After the Romans left Britain around AD 410, they took their soldiers and governance with them, leaving the country without central control. In the north of England, the Celtic peoples who had lived there before the Romans, including the Brigantes, began to reclaim their land. In what is now West Yorkshire, a small British kingdom called Elmet emerged. This kingdom lasted for around 200 years and was one of the last places in England to remain under Celtic rule. 

The people of Elmet were descended from local tribes and had their own identity, language and customs. Elmet’s territory covered much of modern West Yorkshire, with its centre around Loidis, the area now known as Leeds. It stretched from Ilkley in the west, down to Sheffield in the south, and eastwards towards the River Humber. The people were Christian and lived in farming villages, continuing many Roman-era traditions while also returning to older tribal ways of life. 

What’s in a name? 

This period in history is often called the Dark Ages, but many historians today dispute the use of this term as it suggested a time of cultural decline, chaos, and stagnation. 

“The island of Britain has become a desert, abandoned by its leaders and forsaken by God, overwhelmed by sin and vice; the fortress of the enemy has been broken, the city is in ruins, and the devil reigns in the land.” De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae, (c. 540 AD), Gildas. Gildas the Wise was a British monk and historian and his text was one of the earliest written sources about post-Roman Britain.   

However, modern research has shown that life during this period was more dynamic than previously thought. Archaeological discoveries reveal that communities continued to farm, trade, and develop their own cultures and technologies. It was a period of relative prosperity, but without much written or archaeological evidence. Although large towns had declined, local communities remained strong. Because of this, many scholars prefer terms like "Early Medieval Period”. 

From the 500s onwards, new settlers from Europe, sometimes known as the Anglo-Saxons, began moving into England. These people gradually expanded their territory and by the early 600s the powerful kingdom of Northumbria invaded and took control of Elmet. Even though the kingdom ended, many local people remained and over time their culture mixed with the new ways.