Re: CHAT : Origin of the name "Northumbria"

At 21:24 27/11/2004, you wrote:
>I ended up in a discussion of this on a gaming forum, arguing it's the kind of
>name one'd expect to be given by othersiders rather than a self-assumed one;
>for the Northumbrians themselves, living north of the Humber probably did not
>seem like the most noteworthy thing about them.
>
>Is it known where the name originates?
>
>
Possibly (but obviously not in that form) from Rome!  I know the original
plan when Gregory sent Augustine was that there were to be 12 Southumbrian
dioceses (the chief at London) and 12 Northumbrian ones (centred at
York).  The plan almost worked in the south (though the political climate
was more favourable in Kent, so Canterbury became the centre instead of
London, but Northumbria (which I imagine was to include all of Scotland)
never got there.

But then again, the fact that this plan existed suggests that the
Northumbria/Southumbria split was already in use.

Ian

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