Jorvik (York) - Introductory page

 York (to give the city its modern name) has for many centuries been an important place in the history and geography of England. Romans, Angles, Vikings and Normans all used York as a capital for governing and keeping military control over a large part of northern England. It also became an important religious centre.

To the Romans it was Eboracum. It is said that this name comes from the Celtic personal name, Eburos. For almost four hundred years the Romans kept a strong military presence in Eboracum, to help control the Celtic British tribes(especially the restless Brigantes to the west) and to provide reinforcements for Hadrian's Wall to the north. The Romans built the first stone walls around Eboracum, so it could be defended.

When the area was invaded and settled by the Angles, from the 5th Century onwards, it is said that they mistook 'ebor' for 'eofor', which in Old English meant 'wild boar'. To this they added the Old English 'wic', giving the name Eoforwic. Eoforwic became the capital of the Anglian kings of Northumbria and, when the Anglo-Saxons were eventually converted to Christianity, it also became a centre for the new religion.

Jorvik - the centre of Scandinavian power in England

Eoforwic fell to Scandinavian invaders in AD 866. The first part of the name was simplified to 'jor', perhaps a result of the Old English and Scandinavian languages being combined. The veterans of the Viking Great Army settled, "....proceeded to plough and support themselves", and mixed with the local population through marriage. The Old English 'wic' became the Scandinavian 'vik' and the settlement's new name, Jorvik, emerged. The Vikings, like the Romans and Angles before them, appreciated the importance of Jorvik's location for control of the region. It became the capital of a Viking kingdom within The Danelaw, a kingdom which more or less extended over what became known as Yorkshire. It was the Vikings who divided 'Jorvikskyr' (Yorkshire) into three administrative parts 'thridjungr'. Under Scandinavian rule, Jorvik developed further as an important trading centre..

From the mid-ninth century to the mid-tenth century, control of York was contested amongst a succession of Viking, Hiberno-Scandinavian and English rulers.