Old English Place Names and the Early History of England

Script and on camera: Thijs Porck
Camera and editing: Thomas J. Vorisek

[Fairysnuff]

I’m 55 now, and have never been academic in the slightest… I struggle, and always have, with anything cerebral.. much to my surprise, this video came up in my YT recommendations and i was reminded of my interest (when I was about 14), in the language of the CAnterbury tales at school (thank you mr Mason for that… this amazing man made a class full of hideously behaved teenagers beg to be allowed to read ‘just one more’ chapter of a story that none of us would EVER have picked up left to our own devices )… your wonderful video is now going to lead me down a long and interesting rabbit hole of English language and place names
I might have no qualifications from school or beyond, but YT gives me the chance to learn now and I do SO enjoy it…
Subscribed !!

[jk-gnfu]

Please come back to us... We need you. Teach us more...

[starrcitizenalpha]

Ƿes þu hal!

That was a delightful and illuminating presentation.

We see many of the same names used here in Australia, although, of course, we don't have the same direct historical connection. It's still fascinating to learn of the origins of the names.

Iċ þancie þē.

Be well.

[FredPauling]

How does this channel not have more subscribers? Fascinating history, well presented.

[jonathanconnor]

My favourite English place name is Giggleswick. Which means goose farm in modern English.

[Sungawakan]

Norwich and Sandwich in my opinion are from Germanic wick - fence because the first parts nor(th) and sand are also of Germanic origin. Last but not least both the Germanic and the Latin word have the same Indo-European root.

[Anferocious]

Thanks for the videos about Old English! 3 years ago I started learning it with your videos and now I earn money making analyses of old English passages for the students of our linguistic university. Thanks again!

[neywen]

This is fascinating and brilliantly done. I could watch a hundred hours of this and not be bored at all. Greetings and many thanks.

[jonathanlong]

Is Leiden University acknowledged as a centre of excellence? I’m easily persuaded on the basis of these.

[milosit]

I understand my hometown of Bradford to be the site of a broad ford across a river or stream.

[leornendeealdenglisc]

Lovely video. I enjoyed this and a learned a lot!

[stumccabe]

This is not my subject, but I have heard it stated that the origin of the river names "Thames", "Tamar" and similar variations, is pre-Celtic.

[joshadams]

Strong video! I would broaden the analysis to Scotland, where cities like Dumfries and Edinburgh also have interest etymologies. On an unrelated note, a variant of the -ham suffix is also present in the French village name Bazinghen.

[joshuabradshaw]

I think it's important to mention place names that combine elements of Brittonic and Old English to demonstrate the coexistence of both peoples. For example, the words 'combe' (valley) and 'pen' (hill) are Brittonic in origin and used as suffixes and prefixes respectively and given to various place names in England. There was actually extensive contact between the two groups and they were not always adversaries. Many Celtic Britons continued to live in their ancestral lands while under Anglo Saxon rule. King Ine of Wessex ruled over an area that also included Kent in eastern England in the late 7th and early 8th centuries, and laws were made that reflected the social status of both groups that favored the Germanic peoples over the subjugated Celts. However it should be noted that some of the previous kings of Wessex (Cedric, Cynric, Cenwahl, Caedwalla) as well as Mercia (Penda, Pybba) had Celtic names, so it's likely they had knowledge of Brittonic while at the same time encouraging the adoption of Anglo Saxon culture and language amongst the lower classes of Britons. Notably the predeccesor of Ine, King Caedwalla, had a Celtic name and ruled in the late 7th century so it seems that Brittonic faded away slowly rather than rapidly.

[anibalcesarnishizk]

Superbly of research and hard work bring these results.So, Stanley would sound in German this way:Steinslage.

[xXxSkyViperxXx]

the northern saxons were more likely the saxons that settled in mercia and wherever north, but since they were spread out more, there was no single place to call a place that meant north saxon. those saxons in the north most likely just got assimilated to the english populations in those northern areas

[xXxSkyViperxXx]

why does the video keep on blurring the map at irregular intervals? it makes my eyes confused

[ajp]

Could you explain the large number of places in Sussex ending in ing

[davidhuber]

Would the Anglo-Saxonplace name ending -throp (as in Winthrop and Northrop?) be a variation of "thorp" = German

[LearnRunes]

While realising that it's popularly believed that the name of England comes from the Old English "Ængla land" (meaning, Angles' land), given what you say @4:15, and how in Scots England is spelt "Ingland", could an alternative etymology for England render the meaning of "the land of the people"?