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Unique names of cities/town/villages in Poland [58]
@ Gumishu
Yups:)
Im on the border of Danelaw myself. In fact,the area I live in has always been border country so we have a fascinating mix of place name origins
Doncaster started as a tiny settlement at a crossing point of the Don,the Romans arrived and named the settlement Dano,the Fort their Danum or Caer Danum, anglo saxons named it Don caister which became Doncaster.
Just down the road from me, about 3 miles away in fact is a place called Slay Pits lane running near Ancient Lane,now, the reason why Slay Pits lane,and the the fields around it are called the Slay pits is quite simple ;
The Battle of Hatfield Chase (O.E. Haethfelth) was fought on October 12, 633 at Hatfield Chase near Doncaster, Yorkshire, in Anglo-Saxon England between the Northumbrians under Edwin and an alliance of the Welsh of Gwynedd under Cadwallon ap Cadfan and the Mercians under Penda. The site was a marshy area about 8 miles NE of Doncaster on the south bank of the River Don. It was a decisive victory for the Welsh and Mercians: Edwin was killed and his army was defeated, leading to the temporary collapse of the Northumbrian state.
After the battle was over the enemy turned on the village, murdering everyone they could find. The church, the palace and all the houses were looted after which they were set on fire and burnt down. Only the stone altar of the church survived.
More than 10,000 bodies, including King Edwin and Prince Osfrid, were left. The King’s head was cut off and sent to York for burial in St Peter’s Church.
The only reminder of this momentous event is the name Slay Pits Lane, reputed to have been the resting place of all those who perished in the Battle of Hatfield.
Bit grim,but around here isn a bit like living in Sunnydale,if the brutaly killed all rose up on one night we would have one hell of a population problem :)
