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have a collection of names clearly indicating a location of a 
Saxon or Scandinavian race — names not selected at random, 
but those familiar to every student of Norse history — house- 
hold words in their Sagas and songs. 
First, we have a residence marked out of a Saxon king 
amongst us, and near by of the blood royal, and also the site 
of the district court established by the older and first Saxon 
settlers ; secondly, we find traces of the newer or later North- 
men, who fought and harried, and then settled in these 
districts in the later centuries before the Conquest. 
Now, as to the first point, that here was a royal residence : 
Coninges-burh — Coning, klng-es of burh, borough, or 
" King's borough," — " Conisbro " still retaining its ancient 
orthography, although the ferry has it altered into Kings 
ferry. Then we have the town of the " Blood Royal " — 
Edling-ton — Seling, or Etlieling, being Saxon for royal or 
noble in the Saxon alphabet, bear in mind, standing for 
th). 
"W r e would here mention how invariably the Saxon race 
shortened their words and elided the middle syllable. Two 
examples will be familiar to you all — Woden-es-day, or the 
day of Woden, into " Wednesday ; " St. Botolph's town into 
" Boston." 
Now, note the name " Mexbrough" — Mearcs-brough, how 
it tells of the ancient race and their customs. The Anglo- 
Saxon settlers called all lands held in common " Mearc " or 
" March." Kemble says, " Mearcs-burgh was the mount or 
hill where they held their courts, and they themselves, i.e., 
the freemen, were called Mearcs-men." (How the old title 
"Lords of the Marches," in our history of border warfare, 
perpetuates the name !) Mexbrough, no doubt, was one of 
such sites, or places of assembly, held in common by the 
mearcs-men or march-men of this district. 
But, again, other bands of Northmen enslaved, if they did 
