250px, Llanfihangel-y-Creuddyn viewed from the north.
Creuddyn was a medieval
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" ...
() and, later, a
lord
Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power (social and political), power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the Peerage o ...
ship in
Ceredigion
Ceredigion (), historically Cardiganshire (, ), is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the West Wales, west of Wales. It borders Gwynedd across the River Dyfi, Dyfi estuary to the north, Powys to the east, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire t ...
,
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 located between the rivers
Ystwyth and
Rheidol,
[''The Vaughans of Trawsgoed'', p. 22] and was one of the three commotes of
Cantref Penweddig.
[''Archaeologia Cambrensis''] The name, of
Old Welsh
Old Welsh () is the stage of the Welsh language from about 800 AD until the early 12th century when it developed into Middle Welsh.Koch, p. 1757. The preceding period, from the time Welsh became distinct from Common Brittonic around 550, ha ...
origin, probably refers to the
Pen Dinas
Pen Dinas () is a large hill in Penparcau, on the coast of Ceredigion, Wales, (just south of Aberystwyth) upon which an extensive Iron Age, Celtic hillfort is situated. The site can easily be reached on foot from Aberystwyth town centre and is a ...
hill fort
A hillfort is a type of fortification, fortified refuge or defended settlement located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typical of the late Bronze Age Europe, European Bronze Age and Iron Age Europe, Iron Age. So ...
, anciently known as Dinas Maelor.
[A History of Wales from the Earliest Times][Ceredigion, A Wealth of History] The natural centre of the commote was
Llanfihangel y Creuddyn where five roads meet at the village. The name survives in the name of a rural community and church of the same name; however the modern community is much smaller than the medieval commote.
History
Several princes of
Deheubarth
Deheubarth (; , thus 'the South') was a regional name for the Welsh kingdoms, realms of south Wales, particularly as opposed to kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd (Latin: ''Venedotia''). It is now used as a shorthand for the various realms united under ...
ruled in medieval
Kingdom of Ceredigion
The Kingdom of Ceredigion was one of several Welsh people, Welsh kingdoms that emerged in sub-Roman Britain, post-Roman Britain in the mid-5th century. Cardigan Bay to the west and the surrounding hilly geography made it difficult for foreign ...
, including Creuddyn.
Rhys ap Gruffydd
Rhys ap Gruffydd or ap Gruffudd (often anglicised to "Griffith"; c. 1132 – 28 April 1197) was the ruler of the kingdom of Deheubarth in south Wales from 1155 to 1197. Today, he is commonly known as The Lord Rhys, in Welsh ''Yr Arglwydd Rhys' ...
's grandson Maelgwn Fychan (died 1257) battled for control of the area; Gwenllian (died 1254) died at Llanfihangel-y-Creuddyn. Either Maelgwn or his grandsons Llywelyn or Rhys may have been responsible for building the large 13th-century church which still stands today.
[''Ymddiriedolaeth Archaeolegol Dyfed'']
Footnotes
References
*Morgan, Gerald, "A Welsh House & Its Family, The Vaughans of Trawsgoed," Gomer Press, Ceredigion 1997
*Morgan, Gerald, "Ceredigion, A Wealth of History" Gomer Press, Ceredigion, 2005
*
*Lloyd, John Edward, "A History of Wales from the Earliest Times to the Edwardian Conquest" Volume 1, Longmans, Green, and co., 1912
*Pickering, W.
Archaeologia Cambrensis
Series 4, Volume 6, 1875
Commotes
History of Ceredigion
Former subdivisions of Wales
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