The Principality or Kingdom of Gwynedd was a Roman Empire successor state that emerged in sub-Roman Britain in the 5th century during the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain.
Madog ap Llywelyn was the leader of the Welsh revolt of 1294–95 against English rule. The revolt was surpassed in longevity only by the revolt of Owain Glyndŵr in the 15th century. Madog belonged to a junior branch of the House of Aberffraw and was a distant relation of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, the last recognised native Prince of Wales.
Owain ap Gruffydd was a prince of the southern part of Powys and a poet. He is usually known as Owain Cyfeiliog to distinguish him from other rulers named Owain, particularly his contemporary, Owain ap Gruffydd of Gwynedd, who is known as Owain Gwynedd.
The Cross of Neith was a sacred relic believed to be a fragment of the True Cross which had been kept at Aberconwy by the kings and princes of Gwynedd, members of the Aberffraw dynasty who established the Principality of Wales. They believed it afforded them and their people divine protection. It is not known when it first arrived in Gwynedd or how they had inherited it, but it is possible that it was brought back from Rome by king Hywel Dda following his pilgrimage in about 928. According to tradition it was handed down from prince to prince until the time of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd and his brother Dafydd. A representation of Y Groes Naid came to be used as a Battle Flag.
The Cantref of Penfro was one of the seven cantrefi of the Kingdom of Dyfed. It subsequently became part of Deheubarth in around 950. It consisted of the long peninsular part of Dyfed south of the Eastern Cleddau and the Daugleddau estuary, and bordered on its landward side by Cantref Gwarthaf. The name, meaning "land's end", derives from Pen and "fro". Its area was approximately 140 square miles (360 km2).
Gwrtheyrnion or Gwerthrynion was a commote in medieval Wales, located in Mid Wales on the north side of the River Wye; its historical centre was Rhayader. It is said to have taken its name from the legendary king Vortigern. For most of the medieval era, it was associated with the cantref of Buellt and then Elfael, small regional kingdoms whose rulers operated independently of other powers. In the Norman era, like the rest of the region between Wye and Severn it came to be dominated by Marcher Lordships.
Rhwng Gwy a Hafren was a region of medieval Wales, located in the Welsh Marches between Powys to the north and Brycheiniog to the south. It was bounded by the rivers Wye and Severn. It covered about the same territory as Radnorshire, now part of the county of Powys. The region first came into its own in the 9th or 10th centuries, when it was ruled by leaders who operated independently of the surrounding kingdoms. After the Norman invasion, it comprised the central part of the Welsh Marches and was the site of frequent struggles between Welsh and Norman forces.
Ial or Yale was a commote of medieval Wales within the cantref of Maelor in the Kingdom of Powys. When the kingdom was divided in 1160, Maelor became part of Powys Fadog. Iâl had its capital at Llanarmon-yn-Iâl at the site of a shrine to Saint Germanus of Auxerre. The nearby castle was called Tomen y Faerdre. During the Conquest of Wales by Edward I, Iâl was taken very early on and added to the county of Shropshire, anglicised as Yale. However, it remained Welsh in culture and retained Welsh laws and customs until the Statute of Rhuddlan.
Mechain was a medieval cantref in the Kingdom of Powys. This cantref has also been referred to as Y Fyrnwy (Vyrnwy). Mechain may owe its name to the River Cain which flows through it on its way to join the River Vyrnwy; 'Me' or 'Mach' may signify meadows or plain, in which case Mechain would mean "Meadows of the Cain". It corresponds to the later hundred of Llanfyllin.
Cwmdauddwr is a village in Powys, Wales. It is contiguous with the town of Rhayader on the opposite side of the River Wye. The village is located on the B4518 road linking Rhayader with the Elan Valley Reservoirs.
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.
Ystrad Marchell sometimes Strad Marchell was a medieval commote (cwmwd) in the cantref of Ystlyg in the Kingdom of Powys. It roughly coincides with the parish of Welshpool.
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.
Y Gorddwr was a medieval commote (cwmwd) in the cantref of Ystlyg in the Kingdom of Powys. It was on the eastern side of the River Severn bordering England, on the west it was bordered by two of the other commotes of Ystlyg - Deuddwr in the north and Ystrad Marchell in the south. Its Welsh name could mean "the upper water"; gor- "upper-", dŵr "water".
Deuddwr was a medieval commote (cwmwd) in the cantref of Ystlyg in the Kingdom of Powys.
Llanerchydol is a settlement on the A458 about 2 km west of the centre of Welshpool in the county of Powys in Wales. It is part of the community of Welshpool and also lends its name to an electoral ward.
Tomen yr Allt was a Medieval motte and bailey defensive castle near Llanfyllin in Powys, Wales.
Hawise Lestrange was the daughter of the Marcher lord John Lestrange (d.1269) of Great Ness, Cheswardine and Knockin (Shropshire). Married at a young age to the ruler of southern Powys, Gruffudd ap Gwenwynwyn, she became a key figure in border affairs and in the management of her family and estates until her death at a great age. She was deeply implicated in a plot to overthrow the prince of Wales, Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, in 1274, and with her husband sided with Edward I in the English king's conquest of Wales.
