"This Manor hath an especial addition of Elmett, why so called we could not be sure." Thus recorded representatives of the City of London, on undertaking a survey in the autumn of 1628. Nearly a thousand years earlier, they would have encountered the local 'Elmed Saetna', the Elmet dwellers, a name applied to the former inhabitants of the ancient Kingdom of Elmet. Elmet was one of a number of small independent kingdoms to emerge at the end of the Roman period. Embracing the present West Riding of Yorkshire, the region, at the height of its powers, is believed to have extended from the headwaters of the Humber, across to the Pennine foothills in the west, with its southern border reaching to the banks of the River Sheaf (Sheaf meaning boundary and from which Sheffield derives its name) and the River Don. High Melton-in-Elmet (see later) lay just north of the River Don. The short lived British kingdom of Dunoting (Craven) is believed to have formed the north-western boundary of Elmet. [Elmet may have come as far south as the River Don which is the most probable southern boundary of Northumbria (after the amalgamation of Deira, and the conquest of Elmet). In that context, the line of Grimes or Grim's Dyke can be traced to the iron age fort at Winkobank or the nearby Roman fort at Templeborough Rotherham on the river Don. John Warburton's map of 1720 shows this as a Roman Road and the 1854 Ordnance Survey shows the line of the dyke north of Woodlesford as a Roman Road running along Street Lane. [At its greatest extent Northumbria may have reached to Whitwell Gap west of Worksop. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in 942 tells of King Edmund overcoming Mercia as far as Whitwell Gap, Dore (near Sheffield) and the river Humber. From the low hills near Whitwell Gap it is possible to see Dore on the high land to the northwest, and the hills that overlook the Humber to the northeast. This would make a good visual boundary between Mercia and Northumbria. The village of Wales a few miles south of the river Don close to Morthen shows that the British Celts were present in that area for many years - RW.] Evidence of the one-time kingdom is relatively sparse, typical of Dark Age history, basically deriving from interpretation of literary sources, place names and the limited archaeological findings. Original literary knowledge of the period has been gleaned from the writings of Gildas (a British monk), Nennius (a British scholar to whom the 'Historia Brittonum' - the History of the Britons - is attributed), and poems of the British bards such as Taliesin and Aneirin, a king and court poet, together with the writings of the Venerable Bede of Jarrow (AD673-735). The period was one of migration, settlement and the eventual colonisation by the English speaking Anglo-Saxons of Germanic origin; one of the outcomes of which was the renaming of the country to 'England - Land of the Angles'. One scribe describes the events of those times: "The rivers united in the estuary of the Humber led like open highways into the heart of Britain, and it was by this inlet that the great mass of invaders penetrated into the interior of the island. Those warriors who had entered the Humber turned southwards by the Forest of Elmet which covered the district around Leeds." In the sixth century, the Anglo-Saxons occupying territory to the east of Elmet (the East Riding) formed the kingdom of Deira, those to the north Bernicia, whilst the Angles of Mercia lay in the south and Midlands. Elmet was then, for some time, at the forefront of British territory, forming a bridgehead separating Angles of the Midlands from those occupying the Plain of York. It is claimed that the westward expansion of the English was long delayed by the Britons of Elmet, and it was not until the early part of the seventh century that the Angles were able to continue their westward migration to settle in the valleys of the Aire and Wharfe. For a period Elmet was sufficiently powerful to withstand Anglian pressure, whether from Deira, Bernicia or Mercia. The poet Taliesin writes in praise of a number of British rulers, including Guallauc, named as a judge (or ruler) over Elmet, "A skilled warrior, allied with other British kings in the north against the English". Said to be beloved by his retinue, "He inspired terror from Dumbarton [Alt Clut] to the borders of mid-Wales and, according to Taliesin, also vexed the inhabitants of York". About AD 600, a warband of some 300 (or 363 - references quote both figures) nobles and warriors, plus foot soldiers, including a certain Madog of Elmet, and drawn from numerous British regions, assembled at Edinburgh (region of Gododdin). This force attempted to recapture Catterick, and thereby prevent the merger of the English kingdoms of Bernicia and Deira. The disastrous defeat of the British, who were annihilated in the encounter, by the larger heathen force, is lamented in 'the Gododdin', an elegy composed by the poet Aneirin. Thereafter, with its military power considerably weakened, Elmet became isolated and more vulnerable; its fate virtually sealed when the Angles of Deira and Bernicia united to form the powerful kingdom of Northumbria, which extended its influence across the Pennines. The eventual demise of the Kingdom of Elmet is recorded by Nennius: "Edwin, (ruler of Northumbria) . . . reigned for seventeen years and he occupied Elmet and expelled Ceretic (son of Guallauc), the king of this region". A factor contributing to Elmet's downfall is attributed to a feud between the king, Ceretic, and the Northumbrian ruler Edwin. Edwin's nephew, Hereric, having been driven into exile is alleged to have died of poisoning while taking refuge within the kingdom of Elmet. Whether the annexation of Elmet was motivated by revenge and/or territorial gain, its existence as an independent kingdom ceased in AD 617. Edwin, baptised by Paulinus (an emissary of Rome and a prominent British ecclesiastic) at York on Easter Day in AD 627, became the first Christian King of Northumbria. He was later killed at the Battle of Hatfield Chase, against the Mercian ruler, Penda, in AD 633. Thereafter it is recorded that "Penda took over Edwin's lands and reigned there for some twenty years". A struggle for supremacy ensued between the Mercian king, Penda, and the ruler of Northumbria, which ended when Penda was decisively beaten by Oswiu at the Battle of Winwaed in AD 654 (see 'The Barwicker' No.1). According to Bede - "King Oswiu brought the campaign to a close in the 'regio Loidis' in the thirteenth year of his reign". Elmet's eventual decline in regional importance has been assessed from the contents of a seventh century document, 'The Tribal Hidage', attributed to the Mercian ruler Offa. This provides a list of folk-groups or tribes incorporated in the Mercian kingdom; each group being assessed for payment of dues or taxation, at a round number of hides, a primitive form of land division. The group occupying the former Celtic kingdom of Elmet - the Elmed Saetna, the Elmet dwellers - was rated at 600 hides, being placed with 'the Peak Dwellers' with 1200 hides and 'the men of Lindsey-with-Hatfield' with 7000 hides. It has been estimated that at the time of the assessment, Elmet was much reduced from its former regional extent and had also become subject to Mercian rule, as a result of that kingdom's increased supremacy. That Elmet continued to be recognised as a region long after AD 617, is confirmed by entries contained in a directory written in Italian text, in circa 1315. This document located in one of the Florentine libraries, deals with the English wool trade, in particular that aspect concerning monasteries and Yorkshire abbeys, an undertaking of national importance. A list of towns and regions is recorded presumably markets, through which wool surplus to the needs of the abbey and monasteries are traded. The list includes: d'Elmetta (Elmet) 11 marks per sack
Di Ledesia (Leeds) 12½ marks per sack
di Tresche (Thirsk) 10½ marks per sack
de Vervicche (York) 10½ marks per sack. A mark was nominally 13s.4d. and a sack was a unit of weight equalling 26 stone or 364 lbs of wool. Some features of Elmet will now be considered in more detail. 1 Loidis and Campodonum The regional name of Loidis is preserved in the place name 'Leeds' and forms an element in the names of Ledston (tun - a settlement in Loidis), Ledsham (ham - a homestead in Loidis) and possibly Lead. Loidis as a region is believed at one period to have formed an administrative sub-division of Elmet, comparable in area to the combined wapentakes of Skyrack and Barkston Ash. The term 'wapentake' (of Scandinavian origin) was used in the north as referring to an administrative or regional unit. Bede on writing of Paulinus' activities, states: ". . . in Campodonum, where there was then a villa regia, he (Paulinus) built a church which was afterwards burnt down, together with the whole of the buildings, by the heathens who slew King Edwin. In its stead, later kings built a dwelling for themselves in the region known as Loidis. The altar escaped from the fire, because it was of stone, and is still preserved in the monastery of the most reverend abbot and priest Thrythwulf, which is in the forest of Elmet". In this account Campodonum is named as the site of a church built by Paulinus and of a villa regia, probably established by Edwin. These buildings were burnt down by Penda of Mercia (described by one scribe as a 'convinced pagan') after his defeat of Edwin in AD 633. The whereabouts of Campodonum and Thrythwulf's monastery has been the subject of much scholarly debate. There is evidence to suggest that Campodonum could have been located in or near Leeds. The disposition of Grim's Ditch earthworks (see section 3) a possible Anglo-Saxon burial and the application of the district name 'Loidis' to Leeds as a place name, all tend to indicate that the place was occupied, and of some importance in the seventh century, and so would seem the best candidate for the site of Paulinus' church and Edwin's villa regia of Campodonum. If however Leeds is considered to have been one of the major centres of Elmet, the possibility of uncovering archaeological evidence is now remote. 2 The Importance of Water/Holy Wells The Celts observed the practice of regarding water and in particular wells, (believed to give access to the underworld) as having sacred qualities. With the conversion to Christianity, the pagan deities to whom the wells were dedicated were 'converted' to Holy Wells and replaced by a Christian saint - St Helen and Our Lady, being popular names. St Helen's Well at Thorp Arch, for example continued to be venerated until recent times. Others included Lady Well Close, Roundhay, and Holywell, Shadwell. [There is a St Helen's well at Monk Bretton near Barnsley, and ruins of a St Helens Chapel or Chantry at Barnborough east of Barnsley. Close by there is a Ludwell Hill, probably relating to the Celtic deity Lud. There is a Lady Well mentioned at Brierley in my on line Booklet 'Brereley a History of Brierley - RW.] |