Hi Karl - I notice that the Deira and Pocklington articles on which you have worked both reference Pocklington as being the probable capital of Deira. I am currently tidying up and adding more information to the Pocklington article, being a resident of the town and interested in history. I was wondering - do you have a cite for Pocklington being the capital of Deira? I'm having a hard time finding any concrete info on it. Thanks
PocklingtonDan 13:49, 1 November 2006 (UTC)
Hi Dan,
Terribly sorry for not seeing this note earlier. I'm a bit slow sometimes!
Yes, I did see references that Pocklington "may" have been a "capital" for Edwin. I should have provided the references at the time, because they're hard to find again :(
My interest is that I'm an author writing a novel set in 6th/7th century Scotland and England. Much of the novel is about the interactions of the Æthelings and their refuge in Dalriada after Æthelfrith was defeated by Edwin and the River Idle in 616.
However, I first saw mention that Pocklington or Goodmanham (north of Market Weighton) may have been connected to Edwin in this article: http://www.northeastengland.talktalk.net/EastYorkshire.htm
That whetted my interest as I was hoping to provide some believable locations in my novel, and they're not always easy to come by for that period.
A bit of ferreting around and I found this article in the JSTOR network: http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0013-8266(195510)70%3A277%3C529%3AGATIAE%3E2.0.CO%3B2-1
Now, sadly, I no longer have a VPN client registration to access JSTOR material, so I can't take you to anything but the first page; but I'm certain this article also suggested that Pocklington may have been a centre of importance.
I'll be in the UK during May and June (2007) finishing my research on the subject and will certainly visit Pocklington during my rambles.
Sorry I can't remember any other references, and I hope this helps.
Karl.