Penllyn (cantref)

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Medieval commotes of Wales Wales.medieval.cymydau.jpg
Medieval commotes of Wales

Penllyn (head of the lake i.e. Bala Lake or Llyn Tegid) was a medieval cantref originally in the Kingdom of Powys but annexed to the Kingdom of Gwynedd. It consisted of the commotes (cymydau) of Edeyrnion, Dinmael, Penllyn is Treweryn and Penllyn uwch Treweryn (is signifying 'below' and uwch 'above' the River Tryweryn).

On the north and west it bordered Gwynedd (the cantrefi of Tegeingl, Rhufoniog, Dunoding and Meirionydd); it bordered the Powys cantrefi of Maelor, Mochnant and Cyfeiliog on the east and south. [1]

After the death of Madog ap Maredudd, the last Prince of the whole of Powys, and his eldest son and heir in 1160, the kingdom was divided between his surviving sons Gruffydd Maelor, Owain Fychan and Owain Brogyntyn, his nephew Owain Cyfeiliog and his half-brother Iorwerth Goch. [2] Penllyn was inherited by Owain Brogyntyn; Edeyrnion had been the home of his mother (who was not married to his father) and he may also have been raised there.

The military skill and strength of Madog had prevented Gwynedd from asserting hegemony over Powys, but following Madog's death, it was able to force Owain Brogyntyn to become a vassal. Penllyn was thus annexed to Gwynedd.

Following the eventual defeat of Gwynedd by English forces, and the consequent Statute of Rhuddlan, it became part of Merionethshire

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Edeirnion

Edeirnion or Edeyrnion is an area of the county of Denbighshire and an ancient commote of medieval Wales in the cantref of Penllyn. According to tradition, it was named after its eponymous founder Edern or Edeyrn. It was included as a Welsh territory of Shropshire in the Domesday Book.

Cyfeiliog

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Caereinion

Caereinion was a medieval cantref in the Kingdom of Powys, or possibly it was a commote (cwmwd) within a cantref called Llŷs Wynaf. It was divided into the manors of Uwch Coed and Is Coed.

Mochnant

Mochnant, a name translating as "the rapid stream", was a medieval cantref in the Kingdom of Powys.

Cedewain

Cedewain was a medieval cantref in the Kingdom of Powys. It possibly consisted of the commotes (cymydau) of Cynan, Hafren and Uwch Hanes. Other sources give the commotes as Cedewain, Eginlle and Ceri.

References

  1. Rees, William (1951). An Historical Atlas of Wales from Early to Modern Times. Faber & Faber.
  2. Ashley, Mike (2012). The Mammoth Book of British Kings and Queens. Hachette.