Old English sǣte and the historical significance of 'folk'-names

Baker, John

Abstract

Old English sǣte names survive in documentary sources and place-names, and have been used in historical discourse as evidence for early and middle Anglo-Saxon socio-political organization. Earlier analyses, founded on incomplete datasets, have attempted to interpret the material in isolation from its onomastic context; this has led to confusion about the significance of such names. Here the analysis of sǣte names is based on a more complete corpus, leading to a radically new interpretation of their distribution, chronology and historical context, with significant implications for our understanding of the evolution of Anglo-Saxon administrative geography and the wider perception of so-called ‘folk’ names.

Citation

Baker, J. (2017). Old English sǣte and the historical significance of 'folk'-names. Early Medieval Europe, 25(4), 417-442. https://doi.org/10.1111/emed.12226

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Mar 4, 2016
• Publication Date: Oct 30, 2017
• Deposit Date: Apr 19, 2016
• Journal: Early Medieval Europe
• Print ISSN: 0963-9462
• Electronic ISSN: 1468-0254
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 25
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 417-442
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/emed.12226
• Keywords: Onomastics; Folk-names; Anglo-Saxon England; Early medieval
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/890820
• Publisher URL: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/emed.12226/abstract
• Additional Information: This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Baker, J. (2017) Old English s?te and the historical significance of ‘folk’ names. Early Medieval Europe, 25: 417–442. doi: 10.1111/emed.12226., which has been published in final form at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/emed.12226/abstract. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.