Map of Mediaeval kingdoms of Wales 700-1000

Cyfeiliog was a medieval

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 ...

in 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 Cynan of the

Kingdom of Powys The Kingdom of Powys ( cy, Teyrnas Powys; la, Regnum Poysiae) was a Welsh successor state, petty kingdom and principality that emerged during the Middle Ages following the end of Roman rule in Britain. It very roughly covered the northern ...

. Cynan also contained the commote of

Mawddwy Mawddwy is a community in the county of Gwynedd, Wales, and is 88.3 miles (142.2 km) from Cardiff and 172.8 miles (278.0 km) from London. In 2011 the population of Mawddwy was 622 with 59.5% of them able to speak Welsh. It is one of the ...

. Other sources refer to Cyfeiliog as a cantref in its own right, possibly as a result of Cynan's being renamed for the largest commote within it. It bordered the cantrefi of Penllyn in the north,

Caereinion Caereinion (fort of Einion) 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. It lay towards the south of the ki ...

in the east and

Arwystli Arwystli was a cantref in mid Wales in the Middle Ages, located in the headland of the River Severn. It was chiefly associated with the Kingdom of Powys, but was heavily disputed between Powys, Gwynedd, and the Norman Marcher Lords for hundre ...

in the south-east. Its border in the north-east was with the cantref of

Meirionydd Meirionnydd is a coastal and mountainous region of Wales. It has been a kingdom, a cantref, a district and, as Merionethshire, a county. Kingdom Meirionnydd (Meirion, with -''ydd'' as a Welsh suffix of land, literally ''Land adjoined to Meirio ...

in the

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

, and its south-east border was with the cantref of

Penweddig Penweddig was a medieval cantref – a Welsh land division – of the kingdom of Ceredigion and later of the kingdom of Deheubarth) which is now in the county of Ceredigion, Wales. The community secondary school Ysgol Gyfun Gymunedol Penweddig is ...

in the

Kingdom of Ceredigion The Kingdom of Ceredigion was one of several Welsh kingdoms that emerged in 5th-century post-Roman Britain. Cardigan Bay to the west and the surrounding hilly geography made it difficult for foreign invaders to conquer. Its area corresponded r ...

. After the death of

Madog ap Maredudd Madog ap Maredudd ( wlm, Madawg mab Maredud, ; died 1160) was the last prince of the entire Kingdom of Powys, Wales and for a time held the Fitzalan Lordship of Oswestry. Madog was the son of King Maredudd ap Bleddyn and grandson of King Bleddy ...

, the last Prince of the whole of Powys, and his eldest son and heir in 1160, the kingdom was divided up between his surviving sons

Gruffydd Maelor Gruffydd Maelor (died 1191) was Prince of Powys Fadog in Wales. He is known as Gruffydd Maelor I to distinguish him from his grandson, Gruffydd Maelor II (died 1269). Lineage He was a son of Prince Madog ap Maredudd by Susanna, daughter of Ki ...

Owain Fychan Owain Fychan ap Madog (alternatively ''Owain Vychan ap Madoc'') (c. 1125 – 1187) was styled Lord of Mechain Is Coed and one of the sons of Madog ap Maredudd. His mother was Susanna, daughter of Gruffudd ap Cynan. Division of the Kingdom of Po ...

and

Owain Brogyntyn Owain ''Brogyntyn'' ap Madog (fl. 1160–1186) was the third and illegitimate son of king Madog ap Maredudd, the last king of a united Kingdom of Powys. He was the son of Madog by the daughter of the ''Maer du'' or "black mayor" of Rûg in ...

, his nephew

Owain Cyfeiliog Owain ap Gruffydd (c. 1130–1197) 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 k ...

and his half-brother Iorwerth Goch. Cyfeiliog was inherited by Owain Cyfeiliog. He joined the Welsh alliance under

Owain Gwynedd Owain ap Gruffudd ( 23 or 28 November 1170) was King of Gwynedd, North Wales, from 1137 until his death in 1170, succeeding his father Gruffudd ap Cynan. He was called Owain the Great ( cy, Owain Fawr) and the first to be ...

to resist the invasion of Henry II in 1165, but he changed his allegiance later and gradually gained control over a much larger area in the south of Powys, in particular by acquiring the territories of Iorwerth Goch and Owain Fychan. He passed his territories to his son

Gwenwynwyn Gwenwynwyn ab Owain Cyfeiliog (died c. 1216) was the last major ruler of mid Wales before the completion of the History of Wales#Wales and the Normans: 1067–1283, Norman English invasion. He was one of few native rulers to represent a real threa ...

in 1195 and they became known as

Powys Wenwynwyn Powys Wenwynwyn or Powys Cyfeiliog was a Welsh kingdom which existed during the high Middle Ages. The realm was the southern portion of the former princely state of Powys which split following the death of Madog ap Maredudd of Powys in 1160: the n ...

References

{{reflist Cantrefs History of Powys