york00orns

4 VORK.
beautiful and romantic vale in the world, the vale of
Normandy excepted." And full three centuries ago
Cuthbert Tunstall, the learned Bishop of Durham,
with a Yorkshireman's pride, directed the attention
of Henry Vlll. to this portion of his dominions as
being " one of the greatest and richest valleys that
ever he found in all his travels through Europe, and
moved the king to look about him and behould the
great mountains and great hills on the east side of
the said valley, being called York wolds and Blackamore
; and upon the west hand the high fells of
Craven; and all within the county of York.' ' On the
north eastern side of the \ale rise the Hambleton
hills, near Thirsk, with the Cleveland hills beyond,
the peak of Roseberry Topping rising conspicuously
amongst them. To the south-east He the Yorkshire
wolds, an undulating range of lower elevation, stretching
along the coast line,
looking down upon the flats
of Holderness, and gradually rising as they approach
the north-eastern angle of the county.
The appearance which the country presented in
pre-Roman times, and the manner in which its
population was distributed, is, to a great extent,
matter of conjecture. But there can be little doubt
that what was afterwards the Roman Eboracum was
then the chief city of the Brigantes, known, in all
probability, by the name of Ebrauc. Its site possessed
many advantages, marking it out as suitable
for the chief settlement of a people whose territory
extended widely on all sides. It possessed a navig-
'
'•Observations by Vavasour of Hazelwood." Hearne's
Edilion of Leland's Collectanea, vi. p. 302.