Also, right on the old border between Yorkshire and
Cheshire [now the border between Derbyshire and
Cheshire] is Britland Edge Hill (Brettelond in 1337;
from ‘Brettas’ + ‘land’ + ‘ecg’, “the land of the
Britons” according to PNChesh). Although whether
Britland Edge originally referred to the
then-still-Celtic old boundary of Elmet from the
viewpoint of a Mercian Longdendale or whether, once
Elmet was taken over by Northumbria in the early 7th
C. the 'British land' was that still to the west in
what is now NE Cheshire / NW Derbyshire / SE Lancs is
something I'd be interested to hear about if anyone
has any good ideas....?
Cheers
Paul
(hence why it became the western
border of Yorkshire)???? According to the PNs
evidence, an Anglian take-over of the late sixth or
early seventh century has been proposed for NW Derbs
(and NE Chesh???). If so, Elmet would still have been
a British kingdom, hence Brettelond Ecg? have I gone
off the rails here??? Britons perhaps, but not to my
mind Elmet, which
was east of Leeds.
--- Keith Briggs <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> In his article on Carburton (Celtic Voices p150),
> Richard Coates worries about the English word
> "Britain"
> occurring in names of features in Celtic areas
> (Dumbarton etc.). Perhaps it is relevant to
> consider here
> Bryn Britain in Beaumaris, a hill-fort which is
> possibly a native predecessor of the Norman castle.
> It
> was "Britons Hill" on Speed's map (c. 1600). So an
> English name seems to have been partly translated
> into Welsh. But it is suspicious that nearby is
> Britons mills. Perhaps a Norman carrying the name
> Breton is involved here?
>
> Keith
>
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