Spaldingas facts for kids

The Spaldingas were an ancient tribe of people who lived in England a very long time ago. They were part of the Anglian people. The name "Spaldingas" means "dwellers of the Spald," which was the name of the area where they settled. This area was known as the Spalda. It was a place with many fens and marshes, located in what is now the South Holland part of Lincolnshire.

Who Were the Spaldingas?

The Spaldingas were an important group of people in early England. They helped shape the land and its history. They are famous for founding the town of Spalding. This town was first mentioned in a special document called a charter. King Æthelbald of Mercia gave this charter to the monks of Crowland Abbey in the year 716.

Where Did the Spaldingas Live?

The Spaldingas lived in a unique area of England. This area was full of fens and marshes. These are wetlands, which are areas of land covered by shallow water. Their home was in what we now call East Anglia. Besides the town of Spalding, they also gave their name to other places. These include Spalding Moor and the village of Spaldington in East Yorkshire.

What Does "Spalda" Mean?

The name "Spalda" is a bit of a mystery. A tribe living in "Spalda" is mentioned in an old document from the 7th century called the Tribal Hidage. This document listed different tribes and their lands.

One expert, Eilert Ekwall, thought the name "Spalda" was hard to understand. He wondered if the tribe brought this name with them from another country. The name might be linked to an old Anglo-Saxon word, spaldan, which means "to cleave" or "to split." This would make the meaning of "Spalda" something like "cleft" or "ravine." However, because there are no ravines in the flat fenland where they lived, this idea is just a guess.

Were the Spaldingas a Mixed Group?

Another idea about the Spaldingas comes from Caitlin Green. She suggested that the Spaldingas might have been a mix of different peoples. She thought they could have been part Anglo-Saxon and part Brittonic. The Brittonic people were the native Celtic people of Britain. This idea comes from looking at the names of places in their territory. Many of these names seem to be from the British Celtic language.

How Did the Spaldingas Govern Themselves?

The Spaldingas might have been quite independent for a long time. They may have kept their own way of governing their land. This was even true when their area was part of the Kingdom of Mercia. This independence might have lasted until the late 9th century.

The Danelaw and Stamford

Around the late 9th century, things changed. The town of Stamford became one of the Five Boroughs. The Danelaw was an area of England that was under Danish control. This meant that the Danes, who were Vikings, had a lot of power in this region. This change likely affected the Spaldingas and their independence.