The Bilsæte ("dwellers of the ridge") were a tribe or clan in
Anglo-Saxon England living in an area surrounding a small ridge now occupied by the modern settlement of
Bilston
Bilston is a market town, ward, and civil parish located in Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. It is close to the borders of Sandwell and Walsall. The nearest towns are Darlaston, Wednesbury, and Willenhall. Historically in Staffordshi ...
in the
West Midlands
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...
of
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
.
A grant of land from
King Aethelred bestowing Wolverhampton on Lady
Wulfrun
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Wulfrun(a) (-) was an Anglo-Saxon (early English) noble woman of Mercia and a landowner who held estates in Staffordshire.
Today she is particularly remembered for her association with ''Hēatūn'', Anglo-Saxon for "high or principal ...
in 985 named the settlement as ''Bilsatena'', and a later
Anglo-Saxon charter of 996 calls the settlement ''Bilsetnatun''.
''Charter S 1380''
/ref> These names confirm the etymology (dwelling (''tun'') of the people (''saetna'') of the ridge (''bil''),[Johnston, James B. (1915) ''The Place-Names of England and Wales''. London: John Murray] and disproves the alternative and better known etymology for Bilston (''Billestun'').
References
Peoples of Anglo-Saxon Mercia
History of Wolverhampton
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