York is one of England's finest and most beautiful historic cities. The Romans knew it as Eboracum. To the Saxons it was Eoforwick. The Vikings, who came as invaders but stayed on in settlements, called it Jorvik.
When the Vikings settled in York, they clearly had trouble saying the Saxon name for the city: Eoforwic (which is thought to mean wild boar settlement), so decided to call it Jorvik (thought to mean wild boar creek).
No evidence has been found for a permanent native settlement in the heart of York prior to the Romans, so they would most likely have found before them little more than meadowland. Within a few generations they would have transformed unromantic countryside into the capital of the north.
Before the Roman invasion of Britain in 43 AD, the area that is now northern England was controlled by a confederation of tribes known as the Brigantes. In 71 AD the governor of Britain, Quintus Petillius Cerialis, sent the 9th Roman legion to invade Brigantes territory.
Eboracum, the Roman name for York, sounds exotic and Latinised to our ears, and on initial consideration, appears to have little in common with the city's modern-day name. But in fact, the name York is a direct descendent of the name Eboracum.
What is the UK's oldest city? As of Friday's announcement, Colchester has just become the UK's oldest city. The Essex destination, known as Camulodunum, was immortalisd as Britain's first recorded settlement by Pliny the Elder.
York is one of England's finest and most beautiful historic cities. The Romans knew it as Eboracum. To the Saxons it was Eoforwick. The Vikings, who came as invaders but stayed on in settlements, called it Jorvik.
Colchester: Oldest Recorded Settlement in England
Colchester in Essex, England, considers itself the oldest recorded settlement in England. It also served as England's first capital.
The Shambles as a term is used to describe a maze of narrow twisty lanes in the centre of York. At the heart of the Shambles is the actual lane called The Shambles and it is the best-preserved medieval street in England and the oldest street in Europe.
York — originally a Roman town, then conquered by Vikings — became wealthy in the Middle Ages because of its wool trade. Its Minster is England's largest Gothic church.
The River Ouse was crucial for transportation of men and supplies to the settlement from the North Sea. The chosen site also provided good possibilities for land access. The ridge on which York stands was used by the Romans as their main approach to the city and the two rivers afforded important defences.
As York was a town in Roman times, its Celtic name is recorded in Roman sources (as Eboracum and Eburacum); after 400, Angles took over the area and adapted the name by folk etymology to Old English Eoforwīc or Eoforīc, which means "wild-boar town" or "rich in wild-boar".
By the end of the century the Roman empire is on the point of collapse and soon after 400 AD the Roman Army is forced to abandon Britain; York is deserted as a military base.
York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire.
Viking Invasion!
In 866 different groups of Vikings formed a great army. They fought their way through England and finally came to York. They took over the Anglo-Saxon town and decided to stay there. The Vikings changed the name of the town from the Anglo-Saxon Eoforwic to 'Jorvik'.
Erik Bloodaxe
King Erik's nickname is one of the most memorable of the Viking age, and has helped to cement his reputation as a fearsome warrior. Erik was the last ruler of an independent Viking kingdom of York.
The name "Shambles" comes from the Saxon "Fleshammels", which means, "the street of the butchers", for it was here that York's butchers had their shops. Notice the wide window sills of the houses; the meat for sale was displayed here. Several former butcher shops still have hooks where meat was hung.
The Norman House is one of York's hidden treasures, standing in a secluded courtyard accessed through an archway from Stonegate. The house was built of freestone about 1180, and it is the oldest house in York of which any substantial remains still stand in place.
Stonegate follows the course of a Roman road through the city and Goodramgate is named after Guthrum, a Viking leader. Bootham Bar and York Minster from an old postcard. The Vikings interpreted Eoforwic, the Anglo-Saxon name for York as Jorvik (pronounced 'Yorvik').
Amesbury. Amesbury along with Stonehenge in Wiltshire is claimed to be Britain's oldest settlement, dating back to 8820 BC according to a project led by the University of Buckingham. The place is said to have been a transport point with the River Avon acting as a transit route.
Bradford is the 5th largest metropolitan authority in England with a growing population of 547,000. 25.7% of the population are aged under 18 compared with 20.8% nationally making Bradford the youngest city in the UK. Bradford has a diverse population with ethnic minorities making up 43% of the total population.
Founded around 8820 BC, Amesbury is one of the oldest historic towns in England to visit. Stonehenge is the most famous striking attraction in this charming town, but there are plenty of other places to explore, including Salisbury Cathedral, Stonehenge, Woodhenge, and English Heritage Old Sarum ancient settlement.
Scandinavian York, Viking York (Old Norse: Jórvík) is a term used by historians for, what is now, Yorkshire during the period of Scandinavian domination from late 9th century until it was annexed and integrated into England after the Norman Conquest; in particular, it is used to refer to York, the city controlled by ...
And York frequently found itself as a base for royal military operations against the Scots. In the summer of 1298 Edward I moved the two departments at the heart of government, the Chancery and Exchequer, to the city. They only returned to London in 1304. For those years, York was effectively the capital of England.
The name didn't even originate in England: Instead, it first appeared on the continent, where Latin writers used it to distinguish between the Germanic Saxons of mainland Europe and the English Saxons. The few uses of “Anglo-Saxon” in Old English seem to be borrowed from the Latin Angli Saxones.