Category Archives: Place-Names

New work: a Roman milestone (and other old stones) in north-west Surrey?

Posted on December 31, 2022 by Robert J S Briggs

It’s the morning of New Year’s Eve and I had a real sense of déjà vu as I started to write this. Another year, another last gasp end-of-year blog post, like the frantic realisation of a pre-new year’s resolution. While … Continue reading →

Posted in Charters, Chertsey, Landscape, Old English, Place-Names, Pyrford, Topography, Woking, WPLongform | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

In the midst of everything, I gave a conference paper

Posted on June 6, 2021 by Robert J S Briggs

Before starting this post I checked back quickly on what I’d written in my previous one on New Year’s Day. Turns out full-of-hope-for-2021 Rob indicated that it was well within the realms of possibility to find the time “in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Conference, internet, Place-Names, SNSBI, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

New work: Kingston upon Thames revisited

Posted on August 5, 2018 by Robert J S Briggs

Nowadays, you’ll find me in Kingston upon Thames maybe four times a week as it’s my main place of work. However, save for a driving lesson in 2003 when I passed through but didn’t actually set foot in the town, … Continue reading →

Posted in Anglo-Saxon, Archaeology, Charters, Folklore, History, Landscape, Latin, Old English, Place-Names, Pottery, Ritual, Thames, Topography, Trade | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Leeds International Medieval Congress 2017: Part 1 – four days, 16 hours, 20 minutes

Posted on July 12, 2017 by Robert J S Briggs

Last week was largely taken up by attending what was my third Leeds International Medieval Congress (if we discount an accidentally-larcenous first experience of the IMC a decade back when I worked as one of the people who looks after a group … Continue reading →

Posted in Anglo-Saxon, Barrows, Charters, Conference, Landscape, Leeds, Old English, Place-Names, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

New work (in progress): Bassishaw and Basinghall

Posted on April 23, 2017 by Robert J S Briggs

A few weeks ago, I attended a seminar given by Prof. Andrew Reynolds (my primary thesis supervisor, if I haven’t mentioned that before) in which he revisited a paper on the Anglo-Saxon archaeology of the City of London first delivered at a conference … Continue reading →

Posted in Anglo-Saxon, Archaeology, Charters, Dating, History, London, Old English, Place-Names | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Is it a castle? Is it a causeway? Further adventures in historical field-names

Posted on April 3, 2017 by Robert J S Briggs

Everyone likes castles, right? They’re one of the things that make the medieval period what it is in many people’s eyes. Of course, not every castle looks like Bodiam (yes, that one that’s on the cover of pretty much EVERY … Continue reading →

Posted in Castle, Causeways, Field-names, Godalming, History, Landscape, Middle English, Place-Names, Surrey | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Not in my name or theirs: in defence and celebration of the diversity of what I study

Posted on February 27, 2017 by Robert J S Briggs

In my previous post, I attempted to underline that medieval studies nowadays finds itself in a position of having an unusually high level of political relevance. Not through any moves obviously engineered by academic medievalists, rather through the rise in Europe and the US … Continue reading →

Posted in Anglo-Saxon, Annals, Archaeology, Bede, Charters, Coins, Dating, History, Language, Latin, Literature, Old English, PhD, Place-Names, Politics, Twitter | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

On trying to be a better medievalist (and make the world a better place)

Posted on February 27, 2017 by Robert J S Briggs

I spent a large chunk of the first few weeks of the new year away from this blog working on a funding application for my PhD research. Consequently, of late, I have spent a lot of time thinking about what I study, … Continue reading →

Posted in Anglo-Saxon, Annals, Archaeology, History, internet, Language, Literature, News, Old English, PhD, Place-Names, Politics, Publishing, Soapbox, Twitter | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Another Surrey candidate site for the battle of Acleah?

Posted on December 31, 2016 by Robert J S Briggs

(I had intended to precede this post with one summing up 2016 in terms of this blog, my PhD research etc. Time, alas, is not on my side – I’m typing this preface with a glass of prosecco by my … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Anglo-Saxon, Annals, Field-names, History, Landscape, Old English, Place-Names, Surrey, Topography, Viking, Walking, Wessex | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Inexpertly handled (learning from 2016)

Posted on December 4, 2016 by Robert J S Briggs

Last weekend I was a bit-part player in a lengthy Twitter back-and-forth about a coin, culture, and the communication of complex concepts in no more than 140 characters at a time. In many ways it was a debate about nothing of any … Continue reading →

Posted in Coins, Language, Place-Names, Politics, Soapbox, Twitter | Tagged , , , , , , | 9 Comments