, " and would
stand against him," marched northward with a large Norman army,
and occupied Nottingham, Lincoln, and finally York, without meet-
ing with any immediate resistance. According to the Norman plan
of conquest, he built two strong castles at York, and one each at
Nottingham and Lincoln, placing strong garrisons in all. By way of
distracting his attention and creating a diversion, the English, under
one of the sons of Harold, landed in the west of England, and
attempted to carry the city of Bristol by storm. The effect of this
movement was to draw the war towards the west. The Normans,
however, retained their garrisons, not only in York, but as far
north as Durham.
In the following year (1068) the enemies of the Conqueror's rule
PAST AND PRESENT. 483
made desperate efforts to expel the Normans. At Durham they rose
upon and slaughtered the Norman garrison, and Edgar ^Etheling, the
feeble representative of the race of Alfred, who had taken refuge in
Scotland, advanced into Northumbria, and marched to York, where
the citizens and the people of the surrounding country threw open
their gates, and received him joyfully. But the Conqueror gave
them little time to arrange their plans of resistance, for in the course
of the summer he marched into Yorkshire with a large army, slew
many thousands of his enemies, and again captured and plundered
the city. On this Edgar yEtheling fell back into Scotland, where
the king of Scotland, who was closely united to him by marriage,
received him kindly and protected him from all his enemies.
In the year 10G9 a combined attack was made on the position
of the Normans at York by all their enemies. Edgar ^Etheling
again advanced out of Scotland into Northumbria, where he was
received by the Anglian Earls Waltheof and Gospatric, and by "the
Northumbrians and all the country people riding and walking on
foot and on horseback with a countless army, greatly rejoicing."
In their approach to York they were joined by three sons of King
Svein and two Norwegian jarls, who had arrived in the Humber,
with 240 ships and a large army of Danes and Norwegians. These
forces, as we are told in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, "all unanimously
went to York, stormed and demolished the castle, gained innum-
erable treasures therein, slew many hundreds of the Normans, and
carried many as prisoners to their ships." But before the Danes
arid Norwegians arrived, the Normans had burnt the city, and both
plundered and burnt the monastery of St. Peter. When the king
heard of the Danish invasion and the English insurrection, he
marched northward with all the force that he could gather, and
completely plundered and laid waste the whole shire. Having
driven the Danes out of York he formed his camp there, and
remained in that position during the whole of the winter, the
Danish fleet also remaining all the winter in the Humber, where
the king could not come at it.""
In the year 1070 Earl Waltheof made peace with the Conqueror.
In the same year two of the sons of Svein, king of Denmark, came
into the Humber with a fleet and an army, and the country people
came out to meet them, and to make peace with them, thinking they
would overrun the land. But the Danish chiefs, not venturing
* Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, vol. ii. p. 175.
484 YORKSHIRE :
again to encounter the Conqueror on the same ground, sailed away
to the Isle of Ely, and there plundered the country, until they were
encountered and defeated by the Normans. Soon after this Edgar
^Etheling and Earl Waltheof submitted to the Conqueror. The
submission of Edgar ^Etheling was so complete as to put an end to
all thought of resistance, on the part of the Anglian population.
On Edgar's journey from Scotland to Normandy the sheriff of York-
shire came to meet him at Durham, went all the way with him,
and enabled him and his followers to find food, attendance, and
fodder for their horses, at every castle they staid at, until they
came to the king in Normandy. King William there received
Edgar with contemptuous kindness, and he was there in his court and
took such rights as William allowed him. A few years later Henry
I., youngest son of the Conqueror, married the niece of Edgar ^Ethe-
Ung, who was also the daughter of the king of Scotland. Henry was
himself of English birth, having, according to tradition, been born at
Selby in Yorkshire, during the siege of York. His birth and his
marriage gave him a hold on the affections of the English people,
who willingly submitted to him, and supported the claims of his
daughter, the Empress Maude, and of her son Henry Plantagenet,
to the English throne. It was not, however, until the Conqueror
had reigned for many years, that the kings of Denmark and Norway
gave up their hopes of reconquering the northern part of England.
In the year 1075, on the occasion of a conspiracy against
William the Conqueror, in which several of the Norman as well as
the English nobles took part, a Danish fleet of 200 ships, with a
numerous army, appeared on the English coast. Their chiefs were
Cnut, son of King Svein, and Hakon Jarl. We are told, however,
that they did not dare to maintain a battle against King
William. But they marched to York, and broke into St. Peter's
monastery, and therein took much spoil, and so went away. As
to the English and Norman conspirators,* we are informed, that all
perished who were in that council.
The conquest of England by the Normans was followed by a
complete change in the chief owners, or holders, of land throughout
the kingdom. A large portion of the Anglian, Saxon, and Danish
thanes were slain in battle, and of those who survived the greater
portion were deprived of their estates. In general, the change seems
to have been confined to the class whom we should describe as large
* Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, vol. ii. p. 182.
PAST AND PRESENT. 485
landowners, and not to have extended to those whom we should
describe as tenants. Hence, whilst the sufferings of the higher
classes were very great, there is no reason to believe that any very
great change was made hi the position of the smaller class of
tenants, when they submitted to their new masters.
Amongst the most important, and ultimately the most beneficial
changes, that resulted from the Norman Conquest, was the com-
plete organization which then took place of the people, for the
purposes of national defence. As we have already seen, neither the
Angles nor the Saxons possessed the talent for military organization
which was necessary to secure the country against the attacks of
foreign enemies. There was scarcely a period of a dozen years,
from the year 800 to the year 1066, in which some portion of
the English coast was not overrun and plundered by the pirates
of the northern seas ; and during that time there were five or
six occasions on which the Danes and Northmen invaded the
kingdom, with large fleets and armies, and aspired to conquer
the whole country, and make themselves kings of England. This,
as we have seen in the preceding chapter, was the case with
Guthrum and Hasten, in the time of Alfred the Great ; with
Svein and his son Canute, the latter of whom was recognized
as king of England for twenty-eight years ; and, lastly, with William
the Norman, who succeeded in completely conquering England.
He then organized the national defences on so extensive and
national a scale, that no succeeding invader ever had even a
chance of effecting the same object. For the first time in English
history, William succeeded in uniting the broken tribes of the
Heptarchy into one nation ; and by rendering all property liable
to be employed for the defence of the kingdom, and the whole
population liable to be called to arms in defence of their own
homes, he gave this kingdom that security against successful
attack, which it has ever since possessed.
Down to the time of the Norman Conquest, and for some time
later, England was frequently attacked by land as well as by sea.
The Welsh were still a formidable and independent race, whose
incursions kept the borders of Cheshire, Shropshire, Hereford, and
Monmouth in continual activity. The Scotch were a still more
formidable people ; and in addition to Scotland, properly so called,
they held the present counties of Cumberland and Westmoreland,
as portions of the earldom of Cumberland. In addition to this, they
486
YORKSHIRE :
kept the counties of Northumberland and Durham in constant
turmoil, occasionally penetrating far into Yorkshire. During the
whole of the Norman period the northern boundary of England
was very unsettled; so much so that nothing north of the county
of York, with the exception of a- few parishes on the southern side
of Westmoreland, is described in the Domesday Survey. Even so
late as the reign of King Stephen the district of Craven, in
Yorkshire, was claimed and overrun by the earls of Cumberland,
who were of the royal family of Scotland.
When William the Conqueror divided the lands of England
amongst the earls, the barons, the knights, and the soldiers of inferior
rank who had followed him to battle, the lands of Yorkshire were
thus divided amongst his warlike followers, as will be seen from the
following list of landowners, holding directly from the crown, which
we take chiefly from the general introduction to Domesday Book,
drawn up by the late Sir Henry Ellis :
NAMES OF T1IE TENANTS IN CAHTE IN TIIE COUNTY OF YORK, WHO AT THE TIME
OF THE DOMESDAY SURVEY, A.p. 1084-86, HELD THEIR LANDS DIRECTLY FROM
THE KING, WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR.
JEldrcdus Areliiepiscopus, archbishop of York
A.D. 1001-69.
Aiucurt, Waltcrius de. Edmund Deincourt,
the last of the elder branch of this family
died early in the reign of Edward III.
Alamis, Comes. Alan, earl of Brittany and
Richmond : he married Constance, daughter
of the Conqueror, and commanded the rear
of the Norman army .at the battle of Hast-
ings. His greatest possessions \vere the
lands in the North Riding of Yorkshire,
which had belonged to Earl Edwin, con-
stituting Richmondshire.
Albericus, Comes, a Norman, who, according
to Symeon of Durham, was made earl of
Northumberland about the year 1080, but
who soon afterwards returned to Normandy.
Alselin, Goisfridus. The lands in Yorkshire,
Northamptonshire, Leicestershire, Derby-
shire, Nottinghamshire, and Lincolnshire,
granted to Geoffrey Alselin, had all belonged
to a Saxon named Tochi. His estates, after
two generations, went by a daughter to the
Bardolphs.
Alsi, Chetelber.
Arbalistarius, Odo, the commander of the
cross-bowmen.
Arbalistarius, Odo, probably the person named
above.
Arches, Osbernus de.
Archil ; King Edward the Confessor had held
the lands.
Archis, Osbertus.
Alregrin, he retained his lands.
Artor, presbyter, or priest ; he also retained his
lands.
Autbert. He had been the possessor before the
Conquest, and had not been displaced.
Balistarius, Odo. He held three mansions
in the city of York.
Bevraria, Drogo de. A Fleming by birth, who
accompanied the Conqueror in his invasion.
He is believed to have been the ancestor of
William Briwire, who stood in favour of
King Henry II.
Beverley, St. John of. King William the
Conqueror confirmed the Charter of St.
John at Beverley. In the deed of con-
firmation the Riding is spoken of as the
Treding.
Bruis, Robertus de. The founder of the family
of Brus of Skelton, from whom the kings of
Scotland and the family of Bruce, marquises
of Ailesbury, are descended. His seal is en-
PAST AND PRESENT.
487
graved in the Kegistrum Honoris de Rich-
mond, p. 98.
Burun, Ernegis, or Erneis de. The founder of
the Byrons. He held four mansions in
the city of York, and seventeen manors,
nearly all of which had belonged to Earl
Gospatric.
Busli, Eogerus de. Eoger de Busli had his
principal residence at Tickhill Castle, York-
shire, in which county, and Nottingham-
shire, he had his largest possessions. He
founded the priory of Blythe, in Notting-
hamshire, in 1088. The barony terminated
in John, his grandson, who left one daughter.
Canonici Eboracenses. The canons of York.
Carle. He seems to have been a small pro-
prietor, who was not disturbed ; probably
what the Angles called a Ceorl, the smallest
class of free tenants.
Carpentarius, Landricus. Landric, a carpen-
ter, who was probably employed in the king's
castles, and paid in land, instead of money.
Censores Duo.
Censorius, Units. In Skelton: in this land
Torber held two carucates, with a hall and
six bovates. One Censor held it under
the king.
Chetel. He was a tenant who had not been
disturbed.
Chilbert ; we know nothing but his name.
Clamores, de Evervicscire. Disputed claims.
Clibert. He had been the previous possessor,
and had not been disturbed.
Coci, Albericus de. Albert, the king's cook.
Cutbertus, Sanctus. " St. Cuthbert has in the
city of York one house, which he always
had, as many people say, free from all
custom ; but the burgesses say that it was
not free in the time of King Edward, except
as to one burgage, except only on account
of it he had his toll, and that of the canons.
Besides this, the bishop of Durham, as
of the gift of the king, holds the church
of All Saints and whatever belonged to it,
and the whole of the land of Uctred, and
the land of Ernuin, which Hugo, the sheriff,
delivered to Bishop Walcher, according to
the letter of the king. And the burgesses
who dwell there, say that they hold it under
the king."
Dolfin ; of whom we are told nothing but the
name.
Droge, Clam. Ebor ; a disputed title.
DunelmensisEpiscopus, William deKarilepho,
consecrated bishop of Durham, January 3,
1082. He held the office of chief-justice of
England under William I. He was driven
from his see for a considerable time by
William Kufus. He died January 6,
1095.*
Eboracenses Canonici, the Canons of York.
Some of the lands had been held under
Edward the Confessor.
Eboracensis Archiep. Thomas, Archbishop of
York, the successor of Archbishop Aldred,
had been a canon of Bayeux, in Normandy.
He was consecrated archbishop in 1070, and
died November 18, 1100.
Eboracensis, S. (St. Peter of York). The
cathedral or minster of York.
Ebrardus, Homo, William de Perci (military
follower of William de Percy).
Elricus ; no further information.
Ernuin ; no further information.
Ernuin, presbyter ; he occurs as holding a
manse at Stamford, in Lincolnshire, in the
time of Edward the Confessor.
Esnebern. Esnebern had the manor in Stolli.
" Now he holds it of the king."
Forne ; no particulars.
Fossard, Nigellus. Two mansions in the city
of York ; but says he "has returned them
to the bishop of Coutance." This was Geof-
frey de Montbray, who was chief justiciary
of England.
Fossart, Nigellus. Two mansions in the city
of York. Probably the person mentioned in
the previous entry.
Game, probably Gamel, or the Old. Land
which King Edward had held.
Game, or Gamel, with his mother and brother.
Gamel. He also h eld land which had belonged
to King Edward.
Gand, Gislebertus de. He was the son-in-law of
Baldwin, earl of Flanders, whose sister the
Conqueror had married. He was one of
the few who escaped with life from York,
when the Danes besieged it so furiously in
1069. He was the re-founder of Bardney
Abbey in Lincolnshire, and is believed to
have died about the year 1094.
ospatric. With regard to this Gospatric
Kelham says, "Whether this Gospatric
is the same who was earl of Northumber-
land, and had forfeited his estates for trea-
* Surtees, History of Durham, vol. i. p. 18.
488
YORKSHIRE :
son, for taking part with the insurgents at
York against the Conqueror, is not certain,
as I do not find the exact time of Gos-
patric's death ; but after an enumeration
of many manors in the West Riding, it is
said in Domesday, 'All these had and has
Gospatric; but now they are waste.'*
Dugdale in Baronage (tome 1, p. 54), repre-
sents the Earl Gospatric to have died in
Scotland, leaving three sons, Dolfin, Wal-
theof, and Gospatric. A different Wal-
theof, the son of Earl Siward, who had
married Judith, the Conqueror's niece, suc-
ceeded to the earldom of Northumber-
land.
Gospatric et Ulchil.
H. fil. Bald.
Hamelinus.
Hardulf. He had previously possessed it.
Haregrin et Siward. They had previously
held the same.
Homines, duo, two men or soldiers.
Hugo, filius Baldrici. Four mansions in the
city of York.
Hugo, filius Baldrici. Spoken of, in the
account of Nottinghamshire, as vicecomes
or sheriff. Kelham says he was sheriff of
Northumberland.
Hugo, Comes. Hugh de Abrincis, or Av-
ranches, or Abranches, surnamed Lupus,
received the earldom of Chester from the
Conqueror, A.D. 1070, to be held as freely
by the sword, as the king held England
by his crown.
Ilbertus ; probably de Laci.
Laci, Ilbertus de. He received from the Con-
queror all that part of the county of Lan-
caster, known as the honour of Clitheroe,
and great estates in Yorkshire. His princi-
pal residence was at the castle of Pontefract.
Landri.
Landricus. He is probably the same person
as Landricus Carpentaria mentioned in
the account of York, as holding ten man-
sions and a half, to which the vicecomes, or
sheriff, appointed.
Lawirce, Gosfridus. He is called Goisfridus
de Wirce in the body of entry, as well as
in other parts of the Survey.
Lauire, God. de, no doubt a Norman.
Ligulf. He had been the holder previous to
the Survey.
Illust p. 121.
Lusoriis, Fulco de. Two bovates of the land
of Ulfmer.
Malcolun.
Maldred.
Malet, Robertus. Eight mansions in the city
of York. He was the son of William
Malet, to whom the Conqueror, after the
battle of Hastings, committed the body of
Harold to see it buried. Robert Malet was
the founder of the monastery of Eye.
Maminot, Gislebertus. His great-grandson,
Wakelin de Maminot, died without issue.*
In Yorkshire Gislebertus Maminot held two
mansions in the city of York.
Monneville, Nigellus de. One mansion of the
Monetarius
Moritoniensis, Comes. Robert, earl of Mor-
taine, in Normandy, was advanced soon
after the Conquest to the earldom of
Cornwall. He held lands in several coun-
ties, and amongst others in Yorkshire, in
which latter county he had eight different
possessions.
Mortimer, Radulfus de. The chief estates of
Ralph de Mortimer were in Shropshire and
Herefordshire, where he received Wigmore
Castle from William the Conqueror, for his
services in subduing and taking prisoner
Edric the Saxon, earl of Shrewsbury. He
founded Wigmore Abbey, and died towards
the close of the reign of Henry I. He held
estates in several counties, including that
of York.
Norman. He had possessed the lands pre-
vious to the Survey.
Odo, Arbalistarius.
Odo, Balistarius. Two mansions in the city
of York.
Orm. Also held in the time of King Edward
the Confessor.
Orme.
Osbernus, filius Bosonis.
Osward. He had held the lands previous to
the Survey.
Oswenard et Rodinund.
Pagnel, Radulfus. He founded the nunnery
of the Holy Trinity at York, in 1089. At
that time he was sheriff of Yorkshire.
William Paganel, the last of this family,
was summoned to Parliament as a baron in
the reign of Edward III.
Percy, Willielmus de. The founder of the
* Hastcd's Kent, vol. i. p. 118.
PAST AND PKESENT.
489
abbey of Whitby in Yorkshire, where his
brother Serlo was the first abbot. He mar-
ried Emma de Port, by whom he had three
sons, Alan, Walter, and William. Dugdale
gives a minute account of the descent of the
first William from Mainfred de Perci, who
came out of Denmark into Normandy pre-
vious to Hollo's arrival there.* William de
Perci's lauds in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire
seem to have been given to him after the
suppression of the rising in 1069.
Petrus, S., of York. The cathedral.
Picot.
Pictaviensis, Rogerus, the third son of Roger
de Montgomery, earl of Arundel and Shrews-
bury, called Pictaviensis because he had
married a Poictevin woman. His lands
between the Ribble and the Mersey in
Lancashire, in Derbyshire, and in Notting-
hamshire, appear to have been in the king's
hands at the time of the Domesday Survey.
In Norfolk his lands are styled " Terra quae
fuerunt Rogeri Pictaviensis." His lands
in Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Essex, and Suf-
folk are entered in the Survey as if he had
them then in actual possession, although he
had forfeited his lands by joining in a con-
spiracy against the king.
Ramechil. He had possession previous to the
Survey.
Ramechil et Archil. They had been its pre-
vious possessors.
Rex Willielmus. The Conqueror himself, who
held hinds in nearly all the counties in
England, amounting in the whole to 1 290
manors, exclusive of berewicks and sokes
The king's lands in Yorkshire (Terra Regis)
present a large list of forfeitures, amount-
ing to more than 350 manors ; of whicl
nine had been Earl Morcar's, ten had be-
longed to Turchil, thirteen to Ulchel, nine
to Leising, eleven to Gamel, ten to Ulf, nine
to Cnut, and eighteen to Gospatric. The
rest were single manors, which had belongei
to individuals of less note. Sir Henry
Ellis, after giving this account of the Con
queror's possessions, says " This examina
tion of the possessions entered in Domesday
under the title of Terra Regis, shows thai
William the Conqueror had a landed reve
nue immensely exceeding that of Edwarc
the Confessor, who only held 165 manors
* Baronage, tome i. p. 269
VOL. I.
or Harold, who held 118 manors; and no
doubt exceeding that of the Saxon kings,
their predecessors." It has been said
that the revenue of William the Conqueror
was 1000 a-day, equal to fifteen times as
much in modern money.
Sicardus, filius Erfasti.
Rodmund.
Rogerus, Comes. Roger de Montgomery, ean
of Arundel and Shrewsbury. Led the centre
of the Norman army at the battle of Hast-
ings.
Sasferd, Siward.
Siuward. Held and holds from the king.
Surdewal. Two houses in the city of York.
Suuen. He held his lands previously.
Taini, Tres. Three thanes who had previously
held from Edward the Confessor.
Taini Regis. The thanes of the king.
Tison, Gislebertus. The lands of Gislebertus
Tison, consisting of twenty-nine manors,
were evidently i'orfeited upon the ravaging
of Yorkshire : ten had belonged to Gamel-
bar, and one to Gamel. Of six which had be-
longed to Gamelbar, it is said, " These lands
has Gislebertus Tison, but they are all waste;
only Beltone renders 3s. of rent." Of several
manors in Craven no estimated value is
given.
Todeui, Robertus de, the founder of Belvoir
Castle, and of the cell of Monks there, which
he annexed to St. Albans Abbey. With
other possessions he held two mansions in
the city of York, which had belonged to
Gamelcarle and Altuuin.
Tona.
Tor ; he had previously held the same land.
Torberand Uchtred; they had previously held
the same lands.
Torbern; he had previously held it.
Torthil et Raveuchil; they had before held
them.
Tored; he had held previous to the Survey.
Turbern; had previously held.
Uchtred.
Ulchil.
Ulchil; he had held previously.
Ulchil and his wife.
Ulf.
Ulsi.
Waldinus Two mansions.
Warene, Willielmus de. William de Warren,
earl of Warren, in Normandy, who came
3Q
490
YORKSHIRE :
into England with the Conqueror, and was
made earl of Surrey, by William Rufus. He
and his wife Gundreda, who was a daughter
of the Conqueror, founded the priory of St.
Pancras, at Lewes, in 1078, as a cell to the
great abbey of Clugni, in France. William
de Warren had estates in many counties,
including two in Yorkshire.
The above were the chief landowners in Yorkshire at the time
when the Domesday Survey was made, in the year 1086. It will
be seen that the king himself, William the Conqueror, held upwards
of 350 Yorkshire manors in his own hands; most of which had no
doubt been confiscated in consequence of the desperate resist-
ance made by the Danish and Anglian population of that and the
other northern counties, to the arms of the Norman invaders. Next
to the king, the greatest of the Norman landowners was Alan earl
of Brittany and Richmond, the son-in-law of William the Conqueror,
whose vast earldom included the greater part of the North Riding,
from the centre of the county to the present borders of Lancashire,
and extended beyond those borders to the Irish Sea. Amongst
other families of great antiquity, which then held lands from the
crown, were the Bruces, whose descendants became kings of Scotland ;
the Burons or Byrons ; the De Buslis, of Tickhill Castle ; the
Gands, or Gaunts ; the De Lacys of Pontefract Castle; the Malets ;
the earls of Mortaine; the founders of the great family of
Mortimer ; of that of Pagnel, and still more of the famous house
of Percy. Earl Roger Pictaviensis was one of the greatest of Norman
landowners ; and the Earls de Warren were amongst the most
powerful and warlike of the Norman peers. These Normans had
chiefly taken the place of the Anglian and Danish thanes, who had
held the land of the county previous to the Norman conquest ; but
a few thanes, either of Danish or Anglian race, still remained in
possession, and a considerable number of the smaller tenants of
the crown. Under the great barons and their knights, the whole
population was soon organized for warlike purposes.
Population of Yorkshire at the time of the Domesday Survey.
Although the Domesday Survey does not profess to give as exact
an account of the population of England, in the reign of William
the Conqueror (A.D. 1084-86), as it does of the taxable pro-
perty, it still affords what may be regarded as an approximation
to the numbers of the people of most of the English counties,
and therefore of nearly the whole kingdom at that time. The
only places or districts omitted in the Domesday Survey were
the city of London, which for some unknown reason does not
PAST AND PKESENT. 491
appear in it ; and those parts of England that lie to the north
of the county of York. These were neither surveyed nor described
at that time. The omission of the northern districts is easily
accounted for. They had been so much desolated by war, and
were at that time in so unsettled a state, that it must have been very
difficult to obtain any returns that would have been useful, for the
very practical purpose for which the Domesday Survey was made,
namely, the imposing of a tax of four shillings, equal to three pounds
of our money, on every hide of land throughout the kingdom. No
doubt the citizens of London, who already formed the richest com-
munity in the kingdom, paid handsomely to that tax, although we
have no return of the amount of their contribution. As to the
northern counties, if they were exempted, it must have been either
because they were lying waste under the ravages of war, or because
there were no means of enforcing the tax.
Another circumstance that may have prevented the carrying of the
Domesday Survey further north than the river Tees, may perhaps have
been, that the limits of the respective kingdoms of England and
Scotland were not, at that time, absolutely fixed. The earldom of
Cumberland, which extended as far south as the borders of Furness,
in Lancashire, and which at times was forced as far south as the
district of Craven, in Yorkshire, was a disputed territory, and was
frequently overrun by the armies of both countries. Even so
late as the reign of King Stephen, the nephew of the king of
Scotland occupied the greater part of Craven, and punished with
fire and sword all who disputed his authority.
But with the exception of London and the debatable lands on
the north of Yorkshire, a very fair account was taken at the time of
the Domesday Survey, both of the numbers of the male adult popu-
lation and of their occupations. They were divided into the following
classes : Tenants in capite, including the earls and barons who held
their lands directly from the king ; under-tenants of the Crown ;
bordarii, or cottagers ; bovarii, or herdsmen ; citizens, or burgesses,
generally described, however, as burgesses ; drengs, or military
followers, generally of the Danish or other Scandinavian races, the
word dreng, or dring, meaning a warrior, in the Norse language ;
fabri, workmen or artizans ; Francigence, meaning Frenchmen or
Normans ; homines, men, or military followers ; hospites, persons in
hospitals; liberi homines, or freemen; molinarii, or millers; piscatores,
or fishermen ; prcepositi villarium, reeves or bailiffs ; presbyteri,
492 YORKSHIRE :
priests ; radmen, knights or horsemen ; servi, slaves ; and villani,
villeins or cultivators of the soil. Society was at that time chiefly
composed of these classes, the most numerous divisions being the
bordarii or cottagers, the servi, or slaves, and the villani, or cultiva-
tors of the soil. These were the classes of men whom the Normans
found on the soil. The most numerous of all were the villani, the
inhabitants of the vills or townships, who were the chief cultivators,
and no doubt the most peaceful and useful part of the population.
The burgesses, though existing in the city of York and two or three
other places, were few in number in the north of England, or indeed
everywhere, in comparison with the cultivators of the soil ; manu-
factures being almost unknown in those times, except those carried
on within each family, for its own clothing. There were a few corn
mills turned by water even in that early age, but windmills were
not known, until brought from the East by the most intelligent
of the Crusaders, and more especially by William, earl of Mortaine,
the son of King Stephen, of whom we shall have to speak, as one
of the great landowners of Yorkshire and Lancashire.
According to the estimate of the late Sir Henry Ellis, in his
essay on the Domesday Survey, the adult male population of all the
counties of England, excluding Durham, Northumberland, Cumber-
land, and Westmoreland, and the city of London, amounted to
286,926. This, however, is merely the male population ; but we
easily get the whole population by multiplying the adult males by
five. This gives a total of 1,435,630, or taking London and the
counties north of Yorkshire into the account, of about one million
and a half, for the whole of England.
Although the boundaries of Yorkshire at that time were even
more extensive than they are at present, including the two present
Lancashire hundreds of Lonsdale and Amounderness, and even some
portions of Cumberland and Westmoreland, the population of that
county was very far from being the largest amongst the counties of
England.
According to Sir Henry Ellis' computation, the male population
of Yorkshire at that time was not more than 8055, which multiplied
by five, to include the women and children, would give a total
of 40,275 persons for the whole county. At the same time, the
population of the county of Essex, including women and children,
was about 80,300 persons; that of Hampshire, 51,865; that of
Kent, 61,025 ; that of Lincolnshire, 126,525 ; that of Norfolk, which
PAST AND PRESENT. 493
was the most populous county in England, 135,435 ; and that of
Suffolk, 102,455. It will thus be seen that the southern and eastern
districts were at that time much more populous than the northern.
This they owed, to a considerable extent, to their comparative
freedom from the ravages of war ; but also, in some degree, to
their milder climate and their more fertile soil. In Sir James
Mackintosh's "History of England," vol. i. page 383, the adult
population of Yorkshire at this time is estimated at 9646, which
multiplied by five, to obtain the proper proportion of women and
children, would give a total of 48,230. Neither of these estimates
carries the population of Yorkshire, at the close of the Norman con-
quest, up to 50,000 persons. The adult population of burgesses in
Yorkshire at this time was 1826, or allowing for women and
children, less than 10,000 persons. These numbers, however, are
mere approximations.
The Norman Wars of Succession. The wars of succession to the
throne of England, on the deaths of William the Conqueror (A.D.
1087), of William Kufus (A.D. 1100), of Henry I. (1135), the latter
of which lasted during the whole reign of King Stephen, from 1135
to 1154, led to numerous confiscations of the estates of the earls
and barons, whose possessions are described in the list given above
of the tenants of the crown in Yorkshire.
Amongst the earls holding extensive lands in Yorkshire, who for-
feited their estates in those wars, were Earl Roger de Montgomery,
known as Pictaviensis, and his brother-in-law the earl of Morton or
Mortaine, in Normandy. The other members of the family were
equally powerful, holding the earldoms of Shrewsbury and Arundel,
besides great estates in Pembrokeshire. All these estates in York-
shire and other parts of England, were forfeited by the Montgomery
family, in the wars which broke out owing to the claims put forward
by the Conqueror's younger sons, William Rufus and Henry Beau-
clerc, to the throne, which belonged by hereditary right to his
eldest son Robert, duke of Normandy. After the estates had been
finally confiscated by King Henry I., they were given by him to his
nephew Stephen, earl of Blois and Mortaine, who afterwards
employed the great power and wealth thus conferred upon him, in
wresting the throne from Matilda or Maude, the only surviving
child of King Henry I. But at the close of the civil war in the
reign of King Stephen, it was arranged that the son of the Empress
Maude, Henry Plantagenet, should inherit the kingdom of England,
494 YORKSHIRE :
and that the estates of the two earldoms should descend to William,
Earl of Blois, the son of King Stephen. This arrangement was
carried out, and the earldoms remained in possession of William,
earl of Blois, until he died childless; when they again passed into
the hands of the crown, represented by Henry II., the first king
of the Plantagenet dynasty.
The Battle of the Standard, A.D. 1138. The desperate contest
for the crown of England, between King Stephen, the nephew
of King Henry I., and the Empress Maude, King Henry's daughter,
had the great national result of securing the succession to the
throne, both in the direct and in the female lines, which has given
to this kingdom some of the best sovereigns that it ever possessed.
But this result was not attained without heavy loss and great
suffering ; for the reign of King Stephen was a succession of
sanguinary civil wars, in which almost every part of the kingdom
was laid waste or deluged with blood. In the north of England,
the evil was greatly aggravated by the invasion of an immense
Scottish army, which overran the counties of Cumberland, West-
moreland, Northumberland, and Durham, and advanced into York-
shire, for the purpose of uniting the whole of the ancient kingdom
of Northumbria, from the Humber to the Tyne, to the kingdom of
Scotland. In that disturbed and distracted age, David, the king of
Scotland, although professing to be a supporter of the Empress Maude,
as queen of England, claimed for his own son the earldom of Northum-
bria, in right of his wife, who was the daughter of the great Anglian
earl of Northumbria, Waltheof, whose possessions had been seized,
and who had himself been put to death, by William the Conqueror.
In order to carry out this object, King David of Scotland
collected a very large army, in the year 1138, the 4th of King
Stephen, and after overrunning and laying waste the counties of
Northumberland and Durham, marched southwai'd towards York,
by the great northern road, through Northallerton. At that time
the bishops of Durham had a very strong castle near Northallerton,
which formed an important rallying point for resisting an attack
from the north ; and there the whole strength of the county of
York was assembled, to oppose the further advance of the Scottish
army. The chief commander of the English forces was Walter
d'Espec, supported by William de Albemarle, Walter de Gant,
Robert de Brus, Roger de Mowbray, Gilbert de Lacy, William de
Lacy, William de Percy, Richard de Courcy, William Fossard, and
PAST AND PBESENT. 495
Robert de Stuteville. Thurstan, the venerable archbishop of York,
encouraged the assembled hosts by his counsels ; and Randolph,
bishop of Orkney, excited them by his eloquence. A lofty standard
with a crucifix, erected on a carriage as a military ensign, with the
holy banners of St. Peter of York, St. John of Beverley, and St.
Wilfrid of Ripon, was floated over the English host. Previous to
the commencement of the battle of the Standard, Bishop Randolph
roused the courage of the soldiers by a passionate address, and he
was followed by Walter d'Espec, a noble soldier. The following
opening passage of one of these speeches has been preserved :
" Illustrious chiefs of England, by blood and race Normans ; before
whom bold France trembles ; to whom fierce England has sub-
mitted ; under whom Apulia has been restored to her station ; and
whose names are famous at Antioch and Jerusalem.""""
Almost before the addresses were ended the Picts or Celts of
Galloway rushed upon the English army, but were received with an
overwhelming discharge of arrows from the English archers, by
which most of their leaders were killed, and the main body was put
to flight. A furious attack, made on the main position of the
English army by Prince Henry of Scotland, threatened to be suc-
cessful ; and it is even said that it would have been so, had not the
head of one of the English, who was killed in the battle, been cut
off, and exhibited at the end of a spear, as the head of the king of
Scotland. Whether this was the real cause of the loss of confidence
of the Scottish troops, or the defeat of the Picts of Galloway, and
the firm attitude of the English troops, is uncertain. But about
this time the Scottish army broke and retreated ; carrying off King
David in its retreat. The Prince of Scotland also succeeded in
escaping from the field of battle, and the Scottish army was so
effectually dispersed that it did not again rally in strength until
it had reached the city of Carlisle. The only Englishman of rank
killed in this battle was Gilbert de Lacy ; nor was the loss of the
Scottish army very great in the battle, though it lost many thousand
men in its long and difficult retreat to the Scottish borders.
One great and lasting advantage resulted to Yorkshire from this
victory; which was, that the borders of Scotland, instead of being
advanced to the Humber or even to the Tees, were fixed at the
Tweed and the Solway Yorkshire being thus freed from the evil
of becoming a debatable ground between England and Scotland.
* Sir James Mackintosh's History of England, vol. i. pp. 126, 134.
496 YORKSHIRE :
From this cause the county of York was freed from the ravages
of any great war for more than one hundred years after the battle of
the Standard, and would have been freed much longer if it had not
been for the ambition of Edward I., and the weakness of his
son and successor.
The Fixing of the Limits of the County of York by King Henry II
The battle of the Standard, fought, as we have seen, in the year
1138, was the only great conflict of arms that took place in York-
shire, from the accession of King Henry I., in the year 1110, to the
death of King Edward I. in the year 1307. This was the longest
period of peace that this part of England had experienced for many
centuries ; and although there were occasional tumults, they did
not altogether arrest the progress of society. It was in the reign
of King Henry II., in the year 1177, that the whole kingdom was
organized by that king for the purpose of administering justice, by
means of judges, making their circuit through England, and holding
courts of assize in the chief cities of every county.
Previous to that time justice was administered either at the
king's court at Westminster, or in the hundred courts, which were
very much under the influence of local passion, prejudice, and
influence, although they may have often administei'ed substantial
justice. But from the reign of King Henry II., courts of assize
have been regularly held in all the counties of the kingdom,
and have gradually risen to the high reputation for justice which
they have now maintained for so many ages.
It was at the time when the kingdom was divided by King
Henry II. into circuits for the administration of justice, that the
county of York received the territorial limits which it has retained
to the present time. Up to that time there was no county of
Lancaster ; the county of York including the two northern hundreds
of Lonsdale and Amounderness (now forming part of Lancashire),
and the six southern hundreds of Lancashire, forming the district
then known as the land between the Kibble and the Mersey. But
at the time when the circuits of the judges were arranged by
King Henry II. and his advisers, Lancashire received its present
name and limits ; and Yorkshire was also settled with its present
very ample bounds.
The Crusades and the Captivity of Richard I. From the
death of King Henry II., and the accession to the throne of his
warlike son, Richard L, to the death of King Henry III., York-
PAST AND PRESENT. 497
shire was not only free from invasion, but also irom the ravages
of any great civil war, though not without occasional disturbances.
Thus, on the return of Richard I. from his brilliant and not useless
campaigns in the East, when it was ascertained that his treacherous
brother, Prince John, had joined with the archduke of Austria and
the king of France, to keep him a prisoner in an Austrian dungeon,
there was a general rising against Prince John, whose castles were
seized in every part of the kingdom. Amongst these castles were
those of Tickhill in Yorkshire, Lancaster, Marlborough in Wilt-
shire, St. Michael's, near the Lands End, and several other strong
places in different parts of England. The castle of Tickhill, in
Yorkshire, was besieged and taken by an army under the com-
mand of Hugh de Pudsey, bishop of Durham.
The Barons Wars with King John and Henry III. - - The
still more important wars between King John and his son,
King Henry III., on one side, and the barons of England on the
other, which led ultimately to the granting of Magna Charta, of
the great Charter of the Forests, and of Parliaments in which not
merely the nobles and the clergy, but also the knights, freeholders,
and burgesses of England were represented, and out of which the
system of parliamentary government finally grew in the reign of
King Edward I., the son of Henry III., were chiefly fought out
in the southern and midland parts of the kingdom, although several
of the Yorkshire and other northern barons took part in those
memorable conflicts. Amongst the most formidable of the opponents
of King John was Hugh de Lacy, who was in arms against King
John in his last campaign, when, at the head of an immense army
of foreign adventurers, the tyrant was endeavouring to wash out
Magna Charta, with the blood of those who had compelled him to
sign it. This dangerous conflict was put an end to by the sudden
death of King John ; when the earls of Pembroke and Kent were
appointed regents of the kingdom, during the minority of King
Henry III., who was then a boy of eleven years of age. When they
succeeded to the regency, they commanded, in the name of the
youthful king, that Magna Charta and the Charter of Forests
should be publicly read by the high sheriffs, in all the counties of
England ; that all forests which had been formed previous to legal
memory, which was fixed to be previous to the first year of Bichard
I., should be disforested ; and also, that all the castles that had been
built in different parts of the kingdom without lawful authority, and
VOL. i. 3 is
498 YORKSHIRE :
which they described as the adulterine castles, should be destroyed.
The regents of the kingdom further promised in the king's name,
that Hugh de Lacy, if he returned to his fealty, should have all his
rights restored.'* By these means they soon restored peace to the
kingdom, and got rid of the foreign armies that had been brought
into the kingdom by both parties. In order to secure the support
of the Count of Brittany, who was also earl of Richmond, they
entered into negotiations with him, in the course of which the Count
agreed that he would only claim such lands beyond the Humber
that is, in Richmondshire as should be awarded to him by the
king's council. On this agreement the king's advisers ordered
the seism, or delivery, of the honour of Richmond, and other
lands in England, to Peter, count of Brittany, except certain
knights' fees which they retained, t
In due time King Henry III. grew up to man's estate, and took
the government of the kingdom out of the hands of the able men
who had managed it during his minority, transferring it to a
number of worthless favourites, who very soon threw everything
into confusion. In a few years he rendered the crown almost
bankrupt, partly by engaging in rash wars with France, in which he
had not even the merit of success ; and partly by making most
profuse grants to the queen, a beautiful princess of the house of
Savoy, and to all her brothers, sisters, and relations. Amongst
other things, he made a promise to Amadeus, count of Savoy, that
he would give his younger daughter the choice of marrying either
the heir to the estates of John de Warren, who would be in due
time earl of Surrey, or Edmund de Lacy, who would be earl of
Lincoln. J
But the climax of the folly of King Henry III., and that
which brought on what are generally known as the Barons'
Wars, in which the barons of England compelled the king to
transfer the government to wiser councillors, was an agreement
between the pope and the king, by which the kingdom of Sicily
was to be conferred on Edmund, the younger son of the English
king, after it had been conquered by English arms. The news of
this rash enterprise produced a violent commotion throughout the
kingdom, in the course of which affairs became so threatening that
the king was compelled to notify that he had consented to a
* Rjmer's Fcedera, vol. i. pp. 145, 150. f Ry liter's Foedcra, vol. i. pp. 161-158.
J Rymer's Fcedera, vol. i. p. 246.
PAST AND PRESENT. 499
meeting at Oxford, for the reform of the state of the realm. On
this occasion, and for the first time, writs were ordered to be
issued for the appointment of four knights of the shire, for the
correction of injuries, according to the provisions of the Parlia-
ment at Oxford. In addition to this, the king ordered to be sent
to each county of England the ordinances made for the government
of the realm by his council. He further sent out a proclamation
written in the English language, which was to be distributed
through all the English counties, and which was probably the first
appeal ever made to the people in their native tongue by any of
the Norman or Plantagenet kings.
But neither these proclamations, nor promises, nor the threats
which Pope Alexander IV. directed againts the barons, had the
effect of turning them from their determination, which was to put an
end to the threatened expedition for the conquest of Sicily. It was
in vain that Edmund, who describes himself as king of Sicily, the
king's younger son, appointed proctors to receive possession of that
kingdom. It was equally in vain that Pope Alexander IV. absolved
the king of England from an oath made to his nobles, to the injury
of the liberties of the crown. It was also in vain that the
archbishop of Canterbury sent to the barons a copy of the bull of
Pope Alexander IV., by which he excommunicated Hugh Bigod, the
northern leader of the barons, unless he gave up to the king the
castles of Scarborough and Pickering. The barons, having fully
made up their minds to compel the king to abandon the rash
project into which he had been drawn by the pope, refused to make
any surrender, and prepared to resist both the king and the pope
with all the means at their disposal. Before doing so, however,
they induced R. de Neville to urge the king to make arrange-
ments for the preservation of the peace to the north of the Trent,
informing him that the fleets of the kings of Norway and Den-
mark were cruising off Scotland, and were likely to reassert their
ancient claims, if they found England in arms against itself. In the
hope of avoiding this and other dangers, it was arranged that Prince
Edward, afterwards King Edward I., and a much wiser man than
his father, should meet certain of the barons, and that they should
endeavour to settle their disputes by the arbitration of two referees.
But this well-meant negotiation failed, and on the 24th May, 1264,
the army of the king and that of the barons, the latter supported
by the citizens of London, met in battle-array at Lewes, in Sussex,
500 YORKSHIRE :
to decide the dispute with the sword. The king's army was
commanded by his eldest son, Prince Edward, who, though unsuc-
cessful in this battle, afterwards became the greatest commander of
the age ; and he was supported by a considerable party of the barons,
and by some very distinguished soldiers. The barons' army was
commanded by Simon de Montfort, earl of Leicester, Eobert de
Ferrers, earl of Derby, Gilbert de Clare, earl of Gloucester, William
de Warren, earl of Surrey, and other nobles of the barons' party, and
was assisted by a large body of the armed citizens of London. The
chief barons' who rose against Henry III., in 1263, were his own
nephew Henry, son of the earl of Cornwall ; Henry Montford, Hugh
Spenser, Baldwin Wake, who had great possessions in the neigh-
bourhood of Hull ; Gilbert Gifford, Richard Gray, John Ros, one of
the Yorkshire barons ; William Marmion, one of the Marmions of
Tanfield Castle; Henry Hastings, Haimon L'Estrange, John Fitzjohn,
Godfrey Lacy, Nicolas Segrave, Roger de Layburn, John Vescy, one
of the Yorkshire barons; Roger de Clifford, of Skipton Castle; John
de Vaux, Gilbert de Clare, Gilbert de Lacy, a member of another
great Yorkshire house ; and Roger de Vipont. The commander-in-
chief was Simon de Montfort, earl of Leicester, aided by the earls of
Gloucester, Derby, and Warren, of Sandal Castle. On the side of
the king were the Percys of Northumberland, with their warlike
borderers, including John Comyn, John Baliol, lord of Galloway, and
Robert Brus, lord of Annandale, with several other powerful barons.
This battle, which was desperately contested, and in which
upwards of 5000 men were slain, ended in the total defeat of the
royal army. The king, Prince Edward, and the principal leaders of
the king's party were taken prisoners ; arid though their lives
were spared, the government of the kingdom passed into the hands
of Simon de Montfort, and the other leaders of the barons.
Amongst the conditions demanded by them, one was, that the
king should surrender into their hands for five years the castles of
Scarborough, Dover, Bamborough in Northumberland, Nottingham,
and Corfe Castle in Dorsetshire, which were considered to be five of
the strongest places in the kingdom. Those castles were accordingly
surrendered, though long before the five years for which they were
to be held had expired, the power of the barons had been completely
overthrown. This took place in the month of June, in the year
1265, previous to which time Prince Edward had escaped from
captivity, and brought together a powerful army, at the head of
PAST AND PRESENT. 501
which he encountered and totally defeated the barons' army at
Evesham, in Worcestershire. In this battle Simon de Montfort, and
many others of the great barons, were slain, and for a time the cause
for which they had fought appeared to be totally lost. But that
was not the case, for all the claims which they had made were again
revived in the reign of Edward I. ; and that king, being an infinitely
wiser man than his father, took the lead both of the barons and of
the people; called together a Parliament in which the barons, the
knights, who represented the landed interest, the citizens and
burgesses, as well as the crown and the clergy, were all represented ;
and thus established a form of government, which in its leading
principles has continued to the present day, and has secured for
England the proud title of the Mother of Parliaments.
The Parliamentary Representation of Yorkshire under the Planta-
genet and Tudor Sovereigns. When parliamentary government was
established in England, the number of members returned to represent
the whole kingdom was about three hundred, of whom the knights
of the shires were about seventy-four, and the citizens and burgesses
two hundred and thirty-six. The county of York received the right
of returning about thirty members to the early English Parliaments;
though the number was not always the same, some places exercising
the right very irregularly. The number of members given to each
constituency, whether small or great, except the city of London, was
two ; and this number continued unaltered until modern times, when
the county of York received the same privilege of returning four
members, which London had possessed for many ages. Since that
time the number has been greatly increased. The electoral arrange-
ments in Yorkshire were as follows, from the reign of the three
Edwards to the present century.
The freeholders of the county were summoned to return two
members ; a number very much short of the amount due to the
population, property, and importance of the constituency.
The city of York was also summoned to return two members, an
honour to which it was very well entitled, as the second city in the
kingdom, the real capital of the north, the seat of an archbishop,
and a numerous and wealthy clergy, as well as a considerable place
of foreign commerce, and as possessing more inland trade than any
other town or city in the north of England.
The port of Kingston-upon-Hull was also summoned to return
two members, to most of the earlier Parliaments of this and the
502 YORKSHIRE :
succeeding reigns. This port, long before it had received the name
of Kingston-upon-Hull, had become the seat of considerable com-
merce, first under the name of Vik, or Wyke, upon Hull, and
afterwards of Hull. We shall trace the history of the rise of the
port of Hull in a subsequent part of this work. All that is necessary
to say at present is, that Hull was the fifth port in the kingdom
in point of trade, in the reign of King John ; that when the rights
of the abbey of Meaux, or Melsa, in Wyke-upon-Hull were
purchased by King Edward I., they were worth in modern money
about 1200 a year; and that a few years later, the leading merchant
of Hull, William de la Pole, "the king's merchant," as he was
called, was able to lend to King Edward III. a sum equal to
100,000 of modern money, probably with the assistance of other
merchants of Hull.
At the time when the right of returning members was conferred
on the Yorkshire boroughs, there were three other places on or
near to the Humber which also received that right. Two of these
places were on the Yorkshire side of the estuary, namely, Hedon
and Ravenspurn, or as it was written in earlier times, Ravensaer.
The other was Grimsby, on the Lincolnshire coast.
Hedon, which continued to return members to Parliament quite
down to modern times, possessed some facilities as a port ; but
those were so very much inferior to the advantages possessed by
Hull, that Hedon could never have been a serious rival of the
prosperity of Hull.
Ravenspurn, at the mouth of the Humber, also possessed some-
what similar advantages ; and there it was that two claimants to the
crown of England landed in succession. The first was Henry of
Bolingbroke, afterwards the first king of the house of Lancaster,
as Henry IV. ; and the second was Edward of York, who was the
first king of the house of York, under the title of Edward IV. But
Ravenspurn was built on the treacherous cliffs and sands of a shore
which was soon afterwards undermined by the ocean, and has long
since been swallowed up by its waves.
Proceeding northward from the mouth of the Humber, the only
other Yorkshire port which received the privilege of returning two
members to Parliament, in the early English Parliaments, was
Scarborough, the best port on the Yorkshire coast, out of the
Humber, and at the same time one of the greatest fortresses in
England. Although burnt and plundered by Harald Hardrada,
PAST AND PRESENT. 503
previous to the Norman conquest, Scarborough had risen from its
ruins, and had become of so much consequence in the reign of Henry
III. as to defy even a Papal Bull, and to be held as one of the most
important material guarantees, in a great national contest.
Proceeding from the coast to the ulterior of the East Riding,
Beverley was the most considerable place. It had, in addition to a
noble minster, several rich monastic houses, a considerable popula-
tion, and a greater share of the woollen manufacture than was at
that time possessed by any other town in Yorkshire, with the excep-
tion of York. In those early times Beverley had considerable
advantages, from its position on the river Hull; from its large
supplies of wool ; and from its nearness to the most flourishing port
of Yorkshire.
The West Riding of Yorkshire was not, in the reign of Edward I.,
the busy seat of manufactures which it is at present, though the foun-
dations were already laid of the manufacturing prosperity of Leeds,
Bradford, Halifax, Huddersfield, and Sheffield; as we shall show
when we come to speak of the early history of those great seats of
industry. But they were none of them, at that time, what were
called royal boroughs ; that is to say, they were none of them the
immediate property of the Crown, and none of them possessed charters
from the crown. As a general rule though not a rule without
many exceptions the early boroughs, which received the right of
returning members to Parliament, were the royal boroughs ; and as
the borough of Leeds belonged, at that time, to the St. Quintin
family ; that of Bradford, to the De Lacys, earls of Lincoln ;
Wakefield and Halifax to the earls de Warren ; and Sheffield
to the Furnivals they none of them received writs to send
members to Parliament.
The boroughs of the West Riding of Yorkshire which received
summonses to send members to Parliament under the Plantagenet
and Tudor kings, were Pontefract, Knaresborough, and Ripon.
Aldborough and Boroughbridge received the same privilege ; but at a
somewhat later period.
Pontefract was one of the boroughs of the West Riding which
were summoned to return members to Parliament, from the time of
the introduction of parliamentary government into England. It
was in early times the chief castle and residence of the great family
of the De Lacys, earls of Lincoln; and afterwards the principal
fortress of the dukes of Lancaster, the rivals of the kings for the
504 YORKSHIRE :
possession of the throne. It was a military position of the greatest
importance, overlooking the fords and ferries of the deep and wide
stream formed by the union of the Aire and the Calder ; and it was
also an admirable position for commanding the line of communication
along the great north road, which was the main road from London
to York. In addition to these advantages, it was the market of
one of the richest districts of Yorkshire, and had weekly markets,
and several fairs at different seasons of the year, at which all the
produce of the neighbouring districts was sold, and other articles
purchased in return. It was one of the most important military
positions in the north of England, and also one of the most
nourishing towns.
Knaresborough, on the river Nidd, was also one of the early
parliamentary boroughs of Yorkshire. As a military position it was
only second to Pontefract, having a very strong and ancient castle,
which belonged to the crown in early times, afterwards to the De
Burghs, earls of Kent; then to the earls of Cornwall, the descend-
ants of Henry III. ; and ultimately to the famous John of Gaunt,
duke of Lancaster. Knaresborough had many houses held by
burgage tenure. It was a market of an extensive district ; and
in early times possessed a share of the woollen manufacture. It
had also considerable iron mines, the ore of which was smelted
with the charcoal of the great forest of Knaresborough, then
twenty miles in length, eight miles in breadth, and covered with
thickets.
Bipon was another parliamentary borough of the West Riding.
It owed its name to St. Wilfred and the early Anglian monks who
gave it the name of Ad Hipam, from its position on the banks of
the charming rivers, Ure and Skell. The minster and shrine of
Ripon were greatly venerated in those ages, and even down to the
time of the Reformation they gave to Ripon security, on more than
one occasion, from the ravages of war. Very valuable charters were
granted to Ripon by King Athelstane; and in a later age than his,
though soon after the Norman conquest, the most beautiful and
magnificent of the Yorkshire abbeys was erected in the neighbour-
hood of that town. Ripon was also celebrated in early times for its
woollen manufactures, and for its steel and iron work ; especially for
its spurs, which were kept in constant use in those unsettled and
warlike times, when men almost lived in the saddle. Ripon had
also extensive markets and fairs ; at which all the produce of the
PAST AND PKESENT. 505
neighbouring districts were sold, and from which all their wants
were supplied.
Aldborough and Boroughbridge, both of them in the parish of
Aldborough, presented the very remarkable example of two parlia-
mentary boroughs within a single parish.
Aldborough, though not enfranchised so early as some other of
the Yorkshire boroughs, is generally supposed to be the oldest town
in Yorkshire, standing on the site of Isu Brigantum, or Isurium,
which is believed to have been the capital of the Brigantes, even
previous to the Roman invasion of Britain. Its greatness passed
away with the founding of Eboracum, or York, lower down the course
of the streams which unite near Aldborough to form the river Ouse.
Yet Aldborough retained a certain amount of importance for many
ages ; from its position on those rivers, and upon the great northern
road, as well as from the richness of the surrounding country.
Boroughbridge was the bridge of the borough of Aldborough
and derived its importance chiefly from the circumstance of possess-
ing a convenient bridge, in an age when bridges across wide rivers
were very uncommon in Yorkshire. This circumstance caused
Boroughbridge to become the scene of a great battle between the
army of Thomas, earl of Lancaster, and that of King Edward II.
in a succeeding age. It may also have been one principal cause
why Boroughbridge was made a parliamentary borough, in the time
of the Tudors and Plantagenets.
The early parliamentary boroughs in the North Riding of
Yorkshire were Richmond, Northallerton, Thirsk, Malton, and
Scarborough. At one time Pickering also returned members to
Parliament.
Richmond was in early times the capital of the district known
as Richmondshire, which included five Yorkshire wapentakes, besides
large districts in Lancashire and Westmoreland. The earls of
Richmond were counts and dukes of Brittany. The castle of
Richmond was one of the strongest fortresses of Yorkshire, as it
is now one of its finest ruins. As the seat of government of the
greatest earldom of Yorkshire, and the principal place of trade and
point of communication on the river Swale, Richmond was sum-
moned to return members to Parliament, in a very early age.
Northallerton was also summoned to send members. It was
from very early times noted for its markets and fairs ; and there also
the bishops of Durham, who possessed palatial powers, and immense
VOL. 1 3 S
506 YORKSHIRE :
estates, both in Durham and Yorkshire, built a great castle. Nor-
thallerton, standing on the great line of road from Scotland to York
was greatly frequented by travellers, and was even of importance
in military movements.
The castle of Thirsk was the chief residence of the noble family
of the Mowbrays, whose barony extended over all the neighbouring
district, and whose memory is still preserved by the name of the
Vale of Mowbray. The town of Thirsk sprang up at the foot of
the castle ; and became the chief town and place of trade of an
extensive district. Thirsk was summoned to return members at
an early period, and has continued to do so to the present time.
Malton is another Yorkshire borough which sent members to
Parliament in the reign of Edward I. It was then, as it is now, the
chief town on the river Derwent. It had a strong castle, com-
manding an important military position; and was the principal place
of trade in the district. Its markets and fairs were frequent
and well attended.
Pickering returned two members to Parliament in early times,
but lost that privilege. It had a strong castle, and belonged to the
powerful duchy of Lancaster.
We have already spoken of Scarborough as one of the oldest
parliamentary boroughs, as well as one of the principal ports and
military positions of Yorkshire. It has well maintained its position
amongst the towns on the Yorkshire coast, though it now owes more
to its beauty than its strength.
Tlie Early Charters of the Yorkshire Boroughs. Many of the
Yorkshire boroughs, and of the English boroughs in general, besides
obtaining the right to return members to Parliament, also received
charters from the crown or from the great barons of those ages,
which secured to them the possession of valuable rights, and greatly
promoted their growth and prosperity. The following are the most
important advantages which the inhabitants of the freest and
best-regulated of the Yorkshire boroughs obtained under these
charters :
First, they were freed from liability to appear before the hundred
or wapentake courts, in questions of dispute arising within their
respective boroughs.
Second, they were authorized to form courts of their own, for trying
all cases arising within their own boroughs, not involving the great
crimes of murder, highway robbery, and other pleas of the crown.
PAST AND PRESENT. 507
Third, they were authorized to elect a public officer, corre-
sponding in position to the modern mayors of boroughs, though
usually known in those early ages as the bailiff, the praetor, or
the prcepositus, who was the chief local authority. In some of the
larger boroughs they were also authorized to elect courts of
aldermen, to assist and advise the mayor.
The burgesses, in return for a fixed yearly payment, were in
many cases freed from the obligation to pay the ancient tolls
and dues of the crown or lord of the manor, not only in their own
borough, but in all boroughs belonging to the crown in different
parts of the kingdom.
In a great many boroughs the holding of land by burgage tenure
was also introduced, the principle of which was that each burgess
held his burgage of half an acre, or an acre of land, from the
crown or lord, on a lease renewable, on a small fine, for ever. The
yearly rent was usually Is. an acre, equal then to about 1 5s. an
acre, of modern money.
Thus the burgesses obtained security against oppression in dis-
tant courts ; the right of trying cases arising within their boroughs
in their own courts ; a local authority elected by themselves ; freedom
from all taxes not authorized by a grant of Parliament, on payment
of a moderate composition ; and in a great number of cases, perma-
nent possession of their houses, gardens, and crofts, on payment of
a moderate fixed rent.
The Wars of Edward /., Edicard II., and Edtcar I III. with
Scotland. King Edward I., and his grandson King Edward III.,
with many great qualities, and the authors of many excellent laws,
were both of them infatuated with a desire for conquest. The
chief object of Edward I. was to tinite the whole of the British
islands under one sovereign, and that sovereign himself an
excellent object, if it could have been effected by peaceful means,
and which was ultimately attained by such means, though nearly
three hundred years later. The objects of Edward III. were still
bolder; and included the conquest of France, to which he pretended
to have a claim, in right of his mother, which might have been good,
if the law of succession to the throne of France had not been
fundamentally different from that of England. Edward II., the
luckless son, and the unfortunate father of two of the greatest of
English kings, entertained the same schemes of conquest as Edward
I., but possessed neither the civil nor the military qualities that
508 YORKSHIRE :
were necessary to insure success. By his incapacity he threw away
all that his father had gained, and laid open his own kingdom to
invasion and desolation, up to the gates of York.
The military system of England, as organized by the celebrated
statute of Wynton, or Winchester, passed in the 13th year oi
King Edward I., A.D. 1284-85, required that every man in the
kingdom, between the ages of fifteen and sixty, should be trained
to the use of arms, and should have arms in his possession according
to his rank, fortune, and position. By this Act it was required that
every one between the above ages, who had land of the value of
fifteen pounds a year, or forty marks' worth of goods, should be
provided with a helmet or headpiece, a breastplate of iron, a sword,
a knife, and a horse fit for military service. He who had ten pounds
in land, or twenty marks in goods, was required to have the kind of
arms and armour mentioned above, but without the horse, so that he
belonged to the infantry, and not to the cavalry. Whoever had five
pounds in land was required to have in his possession a doublet, a
breastplate of iron, a sword, and a knife. The next class, including
the great body of the archers, who formed the main strength and
the great superiority of the English armies in ancient times, were
such as possessed between forty shillings and ten shillings of land,
and they were required to have a sword, a bow and arrows, and a
knife. All persons of smaller means, possessed of not more than
forty shillings in land, were required to have swords and knives ;
and all other persons of a still lower class were required to have
bows and arrows, if living out of the forests, and cross-bows and
bolts, if living within their precincts. Thus the whole population
was required to possess arms ; and an inspection took place twice
a year to ascertain that they had the arms and armour prescribed
by law, and knew also how to make use of their weapons. Particular
attention was given to the training of the archers, who formed
the main body of the people, and the most formidable part of
the English armies. The whole population was trained to the use
of the bow and arrow from boyhood to manhood ; and as no other
nation of Europe paid anything like the same attention to the
training of the people to the use of that weapon, the English
archers were everywhere dreaded, and frequently decided the fate
of great battles before the men-at-arms and the spearmen could get
near enough for close conflict. We learn from liymer's " Fcedera,"
that in the year 1335, the arrayers of Yorkshire were ordered to
PAST AND PRESENT. 509
inquire whether the whole people of the East Biding were provided
with arms, according to the statute of Wynton, the provisions ot
which have been above described.
From the difficulty of moving and manoeuvering large armies in
times when there were few roads, and those only passable in the
summer months; and from the difficulty of collecting the supplies
which were necessary to maintain large bodies of troops military
operations in early times assumed much more of a local character
than they possess in modern times, when the means of transport are
much better in all the countries of Western Europe, and when
the means of feeding armies in the field are more abundant. From
this circumstance, the great weight of the wars with Scotland
fell upon the six northern counties of England, just as the pressure
of the wars with the Welsh fell chiefly on the counties of Chester,
Shropshire, Worcestershire, and Hereford. This was so fully recog-
nized that the knights and yeomen of the six northern counties
were not employed except as volunteers in the wars with France,
but were left at home to guard the northern frontier ; which was no
easy matter, as the Scottish armies usually invaded the northern
counties when the English armies were engaged in wars with
France. On such occasions, the whole of the fighting population of
the six northern counties of Northumberland, Durham, Cumberland,
Westmoreland, Lancashire, and Yorkshire, had to take the field,
either to resist the invaders, or to follow them back into their own
country. On one occasion, in the year 1300, according to Rymer's
" Foedera," King Edward I. called on the county of York to furnish
five thousand nine hundred men for the invasion of Scotland. Much
the greater part of the soldiers of those times perished either in
battle or from the consequences of wounds, disease, or want of
wholesome food ; and on more than one occasion the population of
the northern counties was so much reduced, in a long course of
sanguinary campaigns, as to be quite unable to defend the frontier,
without assistance from other parts of the kingdom.
TIte Knights Fees of Yorkshire. The mass of the population was
organized for war by the barons and knights of each county. The
knights' fees of Yorkshire varied from eight to sixteen carucates.
There has been much difference of opinion as to the extent of the
carucate; Spelman estimates it at 120 statute acres, whilst in "Fleta"
it is taken at 180 acres. This estimate is to a considerable degree
confirmed by Walter de Henley, an early writer on English agricul-
>10 YOKKSHTRE :
ture, who says, that the carucate consisted of 180 acres, on land
suited for a three years' rotation of crops, and of 160 on other soils. *
From the extent of the lands in the earldom of Richmond, in the
county of York, it would appear as if the carucate was even larger
than the largest of these estimates: for we are told in Maddox's
" History of the Exchequer," that the county of Richmond included
140 knights' fees, its jurisdiction extending over the five wapentakes
of Halikeld, Gilling East, and Gilling West, and Hang East, and
Hang West. These five wapentakes contain several hundred thou-
sand acres of laud, which, if divided equally amongst the 140
knights, would give each of them a very handsome estate. We may
very safely conclude, that in the north of England the ten or twelve
carucates included in each knight's fee extended over at least 2000
acres, without taking into account the waste lands. The word terra,
land, in the old records generally includes nothing but arable land,
although the pasture lands, the forests, and especially the meadows,
were also of great value.
Baronies, Honours, Kniyhts Fees, Hereditary Offices and Rights
of the Crown in Yorkshire, at the tine of the Great Wars with
Scotland. --The particulars as to honours and baronies in the
county of York, given in Testa de Nevill, an ancient record
which was drawn up chiefly in the reign of King Henry III.,
the son of King John, and the father of Edward I., may be
considered as affording a fair account of the Yorkshire military
tenures in the greater part of the thirteenth, and even in part of
the fourteenth century. The honour of Roger de Mowbray, whose
chief castle was at Thirsk, in a commanding position overlooking
the vale of Mowbray, included thirty knights' fees. Each of
these knights' fees seems to have been of the extent of from
ten to twelve carucates of land, and may be taken, with the
wastes of the manors, at about 2000 acres. Roger de Mowbray
was thus the military commander of thirty knights, and of a popu-
lation occupying a district of about 60,000 acres. The honour of
Peter de Brus, or Bruce, whose chief castle was at Skelton, in
Cleveland, included eighteen knights' fees ; and the authority of the
Bruce family thus extended over a lordship of about 36,000 acres.
The honour of Petrus de Malo Laco included twenty-one knights'
fees ; the command of Petrus de Malo Laco thus extending
* Agriculture and Prices in England, bv lYuiVssor Rogers, M.A., Oxfoid; at the Clarendon press 18G6,
vol. i. p. 170.
PAST AND PRESENT. 511
over an area of about 42,000 acres. The honour of William de Eos
included nine knights' fees, and extended over about 20,000 acres.
The honour of William de Percy, whose chief Yorkshire castle was
at Wressel in the East Riding, on the river Derwent, included
seven knights' fees. The honour of the Percys thus extended over
a territory of about 14,000 acres. But they afterwards obtained
Alnwick Castle, and large estates in Northumberland, and became
the Percys, earls of Northumberland, which position they main-
tained for many ages, and still continue to hold, with the higher
rank of duke. They retain large estates, and the earldom of
Beverley, in Yorkshire. The Yorkshire honour of Robert de
Nevill was very much less extensive at this time than the posses-
sions of the Nevill family afterwards became, when the Nevills
were the lords of Middlelmm Castle, the possessors of the earldoms
of Westmoreland, Warwick, and Salisbury, and the makers and
deposers of kings. At the time of Testa de Nevill the Yorkshire
estates of the Nevills consisted of only three knights' fees, and
three-fourths of another. These would give them authority over
a lordship of 7000 to 8000 acres. The honour of Hugh Pagnel, or
Paganel, written Pannal in modern times, extended over five
knights' fees, and gave a command extending over about 10,000
acres. The honour of the Earl de Warren, whose chief castle was
at Sandal, near Wakefield, included three knights' fees and a half,
and would thus extend over from 6000 to 7000 acres. But the
De Warrens had larger possessions in the south of England, and
afterwards acquired larger estates in Yorkshire. The honour of
Agatha Trussebut is the only one spoken of at this time as being
held by a female. It seems to have extended over six knights'
fees, which would give a command over a territory of about
12,000 acres. The honour of Thomas Fitzwilliam, in Yorkshire,
included four knights' fees, and extended over about 8000 acres.
The honour of Robert de Chaucy included five knights' fees, and
extended over about 10,000 acres. The great honour of the De
Lacys, earls of Lincoln, in Yorkshire, was of immense extent; and their
chief castle in the county was the celebrated castle of Pontefract.
At one time a portion of their Yorkshire estates was in the hands
of William Mareschal, earl of Pembroke, who was one of the regents
of the kingdom during the minority of King Henry III. But inde-
pendent of the knights' fees held by the earl of Pembroke, the
number of knights' fees held by the Lacys, in connection with
512 YORKSHIRE :
Pontefract Castle, was fifty-four. The De Lacy estates in York-
shire thus extended over 110,000 acres, including much of the
finest land hi the county, as well as of the wilder districts on
the borders of Lancashire and Yorkshire.
The great honour of Tickhill, or as it was then written, Tyke-
hull, was in the hands of the king, from whom the knights
dependent on that honour held directly. The number of knights'
fees dependent on the honour of Tickhill seems to have been
sixty-one. This would give the king, as lord of the honour of
Tickhill, the direct command over sixty-one of the Yorkshire
knights, and of the population of a territory of upwards of 120,000
acres.
The earldom of Richmond in Yorkshire, which was at this time
still in the hands of the dukes of Brittany, contained 140 knights'
fees, and extended over more than 300,000 acres of land. The
yearly value of the earldom of Richmond in money was estimated
at 1800 a year, equal in value to between 50,000 and 60,000
of the money of the present time.
The honours and baronies and larger lordships in Yorkshire, men-
tioned by the high sheriff in Testa de Nevill, include those of the
Countess d'Auco, H. de Albinaco, earl of Arundel, William de
Albinaco, John de Baliol, Petrus de Brus, William de Cantelupe,
the bishop of Durham, William de Fortibus, Thomas de Greyle
(Gresley), Gilbert de Gaunt, the earl of Lincoln, Andrew Lutterell,
Robert de Nevill, Roger de Quency, earl of Winchester, Walter
Marshal, earl of Pembroke, William de Percy, Hugh Pagnel,
Petrus de Sabaudia (the king's brother-in-law), Johanna Wake,
William de Vescy, John Fitz-Godfrey, and the Countess de
Warren, as well as others already mentioned/""
The Mowbray Fee. The names of knights who held fees or
estates in the barony of Roger de Mowbray, with the number
of knights' fees held by each of them, were as follows: Brus,
Petrus de, seven knights' fees ; Buscy, Oliverus de, one knight's fee;
Beauver, John de, half a knight's fee ; Constable, Robertas, half
a knight's fee; Colville, Thomas de, one knight's fee; Dayvill,
Robertus de, two and a half knights' fees ; Ecton, Ivo de, one
knight's fee ; Fitz-Brian, Alanus, half a knight's fee ; Greindeorge,
William, half a knight's fee ; Landa, William de, two knights'
fees ; Luvayn, Mathus de, half a knight's fee ; Malebise, William,
* Testa de Nevill, p. 2C5.
PAST AND PRESENT. 513
half a knight's fee ; Nevill, Robertus de, one knight's fee ; Percy,
William de, half a knight's fee ; Ripar, Rics de, one knight's fee ;
Vescy, William de, seven knights' fees ; and a female tenant,
Wake, Johanna., three knights' fees.
The Fee of De Brus, or Bruce. The names of the knights
who held knights' fees in the honour of Petrus de Brus, or
Bruce, were : Barton, William de, five carucates of land, of
which, we are told, eleven and a half made a knight's fee in that
barony ; Camara, Ambrose de, a fourth part of a knight's fee ; Cumb,
Simon de, one-third of a knight's fee ; Flamvill, Elyas de, eight
carucates of land, of which ten carucates made a knight's fee in
that part of the barony ; Friby, Randolphus de, one-third ; Faucon-
burg, Petrus de, one-fifth of a knight's fee ; Grimet, Walter, one-
third of a knight's fee ; Ingram, Robertus de, one and one-third ;
Harpham, Anselinus de, one knight's fee, except one carucate of
land ; also, in another manor, three carucates, of which eight caru-
cates make a knight's fee ; Helkington, Robertus de, one-third
of a knight's fee ; Killingham, Robertus de, one knight's fee ; Kaerton,
Alanus de, one-third ; Fossard, Galfridus de, half a knight's fee ;
Lasceles, Robertus de, eight carucates of land, of which ten make a
knight's fee ; Mauleverer, John, one knight's fee ; Merlay, Roger
de, three knights' fees ; Maucovenaunt, Galfridus de, half a knight's
fee, and also a fourth part of a knight's fee ; Mauleverer, Anketinus>
half a knight's fee ; Malo Laco, Petrus de, one-fourth part of a
knight's fee ; Tweng, Robertus de, one and a half knight's fee,
and three carucates of land, of which eight carucates make a
knight's fee.
Fee of Malo Laco. The names of the knights who held knights'
fees in the honour of Petrus de Malo Laco, were: Anlaceby, Robertus
de, and his associates, one knight's fee ; Aguiloun, Galfridus, one
knight's fee ; Barketorp, John de, one and a half knight's fee ; Bulmer,
John de, three knights' fees ; Barneby, Richard de, half a knight's
fee; Bastard, John de, one knight's fee; Chaumbard, Robert de, one
knight's fee ; Frivyill, Roger de, one knight's fee ; Fitz-Radolph,
four carucates of land, of which ten make a knight's fee ; Hay,
Roger, half a knight's fee, also another half fee ; Hothum, Robert
de, two knights' fees ; Langethayte, William de, four carucates of
land ; Livet, Custancia, two knights' fees ; Malore, Anketinus, half
a knight's fee ; Nevill, Robert de, five knights' fees ; Percy, Petrus
de, half a knight's fee ; Ripar, Robert de, one-fourth a knight's fee ;
VOL. i. 3 T
514 YORKSHIRE:
Skintorp, William de, half a knight's fee ; Turkelby, Roger de, half
a knight's fee ; Thoutorp, Walter de, one-fourth a knight's fee ; and
William de Vescy, one knight's fee.
Fee of de Eos. The names of the knights who held knights' fees
in the honour of William de Ros were : Barton, William de, four and
a half carucates of land, of which twelve and a half carucates make
one knight's fee ; Heyn, William, one-fourth knight's fee ; Monte
Acuto, William de, one and a half knight's fee ; Oysiler, William de,
"ten bovates of land, making four carucates, of which twelve
carucates make a knight's fee;" Ros, William de, four and a half
knights' fees.
The Fee of De Percy. The names, of the knights who held
knights' fees in the honour of William de Percy were:- Fitz-
fulconis Fulke, one knight's fee ; Normanvill, Randolphus, one
knight's fee ; Percy, William de, one-half a knight's fee ; Vavasour,
John de, one knight's fee. The names are not given of the knights
who held fees under the Percys in Middleton, Stubhus, Askewyth,
Lelay, Castelay, Kyrkerby, Tydovre, Kereby, Skeylinghale, Spofford,
Folyfayt, Ayketon, Plumton, Merkinfeud, and Asmudeby, but
the name immediately preceding these names is Randolphus de
Normanvill. Immediately after these are manors held directly
from the king by Henry Camerarius, Margerie de Ripariis, Ace de
Flixton, Thomas Fitzwilliam, Gerard Sylveyn, Thomas Fitzwilliam,
Ivo de Ileriz, Sibill de Sancta Maria, and Adam de Ridware.
TJte Fee of Robert de Nevill. The names of the knights who
held knight's fees in the honour of Robert de Nevill were : Abeton,
William de, one knight's fee ; Leyrton, William de, one-third of a
knight's fee; and Robert de Nevill, himself, two knights' fees.
The Pacjnel Fee. The names of the knights who held knights'
fees in the honour of Hugh Pagnel were: Baliol, Win. de,
one-quarter of a knight's fee ; Goky, William, one-sixth of a
knight's fee ; Steyngreve, Henry de, one-eighth of a knight's fee ;
Steyngreve Simon de, two fees and a quarter, and Pagnel, Hugh,
himself, who retained in his own hands two and a half knights' fees.
The de J! arren Fee.- The names of the knights who held
knights' fees in the honour of the Earl de Warren were :
Frescevill, Randolph de, half a knight's fee ; Novo Mercato, Adam
de, two knights' fees; and one fee, of which the knight's name is
not given.
The Trussebut Fee. The names of the knights in the honour
PAST AND PRESENT. 515
of Agatha Trussebut were : -Aubeny, Odinell de, one knight's fee;
Bentley, Simon de, one knight's fee; Palmis, William de, three-
quarters of the fee of Odinell de Aubeny ; Vescy, William de, three
fees of the fee of Rodolph de Mortuo Mair (Mortimer).
The Chancy Fee. The names of the knights in the honour
of Robert de Chaucy were:- Chaucy, Robert de, one knight's
fee ; Bugetorp, Galfridus de, one knight's fee ; Bassett, Petrus, one
knight's fee ; Fitzwilliam, Ilodulf, one knight's fee ; Turkeleby,
Rogerus de, one knight's fee.
The Fee of the De Lacys', Earls of Lincoln. The names of
the knights in the great fee of the De Lacys, earls of Lincoln,
were : Ayketon, Petrus de, one-half of a knight's fee ; Allenceu,
Richardus, two knight's fees ; Aymonde, Richard de, one-half of
a knight's fee; Basset, Thomas, one-eighth part of a knight's fee;
Birkyne, Thomas de, two knight's fees ; Bella Monte, William de,
eight parts of a knight's fee ; Birckweyt, Petrus de, one-fourth of a
knight's fee ; Barston, Nicholas de, one-eighth of a knight's fee ;
Curtenay, John de, one-half of a knight's fee ; Camerarius, Robertus,
one-eighth part of a knight's fee ; Crikalaston, one-eighth part of a
knight's fee; Dispensator, Hugo, one-fourth of a knight's fee; Ever-
ardus, Teutonicus, one-eighth part of a knight's fee; Fitzgerard,
William, one-sixth of a knight's fee ; Foliot, Jordanus, two knights'
fees; Foliot, Richard, one-half of a knight's fee; Gramaticus, William
one-knight's fee ; Galfridus Teutonicus, half a knight's fee ; Hecke,
John de, half a knight's fee ; Horton, Robertus de, one-third part of a
knight's fee; Horton, Gilbertus Juvenis de, tenth of a knight's fee ;
Kirkstall, the Abbot of, two knights' fees ; Lungvilers, Eude de, one
knight's fee; ditto, one knight's fee; Luiresseg, Robert de, one-fourth
of a knight's fee ; Moubray, Nigellus de, one-half of a knight's fee ;
Novo Mercato (Newmarket), three knights' fees ; Norton, Roger de,
one knight's fee, less one carucate ; Nevill, Galfridus de, two knights'
fees; Pictavens, Thomas, three knights' fees; Preston, Adam de, one
knight's fee ; Plumton, Robert de, one-fourth part of a knight's fee ;
Quelledale, Nicholas de, two knights' fees ; Quatremars, Colinus
de, one-fourth part of a knight's fee; Reynevill, Adam de, four
knights' fees ; Raleye, William de, one-fourth part of a knight's
fee ; Sinthal, Petrus de, one-half of a knight's fee ; Sancta Maria,
Jordanus de, two knights' fees ; Swylington, William de, one-fourth
part of a knight's fee ; Stapylton, Robert de, two knights' fees, less
one-fifth of one knight's fee ; Somerville, William de, one knight's
516 YORKSHIRE:
fee ; Sotil, John de, one-fourth part of a knight's fee ; Seyvill, one-
third of a knight's fee ; Tonge, Richard de, one-fourth part of a
knight's fee ; Tornton, Roger de, one-half of a knight's fee ; TorhH,
John de, one-half of a knight's fee ; Walens, Henry, three knights'
fees ; Wenrevill, William de, one knight's fee ; Veilli, Robert de,
three knights' fees ; Vernon, Henry de, one-half of a knight's fee.
TJie Fee of the Honour of TickhiU. The names of the knights
who held knights' fees in the honour of Tickhill (Tykehull), were :
Balli, John de, six knights' fees ; the Constable of Chester (De
Lacy), eight knights' fees; Chevrecourt, Robert de, two knights'
fees ; Chaurcis, Robert de, one knight's fee ; Furnival, Gerard,
five knights' fees, and one-fourth ; Fitzwilliam, Robert, two
knights' fees : Hedon, Hugo de, two knights' fees ; Hullecote,
one knight's fee ; Heincourt, John de, one knight's fee ; Luvetot,
Xigel de, five knights' fees ; Monte Begonis, Roger de, one knight's
fee ; Menilla (Manuel). Alexander de, one knight's fee ; Male-
voisinus, two knights fees; Mauluvel, Robert, one knight's fee;
Marchmont, William de, one knight's fee: Xovo Foro (Xewmarch, or
XewniarketV Randulf de, one knight's fee; Xovo Foro, Adam de, one-
fourth part of a knight's fee ; Xeupun, Robert de, one knight's fee ;
Pincerna (Butler), one knight's fee; Steinton, Hugh de, one knight's
fee ; Sundeby, Robert de, one and one-eighth knight's fee ; Selven,
Richard, one knight's fee; Saint Quintin, one knight's fee; Scelton,
Richard de, one-half of a knight's fee; Wlvassic, Adam de, one
knight's fee : Yescy. Eustace de, seven parts of a knight's fee;
Wlangton, Thomas de, two knights' fees.
Fee of the Honour of Thomas Fitzwilliam, Flixton Ace and his
associates held eight carucates of land, of which nineteen and a half
make one knight's fee. Sylveyn Gerardus held one fee in the same
honour, and Ivo de Hens, and Sibilla de Sancta Maria and Adam
de Rydewar held two fees, of the fee of Oliver de Ayncourt.
The TaUages of Abbeys and Priories. The clergy, and especially
the great monastic houses, were taxed separately. In Testa de
Xevill we find accounts of payments made by them towards four
tallages in the reign of Henry III.* According to these the abbot
of Selby, paid 20 pounds; the prior of Pontefract, 15 marks; the
prior of Brask, 5 marks; the abbot of St. Agatha, 5 marks; the
abbot of Melsa paid a palfrey, or its value in money; the abbot of
Jervaulx paid two palfreys; the abbot of Rivaulx paid three palfreys ;
Test* de Xerill, p. 367.
PAST AND PRESENT. 517
the abbot of Byland, two palfreys; the abbot of Kirkstall, two
palfreys; the abbot of St. Mary of York paid 100 marks; the
abbot of Whitby, 20 pounds; the prior of Bridlington, 15 marks;
the prior of Kirkham, 10 marks; the prior of Guisborough, 25
marks; the bishop of Durham, 200 pounds; the prior of Drax,
5 marks; the prior of Bolton, 5 marks; the prior of Newborough,
10 marks; the prior of Marton, 2 marks; the prior of St. Oswald,
10 pounds; the prior of Bridlington, 20 marks; the prior of
Kirkham, 20 marks; the prior of Warter, 5 marks ; and the
prior of Bretton, 20 shillings."""
We find the following additional information with regard to
knights' fees in the De Lacv Fee, unconnected with the names of
the knights holding them: Bollinge, three parts of a knight's fee,
Petrus de Ayketon being the knight immediately mentioned before ;
in Calverley, half a knight's fee, John de Courteuay being the
knight mentioned before ; in Hillum, of the fee of Buschard, half a
fee, less seven carucates, immediately following the Abbot de Kirk-
stall; in Locresford, Sarneston, and Hanepok, one knight's fee; in the
fee of Gant one knight's fee : in Elmeshall, the fourth part of a
knight's fee ; in Hanelay, the fourth part of a knight's fee ; in
Ulflay, the fourth part of a knight's fee ; in Berig. probably Brig-
house, half a knight's fee; in the town of Bradford, or as it is
written, Yalli de Brudeford, which seems to mean the Valley of
Bradford, half a knight's fee ; in Sitlington, the eighth part of a
knight's fee; and in Whitelay, the eighth part of a knight's fee.
We have also some particulars as to the scutages paid in par-
ticular parts of the De Lacy fee. We are informed that Thomas de
Aubrey, and Roger de Thornton pay 5s. id. when the scutage was
fixed at two marks ; that the vicnie, which seems to be the vice-comes
or high sheriff, pays at the same rate ; that Clayton pays 11s. Set. to
a scutage of two marks ; Skelmerthorpe, 2s. 6d. ; the land of Borel
de Lofthouse, then pays Is. Sd.; that Henry Venator (the Hunter)
pays os. id., Henry de Carleton I0d., William de Hardwick 2s.,
AVilliam Aky Is. id., Hesel Is. Sd., and Alexander de Chivet 2s. 6d.
Various ser<reanties, or hereditary offices, existed in the city of
York, and in other places. In these cases the services were usually
paid for in grants of land, though in some cases the payment was
made in money fees. All these parties were bound to join the
armies of the king in time of war, or to render some other public
TesU de Xevill, 375.
518 YORKSHIRE:
service. The presentation of several churches was also in the hands
of the king.
Another still more productive source of income to the crown, was
the wardship of the estates of all heirs and heiresses holding lands
from the king. Thus we find, that the two daughters of Radulph
Fitzbernard of Hoton, were in the gift of the king ; that Isabella,
the wife of Peter de Malo Laco, had been in the gift of the king, and
that she had been a considerable heiress, having had estates of the
value of three hundred pounds a year; that Margaret de Ryvers had
been in the gift of the king, and that her estates were of the value
of twenty pounds a year ; that Andrew Lutterell ought to have been
in the gift of the king, and that his estates were of the value of
twenty pounds a year ; that Michael the son and heir of Leonis de
Anastan was in the gift of the king, and that his estates were of the
value of one hundred shillings a year. We are also informed, that
Iladulph Fitzwalter had two bovates of land in Pocleton, which
land was in the bondage of the king.
Various grants of aids were occasionally made to the king by
Parliament, and in early times levies were raised without any legal
authority. We find from Testa de Nevill, that the sum of 64 14s.
l\d. was paid by the tenants of the honour of Tickhill to Alex-
ander de Vilers and William de Chaurcis, collectors of an aid made
to King Henry III. for the purpose of marrying his sister to the
king of the Romans, that is, to the heir to the German Empire. On
the same occasion a sum of twenty pounds was paid by the tenants
of the barony of Mowbray for the same purpose. About the same
time, the sum of seventy-two pounds was paid by the tenants of the
honours of Petrus de Brus and Peter de Malo Laco, Andrew Lut-
terell, Hugh Paganel, William de Ross, John Fitzrobert, and
Richard de Percy for a similar purpose. Another sum of 52 11s.
id. was paid to Gerardus Silveyn and Thomas de Lotton, either
for this or some similar purpose, to which sum the earl of Albe-
marle paid twelve pounds, William de Vescy, four pounds, and
Thomas Fitzgerald 1 1/s. *id. Various other payments are also
mentioned ; in one case we are told that five carucates and six
bovates of land were let at a yearly rent of 1 17s. 9d. ; that two
bovates of land were let for ten shillings ; that the soke of one of
the king's mills was let for four marks a year ; that Thomas Fitz-
william ought to be in the wardship of the king ; that his lands in
Beleby were of six carucates, that each bovate was worth two
PAST AND PKESENT. 519
shillings, besides which there were two mills of the value of four
shillings. One of the chief heiresses in the county was the wife of
Peter de Malo Laco, whose land was worth 300 a year, equal in
value to about 4500 of modern money. The marriage of this
heiress was in the hands of the king, and in this, as in all other
cases of wardship, as much money as possible was no doubt paid
for the privilege of marrying according to the wishes of the heir or
heiress. These particulars will give some notion of the nature of
the royal rights. in these ages. They were often grossly abused,
and rendered the crown extremely powerful when the barons were
not in arms against it, which usually happened when the govern-
ment became oppressive.
The whole number of Yorkshire knights liable to be called upon
for military service in time of war was several hundreds, and they
were followed to the field of battle by several thousands of yeomen,
burghers, and peasants, armed with bills and bows, the ordinary
weapons of English soldiers in those warlike times.
The, Wars in Scotland. We have stated that the great object of
King Edward I., after having tranquillized Ireland and conquered
the principality of Wales, was to unite the whole British Islands
into one kingdom. Until the year 1280, he entertained hopes of
being able to effect that object by the peaceful and happy means of
a marriage between his eldest son Prince Edward, afterwards
Edward II., and Margaret the daughter of Eric, king of Norway,
and of his queen, Margaret, who was a daughter of Alexander,
king of Scotland. In the year 1284 the nobles of Scotland,
assembled at Scone, pledged themselves to receive Margaret as
heiress to the throne of Scotland. At the beginning of the year
1290, King Edward I. having obtained a papal dispensation for the
marriage of Margaret, queen of Scotland, with Prince Edward, wrote
to King Eric, to beg that he would send his daughter to England
without delay. A marriage contract was accordingly entered into
on the 18th July, in the same year, between Prince Edward and
Margaret of Scotland; and on the same day the guardians of Scot-
land notified the completion of the treaty. At that time the
lives of ten thousands of men, and the peace of two kingdoms,
depended on the life of a tender girl. Had the marriage taken
place, the union of England and Scotland would probably have
been effected 300 years earlier, than it was ultimately effected, by
the marriage of Mary Tudor with the prince of Scotland, which led
520 YORKSHIRE :
to the union of the two kingdoms after the death of Queen Eliza-
beth. Moreover, had that event taken place, England and France
might possibly have escaped the destructive wars which arose out of
the marriage of Prince Edward, afterwards King Edward II., with
the Princess Isabel of France. But this marriage was not to be ;
and on the 7th of October, in the year 1290, William, bishop of St.
Andrews, having heard a report of the death of Margaret, queen of
Scotland, which was afterwards confirmed, urged King Edward to
hasten to the borders of Scotland. This he did immediately,
and it was ultimately agreed that King Edward should settle
the dispute as to the succession of the Bruces, the Baliols, and
other claimants, to the crown of Scotland. He did so in the
month of October, 1292, when he gave the decision by which
he adjudged John de Baliol to be the successor to the crown
of Scotland." 5 ' All that is necessary to say in this work on the rival
claims of the two great houses of Bruce and Baliol to the throne
of Scotland, will be found in the following lines, from the clear
and impartial pen of Sir Walter Scott. He says : " The numer-
ous and strange claims set up to the crown of Scotland, when
vacant by the death of Alexander III., make it manifest how very
little the indefeasible hereditary right of primogeniture was valued
at that period. In fact, the title of the Bruces themselves to
the crown, though justly the most popular, when assumed with the
determination of asserting: the independence of Scotland, was upon
pure principle greatly inferior to that of Baliol. For Bruce the
competitor claimed as son of Isabella, second daughter of David
earl of Huntingdon ; and John Baliol, as grandson of Margaret, the
elder daughter of that same earl. So that the plea of Bruce was
founded upon the very loose idea, that, as the great-grandson of
David I., king of Scotland, and the nearest collateral relation of
Alexander III., he was entitled to succeed, in exclusion of the great-
great-grandson of the same David, though by an elder daughter." t
At the commencement of the year 1293, the English escheator, north
of the Trent, was ordered to deliver to John, king of Scotland, his
lands in England, viz., Tynedale, Sowerby, and Penrith; and on the
29th June, in the same year, a military summons was sent by King
Edward, to Robert de Brus, lord of Annandale, to meet the king of
England at London, and to go with him into Gascony.|
Rymer's Fcedera, vol. i. pp. 638, 731, 735, 741, 756, 784, and 785.
t See Scott's Poetical Works, Note 7, on the Lord of the Isles. Canto I.
} Hjmer's Fredera, vol. i. pp. 792 and 804.
PAST AND PRESENT. 521
It is not easy to say what might have happened, if King Edward
had shown more moderation in his dealings with John de Baliol
and Robert de Brus ; but from the commencement of the dispute
between them he regarded himself as lord and master of both ;
and about the same time that he summoned Robert de Brus
to follow him into Gascony, he also summoned John, king of Scot-
land, to appear at Westminster, to answer the appeal of John
Mason, merchant of Gascony, for a denial of justice in Scotland.
This was nothing less than the assumption, on the part of King
Edward, of supreme authority in Scotland.
Edward thus rendered the position of the new king of Scotland
so intolerable, that in the year 1294 John Baliol determined to
renounce his homage to the king of England, and, if necessary, to
make war upon him. The time was favourable for that purpose ;
for discord had just then arisen between France and England, and
Baliol formed a secret treaty of alliance with France, and stood
upon his defence. Seeing himself thus defied, in the year 1296
Edward put himself at the head of 4000 horse and 30,000 infantry,
and marched northward to the borders of Scotland. The whole of
the forces of Yorkshire joined him under the Earl de Warren, the
commander-in-chief, and other Yorkshire barons; and the troops of
the Palatine of Durham were commanded in person by Anthony
Beck, the warlike bishop of Durham. With these forces Edward
laid siege to Berwick-upon- Tweed, which he took after a long and
obstinate resistance. He then advanced into Scotland, and laid siege
to the strong town of Dunbar. "Whilst Edward pressed the siege
of this important place, the inner gate as it might be termed of
Scotland, a large force appeared on the descent of the ridge of the
Lammermoor hills, above the town. It was the Scottish army
moving to the relief of Dunbar, and on the appearance of their
banners, the defenders raised a shout of exultation and defiance.
But when Warren, earl of Surrey, Edward's ablest general, advanced
towards the Scottish army, the Scots with a rashness which," as Sir
Walter Scott observes in his account of this battle, " often ruined
their affairs before and afterwards, poured down from the advan-
tageous post which they occupied, and incurred by their temerity a,
dreadful defeat, which laid the whole country open to the invader.
The loss of the Scottish army, in the battle of Dunbar, was estimated
by English historians at 10,000 men. After this battle the castles of
Roxburgh and Edinburgh were taken, and John de BaJiol sued for
VOL. i. 3 u
522 YORKSHIRE :
peace, and made a formal submission to the king of England. King
Edward then openly assumed the sovereignty of Scotland in his own
name, appointing John de Warren warden of the kingdom, Hugh
de Cressingham treasurer, and William de Ormesby justiciar of
Scotland, and summoning all the tenants of the crown in that
country to take the oath of obedience to him.*
But this great battle, far from putting an end to the war
so rashly commenced by Edward I., was only the beginning of a
long succession of desperate conflicts, which continued with short
intervals of peace through the greater part of the fourteenth century,
and in their disastrous progress laid waste nearly the whole of the
lowlands of Scotland, as well as the northern counties of England,
to the gates of York. It is no part of the object of this work to
follow the course of these events in detail ; but we must give such
a sketch of them as will render intelligible the progress of events in
the county of York, which supplied a large portion of the soldiers
employed and sacrificed in these wars.
After the battle of Dunbar, fought in the year 1296, the 26th
year of Edward I., the English army continued an unresisted
march as far north as Aberdeen and Elgin. John Baliol, brought
before King Edward in the castle of Brechin, was stripped of his
royal robes, confessed his delinquency, and made a formal surrender
of the kingdom of Scotland to the victor. The king of England
afterwards held a Parliament at Berwick, where many of the
Scotch nobles and others submitted. After this he placed English
governors and garrisons in the Scottish castles, and returned to
England, "having achieved an easy, and apparently a permanent
conquest." t
But, in the year 1297, Sir William Wallace placed himself at the
head of what soon became a great national insurrection. According
to Sir Walter Scott, Wallace is believed to have been proclaimed an
outlaw for the slaughter of an Englishman in a casual affray. After
this " he retreated to the woods, collected round him a band of men
as desperate as himself, and obtained several successes in skirmishes
with the English. Joined by Sir William Douglas, who had been
taken at the siege of Berwick, but had been discharged upon
ransom, the insurgents compelled Edward to send an army against
them, under the command of Warren, earl of Surrey, the victor of
Dunbar." By the exertion of much conduct and resolution, Wallace
* Walsingham's Historia Anglicana, vol. i. p. 61. f Sir Walter Scott's History of Scotland, vol. 1. p. 66.
PAST AND PRESENT. 523
had made himself master of the country beyond the Forth, and
taken several castles, when he was summoned to Stirling to oppose
Surrey, the English governor of Scotland. Wallace encamped on
the north side of the river, leaving Stirling Bridge apparently
open to the English, but resolving, as it was long and narrow, to
attack them while in the act of crossing. The earl of Surrey had
50,000 infantry and 1000 men-at-arms. The English treasurer,
Cressingham, murmured at the expense attending the war; and
to bring it to a crisis proposed to commence an attack the next
morning, by crossing the river. " Surrey, an experienced warrior,
hesitated to engage his troops in the defile of a wooden bridge,
where scarce two horsemen could ride abreast ; but urged by the
imprudent vehemence of Cressingham, he advanced, contrary to
common sense, as well as to his own judgment. The vanguard of
the English was attacked before they could get into order ; the
bridge was broken down and thousands perished in the river or
by the sword. Cressingham was slain, and Surrey fled to Berwick on
the spur, to recount to Edward that Scotland was lost at Stirling;
in as short a time as it had been won at Dunbar." *
After this great victory almost all the Scottish fortresses were
surrendered to Sir William Wallace, who immediately brought
together a large army, led them across the English border, and
sweeping it lengthwise from Newcastle to the gates of Carlisle,
left nothing behind him but blood and ashes. King Edward, who
was in Flanders when this great disaster occurred, returned to
England immediately, and prepared to invade Scotland with a
still larger army.
At the commencement of the year 1298, on the 22nd of January,
King Edward I. ordered John de Warren, earl of Surrey, to march
at once into Scotland, without waiting for the Welsh troops ; and
on the 30th March of the same year a writ of military summons
was issued to 154 of the leading persons of the kingdom, com-
manding them to attend at York, on Whitsunday, to march against
the Scotch. On the 10th April in the same year (1298), the king
required John de Warren and others to confer with him at York ;
and on the same day he again required the sheriffs to direct the
knights of the shire and the burgesses to meet him in Parliament
at York. In the course of the same year a commission was issued
to send miners from Yorkshire to the king at Berwick ; and a few
Sir Walter Scott's History of Scotland, vol. 1. p. 72.
524 YORKSHIRE :
days later Robert de Clifford, another distinguished Yorkshire
baron, was appointed the king's commander-in-chief in Cumberland,
Westmoreland, Lancashire, and Annandale.*"
Whilst making these preparations at York to lead his army into
Scotland, Edward was threatened by a violent insurrection of the
English barons, commanded by the earl of Hereford, and the Earl
Marshal, which he was only able to appease by confirming Magna
Charta, and the Charter of the Forests, and by further extending
the rights of the English people ; giving them a voice in all succeed-
ing Parliaments, and abandoning the right to raise taxes without
the consent of their representatives. After obtaining these great
concessions from the king, the barons, knights, and yeomen con-
sented to march into Scotland, where they soon afterwards fought
a great battle with Sir William Wallace at Falkirk, in which
the Scottish army was defeated.
The armies met, July 22, 1298. "The Scottish infantry," says
Sir Walter Scott, "were drawn up on a moor, with a morass in front.
They were divided into four phalanxes or dense masses, with lances,
lowered obliquely over each other, and seeming, says an English
historian, ' like a castle lined with steel.' " These spearmen were
the flower of the army, in whom Wallace chiefly confided. He
.commanded them in person, and used the brief exhortation, " I have
brought you to the ring ; dance as you best can." The English
cavalry began the action. The marshal of England led half of the
men-at-arms straight across the Scottish front, but in doing so
involved them in the morass. The bishop of Durham, who com-
manded the other division of the English cavalry, was wheeling
round the morass on the east ; and perceiving this misfortune,
became disposed to wait for support. " To mass, bishop ! " said
Ralph Basset of Drayton, and charged with the whole body. The
Scottish men-at-arms went off" without couching their lances; but the
infantry stood their ground firmly. In the turmoil that followed, Sir
John Stewart fell from his horse, and was slain among the archers
of Etterick, who died in defending or avenging him. The close
bodies of Scottish spearmen, BOW exposed without means of defence
or retaliation, were shaken by the constant showers of arrows;
and the English men-at-arms, finally charging them desperately
while they were in disorder, broke and dispersed these formidable
masses. The Scots were then completely routed, and it was only
* Rimer's FcEJera.
PAST AND PRESENT. 525
the neighbouring woods which saved the remnant from the sword.
The body of Stewart was found amongst those of his faithful archers,
who were distinguished by their stature and fair complexions from
all others with which the field was loaded. Macduff and Sir John
the Grahame, " the hardy wight, and wise," still fondly remembered
as a bosom friend of Sir William Wallace, were slain in the same
disastrous action. *
In the following year (1299) writs of military summons were again
issued by King Edward, calling on his subjects to assemble at York
on the 12th of November, to proceed against the Scots ; and on the
22nd November a mandate was issued to the see of York, to send
to Berwick on Tweed the troops which it was bound to provide
for the defence of the kingdom.
In the summer of the following year (1300) King Edward I., who
was in Scotland, issued an edict to his military commanders to collect
5900 men from Yorkshire, to serve in the war against Scotland.
This terrible edict, which must almost have exhausted the male
population of the county, was issued at Kirkcudbright on the 26th
July. For the next two or three years the war lingered, notwith-
standing partial successes on both sides, but only to break out with
greater fury than ever.
In the year 1304, the castle of Stirling was taken by the English,
and the whole of Scotland appeared to be subdued. We are told
by Walsingham that in this year (1304), King Edward, Scotland
being subdued according to his wish, committed it to the
charge of John de Segrave, the king returning into England.
When King Edward came to York, he ordered the sittings of the
Court of King's Bench, and of the Exchequer, which had been held
for seven years at York, to be removed back to London. In the
same year John de Warren, the son of the warden of Scotland,
married the grand-daughter of King Edward I.t
But in the following year Sir William Wallace was again in
arms, though without success ; and after he had been captured, tried,
and judicially murdered, Robert Bruce appeared upon the scene,
as leader, slew John Comyn at Dumfries, was acknowledged as
the king of Scotland, and crowned at Scone. For some time,
however, he was unable to resist the great force which King Edward
brought against him ; but on the 7th July, in the year 1307, Eng-
land lost a most able king, and Scotland was freed from a most
* Sir Walter Scott's History of Scotland, vol. i. p. 76. f Walsingham, p. 106.
526 YORKSHIRE :
formidable enemy, by the death of King Edward I., which took
place at Burgh-on-the-Sands, near Carlisle, as he was proceeding to
invade Scotland.*
Wars of Ed/card II. with Scotland. The death of Edward I.
deprived the English armies of a great commander, in the person
of their king, almost at the time when the open adoption of the
national cause by Robert Bruce, gave to Scotland a commander not
inferior in military talent to Edward I. The reign of Edward II.
is nothing but a succession of disasters, the result of which was not
merely to destroy the English armies and northern population
engaged in the several invasions in Scotland, but to cause repeated
invasions of the whole of the north of England, as far as Preston and
the Ribble on the west, and York and the river Ouse on the east of
the island, by the Scottish armies. It is unnecessary to describe at
any length the course of military events previous to the battle of
Bannockburn, fought in the year 1314; but the following sketch
founded on Rymer's " Foedera," on Thomas of Walsingham's " His-
toria Anglicana," and some other authorities, will show the progress
of events in the north of England and on the borders of Scotland
during that period.
Edward I. died at Burgh-upon-Sands, on the borders of Scotland,
on the 7th July, 1307. "On his death-bed," says a great Scottish
writer, " his thoughts were entirely on the Scottish affairs : he made
his son swear that he would prosecute the war without truce or
breathing-time ; he repeated the strange injunction, that his flesh
being boiled from his bones, the latter should be transported at the
head of the army with which he was about to invade Scotland, and
never be restored to the tomb till that obstinate nation was entirely
subdued. By way of corollary to this singular precept, the dying
king bequeathed his heart, to be sent to the Holy Land, in whose
defence he had once fought." t
But Edward II. was as frivolous as his father was ferocious,
and determined to return to London, and to his youthful favourites
and companions, with as little delay as possible. Before leaving
Scotland, on the 6th August, 1307, he made a grant to Piers de
Gaveston (who had been banished by his father, Edward I., from
England, as a corrupter of his youth) of the county of Cornwall, and
of the other possessions in England lately belonging to his uncle,
Edmund Plantagenet, earl of Cornwall. Having done this, he
* Walsingham, vol. i. p. 116. f Sir Waller Scott's History of Scotland, vol. i. p. 99.
PAST AND PRESENT. 527
appointed Robert de Clifford, one of the most distinguished of the
northern barons, to the office of marshal of England, and also
appointed John de Brittania, earl of Richmond, to be guardian and
lieutenant of Scotland. The latter appointment was made at York,
on the 13th September, 1307, and from York Edward proceeded to
London, leaving his lieutenants to carry on the war with Robert
Bruce, as they best could.
The English army would probably have been much better
served by the absence than by the presence of Edward II. at the
scene of war, had not he and his favourite, De Gaveston, involved
themselves in a war with the chief northern barons. The king
having, in 1307, granted the whole of the royal rights in Cornwall
to this worthless favourite, in the following year made to De
Gaveston further grants of manors, castles, and honours, in different
counties; and in the year 1309 made to him still further grants
of lands, castles, and tenements in Yorkshire. So great was the
indignation produced by these and other acts of folly and favourit-
ism, that the barons rose against the king, and compelled him to
banish De Gaveston from the kingdom. In a short time, however,
the favourite returned to England, and in the year 1312 the king
ordered a proclamation to be issued, declaring that Piers de
Gaveston had been illegally banished ; and that he had returned
to England by the king's command.
From January to April, as appears from the date of the royal
letters, Edward II. was a resident at York. We are told that
in the year 1311-12 he kept his Christmas at York, where Piers
de Gaveston, who had been banished from the kingdom, came
to him, and, as Stowe the historian says, " was received as a gift
from heaven." Early in that year, 1312, Thomas Plantagenet,
earl of Lancaster, the nephew of Edward I. and cousin to Edward
II., with most of the great northern barons, formed a league for
the purpose of again banishing or removing De Gaveston from the
king's favour. In that year the earl of Lancaster suddenly raised
an army in Yorkshire, and marched to York, with the intention
of seizing the favourite. But the king, hearing of his approach,
escaped with his favourite to Newcastle-on-Tyne. The barons
followed, and Edward had just time to escape thence to Tyne-
mouth Castle, where he embarked and sailed with Gaveston to
Scarborough. There he appointed his favourite the governor of
that castle, which was then one of the strongest fortresses in
528 YOEKSHIRE :
the kingdom. In Scarborough, De Gaveston was besieged by
the array of the barons, commanded by John de Warren, earl
of Surrey, Aymer de Valence, earl of Pembroke, Henry de Percy,
and Robert de Clifford, four of the greatest commanders of that
age. De Gaveston, knowing the hatred with which he was regarded
by the barons, defended the castle with the courage of desperation,
and repulsed several assaults. But all communication with the
king being interrupted, and the provisions exhausted, he was
at last compelled to capitulate. From Scarborough Piers de
Gaveston was conducted as a prisoner of state, and an enemy
of the nation, to the neighbourhood of Warwick, where he was
seized by the earl of Warwick, whom he had nicknamed the
"Black Dog of Arden," and beheaded on Blacklow Hill, near
Warwick and Kenilworth, on the 20th of June, 1312. Edward II.,
though fully bent on revenge, and having even ordered John de
Mowbray to arrest Henry de Percy, who had permitted and, indeed,
promoted the death of Piers de Gaveston, found it necessary to
temporize, and even to appoint the earls and barons, who had
assisted in destroying his favourite, to command the army, which he
was collecting in the north of England for that great struggle,
which was decided at Bannockburn, on the 25th June, 1314.
The Battle of Bannoclcburn. In the year 1313-14, the seventh
year of the reign of Edward 11., Scotland was again in arms; and
the Scotch armies entering Northumbria, laid waste the country,
slaying the inhabitants, and burning many towns.
In this year King Edward II., after paying his devotions at the
shrines of St. Albans and Ely, passed through Lincoln, and thence
northward, through York and Newcastle-on-Tyne, to Scotland.
Arriving at Berwick-on-Tweed, he summoned all his earls, barons,
knights, and archers, to follow him to the field. Many joined, but
others refused. Amongst those who refused to join him in this
campaign were Thomas, earl of Lancaster, and the earls of Warren,
Warwick, and Arundel, four of the greatest of the northern earls.
This was a serious diminution of his strength, and had some
effect in bringing about the great disasters which afterwards befel
the king and his army.
On the 24th June, in the year 1314, Edward II. was defeated in
the ever memorable battle of Bannockburn near Stirling, in which
his splendid army was either entirely destroyed, or utterly dispersed,
by Kobert Bruce and the Scottish army. Amongst the Englishmen
PAST AND PRESENT. 529
who fell in that desperately contested battle, were Gilbert, earl of
Gloucester, Robert de Clifford, William Marshal, Egidus de Argen-
tine, with nearly all the knights and leaders of the north of England ;
except those who had refused to join the English king. Edward
fled from the field of battle, at the rate of sixty miles a day, and
escaped into England, where he ultimately met with a still more
deplorable fate than he could have encountered on that field.
After this great victory, the Scottish army marched into England,
and laid waste the whole country, from the borders, as far as the
gates of York. Robert Bruce even thought himself strong enough
to invade and to conquer Ireland; but in that undertaking he failed,
his brother Edward Bruce perishing in the attempt.
To the close of the reign of Edward II., and for several years
after the battle of Bannockburn, the whole of the north of England
was overrun repeatedly by the Scottish armies ; and in the year
1319 Robert Bruce, for the purpose of compelling Edward II. to
raise the siege of Berwick, sent Douglas and Randolph into England,
at the head of 15,000 men. This army entered England on the
west marches, and turning eastward, made a hasty march towards
York, for the purpose of surprising the person of the queen of
England, who then resided near that city. Isabella received notice
of their purpose, and fled hastily southward. " It may be observed
in passing," .says Sir Walter Scott, " that her husband was little
indebted to those who supplied her with the tidings which enabled
her to make her escape."
The Battle of Mytton. The Scots proceeded, as usual, to ravage
the country. The archbishop of York, in the absence of a more
professional leader, assumed arms, and assembled a large but motley
army, consisting partly of country people, ecclesiastics, and others,
having little skill or spirit save that which despair might inspire.
The Scots encountered them with the advantage which leaders of
high courage and experience possess over those who are inexperi-
enced in war, and veteran troops over a miscellaneous and disorderly
levy. The conflict took place near Mytton, on the river Swale,
20th September, 1319. By the simple stratagem of firing some
stacks of hay, the Scots raised a dense smoke, under cover of which
a division of the army turned, unperceived, around the flank of the
archbishop's host, and got into their rear. The irregular ranks of
the English were thus attacked in front and rear at once, and
instantly routed with great slaughter. Three hundred of the
VOL. i. 3 x
530 YORKSHIRE :
clerical order fell in the action, or were slain in the rout, whilst
many of the fugitives were driven into the Swale. In the savage
pleasantly of the times, this battle, in which so many clergymen
fell, was called the "White Battle" and the "Chapter of Mytton."*
The Battle of Boroughbridge. Whilst the north of England was
thus overrun, Thomas Plantagenet, earl of Lancaster, the cousin
of the king, with many other nobles, rose in insurrection, with
the intention of deposing Edward II., and perhaps, of placing
the earl of Lancaster on the throne, in his place. In this design,
however, they were unsuccessful, for the king was still strong-
enough to collect a powerful army, and to strike a successful blow
in defence of his crown.
In the year 1321 the earl of Lancaster and his associates, having
collected a formidable army at Burton-upon-Trent, attempted to hold
that line of defence against the royal army, which was advancing
from the south, under the command of the earl of Kent and other
able commanders. After three days' severe fighting in the neigh-
bourhood of Burton, the earls of Lancaster and Hereford were
compelled to fall back into Yorkshire, and to retreat to Borough-
bridge, where the confluence of the Swale and the Ure forms a
strong military position, in good hands. This line they also
attempted to defend, though unsuccessfully.
In this battle the earl ot Hereford, of the great family of the De
Bohuns, was slain on the bridge, being thrust through the body
with a spear, by a man concealed under the bridge ; and the earl of
Lancaster was still more unfortunate, for he was taken prisoner
alive, with the greater part of his followers. The earl of Lancaster,
after being made prisoner, was conveyed to his own castle at
Pontefract, where, after undergoing the greatest insults, he was
tried and condemned by a council of war ; and executed, on a hill
outside the fortress of Pontefract.
King Edward II., having defeated the barons, thought himself
strong enough for another attack upon Scotland. In this, however,
he failed entirely ; for although he led his army into Scotland, he
was unable to sustain it there, from the failure of every kind of
supplies. Hence he was compelled to retreat into England, closely
followed by a large Scottish army, which again overran the northern
counties, and advanced to the walls of York. Within those walls
Edward II. himself took shelter, after a precipitate flight from
* Sir Walter Scott's History, vol. i. p. 137.
PAST AND PRESENT. 531
Byland Abbey, where he was nearly taken prisoner by the Scots.
In this respect he was more fortunate than his great vassal,
John, earl of Richmond, who was captured by the Scots, and long
held for ransom.
In the following year (1323) Sir Andrew Hartcla, the governor of
Carlisle, who had assisted the king in putting down the insurrection
of the earls of Lancaster and Hereford, formed an alliance with the
Scots, and declared war against the king ; but before he could effect
anything of importance he was surprised by Anthony de Lucy, in
the neighbourhood of Carlisle, was taken prisoner, and put to
death as a traitor.
But this success did not free Edward II. from his nvimerous and
formidable enemies, both at home and abroad. In the hope of
making peace with King Robert Bruce of Scotland, he acknowledged
him as the lawful king of Scotland, and on the 30th May, 1323,
concluded a truce with him for thirteen years. This truce
was concluded whilst King Edward was staying at Bishopthorpe,
near York ; and was confirmed by Robert, king of Scotland, in
a confirmation given at Berwick upon Tweed, on the 7th June,
in the same year. In a few years after, in the year 1327, King
Edward II. was deposed, and was murdered in Berkeley Castle. In
the month of January, 1327, his deposition was formally recognized
in a Parliament held at Westminster, and at the same time his
youthful son Edward III. was acknowledged as the rightful heir
to the crown, to which he personally succeeded, in the year 1329,
and held with wonderful success for fifty years.
The Wars of King Edward III. The accession of King
Edward III. to the throne of England in the year 1327, and the
death of King Robert Bruce of Scotland, on the 7th of June, in the
year 1329, gave to England a youthful king whose military talents
in a few years fully rivalled those of his grandfather, Edward I.,
whilst the successor of Robert Bruce inherited nothing but his
father's valour and fame. Those indeed were sufficient to secure
the independence of Scotland, and to render all the efforts of both
Edward III. and of Edward Baliol, to supersede the line of Bruce,
unavailing. But they were not sufficient to make up for the
disparity in numbers between the armies of the two countries, or
to save Scotland, as well as England, from great disasters, or the
descendant of Bruce from a long and cruel captivity in England,
after the total defeat of his army, at Nevill' Cross, near Durham,
532 YORKSHIRE :
At the time of the murder of Edward II. of England, and the
accession of the Queen Isabella and Mortimer to power in the year
1327, England and Scotland were at peace, a truce for thirteen
years having been concluded at Berwick on the 7th June, 1 323 ;
and it would have been happy for both countries if this period of
peace had been allowed to run out uninterrupted. But "it is
probable," says Sir Walter Scott, " that Robert Bruce was determined
to take advantage of the confusion occasioned by this convulsion in
England, to infringe the truce, and renew the war, with the purpose
of compelling an advantageous peace. The truth seems to be that
Robert Bruce having some plausible pretexts, and possibly some
powerful reasons of state, for putting an end to the truce, was
desirous to avail himself of the opportunity afforded by the internal
disturbances of England, to bring matters to a final issue, and either
to resume the war at a period which promised advantage, or obtain
a distinct recognition of the independence of Scotland, and an
acknowledgment of his own title to the crown."
We are informed by Froissart and other historians that the
Scottish king desired also to avail himself of the opportunity to
obtain, in permanent sovereignty, some part of the northern pro-
vinces of England. It is highly probable that such a claim was
stated, and founded upon the possession of Cumberland and West-
moreland, by the Scottish kings to the time of David I., and on
the claim to Northumbria, made by that monarch, before the battle
of the Standard. But Sir Walter Scott is of opinion "that the
serious prosecution of such a design neither accords with the Bruce's
policy, nor with his actual conduct. He well knew that Northum-
berland and Cumberland, over the former of which Scotland had
once a claim, were now become part of England, and attached to
that country by all the ties of national predilection ; and that
although a right to them might be conceded in the hour of distress,
it would only create a perpetual cause of war for their recovering
its superiority." :
Whatever may have been Robert Bruce's object in renewing the
war with England, the result was to bring a long succession of
disasters on his own country, as well as upon England. The nego-
tiations for the continuance of peace were broken off in the month of
May, 1327, when the youthful King Edward assembled a powerful
army at York, to resist the invasion of the northern counties of Eng-
* Sir Walter Scotl's Ilist^jp-of Scotland, Vol. i. p. 154.
PAST AND PRESENT. 533
land by Randolph and Lord James Douglas, who, under the direction
of Bruce, were laying waste the bishopric of Durham, "marking
their course with more than their usual ferocity of devastation."
Robert Bruce himself, though only fifty years of age, was affected by
a disease of the blood, then termed the leprosy, which prevented
him leading his armies in person. The king of England, on the
other hand, at the head of a princely army of 60,000 mei), including
500 belted knights, animated by the presence of the queen-mother
and fifty ladies of the highest rank, who witnessed their departure,
set out from York with the determination of chastising the invaders
and destroyers of his country. But all his efforts to bring on a
general battle failed ; for the Scottish army, being much less numer-
ous than the English, refused to fight except in strong and defensible
positions ; and King Edward III., who was still a mere boy, and
under the control of a headstrong woman and her worthless minion,
did not possess the military skill to force a battle, on ground
favourable to his own army. Yet the youthful king succeeded in
saving a considerable portion of his territories from devastation,
including the greater part of the county of York.
After marching and countermarching for several weeks, King
Edward, or his advisers, made an offer of land worth 100 a year
(or about 1500 of modern money), with the honour of knighthood,
to any one who should bring certain notice to his head-quarters
as to where the Scottish army could be found; and on the 31st
July, Thomas de Rokeby, a Yorkshire gentleman, returned to claim
the promised reward. Under his leadership the Scottish army was
found only six or seven miles from the English, drawn up on the
crest of a steep hill, at the foot of which ran the river Wear, through
a rocky channel, so that an attack upon determined men and
veteran soldiers in such a position must have been attended with
destruction to the assailants. After the two armies had watched
each other for four days, exchanging idle challenges, the Scottish
army retired in the night to a still stronger position, called Stan-
hope Deer Park, the property of the bishop of Durham. Here
the armies confronted each other as formerly; the English declining
to attack, on account of the strength of the Scottish position ;
the Scots refusing battle against an army superior to their own.
After a brilliant attempt of Douglas to capture the youthful king,
in a night attack, the English troops retreated to Durham, and
the Scottish army, having completely plundered the whole country,
534 YORKSHIRE
retired northward, where it was joined by King Robert Bruce,
who then besieged the castles of Norham and Alnwick. In the
spring of the following year a truce was agreed to between
the two countries, which was concluded at Edinburgh on the 17th
of March, 1328, and ratified in a Parliament held at Northampton,
on the 4th of May, in the same year. Amongst other conditions of
this peace, one of the most important was, that the English Princess
Johanna, the sister of King Edward III., then a child only seven
years old, was placed in the custody of the Scottish king, to be
united at a fitting age to her boy bridegroom, David Bruce, who
was himself two years younger. This peace was nearly the last
act of Robert Bruce ; for, on the 7th of June, 1329, he died, at the
almost premature age of fifty-four.
The devastation of the northern provinces of England, and the
unfavourable, though not unreasonable, conditions of the treaty of
Northampton, had left a very angry feeling in England; and soon
after the death of Robert Bruce this feeling led to open war
between the two countries. The pretext for renewing the war on
the side of the English was, that the article of the treaty of North-
ampton had not been carried out, which provided that the English
barons, Lords Beaumont and Wake, with Sir Henry Percy, should
be restored to their estates in Scotland, declared to be forfeited
by Robert Bruce. Of the three, Percy alone had been restored.
This movement would have come to nothing if the malcontents
had not been joined by Edward Baliol, the son of John Baliol, who
had been brought back to England on the occasion of the recent
war with Scotland, and who now set up a claim to the throne of
that kingdom. Edward III., like Bruce a few years ago, appears
to have sought a pretext for war. Under pretence of strictly
observing the truce between the two kingdoms, he prohibited
the disinherited barons from entering Scotland by the land frontier,
but connived at their embarking for Scotland at Ravenspurn, in
Yorkshire, near the mouth of the Humber. The regent of Scot-
land, Randolph, died suddenly in the year 1332, just at the time
when this expedition sailed ; and though Baliol, on his landing,
was opposed by large armies, these were so completely demoralized
by faction and treason, that they were defeated in a night attack
made on them on Dupplin Moor, with a loss of 13,000 men, or
more than four times the entire amo\mt of the army of Baliol.
The result was that Edward Baliol, for a short time, obtained
FAST AND PEESENT. 535
possession of the Scottish crown ; but not possessing any real talent,
he was soon after defeated, and compelled to escape across the
borders, by his pretended subjects.
The Battle of Halidon Hill, near Berwick. In the course of the
same campaign, Sir Andrew Moray, a soldier of Bruce's school,
calm, sagacious, and dauntlessly brave, who had been appointed
regent of Scotland, was taken prisoner by the English in an engage-
ment near Roxburgh Castle ; and soon after, Sir William Douglas
was also defeated by an English force and made prisoner. The
regency of Scotland then fell into the hands of another of the
Douglases, who, forgetting or disregarding the earnest admonition of
Robert Bruce, determined to give battle to King Edward III., who
had advanced to the Scottish borders, and was then laying siege to
the great border fortress of Berwick. On the morning of the 19th
of June the Scottish army abandoned its position on Halidon Hill,
and attacked the English with inconsiderate impetuosity. In doing
so they exposed their whole army, whilst descending the hill and
crossing the morass, to the formidable discharge of the English
archers, to whom they had no similar force to oppose. The con-
sequence was, that they lost their ranks and became embarrassed in
the morass, where many were slain. But the nobles, who fought on
foot in complete armour at the head of their followers, made a
desperate effort to lead a great part of the army through the bog ;
and ascended the opposite hill. They came to close battle with the
English, who, in calm and perfect order, were not long in repulsing
an attack made by disordered ranks and breathless soldiers. The
result was a final defeat, in which the regent Douglas was taken
prisoner, after receiving severe wounds, of which he afterwards died.
Amongst the slain on the field of battle was the venerable earl of
Lennox, the faithful companion of Robert Bruce. The earls of Ross,
Carrick, Sutherland, Monteith, and Athol, were all slain, together
with knights and barons to a countless number, and all with trifling
loss on the part of the English.
The Invasion of England by King David II. The Battle of
NevilVs Cross. The losses of the Scottish army in this battle
were so great that it was supposed by the English that they
would never rally ; but after long-continued conflicts in every part
of Scotland they gradually wore out the English forces, and in
the year 1346, not only had the English lost the whole of Scotland,
but a large army, under King David Bruce, was strong enough to
536 YORKSHIRE :
advance into England, overrun Northumberland, and fight a great
battle under the walls of Durham. At that time the mass of the
English army was in France, under the command of King Edward
III. But the great northern barons of England, Percy and Nevill,
Scrope, Hastings, and Musgrave, assembled all the forces of the
north. In the final conflict at Nevill's Cross, near Durham, amidst
repeated charges, and the most dispiriting slaughter by the continu-
ous discharge of the English arrows, David Bruce showed that he
had the courage, but not the talents of his father. He was twice
severely wounded with arrows, but continued to encourage his peers
and officers to fight to the last. At length, in a close personal
encounter, Sir John Copeland, a Northumberland knight, grappled
with David and made him prisoner, but not before the king had
struck out two of Copeland's teeth with his gauntlet.
The Restoration of Peace between England and Scotland. This des-
perate battle did not put an end to the wars between England and
Scotland ; but it had considerable effect in inducing both the nations
to long for peace. They were, in fact, both of them worn out to
exhaustion, and King David Bruce, being a prisoner in England,
became extremely anxious for the close of the war, which seemed
likely to keep him a prisoner for life. In the year 1357, eleven
years after the battle of Nevill's Cross, David Bruce was restored
to freedom, on an engagement to pay as ransom a sum of 100,000
marks, equal in value to 1,500,000 of modern money, and ulti-
mately the war was ended by a truce for fourteen years, concluded in
the year 1369. From that time there was no great war between
England and Scotland for many years, although the Douglases and
the Percys kept the border in a very unsettled state. In the year
1388 the earl of Douglas defeated Sir Henry Percy, or rather
Henry Lord Percy, the famous Hotspur, at Otterburn, in Eeeds-
dale ; and a few years later Henry Hotspur returned the blow, and
defeated another of the Douglases at Homildon, near Wooler, also
in Northumberland. The latter battle was fought in the year
1402, and was the close of hostilities on an extensive scale, between
England and Scotland, for nearly 100 years.
The Trade of Yorkshire in the Reign of King Edward III. The
most prosperous period in the rule of the Plantagenet kings was
about the middle of the reign of King Edward III., when the
kingdom enjoyed internal peace, was victorious abroad, and when an
extensive trade had been opened with the merchants of Flanders.
PAST AND PllESENT. 537
They at all times, when allowed to do so, eagerly bought up the
wool of England, which was then the principal export of this king-
dom. It was then considered to be the best in Europe, and was
produced in very large quantities. Owing to the mildness- of the
English winters and the moistness of the English summers, England
had always had a great superiority in the power of producing
the kinds of wool specially suited to commerce. Even now, the
quantity of wool grown in England, Scotland, and Ireland, is
very great, although it is only recently that we have been able to
form any correct estimates, either of the number of sheep existing
in England, or the quantity of wool yielded by them.
In the reign of King Edward III. and the other early English
kings, wool was the only great article of export. In the year 1354,
the value of the wool exported from England was estimated at
193,978, of the money of that time, the total value of the exports
of that year being 212,338. Allowing for the difference in the
value of money at that time, as compared with the present, the
whole value of the exports in the year 1354 would be from two
and a half to three millions sterling, * chiefly consisting of wool.
We have, fortunately, tolerably correct means of knowing what
was the quantity of wool which each county of England was con-
sidered capable of furnishing at this time, and for which it was held
accountable either in wool or in money. In the year 1340 (14th
Edward III.), the commons of England, through their representa-
tives in Parliament assembled, made to that most popular and
warlike king a grant of 30,000 packs of wool (valued at 4 per pack
in the money of that time, but at least ten times as much in modern
money), to enable him to meet the enormous expenses which he stated
that he was about to incur, by putting in, and supporting with the
whole military power of England, a claim to the throne of France,
which he claimed to be his own, as the son and heir of the Princess
Isabel of France, the wife of King Edward II. Worthless as this
claim was, being in direct opposition to the fundamental law of
France, it was highly popular in England, and gave rise to a series
of wars, which continued at intervals for a period of nearly 100
years. These are the wars which are known in French history as
the Hundred Years' War, and which raged at intervals from the
early part of the reign of Edward III., A.D. 1340, to the middle
of the reign of Henry VI., A.D. 1440. They commenced with a grant,
* Charles Knight's Pictorial History of England, vol. i. p. 832.
VOL. i. 3 y
538 YORKSHIRE :
from the English Parliament, of the ninth of the wool and other
agricultural produce of the kingdom, and of the property of
the burgesses of towns. These amounted to upwards of 120,000
in the money of that time, equal to at least 1,500,000 of modern
money ; and before they were ended these wars must have cost 100
times that sum, either in money or in personal service.
In the year 1341 a government estimate was formed of the
amount of wool or money which each county of England, and
the three Ridings of Yorkshire, could afford to pay towards the first
tax of 20,000 sacks of wool, then valued at 4 per sack. At that
time the county of Norfolk was the richest county in England,
and was considered capable of paying 2206 sacks of wool, or an
equal value in money ; equal in the money of that time to 8828,
and in modern money to about 104,000. No other county came
near to this amount. The largest payments made were those of the
county of Kent, which contributed 1274 sacks of wool, of the value
of 5096 in the money of that time. The county of Lincoln paid
1265 sacks of wool, then valued at 5064 ; and that of Suffolk 959
sacks, valued at 3836. The payments of Yorkshire were, for the
West Fading, 334 sacks of wool, valued at 1336 in the money of
that time ; for the East Riding, 499 sacks, of the value of 2000 ;
for the North Riding, 275 sacks, valued at 1100; and for the
city of York, 49 sacks, valued at 200. The total payments of
Yorkshire were 1157 sacks of wool, valued in the money of the time
at 4606, equal in modern money to at least 40,000. The city of
London paid 503 sacks, valued at 2112. Taking the twenty-nine
counties for which returns have been preserved, the number of
sacks of wool supplied to the government was 20,376, valued at
that time at 81,504, worth in modern money about 978,048.
This would make the whole value of the 30,000 sacks of wool, voted
by Parliament to King Edward III., equal to at least a million and
a half of pounds sterling in modern money.
This wool, when collected at the seaports of London, Lynn,
Boston, Hull, and the few other places in which the staple of wool
existed, was shipped to Antwerp and Bruges, and was there sold
to the merchants and manufacturers of Flanders, generally at very
high prices: for it was only when the kings of England were greatly
in want of money, that the export of wool was permitted. As a
general rule, the export of that article was strictly prohibited. It
is probable that the great wealth of the famous family of the De La
PAST AND PRESENT. 539
Poles, of Hull, was augmented if not created by the trade in wool,
though they were also extensively engaged in the trade in dried fish
or, as it was then called, stock fish, carried on with Iceland. It was
also in this reign that Flemish manufacturers were encouraged to
settle in England. By a royal proclamation, dated October 12, 1336,
Edward III. granted protection to all foreign cloth- workers, corning
to England, and a special protection was given by him to William
and Hanikin, weavers of Brabant, coming into England, to exercise
their trade at York. One of the first acts of King Edward III.,
after he had obtained the complete command of the government, in
the year, 1333, was to issue an order granting protection and safe-
conduct for merchants of all nations. It appears from another royal
order of this reign, that there was already a considerable trade in
wine at the port of Hull. All the orders above mentioned are pre-
served in Rymer's "Fcedera;" and on the whole, they show a
considerable amount of intelligence, in the commercial policy of
Edward III., the greatest of the Plantagenet kings of England.
540 TORKSHIRE :
CHAPTER X.
THE WARS FOR THE SUCCESSION TO THE ENGLISH CROWN IN THE
FIFTEENTH CENTURY.
The Wars of York and Lancaster. The incessant wars of the
three Edwards with France, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales, had
rendered the English people a nation of soldiers, and had thus
prepared them for the long and desperate conflicts for the throne,
which broke out after the death of Edward III., and the feeble
and troubled minority of his grandson, Richard II. These wars
commenced with the landing of Henry of Bolingbroke, duke of
Lancaster, at Ravenspurn, at the mouth of the Humber, in the
year 1399 ; attained their full force in the great battles of Wake-
field and Towton, both fought, in the county of York, in the years
1460-61 ; and were brought to a final close by the defeat of the
army of the pretended duke of York, Perkin Warbeck, in the
year 1493. At that time the whole of the English people, as
we have already seen, were trained in and for war ; and this
was more especially the case in the northern counties, within
reach of the Scottish borders, and in the west midland counties,
along the borders of Wales. In these unsettled districts the Percys,
earls of Northumberland and afterwards of Worcester ; the Nevills,
earls of Westmoreland, of Salisbury, and of Warwick; the De
Cliffords, earls of Cumberland ; the Stanleys, afterwards earls of
Derby ; the Mortimers, earls of Marche ; and the De Bohun's,
earls of Hereford were the hereditary commanders of the whole
armed population. These are the names which we find in the
accounts of all the desperate civil wars of the fifteenth century,
along with those of the Dacres, the Fauconbergs, the Scropes of
Masham, and the De la Poles, earls, and afterwards dukes of
Suffolk, the ennobled descendants of William De la Pole, the great
merchant of Hull. Any two or three of these great families were
powerful enough to stir up a formidable insurrection, either in the
northern counties or along the Welsh borders; and the insurrections
thus commenced seldom failed to extend over the greater part of
England.
PAST AND PBESENT. 541
The grand object of contest during nearly the whole of the
fifteenth century, was the right of succession to the English throne,
which was vehemently disputed amongst the descendants of Edward
III. On Edward's death the throne passed to Richard II., the only
son of Edward's eldest son, the Black Prince. But he succeeded to
it as a boy, of the age of eleven years, and was dethroned and mur-
dered, almost before he had attained the full age of manhood, by
Henry of Bolingbroke, afterwards King Henry IV., the son of John
of Gaunt, duke of 'Lancaster, the fourth son of Edward III. But the
murder of Richard II., whilst it gave the throne to the house of
Lancaster for nearly three generations, during the reigns of Henry
IV., Henry V, and part of that of Henry VI., never secured that
house any peaceful enjoyment of the position which it had grasped.
According to the well established law of succession to the throne of
England, the crown belonged, after the death of Richard II., and
the premature demise of William of Hatfield, the second son of
Edward III., to the descendants of Lionel, duke of Clarence, who
was the elder brother of John of Gaunt, and the third son of
Edward III. This claim, though long belonging to women and chil-
dren of the house of Mortimer, who had acquired it by the marriage
of Philippa, the daughter of Prince Lionel, never died out, and
never ceased to be a ground of alarm to Henry IV. and his two
next successors, Henry V. and Heniy VI. But it was not until
the reign of Henry VI., who was long childless and always imbecile,
that the claim of Lionel, duke of Clarence, became really formi-
dable, by having passed by marriage and descent into the family of
the dukes of York, also the descendants of Edward III. by his
fifth son, Edmund. They were the undoubted heirs of the house
of Mortimer, the representatives of Lionel, duke of Clarence ; and
having become much more powerful than Henry VI.. by the great
military talents and services of Richard, duke of York, in Normandy
and in Ireland, and by their intermarriages with the Nevills,
Stanleys, and other great families, they then put forth their
claim to the throne. This they at last successfully asserted, and
placed the crown on the head of King Edward IV. But
this was not effected without long and desperate contests with the
adherents of the house of Lancaster ; and that house afterwards
succeeded in recovering the throne, in dethroning Richard HI., and
in placing the crown on the head of Henry VII. But even his claim
was disputed by a considerable portion of his subjects, who rose in
542 YORKSHIRE :
insurrection, in support of a pretended duke of York, and who
ultimately only consented to submit to Henry VII. as the husband
of the Princess Elizabeth, the daughter and heiress of Edward IV.
Thus it was that no king reigned in England, with an undisputed
title, from the death of Richard II. to the accession of Henry VIII.,
a period of upwards of a hundred years. During that time four
kings either perished in battle or in imprisonment ; and those
who escaped a violent death did so by vanquishing their enemies
in the field. In this long period there was seldom an interval of a
dozen years without some violent disturbance ; and the whole king-
dom was kept in constant excitement and alarm, especially the
northern and the west midland counties, in which the great
families, above enumerated, ruled with almost absolute sway, and
kept the country in commotion with perpetual conspiracies or
rebellions.
The root and origin of these long years of civil war was the
overgrown power of the Plantagenets, dukes of Lancaster, the
descendants of Edmund Plantagenet, earl of Lancaster, the younger
son of King Henry III. by the female line, and of John of Gaunt,
duke of Lancaster, the fourth son of Edward III. by the male line.
John of Gaunt had married Lady Blanche Plantagenet, the heiress
of Edmund, the first earl of Lancaster, through his descendants
Thomas and Henry, earls of Lancaster, and Henry, duke of
Lancaster. The house of Lancaster was thus connected with the
throne by a double line of descent, and both these lines were occa-
sionally used in defending its claims. According to the extreme
claims of the house of Lancaster, Edmund, the first earl of Lancaster,
was the elder son and heir of King Henry III., and had been set
aside on account of a bodily deformity, to make way for Edward
I., who, according to this statement, was a younger son of Henry
III. This claim (for which there was not a shadow of foun-
dation), was not often asserted, though on more than one occasion
it seems to have been relied upon, both by John of Gaunt, and
by his son Henry IV. More generally, however, the claim of
the house of Lancaster was founded on its descent from John of
Gaunt, the fourth son of Edward III. ; and it really rested either on
that or on the wealth and power of that House, and the parlia-
mentary grant of the crown to Bolingbroke and his descendants.
The immense power and wealth of the House of Lancaster arose
partly from profuse grants of King Henry III., who united in his
PAST AND PRESENT. 543
son Edmund the three great earldoms of Lancaster, Leicester, and
Derby ; partly from the marriage of Thomas, the second earl of
Lancaster, with Alicia de Lacy, the only child and heiress of Henry,
earl of Lincoln, lord of the honours of Pontefract and Clitheroe,
and constable of Chester, which Alicia also inherited the estates of
her mother, the heiress to the earls of Salisbury, the descendants of
Henry II. and the fair Kosamond ; and partly from marriages with
the heiresses of earls of Albermarle, who were amongst the great
Yorkshire barons, and with Maria de Bohun, the heiress of the earls
of Hereford, who were amongst the most powerful and warlike
noblemen on the Welsh borders. With all these vast estates ; with
numerous strong castles in many parts of the kingdom, of which
those of Pontefract, Tickhill, Knaresborough, Richmond, and Picker-
ing, in Yorkshire, were amongst the strongest; and with connection
by marriage with the great house of Percy the Plantageriets of the
house of Lancaster ultimately became more powerful than the elder
branch of the royal house, although kings of England. Thomas,
the second earl of Lancaster, was indeed defeated and slain in his
attempt to dethrone King Edward II. ; but Henry Plantagenet,
known from the place of his birth as Henry Bolingbroke, the son
of John of Gaunt, was completely successful in his contest with
Richard II., whom he dethroned and put to death in his great
Yorkshire castle of Pontefract, the very place at which Henry's
ancestor, Thomas, earl of Lancaster, had been tried, condemned,
and executed by Edward II.
It is not necessary for the purposes of this work to trace the
history of the early quarrels between the unfortunate Richard II.,
the son of the Black Prince, and the grandson of Edward III.,
and his uncles, the duke of Gloucester and John of Gaunt, duke of
Lancaster ; one of whom was murdered, as is generally supposed,
with the assent of Richard II., in the fortress of Calais ; and the
other of whom left a son, Henry of Bolingbroke, who was at least
an assenting party to the murder of King Richard II., in the
castle of Pontefract in Yorkshire. These conflicts between the
youthful king and his uncles of Gloucester and Lancaster, lasted
from the time when he fancied that he had become capable of
governing the kingdom, until the time of his deposition and his
death. Previous to the death of John of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster,
Richard had banished from the kingdom Henry Bolingbroke, the
eldest son of the duke of Lancaster ; and when John of Gaunt died,
544 YORKSHIRE :
Richard seized on the estates of the duke of Lancaster. Having
done this, he proceeded to Ireland, to lead an army against a
number of Irish chiefs who were then in arms, leaving the govern-
ment of England in the hands of his uncle Edmund, duke of York,
the fifth son of King Edward III., a gentle and amiable prince,
who had in vain tried to act as a mediator in the quarrels of the
royal family, and who was quite unable to offer resistance either to
the follies of the youthful king, or to the daring plans of the
banished Bolingbroke.
It was in the last year but one of the fourteenth century, on the
4th of July, 1399, that Henry of Bolingbroke, duke of Lancaster,
landed at Ravenspurn, in Holderness, Yorkshire, where he was
immediately joined by the warlike knights from his own vast
estates in Yorkshire, Lancashire, and Lincolnshire ; by the Percys,
earls of Northumberland ; the Nevills, earls of Westmoreland, and
by most of the other martial lords of the northern counties.
He soon found himself at the head of a powerful army, and
marched southward, his forces increasing at every step, until they
amounted to 60,000 men when he entered London, where he
was received as a national deliverer. According to the statement
made by the Percys, earls of Northumberland, when they afterwards
quarreled with King Henry IV., Bolingbroke made a declaration
of his intentions, when he reached Doncaster, which had the effect
of bringing many persons to his standards, who would not otherwise
have joined them. On that occasion, according to their statement,
he made an oath to the Percys upon the holy Gospels, " bodily
touched and kissed, that he would never claim the crown, king-
dom, or state royal, but only his own proper inheritance of the
duchy of Lancaster, and the inheritance of his wife, Maria de
Bohun, in England ; and that Richard," whom he described " as
their and his sovereign lord and king, should reign during the term
of his life, governed by the good counsels of the lords spiritual and
temporal."" 11 If any such declaration as this was ever made by
Hemy Bolingbroke, which is very probable, it was soon forgotten
amidst the triumph of complete success, and was never called to
memory, even by the Percys, until they quarreled with, and made
war upon Henry IV., some years after. Almost the only friend and
resolute supporter whom Richard had at this time amongst the
* Hall's Chronicle ; containing The History of England during the reign of Henry IV., and the succeeding
monarchs, to the end of the reign of Henry VIII., p. 29.
PAST AND PRESENT. 545
northern barons, was William, Lord Scrope of Masham ; and all
that he was able to do was to lay down his own life, at Bristol, for
the monarch whom he was unable to save from dethronement and
death. Richard himself afterwards fell into the hands of Boling-
broke at the castle of Flint, in North Wales. On the arrival of
Henry of Bolingbroke in London with his royal prisoner, a Parlia-
ment was called together, by which Richard was formally deposed,
and Henry of Bolingbroke declared king in his place. After Rich-
ard had been taken to London and compelled to surrender the
crown, he was removed to the great castle of the De Lacys and of
the dukes of Lancaster, at Pontefract, where he was murdered,
though in what manner was long disputed, and is not even now
absolutely certain.
The Murder of Richard II. at Pontefract Castle. It is still a matter
of some uncertainty whether Richard II. was despatched by assassins
soon after his incarceration in the dismal dungeons under this
great castle, or whether he perished by the more cruel death of
starvation and famine. It is also disputed whether, supposing him
to have died from starvation, that death was self-inflicted from horror
of a life of captivity in a loathsome dungeon, or was inflicted upon
him by his enemies, as a means of destroying his life by the most
lingering and painful of deaths. We shall give an account of this and
of other tragedies perpetrated within the dungeons of Pontefract
Castle, when we come to describe that magnificent but gloomy
building, which was a state prison only second to that of the Tower
of London. Within three or four years after the crime was commit-
ted, the Percys declared as follows on this subject : " Also we do
allege, say, and intend to prove, that whereas thou sworest to us
upon the Gospels in the aforesaid place and time (i.e., at Doncaster,
soon after the landing of Bolingbroke in Yorkshire), that our sove-
reign lord and thine, King Richard, should reign during the term of
his life in his royal prerogative and dignity, thou hast caused the
same, our sovereign lord and thine, traitorously, within the castle of
Pontefract, without the consent or judgment of the lords of the
realm, by the space of fifteen days and so many nights (which is
horrible among Christian people to be heard) with hunger, thirst,
and cold, to perish, to be murdered. Wherefore thou art perjured
and false." Whether this mode of inflicting the murder is correctly
stated is, as we have already said, somewhat doubtful, for, accord-
ing to another account, Richard was murdered by eight assassins
VOL. I. 3 Z
546 YORKSHIRE :
armed with battle axes, and commanded by Sir Piers of Exton,
after he had cut down three of the number. But that he was
murdered in Pontefract Castle is quite certain, and the guilt of this
murder ever clung to the house of Lancaster, and caused afterwards
the kings and princes of that line to be destroyed by the Yorkists,
without mercy or compunction.
The reign of King Henry IV. was a continued succession of con-
flicts for the crown, which fell heavily on the northern and the west
midland districts of England. Although the adherents of Richard II.
in Yorkshire and the northern counties were unable to make any
stand against Henry Bolingbroke when he landed in that county,
Richard had a few powerful adherents there, including Richard
Scrope, archbishop of York, brother to William, Lord Scrope of
Mash am, a family whose loyalty to the elder branch of the house of
Plantagenet never failed, and who shed their blood like water in
support of their claims. But for the first two or three years of
the reign of Henry IV. the power of the house of Lancaster was
too great to be shaken ; and it would probably have remained
so for some years longer, if a furious quarrel had not broken out
between the great house of the Percys, who were not only amongst
the most powerful of the Yorkshire barons, but were also earls
of Northumberland, and commanders of the whole of the military
forces along the Scottish borders. The military power of the Percys
was so great at this time, that they were able to give battle to a
Scottish army of 20,000 men, whom Earl Douglas had led across
the borders, and whom Lord Henry Percy, named Hotspur, defeated
in the great battle of Homildon.
Although the Percys had supported Henry Bolingbroke, after-
wards King Henry IV., in his insurrection against Richard II., it
is doubtful whether they ever wished to place Bolingbroke on the
throne of England. According to their own statement quoted
above, they either induced or compelled Bolingbroke, soon after his
landing in England, to sign the declaration at Doncaster, that he
would not dethrone Richard II. But events advanced rapidly;
Richard was dethroned and murdered, and the kingdom was seized
by Bolingbroke. It is doubtful, however, whether the Percys
were favourable to the latter step, for they were more closely
connected with the Mortimers, the descendants by the female line
of Lionel, duke of Clarence, the elder brother of John of Gaunt,
duke of Lancaster, than with the family of John of Gaunt. Lord
PAST AND PRESENT. 547
Henry Percy, commonly known as Hotspur, was married to Lady
Elinor Mortimer, the daughter of Roger, earl of March, who was
the son to the Lady Philippa, the daughter of Lionel, duke of
Clarence. The son of this Mortimer, named Edmund, earl of March,
had been proclaimed heir-apparent to the crown and realm by
Richard II., before he left the kingdom for Ireland ; and close to
him in the order of succession stood the other members of the
family of Mortimer, including the wife of Henry Percy, the son
and heir of the earl of Northumberland.
The immediate ground of the open rupture between Henry IV.
and the Percys was, that the king would not ransom Edmund
Mortimer, earl of March, who had been taken prisoner by the
famous Welsh chief, Owen Glendwr. This refusal may have arisen
partly from a consciousness on the part of the king, that the
earl of March was considered by many persons to be the rightful
owner of the throne of England, which Henry had occupied after
the deposition and the murder of Richard II. ; or it may have
arisen from well-founded suspicions that the Percys, with their
northern allies, were engaged in a conspiracy with the Mortimers,
and the Welsh under Owen Glendwr, for the deposing of the
king, and the placing of Edmund Mortimer upon the throne.
Whatever object may have been proposed to themselves by the
Percys at first, this soon became their real object ; for in the third
year of the reign of King Henry IV., the Percys and all the
enemies of the king rose in insurrection against him, denouncing
him as a usurper, a tyrant, and a murderer. But the king and
his son, afterwards King Henry V., were too prompt to be surprised,
and defeated the Percys and their northern allies in the great battle
of Shrewsbury, before they could effect a junction with Owen
Glendwr, and the adherents of the house of Mortimer, on the
Welsh borders.
Insurrection of Archbishop Scrope in Yorkshire. Soon after the
time when the Percys rose against King Henry IV., and marched
to the borders of Wales, where they fought and lost the battle of
Shrewsbury, Richard Scrope, archbishop of York, whose brother,
Lord Scrope, Henry had beheaded at Bristol, with many adherents
of the great houses of Mowbray, Falconberg, and Hastings, rose
in insurrection against the king in Yorkshire. Archbishop Scrope,
in his anxiety to obtain support, drew up a formal impeachment
against the king, which lie caused to be fixed on the church doors in
548 YOKKSHIEE :
his own diocese, and sent in the form of a circular to all parts of the
kingdom. In this manifesto he charged Henry with perjuiy, rebel-
lion, usurpation, the murder of his sovereign, and the illegal execu-
tion of many noblemen, clergymen, and gentlemen. To strengthen
his appeal the archbishop preached sermons to three warlike con-
gregations assembled in the minster at York, before taking the
field. After these services, a standard was raised, which exhibited
the five wounds of Christ ; and so successful was the archbishop
in rousing insurrection, that an army of 20,000 men joined his
standard, at Shipton-on-the-Moor, a few miles from the city of
York. Before this time the battle of Shrewsbury had been fought
and won by Henry IV. and his warlike son ; and on hearing of
the insurrection in Yorkshire, King Henry sent an army of 30,000
men into that county, under the command of Nevill, earl of West-
moreland, and of his own son, Prince John, who in after times
became regent of France, and a distinguished statesman and
warrior. On the arrival of King Henry's forces at York, they found
Archbishop Scrope with his army strongly encamped not far from
the walls of that city, in a well-selected position, covered by the
forest of Galtrees, which at that time reached very nearly to the
gates of York. The position was so strong that the earl of West-
moreland and Prince John hesitated to attack it. They therefore
opened negotiations, and pretended to be willing to settle every-
thing by a peaceful arrangement. A meeting accordingly took
place, between the two commanders, the archbishop being attended
by Mowbray, the Earl Marshal. Terms were then agreed to, and it
is said that the commanders shook hands in sight of both armies, and
reciprocated other tokens of reconciliation and friendship. After this
the archbishop, who seems never to have suspected any treachery,
dismissed his forces. Having by this stratagem deprived the arch-
bishop of the means of defence, he and the Earl Marshal were
arrested for high treason, and were carried to Pontefract Castle,
where the king was. They were ultimately, however, brought back
to Bishopthorpe, the palace of the archbishop near York. There
Henry held a court, and commanded the chief justice, the incorrup-
tible Gascoyne, to pronounce sentence of death on the archbishop
and his associates. But it is said that this upright judge refused to
do so, on the ground that the laws gave him no jurisdiction over
the life of the prelate, and that both he and the earl had a right to
be tried by their peers. A more obsequious agent was found in
PAST AND PRESENT. 549
a knight of the name of Fulthorpe, who by the king's order called
them both before him, and without indictment or trial condemned
both to be beheaded.""' The Earl Marshal's body was buried in
the cathedral, but his head was fixed on a spike, and exposed on
the walls of the city. Archbishop Scrope was beheaded, in a field
between York and Bishopthorpe, on the 8th June, 1405. He died
with great firmness. His body was interred in the minster. He
was regarded as a martyr by the adherents of the houses of Mor-
timer a,nd York, and his tomb was visited by crowds of devotees.
Many other persons of knightly rank, including Sir John Lamplugh,
Sir Robert Plumpton, and others, were also executed; and for some
time the city of York was deprived of all its liberties and privileges.
Defeat and Deatli of the Earl of Northumberland. The unfor-
tunate earl of Northumberland, the father of Henry Hotspur, was
bold enough to take arms against the king a third time, in the
year 1408. In that year he assembled a considerable force on
Bramham Moor, near York and Tadcaster, where he was suddenly
attacked, defeated, and slain by Sir Thomas Rokesby, the high
sheriff of Yorkshire. Henry soon after went to York, and com-
pleted his revenge by the execution of several of the insurgents,
and the confiscation of their estates, t
The Dukes of York of the Plantage.net Family. It may be well
here to give a brief account of the dukes of York of the Plan-
tagenet line, who about this time began to be involved in the
disputes which ended in the wars of York and Lancaster. Edmund
of Langley, the fifth son of Edward III., was the first duke of York.
He received that honour from his nephew Ilichard II., in the
ninth year of his reign, A.D. 1385. Previous to that time, there
had been two or three earls of York, including William le Gros,
earl of Albemarle, a great commander, who received the title of
earl of York, or Yorkshire, for his distinguished conduct in the
famous battle of the Standard, fought at Northallerton, in the
year 1138. Otho, duke of Saxony, son of Henry, duke of Bavaria,
by Maud the daughter of Henry II., king of England, is also said
to have received the title of earl of York from Richard I., in the
year 1190. At least, Hoveden speaks of the county of York as
having been committed to him by that king, but his history is
otherwise unconnected with that of England. The honour of duke-
dom was introduced into England in the reign of King Edward
* Lingard's England, vol. iii. p. 298. f Rymer's FceJera, vol. viii. pp. 520-530.
550 YORKSHIRE :
III., when it was conferred on Henry, duke of Lancaster, and on
two or three other members of the royal family. But the rank
of duke was not conferred on Edmund, the fifth son of Edward
III., until the reign of Richard II., in the year above named, 1385.
Being one of the youngest sons of Edward III., Edmund, the first
duke of York, had no share in the vehement disputes respecting the
crown, carried on by the descendants of Edward the Black Prince,
Lionel, duke of Clarence, and John of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster.
Edmund, the first duke of York, died at his manor of Langley, and
was interred in the Priory there. He left two sons, Edward
and Eichard, by his wife, who was one of the daughters of Piedro,
king of Castile and Leon.
Edward Plantagenet, the eldest son of the above Edmund, was
first made Earl of Rutland, then Duke of Albemarle, and after the
death of his father succeeded to the dukedom of York, in the year
HOG. He was a distinguished warrior, and fell in the great battle
of Agincourt. His body was brought over to England, by order
of King Henry V., and was buried in the collegiate church of
Fotheringay, in Northamptonshire, with great solemnity." """
Richard Plantagenet, earl of Cambridge, the son of the first duke
of York, and the brother of the second, never succeeded to that
dukedom. He became an object of suspicion to King Henry V. as
being the husband of Lady Anne Mortimer, one of the descendants
of Lionel duke of Clarence, the third son of Edward III., and
therefore nearer to the throne than Henry, who was descended from
John of Gaunt, the fourth son of the same monarch. He was
put to death by Henry V., along with Lord Scrope of Masham >
and Sir John Gray, another adherent of the elder branch, on a
charge of conspiracy and high treason; but it is very doubtful
whether his greatest crime was not his connection with the elder
branch of the royal house, and their greatest crime their attachment
to that branch of the royal family.
Richard Plantagenet, the third duke of York, and the avowed
claimant of the throne of England, was the nephew of Edward
the second duke, and the son of the above Richard, earl of
Cambridge, executed on a charge of treason by King Henry V.
He was restored to his paternal honours by Henry VI., and was
allowed to succeed not only to the dukedom of York, but to the
earldom of March, and to the great estates of the house of Mortimer.
* Walsingham, p. 393.
PAST AND PRESENT. 551
For some years it appeared to be likely that he would also succeed
peacefully to the crown of England, for all the descendants of
Henry IV., except Henry V., died childless. Henry V. left only
one infant son, Henry VI.; and Henry VI. had no child for
several years after his marriage with Margaret of Anjou. Henry
VI. appears also to have been nearly, if not altogether, an idiot,
and unfit to occupy the throne, even according to the modern
rules of succession. For some years, therefore, Richard, duke of
York, was heir-presumptive to the throne ; and though Henry
ultimately had a son, similar doubts were thrown on his legitimacy
that were attempted to be thrown, in much more recent times,
on the genuineness of the eldest son of James II., by his second
marriage with Maria of Este. It is now universally recognized
that these insinuations were entirely false as relates to the son of
James II. ; and it is probable that they were equally so with regard
to the son of Henry VI., though there can be little doubt of the
mental imbecility of the latter king.
The struggle in the field between the houses of York and Lan-
caster was preceded by a violent conflict, in Cotirt and Parliament,
between Richard, duke of York, and William de la Pole, earl, and
afterwards duke of Suffolk, the descendant of the famous William de
La Pole, the great Hull merchant, and also of his son, the unfortunate
favourite of Richard II. Whilst Richard, duke of York, was highly
popular both for his personal virtues, and for the bravery and success
with which he had defended the English conquests in France, the
duke of Somerset and the duke of Suffolk were extremely unpopular,
except at court, for the part which they had taken in losing or
surrendering Normandy, Maine, and Anjou, the last remains of the
conquests of Henry V. in the north of France. The duke of
Somerset, who was a descendant of John of Gaunt by Catherine
Swinford, was accused of having lost the greater part of the French
provinces by his imbecility in the field ; whilst De la Pole, duke of
Suffolk, was accused of having surrendered Maine and Anjou to the
king of France, as one of the conditions of the marriage between
Margaret of
