200px, Ancient Dyfed showing the cantref of Cemais and its commotes 200px, Pembrokeshire showing the hundred of Cemais Cemais (sometimes spelled ''Kemes'' after one of the several variations found in

Medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

orthography) was an ancient

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 wer ...

of the

Kingdom of Dyfed The Kingdom of Dyfed (), one of several Welsh petty kingdoms that emerged in 5th-century sub-Roman Britain in southwest Wales, was based on the former territory of the Demetae (modern Welsh ''Dyfed''). The medieval Irish narrative, '' The Expul ...

, from the 11th century a Norman

Marcher Lord A Marcher lord () was a noble appointed by the king of England to guard the border (known as the Welsh Marches) between England and Wales. A Marcher lord was the English equivalent of a margrave (in the Holy Roman Empire) or a marquis (in ...

ship, from the 16th century a

Hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101. In medieval contexts, it may be described as the short hundred or five score in order to differentiate the English and Germanic use of "hundred" to des ...

, and is now part of

Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire ( ; cy, Sir Benfro ) is a county in the south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and the rest by sea. The county is home to Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. The Park oc ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

. It occupied the coastal area between the

Teifi , name_etymology = , image = File:Llyn Teifi - geograph.org.uk - 41773.jpg , image_size = , image_caption = Llyn Teifi, the source of the Teifi , map = , map_size = , map_caption ...

estuary and

Fishguard Fishguard ( cy, Abergwaun, meaning "Mouth of the River Gwaun") is a coastal town in Pembrokeshire, Wales, with a population of 3,419 in 2011; the community of Fishguard and Goodwick had a population of 5,407. Modern Fishguard consists of two p ...

, and the northern and southern slopes of the

Preseli Hills The Preseli Hills or, as they are known locally and historically, Preseli Mountains, ( Welsh: ''Mynyddoedd y Preseli / Y Preselau'' , ) is a range of hills in western Wales, mostly within the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. The range stre ...

, covering an area of approximately . The

Afon Nyfer The River Nevern ( cy, Afon Nyfer) is a river in Pembrokeshire, Wales. Its source is north of the village of Crymych and its length is about to its estuary at Newport, Pembrokeshire. Course The source of the river is a spring on the southwest ...

divided it into two

commotes 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 ...

: Cemais Is Nyfer to the north and Cemais Uwch Nyfer to the south.

History

Deheubarth

Although the area is not mentioned by it, an allegorical poem in the

Black Book of Carmarthen The Black Book of Carmarthen ( cy, Llyfr Du Caerfyrddin) is thought to be the earliest surviving manuscript written solely in Welsh. The book dates from the mid-13th century; its name comes from its association with the Priory of St. John the Ev ...

has been extrapolated by some writers to conclude that the area must have once been under the rule of , a descendant of whom was later granted land in the nearby

by charter. In this period, Nevern served as the ecclesiastical centre of the area, and may have been the seat of a bishop.

11th century

In the mid 11th century, Dyfed was part of

Deheubarth Deheubarth (; lit. "Right-hand Part", thus "the South") was a regional name for the realms of south Wales, particularly as opposed to Gwynedd (Latin: ''Venedotia''). It is now used as a shorthand for the various realms united under the House o ...

ruled by

Rhys ap Tewdwr Rhys ap Tewdwr (c. 1040 – 1093) was a king of Deheubarth in Wales and member of the Dinefwr dynasty, a branch descended from Rhodri the Great. He was born in the area which is now Carmarthenshire and died at the battle of Brecon in April 1 ...

who had accepted the

suzerainty Suzerainty () is the rights and obligations of a person, state or other polity who controls the foreign policy and relations of a tributary state, while allowing the tributary state to have internal autonomy. While the subordinate party is ca ...

William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 10 ...

following the

Norman Conquest of England The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conqu ...

. When William died in 1087, Rhys took the view that his vassalage was for William's life only; with other magnates, he attacked

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engla ...

during the

rebellion of 1088 The Rebellion of 1088 occurred after the death of William the Conqueror and concerned the division of lands in the Kingdom of England and the Duchy of Normandy between his two sons William Rufus and Robert Curthose. Hostilities lasted from 3 ...

.''The history of Wales, descriptive of the government, wars, manners, religion, laws, druids, bards, pedigrees and language of the ancient Britons and modern Welsh, and of the remaining antiquities of the principality'', John Jones, 1824, London, p. 63-64 Rhys was subsequently killed in battle at

Brecon Brecon (; cy, Aberhonddu; ), archaically known as Brecknock, is a market town in Powys, mid Wales. In 1841, it had a population of 5,701. The population in 2001 was 7,901, increasing to 8,250 at the 2011 census. Historically it was the c ...

. His landforfeit for rebelling against Norman suzeraintywas seized by various Norman magnates. In about 1094, Martin de Turribus sailed from Devon to Fishguard.''The ancient castles of England and Wales'', William Woolnoth, 1825, entry for ''Newport'' According to local tradition recounted by

Richard Fenton Richard Fenton (January 1747 – November 1821) was a Welsh lawyer, topographer and poet. Biography Fenton was born in January 1747 in St David's, Pembrokeshire, and was baptised in St David's Cathedral on 20 February 1747, "being then a month ...

, following a skirmish at

Morvil Morvil or Morfil is a remote upland parish on the southern slopes of the Preseli Mountains in north Pembrokeshire, Wales. Fishguard is to the northwest. The area was occupied in neolithic and Norman times, and in the past two centuries has bee ...

, de Turribus was victorious and violent towards the inhabitants he encountered. Except for

Dewisland 250px, The cantref of Pebidiog in ancient Dyfed The Hundred of Dewisland (often written "Dewsland") was a hundred in northwest Pembrokeshire, Wales. Formerly the pre- Norman cantref of Pebidiog, it included the city and the peninsula of St Davids ...

the lands owned by the Bishop of St. Davidsde Turribus took most of northern coastal Dyfed. The lands seized by him became the

ship of ''Kemes''. He chose

Nevern Nevern ( cy, Nanhyfer) is both a parish and a community in Pembrokeshire, Wales. The community includes the settlements of Felindre Farchog, Monington, Moylgrove and Bayvil. The small village lies in the Nevern valley near the Preseli Hills o ...

for his

caput Latin words and phrases {{Short pages monitor