Page:Origin of the Anglo-Saxon Race.djvu/329

Rh that of people of the same race or races as the people of Kent, who are said to have formed settlements on the north-eastern coast under their Kings Octa and Ebissa in the fifth century. There certainly were early settlements made by the Angles, and later ones by the Danes and Norwegians. That of the Norse in the north of Cumberland was probably one of the latest, for the northern parts of Cumberland and Westmoreland were still occupied by the Celts, while their southern parts and the districts of Furness and Cartmel had passed to Teutonic settlers of some kind, using the word Teutonic in its widest sense as including Scandinavians. The name Ulpha in the valley of the Duddon, and another Ulpha in Cartmel, near the mouth of the river Kent, appear to be of Gothic origin. Ulph is a Gothic word, and appears in the name of Ulphilas, the Bishop who translated the Gospels into Mœso-Gothic. The customs of Kendal also point to Goths among its early settlers, and as there were Goths in Kent, and they were skilled in navigation, there appears nothing improbable in a Kentish migration, which would account for the ancient name of Kentmere. Kendal is the name of the most extensive parish in Westmoreland, comprising twenty-four townships or constable wicks, among which are Kentmere and Helsington. This name Helsington in a district where there is other evidence of the settlement of Goths may be considered in connection with the Helsings, the name of the people of Helsingja-land in Sweden. The manorial tenants of Kendal held their lands by military obligation and on payment of certain rents, but, like the ancient Visigoths, they were not liable to distraint for the recovery of them. Partible inheritance cannot be proved to have been the custom at Kendal, but in the will of Henri Fissher of that place, dated November 5, 1578, we appear to have a trace of it. He says: ‘Mye