Kingdom of Elmet | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| circa 4th century | |||||||||||
 Yr Hen Ogledd (The Old North) c. 550 – c. 650 | |||||||||||
| Capital | Loidis (Leeds) and/orCambodunom (probably Slack, near Huddersfield) | ||||||||||
| Common languages | Cumbric | ||||||||||
| Religion | Celtic Christianity | ||||||||||
| Government | Monarchy | ||||||||||
| King | |||||||||||
• fl. 580 | Gwallog ap Llaennog | ||||||||||
• fl. before 616 | Ceretic of Elmet | ||||||||||
| Historical era | Early Middle Ages | ||||||||||
• Established | circa 4th century | ||||||||||
• Initially Conquered | 616 | ||||||||||
• Yorkshire GenocideHarrying of the North | Winter of 1069-1070 | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Elmet (Welsh:Elfed), sometimesElmed orElmete, was aBrythonic kingdom thought to have been an independent polity between the 4th century and sometime after the mid-7th century as part of theHen Ogledd.
The people of Elmet survived as a distinctly recognised group for centuries after it was absorbed into Yorkshire in what later became the smaller area of theWest Riding of Yorkshire, and nowWest Yorkshire,South Yorkshire and northDerbyshire.[1]
The northern and western borders of the kingdom remain unclear. However, it is known that its eastern edge was defended extensively by the ancient woodland of Elmet, earthwork defences (such as those found atRoman Rig and theAberford Dykes) and finally a heavily waterlogged area before the kingdom's eastern boundary at theRiver Wharfe. Its southern boundary is thought to have been similarly demarcated by theRiver Sheaf.[2]
To the north it adjoined the kingdom ofDeira andMercia to the south, while its western boundary appears to have been another British kingdom,Craven. As such, it was not conterminous with other territories of theBritons at the time, being well to the south of others in theHen Ogledd ("Old North"), such asStrathclyde, and north-east ofWales,Cornwall andDumnonia. As one of the south-easternmost Brittonic regions for which there is reasonably substantial evidence, Elmet is notable for having survived relatively late in the period ofAnglo-Saxon settlement of Britain.[3]
The term is used as an affix to place names betweenLeeds andSelby, includingBarwick in Elmet andSherburn in Elmet. It was thus used more widely in medieval times, for places in thewapentakes ofBarkston Ash andSkyrack, includingBurton Salmon,Sutton (east ofCastleford),Micklefield,Kirkby Wharfe,Saxton, andClifford.[4] In thetribal hidage, the extent of Elmet is described as 600hides; while a hide was a unit of value rather than area, 600 hides would probably have encompassed an area slightly larger than the combined total of the wapentakes of Barkston Ash and Skyrack. Hence scholars such asA. H. Smith concluded that those two wapentakes probably approximated to much of the area of the former Elmet.[4]
Elmet is attested mainly intoponymic and archaeological evidence; a reference to oneMadog Elfed in the medieval Welsh poemThe Gododdin and to aGwallog also operating somewhere in the region in one of theputatively early poems in theBook of Taliesin; and historical sources such as theHistoria Brittonum andBede.[5] One source, the Anglo-SaxonHistoria Brittonum states that Elmet was a kingdom, although it is the only source that says this directly. While Bede does not specifically describe Elmet as a kingdom, but rather assilva Elmete the "forest of Elmet", it is clear from his discussion that it was a distinct polity, with its own monarchs. The name 'Elfed/Elmet' isBrythonic in origin and is also found inElfed, the name of acantref inDyfed, Wales.[4]
From this evidence it appears that Elmet was one of a number ofSub-Roman Brittonic realms in theHen Ogledd – what is now northern England and southern Scotland – during the Early Middle Ages. Other kingdoms includedRheged, theKingdom of Strathclyde (Ystrad Clud),Bryneich andGododdin. It is unclear how Elmet came to be established, though it has been suggested that it may have been created from a larger kingdom ruled by the semi-legendaryCoel Hen. The historianAlex Woolf suggests that the region of Elmet had a distinct tribal identity in pre-Roman times and that this re-emerged after Roman rule collapsed.
Towards the end of the 6th century, Elmet came under increasing pressure from the expanding Anglo-Saxon kingdoms ofDeira andMercia. Forces from Elmet joined the alliance in 590 against theAngles ofBernicia who had been making massive inroads further to the north. During this war it is thought Elmet's kingGwallog was killed. The northern alliance collapsed afterUrien of Rheged was murdered and a feud broke out between two of its key members.
After the unification of the Anglian Kingdom of Northumbria, KingEdwin of Northumbria led an invasion of Elmet, and overran it in 616 or 617. Bede'sEcclesiastical History of the English People says that a Northumbrian noble,Hereric (father ofHilda of Whitby), an exiled member of the Northumbrian royal house, was killed with poison while living at the court of KingCeretic of Elmet. It has been suggested that this was either thecasus belli for the invasion, if Hereric was poisoned by his hosts, or a pretext for a Northumbrian annexation of Elmet, if Edwin himself had Hereric poisoned. TheHistoria Brittonum says that Edwin "occupied Elmet and expelled Certic [sic], king of that country". It is generally presumed that Ceretic was the same person known in Welsh sources asCeredig ap Gwallog, king of Elmet. A number of ancestors of Ceretic are recorded inWelsh sources: one ofTaliesin's poems is for his father,Gwallog ap Lleenog, who may have ruled Elmet near the end of the 6th century. Bede mentions that "subsequent kings made a house for themselves in the district, which is calledLoidis".
However some sources do indicate that Elmet was actually peacefully annexed by Northumbria and that there was no direct military confrontation.[6]
After the annexation of Elmet, the realm was incorporated into Northumbria onEaster in 627.[6] Its people were known subsequently as theElmetsæte. They are recorded in the late 7th centuryTribal Hidage as the inhabitants of a minor territory of 600hides. They were the most northerly group recorded in theTribal Hidage. Probably continuing as a distinct Brittonic Celtic tribe throughout most of the Anglo-Saxon period, the tribe may have colluded withCadwallon ap Cadfan ofGwynedd when he invaded Northumbria and briefly held the area in 633.
A major battle between Northumbria and Mercia, theBattle of the Winwaed took place in the area in 655, according to Bede, somewhere in the region ofLoidis.
TheLife of Cathróe of Metz mentionsLoidam Civitatem as the boundary between theNorsemen ofScandinavian York and theCeltic Britons of the Kingdom ofYstrad Clud (Strathclyde). This is thought to suggest that the Kingdom of Elmet may have either regained independence soon after Northumbria's original annexation of it (Bede makes note of the fracturing of Northumbria after Edwin's death) or later up to the time.[7][8][9]
Interestingly; as late as 1315, a Florentine bill of sale (wool) records:
The distinction between Leeds and Elmet in the bill is unexplained.[10][11][12]
According to a genetic study published inNature (19 March 2015), the local population of West Yorkshire is genetically distinct from the rest of the population of Yorkshire.[13] The 2015 Oxford University study compared the current genetic distribution in Britain to the geographical maps of its historic kingdoms, and found that the distinct genetic cluster closely corresponds to Elmet’s known territories.[14]
Around 1865, a Pillar stone with a 5th- or early 6th-century inscription was found at St Aelhaearn's Church,Llanaelhaearn inGwynedd. TheLatin inscription reads "ALIOTVS ELMETIACOS/HIC IACET", or "Aliotus the Elmetian lies here". It is believed that this refers to an otherwise unattested Aliotus from the Kingdom of Elmet who may have been active in the area before SaintAelhaiarn founded his church.[15][16]
The name survives throughout the area in place names such asBarwick-in-Elmet andSherburn in Elmet. A localparliamentary constituency was also calledElmet and Rothwell.
The area to the westernCalder Valley side of Elmet is the subject of a 1979 book combining photography and poetry, theRemains of Elmet byTed Hughes andFay Godwin.[17][18] The book was republished byFaber & Faber in 1994 asElmet, with a third of the book being new poems and photographs.[citation needed]
A novel byFiona Mozley calledElmet was shortlisted for the 2017 Booker Prize.[19]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)| Ceremonial counties | |
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