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Yorkshire is a county of northern England and the largest in Great Britain.
It is widely considered to be the greenest area in England, due to both the vast rural countryside of the Yorkshire Dales, North York Moors and some of the major cities, this has led to Yorkshire being nicknamed God's Own County.
Early inhabitants of Yorkshire were the Celts, who came from two separate tribes, the Brigantes and the Parisii. The Brigantes, who probably came over from the Alps or Gallaecia. The Parisii were thought to have been related to the Parisii of Lutetia Parisiorum, Gaul. The Roman conquest of Britain began in 43 AD, however the Brigantes continued control of their kingdom as a client state of Rome for an extended period, reigned over by the Brigantian monarchs Cartimandua and her husband Venutius. Initially, this situation suited both the Romans and the Brigantes who were known as the most militant tribe in Britain. The Romans under general Petillius Cerialis conquered the Brigantes in 71 AD.
Under Roman rule, the fortified city of Eboracum, York, was named as capital of Britannia Inferior and joint-capital of all Roman Britain. For the two years before the death of Emperor Septimus Severus, the entire Roman Empire was run from Eboracum by him. A second Emperor Constantius Chlorus died in Yorkshire during a visit in 306 AD, this saw his son Constantine the Great proclaimed Emperor in the city; he would become renowned due to his contributions to Christianity. In the early 400s the Roman rule ceased with the withdrawal of the last active Roman troops, by this stage the Empire was in heavy decline. However, during the three and a half centuries of Roman rule in Yorkshire they had introduced much to help forward civilisation there, such as; sanitation, irrigation, education and more.
After the Romans left, small Celtic kingdoms built up in Yorkshire, the Kingdom of Ebrauc around York and the Kingdom of Elmet around West Yorkshire. The Elmet in particular managed to hold out with their Celtic kingdom against the invading Angles for a century and a half, ensuring that the Anglian kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria on either side developed separately. Eventually the Elmet succumbed and became part of the Anglian kingdom of Deira. An army of Danish Vikings invaded Northumbrian territory in 886 AD, with what was named by their enemies as the "Great Heathen Army". The Danes took York and renamed it as Jórvík, making it their new capital city of a kingdom under the same name; the area which they took as their kingdom was Southern Northumbria or Yorkshire. The Danes went on to conquer a large area of England which afterwards became known as the Danelaw, but whereas most of the Danelaw was still English land, albeit in submission to Viking overlords, it was in the Kingdom of Jórvík founded by Halfdan Ragnarsson, that the only truly Viking territory on mainland Britain was established. Although it was founded by Danes, the kingdom was passed onto Norwegian kings. Through the Vikings evolving trade, Jórvík was able to trade with the British Isles, North-West Europe, the Mediterranean and the Middle East. Eric Bloodaxe, was the last independent Viking king of Jórvík. After around 100 years of a Norse-Yorkshire kingdom, the Kingdom of Wessex gained control of Yorkshire and the North in general, placing Yorkshire within Northumbria again - which was now an almost-independent earldom, rather than a separate kingdom. The Wessex Kings of England were reputed to have respected the Norse customs in Yorkshire and left law-making in the hands of the local aristocracy.
In the weeks immediately leading up to the Battle of Hastings in 1066 AD, Harold II of England was distracted by events in Yorkshire; his brother Tostig and Harold Hardrada The King of Norway were attempting a take over bid in the North, they had already won the Battle of Fulford. The King of England marched North and the two armies met at the Battle of Stamford Bridge, Tostig and Hardrada were both killed and their army was defeated decisively. However, Harold Godwinson was forced immediately to march his army back down to the South where William the Conqueror was landing. The King was defeated at Hastings and this led to the Norman conquest of England. The people of the North rebelled again in September 1069 AD, this time against the Normans, enlisting Sweyn II of Denmark; they tried to take back York but the Normans burnt it before they could. What followed was the Harrying of the North ordered by William, from York to Durham all crops, domestic animals and farming tools were scorched. Many villages between the towns were burnt and many local Northerners were indiscriminantly murdered. During the winter that followed, whole families starved to death, thousands of peasants died of cold and hunger.
In the centuries following, many abbeys and priories were built in Yorkshire. The Norman landowners were keen to increase their revenues and established new towns such as Leeds, Hull, Sheffield, Scarborough and others. Of the towns founded before the conquest only York, Bridlington and Pocklington carried on at a prominent level. The population of Yorkshire was booming, until it like the rest of Britain was hit by the Great Famine in the years between 1315 and 1322. In the early 1300s the people of Yorkshire also had to contest with the Battle of the Standard at Northallerton with the Scots, representing the Kingdom of England led by Archbishop Thurstan of York soldiers from Yorkshire defeated the more numerous Scots. The Black Death reached Yorkshire by 1349, killing around a third of the entire population.
When King Richard II was overthrown, antagonism between the House of York and the House of Lancaster, both branches of the House of Plantagenet, began to emerge. Eventually the two houses fought in a series of civil wars for the throne of England, the wars are commonly known as the Wars of the Roses. After a long violent struggle, King Henry VI of the House of Lancaster was deposed and imprisoned on 4 March 1461 by his Yorkist cousin and new King of England, Edward IV. Eight years later hostilities resumed, Edward was forced into exile to Burgundy by Richard Neville and turncoat John Neville as Lancaster's Henry VI was reinstated. Edward would return though, landing in Ravenspurn he eventually went on to defeat the House of Lancaster, as Henry VI had no heirs, he was killed to strengthen Yorkist grip on the throne as Edward was restored as King of England. This was generally considered an end to the most significant hostilities, the rest of Edward's reign was peaceful. After Edward IV suddenly died and his 12 year old son Edward V was proclaimed as heir, a political storm erupted; a family named the Woodvilles had found themselves high up the political hierarchy and were in a position to influence the young Yorkist king. Frictions had developed between Edward IV and the Woodvilles, the family of his wife Elizabeth Woodville, before his death and so Edward IV's brother Richard III, put the young king in the Tower of London along with his younger brother, they became known as the Princes in the Tower. Richard III argued that Elizabeth Woodville's marriage to Edward IV was illegal and thus the two boys were illegitimate, Parliament agreed and Richard was crowned King of England; he would prove to be the last Yorkist king. Henry Tudor of the House of Lancaster, then defeated and killed Richard at the Battle of Bosworth Field, he then became King Henry VII and married Elizabeth of York daughter of Yorkist Edward IV, ending the wars. The two roses were combined to form the Tudor Rose. Henry VIII closed some monasteries and so 1536 saw the Pilgrimage of Grace rebellion. Due to the Protestant Reformation wider England became a Protestant country, however some of the Catholic contingent in Yorkshire continued to practice their religion and those caught were executed during the reign of Elizabeth I, such as York woman Margaret Clitherow who was later canonised.
Yorkshire was on divided sides during the English Civil War, which started in 1642 between king and parliament - Hull famously shut the gates of the city on the king when he came to enter the city a few months before fighting began. York was the base for Cavalier royalist supporters, from there the royals captured Leeds and Wakefield only to have them recaptured a few months later. The royalists won the Battle of Adwalton Moor meaning they controlled Yorkshire, with the exception of Hull. From their base in Hull the Roundhead parliamentarians fought back, town by town re-taking Yorkshire until they had won the Battle of Marston Moor and with it control of all North of England.
Early inhabitants of Yorkshire were the Celts, who came from two separate tribes, the Brigantes and the Parisii. The Brigantes, who probably came over from the Alps or Gallaecia. The Parisii were thought to have been related to the Parisii of Lutetia Parisiorum, Gaul. The Roman conquest of Britain began in 43 AD, however the Brigantes continued control of their kingdom as a client state of Rome for an extended period, reigned over by the Brigantian monarchs Cartimandua and her husband Venutius. Initially, this situation suited both the Romans and the Brigantes who were known as the most militant tribe in Britain. The Romans under general Petillius Cerialis conquered the Brigantes in 71 AD.
Under Roman rule, the fortified city of Eboracum, York, was named as capital of Britannia Inferior and joint-capital of all Roman Britain. For the two years before the death of Emperor Septimus Severus, the entire Roman Empire was run from Eboracum by him. A second Emperor Constantius Chlorus died in Yorkshire during a visit in 306 AD, this saw his son Constantine the Great proclaimed Emperor in the city; he would become renowned due to his contributions to Christianity. In the early 400s the Roman rule ceased with the withdrawal of the last active Roman troops, by this stage the Empire was in heavy decline. However, during the three and a half centuries of Roman rule in Yorkshire they had introduced much to help forward civilisation there, such as; sanitation, irrigation, education and more.
After the Romans left, small Celtic kingdoms built up in Yorkshire, the Kingdom of Ebrauc around York and the Kingdom of Elmet around West Yorkshire. The Elmet in particular managed to hold out with their Celtic kingdom against the invading Angles for a century and a half, ensuring that the Anglian kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria on either side developed separately. Eventually the Elmet succumbed and became part of the Anglian kingdom of Deira. An army of Danish Vikings invaded Northumbrian territory in 886 AD, with what was named by their enemies as the "Great Heathen Army". The Danes took York and renamed it as Jórvík, making it their new capital city of a kingdom under the same name; the area which they took as their kingdom was Southern Northumbria or Yorkshire. The Danes went on to conquer a large area of England which afterwards became known as the Danelaw, but whereas most of the Danelaw was still English land, albeit in submission to Viking overlords, it was in the Kingdom of Jórvík founded by Halfdan Ragnarsson, that the only truly Viking territory on mainland Britain was established. Although it was founded by Danes, the kingdom was passed onto Norwegian kings. Through the Vikings evolving trade, Jórvík was able to trade with the British Isles, North-West Europe, the Mediterranean and the Middle East. Eric Bloodaxe, was the last independent Viking king of Jórvík. After around 100 years of a Norse-Yorkshire kingdom, the Kingdom of Wessex gained control of Yorkshire and the North in general, placing Yorkshire within Northumbria again - which was now an almost-independent earldom, rather than a separate kingdom. The Wessex Kings of England were reputed to have respected the Norse customs in Yorkshire and left law-making in the hands of the local aristocracy.
In the weeks immediately leading up to the Battle of Hastings in 1066 AD, Harold II of England was distracted by events in Yorkshire; his brother Tostig and Harold Hardrada The King of Norway were attempting a take over bid in the North, they had already won the Battle of Fulford. The King of England marched North and the two armies met at the Battle of Stamford Bridge, Tostig and Hardrada were both killed and their army was defeated decisively. However, Harold Godwinson was forced immediately to march his army back down to the South where William the Conqueror was landing. The King was defeated at Hastings and this led to the Norman conquest of England. The people of the North rebelled again in September 1069 AD, this time against the Normans, enlisting Sweyn II of Denmark; they tried to take back York but the Normans burnt it before they could. What followed was the Harrying of the North ordered by William, from York to Durham all crops, domestic animals and farming tools were scorched. Many villages between the towns were burnt and many local Northerners were indiscriminantly murdered. During the winter that followed, whole families starved to death, thousands of peasants died of cold and hunger.
In the centuries following, many abbeys and priories were built in Yorkshire. The Norman landowners were keen to increase their revenues and established new towns such as Leeds, Hull, Sheffield, Scarborough and others. Of the towns founded before the conquest only York, Bridlington and Pocklington carried on at a prominent level. The population of Yorkshire was booming, until it like the rest of Britain was hit by the Great Famine in the years between 1315 and 1322. In the early 1300s the people of Yorkshire also had to contest with the Battle of the Standard at Northallerton with the Scots, representing the Kingdom of England led by Archbishop Thurstan of York soldiers from Yorkshire defeated the more numerous Scots. The Black Death reached Yorkshire by 1349, killing around a third of the entire population.
When King Richard II was overthrown, antagonism between the House of York and the House of Lancaster, both branches of the House of Plantagenet, began to emerge. Eventually the two houses fought in a series of civil wars for the throne of England, the wars are commonly known as the Wars of the Roses. After a long violent struggle, King Henry VI of the House of Lancaster was deposed and imprisoned on 4 March 1461 by his Yorkist cousin and new King of England, Edward IV. Eight years later hostilities resumed, Edward was forced into exile to Burgundy by Richard Neville and turncoat John Neville as Lancaster's Henry VI was reinstated. Edward would return though, landing in Ravenspurn he eventually went on to defeat the House of Lancaster, as Henry VI had no heirs, he was killed to strengthen Yorkist grip on the throne as Edward was restored as King of England. This was generally considered an end to the most significant hostilities, the rest of Edward's reign was peaceful. After Edward IV suddenly died and his 12 year old son Edward V was proclaimed as heir, a political storm erupted; a family named the Woodvilles had found themselves high up the political hierarchy and were in a position to influence the young Yorkist king. Frictions had developed between Edward IV and the Woodvilles, the family of his wife Elizabeth Woodville, before his death and so Edward IV's brother Richard III, put the young king in the Tower of London along with his younger brother, they became known as the Princes in the Tower. Richard III argued that Elizabeth Woodville's marriage to Edward IV was illegal and thus the two boys were illegitimate, Parliament agreed and Richard was crowned King of England; he would prove to be the last Yorkist king. Henry Tudor of the House of Lancaster, then defeated and killed Richard at the Battle of Bosworth Field, he then became King Henry VII and married Elizabeth of York daughter of Yorkist Edward IV, ending the wars. The two roses were combined to form the Tudor Rose. Henry VIII closed some monasteries and so 1536 saw the Pilgrimage of Grace rebellion. Due to the Protestant Reformation wider England became a Protestant country, however some of the Catholic contingent in Yorkshire continued to practice their religion and those caught were executed during the reign of Elizabeth I, such as York woman Margaret Clitherow who was later canonised.
Yorkshire was on divided sides during the English Civil War, which started in 1642 between king and parliament - Hull famously shut the gates of the city on the king when he came to enter the city a few months before fighting began. York was the base for Cavalier royalist supporters, from there the royals captured Leeds and Wakefield only to have them recaptured a few months later. The royalists won the Battle of Adwalton Moor meaning they controlled Yorkshire, with the exception of Hull. From their base in Hull the Roundhead parliamentarians fought back, town by town re-taking Yorkshire until they had won the Battle of Marston Moor and with it control of all North of England.