IMC 2007: Sessions
Session 630: Looking for Loidis: Leeds before Leeds
Tuesday 10 July 2007, 13.00-14.00
| Sponsor: | Celebrate Leeds 2007 |
|---|---|
| Moderator/Chair: | Ian N. Wood, School of History, University of Leeds |
| Speaker: | Richard Morris, Institute for Medieval Studies, University of Leeds / School of Music, Humanities & Media, University of Huddersfield |
| Abstract | Leeds's story as a town is usually traced back to the early 13th century (the period of the town's charter) and as a place to the 11th, when Leeds appears in Domesday. However, there are signs that a locality bearing a related name had existed for centuries. In the early 8th century, Bede wrote of an area known as Loidis, whilst near the modern city lies a group of medieval places with the element Led– suggestively embedded in their names. In this talk, Richard Morris explores signs that Loidis was already ancient by the time that Bede wrote about it, and pieces together indications of its significance. |