Home Blog History


Nennius and Arthur's Battles Revisited: A Map of The Old North

01 May 2023

Nennius and Arthur's Battles Revisited: A Map of The Old North

Earlier, I wrote a first cut of a possible solution to Nennius' battles of Arthur. Here, I update that blog, correcting a mistake and firming up the reasoning, but it still places Rheged in the North between the Don and the Tyne.

Read more

All our articles

The Lordship Of Elmet In West Yorkshire

23 February 2023

The Lordship Of Elmet In West Yorkshire

Ted Hughes writes of Elmet as a post-industrial, West Yorkshire landscape, but in the sixth century Elmet was a small, British region allied to Rheged and fighting the invading Anglo-Saxons. Here we bring back some of that glory.

Read more
Summary: A History Of Y Hen Ogledd

22 February 2023

Summary: A History Of Y Hen Ogledd

A very rough and speculative summary of the history of the Old North, covering 540s - 660s.

Read more
Summary: Geography Of The Old North

22 February 2023

Summary: Geography Of The Old North

Summary of the suggested place names for the poems of Taliesin, Aneirin and Nennius' battles of Arthur, giving new settings for Rheged and Goddeu.

Read more
King Arthur Was A Northerner - Of Course He Was!

21 February 2023

King Arthur Was A Northerner - Of Course He Was!

Having already gone where only fools fear to tread, I have read Nennius' accounts of the battles of Arthur and have managed to unpick the secret in the text. Really, I have.

Read more
Yorkshire Really Is God’s Own Country

21 February 2023

Yorkshire Really Is God’s Own Country

Aneirin's lament for the fallen soldiers at the battle of Catraeth rings through the ages. Based on my previous blog, I analyse the poems in the new geographic landscape to explain where I think Gododdin really is to be found.

Read more
The Mystery Of The Lost Kingdom of Rheged

20 February 2023

The Mystery Of The Lost Kingdom of Rheged

Reading Taliesin's Heroic Poems unlocked a new way of seeing the space around here. Through them, I have come up with a possible landscape for the Old North, Rheged and the realm where Urien lived in the sixth and seventh centuries.

Read more
The First British Poem About Trees – ‘The Battle of the Trees’

20 February 2023

The First British Poem About Trees – ‘The Battle of the Trees’

'The Battle of the Trees' is an old Welsh poem that is about a magical battle where the magician, Gwydion, brings trees to life to help the Britons beat the Picts. This is my take on the poem.

Read more
Boroughbridge Celebrates the 700th Year Anniversary of the Battle of Boroughbridge

21 March 2022

Boroughbridge Celebrates the 700th Year Anniversary of the Battle of Boroughbridge

700 years ago there was a battle fought at Boroughbridge and we've just celebrated its anniversary. It was the first time that the longbow was used in battle, 24 years before the decisive English victory at Crecy.

Read more
Looking back over the past 10 years ... part 1

26 March 2014

Looking back over the past 10 years ... part 1

Steenbergs began life in the late autumn of 2003. Our youngest child had just had her first birthday and wasn't walking on her own. Steenbergs has now been going for around 10 years (our 2 children are nearly taller than Sophie) so we thought it was...

Read more