Dindaethwy was in medieval times one of two
commote
A commote (Welsh ''cwmwd'', sometimes spelt in older documents as ''cymwd'', plural ''cymydau'', less frequently ''cymydoedd'')''Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru'' (University of Wales Dictionary), p. 643 was a secular division of land in Medieval Wales ...
s of the
cantref
A cantref ( ; ; plural cantrefi or cantrefs; also rendered as ''cantred'') was a medieval Welsh land division, particularly important in the administration of Welsh law.
Description
Land in medieval Wales was divided into ''cantrefi'', which were ...
of Rhosyr, in the south-east of the
Isle of Anglesey
Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island, ...
. It was between the
Menai Strait
The Menai Strait ( cy, Afon Menai, the "river Menai") is a narrow stretch of shallow tidal water about long, which separates the island of Anglesey from the mainland of Wales. It varies in width from from Fort Belan to Abermenai Point to from ...
and
Conwy Bay
Conwy Bay ( Welsh ''Bae Conwy''), also known as Conway Bay, is an inlet of the Irish Sea. It is situated at the southeastern point of the coast of Anglesey at Bangor on the northern central coast of Wales, stretching from Puffin Island to Gre ...
(to the south), and the
Irish Sea
The Irish Sea or , gv, Y Keayn Yernagh, sco, Erse Sie, gd, Muir Èireann , Ulster-Scots: ''Airish Sea'', cy, Môr Iwerddon . is an extensive body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Ce ...
and
Red Wharf Bay
Red Wharf Bay, also known as Traeth Coch (Welsh for "red beach"), is a village and a wide sandy bay in the Anglesey Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty on the east coast of the island of Anglesey in Wales. The bay lies between the villages of Pe ...
(to the north).
It included
Penmon
Penmon is a promontory, village and ecclesiastical parish on the eastern tip of the Isle of Anglesey in Wales, about east of the town of Beaumaris. It is in the community of Llangoed. The name comes from cy, pen (which can mean "head", "end" ...
, the easternmost point of the island, opposite which is Puffin Island (Ynys Seiriol). It bordered the commote of Menai (the other commote of Rhosyr) to the west, and the commote of
Twrcelyn
Twrcelyn is an electoral ward in the north of Anglesey, Wales. It includes the communities of Amlwch, Llanbadrig, Llaneilian, and Rhosybol. Twrcelyn elects three county councillors to the Isle of Anglesey County Council.
Twrcelyn was cre ...
in the cantref of Cemais, to the north.
The commote court and
maerdref was at
Llanfaes
Llanfaes (formerly also known as Llanmaes) is a small village on the island of Anglesey, Wales, located on the shore of the eastern entrance to the Menai Strait, the tidal waterway separating Anglesey from the north Wales coast. Its natural har ...
, the commote's most important settlement. Later in the Middle Ages, Llywelyn the Great founded a monastery at Llanfaes; his wife Siwan was buried there. Previously the commote had one of Anglesey's two most important religious communities in Penmon, which became a priory (Penmon Priory) in the 12th century.
Later, Dindaethwy was the home of Penmynydd, the family estate of the Tudors of Anglesey.
The name means "Fort of the Daethwy", which may refer to the
hillfort
A hillfort is a type of earthwork used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze Age or Iron Age. Some were used in the post-Roma ...
of
Bwrdd Arthur
Bwrdd Arthur (meaning "Arthur's Table"), also known as Din Sylwy, is a flat-topped limestone hill on the island of Anglesey, in Wales. Located on the eastern end of Red Wharf Bay, some 3 kilometres north west of Llangoed, it is noteworthy from ...
("Arthur's Table") in the former parish of
Llanfihangel Din Sylwy
Llanfihangel Din Sylwy (spelling variants include Llanfihangel Din Silwy and Llanfihangel Tyn Sylwy) is a small, coastal (former) parish in the commote of Dindaethwy in north-east Anglesey, three miles north-northwest of Beaumaris.
A scattere ...
. The Daethwy were the local Celtic tribe, who also gave their name to the village of Porthaethwy (
Menai Bridge
Menai Bridge ( cy, Porthaethwy; usually referred to colloquially as Y Borth) is a town and community on the Isle of Anglesey in north-west Wales. It overlooks the Menai Strait and lies by the Menai Suspension Bridge, built in 1826 by Thomas T ...
). Alternative names are Tindaethwy and Tyndaethwy (Dindaethwy may be a
lenited
In linguistics, lenition is a sound change that alters consonants, making them more sonorous. The word ''lenition'' itself means "softening" or "weakening" (from Latin 'weak'). Lenition can happen both synchronically (within a language at a pa ...
version of Tindaethwy). The fort of Dinas, in the parish of Llandysilio, may have been the tribal centre.
The word Dindaethwy also appears in the name of Cynan Dindaethwy, king of Gwynedd at the start of the 9th century, as he was from this part of Anglesey.
History of Anglesey
Commotes
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