Arfon (or Arvon) was a mediaeval Welsh

cantref A cantref ( ; ; plural cantrefi or cantrefs; also rendered as ''cantred'') was a Wales in the Early Middle Ages, medieval Welsh land division, particularly important in the administration of Welsh law. Description Land in medieval Wales was divid ...

in north-west

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. It was the core of the

kingdom of Gwynedd The Kingdom of Gwynedd (Medieval Latin: ; Middle Welsh: ) was a Wales in the Early Middle Ages, Welsh kingdom and a Roman Empire Succession of states, successor state that emerged in sub-Roman Britain in the 5th century during the Anglo-Saxon ...

. Later it was included in the new county of

Caernarfonshire Caernarfonshire (; , ), previously spelled Caernarvonshire or Carnarvonshire, was one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It was located in the north-west of Wales. Geography The county ...

, together with Llŷn and Arllechwedd under the terms of the

Statute of Rhuddlan The Statute of Rhuddlan (), also known as the Statutes of Wales ( or ''Valliae'') or as the Statute of Wales ( or ''Valliae''), was a royal ordinance by Edward I of England, which gave the constitutional basis for the government of the Principal ...

in 1284. The island of

Anglesey Anglesey ( ; ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms the bulk of the Principal areas of Wales, county known as the Isle of Anglesey, which also includes Holy Island, Anglesey, Holy Island () and some islets and Skerry, sker ...

faced it across the

Menai Strait The Menai Strait () is a strait which separates the island of Anglesey from Gwynedd, on the mainland of Wales. It is situated between Caernarfon Bay in the south-west and Conwy Bay in the north-east, which are both inlets of the Irish Sea. The s ...

; to the east was the cantref of Arllechwedd, to the south the cantref of Eifionydd (which, together with Ardudwy, was part of the earlier kingdom of Dunoding), and to the west was the cantref of Llŷn. The Welsh name of Anglesey is ''Môn'', and Arfon's name means "opposite or facing Môn" (with ''Môn'' becoming ''Fôn'' through soft mutation). The cantref's position gave it control over the Menai Strait, which has played an important part in Welsh history. Broadly speaking, it stretched from the peaks of Yr Eifl in the west to Afon Cegin, a stream just east of Bangor, and inland from the shores of the Menai southwards into the heart of

Snowdonia Snowdonia, or Eryri (), is a mountainous region and National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in North Wales. It contains all 15 mountains in Wales Welsh 3000s, over 3000 feet high, including the country's highest, Snowdon (), which i ...

(''Eryri''), including Dyffryn Nantlle and the strategic

Llanberis Pass The Llanberis Pass (; alternative English name, Pass of Llanberis) in Snowdonia carries the main road (A4086) from the south-east to Llanberis, over Pen-y-Pass, between the mountain ranges of the Glyderau and the Snowdon massif. At the bottom o ...

. In geographical terms, the cantref was very variable, including fertile land and rich pastures on the shore of the Menai and in the valleys, a number of woods on the slopes and mountains to the south, and the highest mountains in Wales such as

Snowdon Snowdon (), or (), is a mountain in Snowdonia in North Wales. It has an elevation of above sea level, which makes it both the highest mountain in Wales and the highest in the British Isles south of the Scottish Highlands. Snowdon i ...

and Tryfan. Arfon comprised two

commote A commote (, sometimes spelt in older documents as , plural , less frequently )'' Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru'' (University of Wales Dictionary), p. 643 was a secular division of land in Medieval Wales. The word derives from the prefix ("together" ...

s, which were apparently created later in its history. They were called Uwch Gwyrfai and Is Gwyrfai, indicating their respective positions above and below the Gwyrfai River. During the Iron Age and the Roman era, it was part of the territory of the

Ordovices The Ordovīcēs (Common Brittonic: *''Ordowīces'') were one of the Celtic tribes living in Great Britain before the Roman invasion. Their tribal lands were located in present-day North Wales and England, between the Silures to the south and the ...

. The pre-Roman hill fort

Dinas Dinorwig Dinas Dinorwig, enclosing about a hectare of land, is the largest and best defended hillfort in Arfon, Wales. It is prominent in the landscape, overlooking a wide area. Its commanding position and the strength of its defences suggest that, until t ...

and the Roman fort of

Segontium Segontium () is a Roman fort on the outskirts of Caernarfon in Gwynedd, North Wales. Etymology The fort probably takes its name either directly from the Afon Seiont or from a pre-existing British settlement itself named for the river. The name ...

were located there. The main defensive fortress in the era of the Welsh princes was Dolbadarn Castle, near modern Llanberis. Important ecclesiastical centres were to be found in Bangor and Clynnog Fawr. The bishops of Bangor, the successors of St

Deiniol Saint Deiniol (died 572) was traditionally the first Bishop of Bangor in the Kingdom of Gwynedd, Wales. The present Bangor Cathedral, dedicated to Deiniol, is said to be on the site where his monastery stood. He is veneration, venerated in Bri ...

, had an extensive holding of land in the north of the cantref. This area, known as Maenol Bangor, contained 13 hamlets, whose tenants paid rent to the bishop. Clynnog owned broad lands in Llŷn and Anglesey. Arfon features prominently in

Welsh mythology Welsh mythology (also commonly known as ''Y Chwedlau'', meaning "The Legends") consists of both folk traditions developed in Wales, and traditions developed by the Celtic Britons elsewhere before the end of the first millennium. As in most of t ...

, particularly in the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi. Math fab Mathonwy's court at Caer Dathyl was located there, as was Aranrhod's at Caer Aranrhod. The battle between the forces of Math and Pryderi took place in Arfon. Lleu Llaw Gyffes flies to Nantlleu in Arfon in the form of an eagle after his attempted murder by Gronw Pebr.'' The Mabinogion:'
Math the Son of Mathonwy
translated by

Lady Charlotte Guest Lady Charlotte Elizabeth Guest (née Bertie; 19 May 1812 – 15 January 1895), later Lady Charlotte Schreiber, was an English aristocrat who is best known as the first publisher in modern print format of the ''Mabinogion'', the earliest prose li ...

. Online a
www.sacred-texts.com
A

local government district Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Local'' (comics), a limited series comic book by Bria ...

of the same name existed from 1974 to 1996, when

Gwynedd Gwynedd () is a county in the north-west of Wales. It borders Anglesey across the Menai Strait to the north, Conwy, Denbighshire, and Powys to the east, Ceredigion over the Dyfi estuary to the south, and the Irish Sea to the west. The ci ...

became a

unitary authority A unitary authority is a type of local government, local authority in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Unitary authorities are responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are ...

. The name Arfon itself is still used for the area, as it has been for centuries in Wales.

References

{{coord, 53.083, -4.000, display=title, region:GB_scale:100000 Arfon, Cantref Commotes of Gwynedd