Elmet was an independent
Brittonic kingdom covering a region of what later became the
West Riding of Yorkshire in the
Early Middle Ages, between about the 5th century and early 7th century. Although its precise borders are unclear, it appears to have been bounded by the
River Sheaf in the south and the
River Wharfe in the east. It adjoined
Deira to the north and
Mercia to the south, and its western boundary appears to have been near
Craven, which was possibly a minor British kingdom. As such it was well to the east of other territories of the Britons in
Wales and the
West Country (
i.e. Cornwall and
Dumnonia), and to the south of those in the
Hen Ogledd or Old North. As one of the southeasternmost Brittonic regions for which there is reasonably substantial evidence, it is notable for having survived relatively late in the period of
Anglo-Saxon conquest.