![Rhwng](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a8/Rhwng.Gwy.a.Hafren.jpg)
Gwrtheyrnion or Gwerthrynion was a
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 medieval
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 ...
, located in
Mid Wales on the north side of the
River Wye; its historical centre was
Rhayader
Rhayader (; cy, Rhaeadr Gwy; ) is a market town and community in Powys, Wales, within the historic county of Radnorshire. The town is from the source of the River Wye on Plynlimon, the highest point of the Cambrian Mountains, and is locate ...
. It is said to have taken its name from the legendary king
Vortigern
Vortigern (; owl, Guorthigirn, ; cy, Gwrtheyrn; ang, Wyrtgeorn; Old Breton: ''Gurdiern'', ''Gurthiern''; gle, Foirtchern; la, Vortigernus, , , etc.), also spelled Vortiger, Vortigan, Voertigern and Vortigen, was a 5th-century warlord in ...
( cy, Gwrtheyrn). For most of the medieval era, it was associated with the
cantref of
Buellt
Buellt or Builth was a cantref in medieval Wales, located west of the River Wye. Unlike most cantrefs, it was not part of any of the major Welsh kingdoms for most of its history, but was instead ruled by an autonomous local dynasty. During the No ...
and then
Elfael
Elfael was one of a number of Welsh cantrefi occupying the region between the River Wye and river Severn, known as Rhwng Gwy a Hafren, in the early Middle Ages. It was divided into two commotes, Is Mynydd and Uwch Mynydd, separated by the chain of ...
, small regional kingdoms whose rulers operated independently of other powers. In the
Norman
Norman or Normans may refer to:
Ethnic and cultural identity
* The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries
** People or things connected with the Norm ...
era, like the rest of the
region between Wye and Severn it came to be dominated by
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 ...
ships.
Name and boundaries
According to the 9th-century ''
Historia Brittonum
''The History of the Britons'' ( la, Historia Brittonum) is a purported history of the indigenous British ( Brittonic) people that was written around 828 and survives in numerous recensions that date from after the 11th century. The ''Historia B ...
'', Gwrtheyrnion, here
Latinised ''Guorthegirnaim'', was named after
Vortigern
Vortigern (; owl, Guorthigirn, ; cy, Gwrtheyrn; ang, Wyrtgeorn; Old Breton: ''Gurdiern'', ''Gurthiern''; gle, Foirtchern; la, Vortigernus, , , etc.), also spelled Vortiger, Vortigan, Voertigern and Vortigen, was a 5th-century warlord in ...
( cy, Gwrtheyrn), a legendary 5th-century
King of Britain.
[ ''Historia Brittonum'', ch. 47.] John Edward Lloyd considers this derivation accurate. Generally, its boundaries were the cantrefi of
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 ...
to the north,
Maelienydd
Maelienydd, sometimes spelt Maeliennydd, was a cantref and lordship in east central Wales covering the area from the River Teme to Radnor Forest and the area around Llandrindod Wells. The area, which is mainly upland, is now in Powys. During the ...
(in its restricted sense) to the east,
Elfael
Elfael was one of a number of Welsh cantrefi occupying the region between the River Wye and river Severn, known as Rhwng Gwy a Hafren, in the early Middle Ages. It was divided into two commotes, Is Mynydd and Uwch Mynydd, separated by the chain of ...
to the southeast, and
Buellt
Buellt or Builth was a cantref in medieval Wales, located west of the River Wye. Unlike most cantrefs, it was not part of any of the major Welsh kingdoms for most of its history, but was instead ruled by an autonomous local dynasty. During the No ...
to the southwest. It also controlled the
commote of Deuddwr (i.e. ''Cwmwd Deuddwr'', also known as ''Elenydd'') on the west of the
Wye; together they formed a cantref.
History
Early years
![Map of the Cantrefs and Commotes of Rhwng Gwy a Hafren](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/99/Map_of_the_Cantrefs_and_Commotes_of_Rhwng_Gwy_a_Hafren.svg)
The ''
Historia Brittonum
''The History of the Britons'' ( la, Historia Brittonum) is a purported history of the indigenous British ( Brittonic) people that was written around 828 and survives in numerous recensions that date from after the 11th century. The ''Historia B ...
'' provides the earliest mention of Gwrtheyrnion. According to the text, Vortigern fled to Gwrtheyrnion after Saint
Germanus of Auxerre had castigated him for his various sins. He eventually died, and his son
Pascent
Vortigern (; owl, Guorthigirn, ; cy, Gwrtheyrn; ang, Wyrtgeorn; Old Breton: ''Gurdiern'', ''Gurthiern''; gle, Foirtchern; la, Vortigernus, , , etc.), also spelled Vortiger, Vortigan, Voertigern and Vortigen, was a 5th-century warlord in ...
received Gwrtheyrnion and
Buellt
Buellt or Builth was a cantref in medieval Wales, located west of the River Wye. Unlike most cantrefs, it was not part of any of the major Welsh kingdoms for most of its history, but was instead ruled by an autonomous local dynasty. During the No ...
from
Ambrosius Aurelianus
Ambrosius Aurelianus ( cy, Emrys Wledig; Anglicised as Ambrose Aurelian and called Aurelius Ambrosius in the ''Historia Regum Britanniae'' and elsewhere) was a war leader of the Romano-British who won an important battle against the Anglo-Sax ...
.
One of the text's copyists, from whose copy most other surviving manuscripts are derived, took particular interest in this combined kingdom, tracing its medieval rulers back to Vortigern through Pascent.
[Lloyd, p. 224 and notes.] The dynasty, so these manuscripts report, ended in a certain
Ffernfael ap Tewdwr, who is also known from the
genealogies from Jesus College MS 20
The genealogies from Jesus College MS 20 are a medieval Welsh collection of genealogies preserved in a single manuscript, Oxford University, Bodleian Library, Jesus College, MS 20, folios 33r–41r. It presents the lineages of a number of medi ...
. These Jesus College genealogies indicate that Ffernfael's cousin Brawstudd married
Arthfael Hen ap Rhys Arthfael Hen ap Rhys, also called Arthfael the Old, was the king of the Kingdom of Glywysing (in modern-day Wales) between 785 and approximately 825 AD.
History
Arthfael was the second son of Gweirydd ap Brochfael and a descendant of Saint Tewd ...
, the ruler of
Morgannwg
Morgannwg was a medieval Welsh kingdom formed via the merger of the kingdoms of the Kingdom of Glywysing and the Kingdom of Gwent.
Formation of Morgannwg
First under King Morgan the Generous (fl. ) until the end of the reign of his descendant ...
, implying a ''floruit'' for Ffernfael around the early 9th century.
[
Following Ffernfael's death, Buellt (and hence Gwrtheyrnion) came into the possession of neighbouring ]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 ...
,[Owen, p. 203.] for unclear reasons, after having temporarily been in the possession of Seisyllwg
Seisyllwg () was a petty kingdom of medieval Wales.Davies, p. 85 It is unclear when it emerged as a distinct unit, but according to later sources it consisted of the former Kingdom of Ceredigion plus the region known as Ystrad Tywi. Thus it cover ...
, for an unclear amount of time. At around this time, Arwystli's ruler was Iorwerth Hirflawdd
Iorwerth Hirflawdd was an ancestor of various medieval rulers in mid Wales. His epithet means 'long trouble', but nothing is known of how he acquired it, nor otherwise of his life.
Nothing is known certainly of his life, but he must have lived in ...
; when Iorworth's son Idnerth died, his realm was re-divided, with Buellt (including Gwrtheyrnion) going to Cadwr Gwenwyn[Lloyd, p. 406 & note.] (the rest of the realm - Arwystli - went to a different son).
Cadwr's grandson, and heir, married a granddaughter of Merfyn ap Rhodri
Merfyn ap Rhodri (died ) was a late 9th-century Aberffraw prince of Gwynedd. He is sometimes credited with ruling Powys after the death of his father Rhodri the Great in AD 878. In the accounts where he is credited as a king, he is reported to ...
, the king of Powys
Prior to the Conquest of Wales, completed in 1282, Wales consisted of a number of independent kingdoms, the most important being Gwynedd, Powys, Deheubarth (originally Ceredigion, Seisyllwg and Dyfed) and Morgannwg (Glywysing and Gwent). Bounda ...
(this did not mean that Powys gained any authority over Buellt/Gwrtheyrnion[Owen, p. 203.]); their grandson, and heir, was Elystan Glodrydd
Elystan Glodrydd (or, occasionally, Elstan Glodrydd; died 1010), also known as "Æthelstan the Famous" and "The Renowned," was, according to Welsh genealogical tracts, the founder of the fifth Royal Tribe of Wales. He was the Prince of Buellt, ...
. Elystan Glodrydd conquered the adjacent land between the Wye and Severn - Ferlix (known also by various other spellings, such as Fferllys, Fferleg, and Fferregs) and incorporated it into his own realm. Elystan was succeeded by his son, Cadwgan, who was succeeded by his eldest son, Idnerth; a younger son gave rise to the '' Cadogan'' family, who were raised to the nobility many centuries later.
Normans
Due to their allegiances to the Saxon Kings (Elystan had been the god-son, and namesake, of King Athelstan), once the Normans invaded England, many Welsh princes had assisted anti-Norman revolts like that of Eadric the Wild
Eadric ''the Wild'' (or Eadric ''Silvaticus''), also known as Wild Edric, Eadric ''Cild'' (or ''Child'') and Edric ''the Forester'', was an Anglo-Saxon magnate of Shropshire and Herefordshire who led English resistance to the Norman Conquest, acti ...
. Hence, in 1080, when a revolt broke out in Northern England, the Normans pre-emptively occupied Wales, to prevent any further Welsh assistance to the Saxons. In turn, this led to a Welsh revolt in 1094, but by the end of the century it was successfully suppressed by a number of Norman magnates. The southern parts of Ferlix were conquered by Philip de Braose
Philip de Braose, 2nd Lord of Bramber ( 1070 – c. 1134) was an Anglo-Norman nobleman and Marcher Lord.
Origins
Philip was born about 1070 to 1073, the son of William de Braose, 1st Lord of Bramber (d. 1093/96) by his wife Eve de Boissey or A ...
.
Eventually, like other Welsh princes, Idnerth came to a personal agreement with the local Norman magnate; Idnerth was restored to Gwrtheyrnion, and most of Ferlix, but Braose kept the rest of Buellt for himself. Following Idnerth's death, and that of his son, Madog, the retained parts of Ferlix were divided between Madog's sons: Cadwallon received most of the northern half, which became Maelienydd
Maelienydd, sometimes spelt Maeliennydd, was a cantref and lordship in east central Wales covering the area from the River Teme to Radnor Forest and the area around Llandrindod Wells. The area, which is mainly upland, is now in Powys. During the ...
, while the remainder - Elfael
Elfael was one of a number of Welsh cantrefi occupying the region between the River Wye and river Severn, known as Rhwng Gwy a Hafren, in the early Middle Ages. It was divided into two commotes, Is Mynydd and Uwch Mynydd, separated by the chain of ...
- went to his brother, Einion Clud Einion, the Welsh form of the Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-d ...
. Einion Clud was succeeded by his son, Einion o'r Porth.
Einion o'r Porth married Susanna, a daughter of Rhys ap Gruffydd
Rhys ap Gruffydd, commonly known as The Lord Rhys, in Welsh ''Yr Arglwydd Rhys'' (c. 1132 – 28 April 1197) was the ruler of the Welsh kingdom of Deheubarth in south Wales from 1155 to 1197 and native Prince of Wales.
It was believed that he ...
, the ruling prince 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 ...
. The only named ruler of Gwrtheyrnion in historic manuscripts (other than the legendary Pascent) is an ''Einion ap Rhys'' who visited the king in 1175, and was Rhys ap Gruffydd's son-in-law; unless this ''Einion ap Rhys'' is really a bodged reference to Einion o'r' Porth, then he, his father, and the consequently distinct line of rulers in Gwrtheyrnion, are otherwise entirely unknown. In 1177, Rhayader Castle
Rhayader Castle is the remains of a motte-and-bailey castle in the town of Rhayader, Powys, Wales. The available documentary sources are not clear enough to distinguish between this site and the castle mound across the river and one or the other ...
was built in Gwrtheyrnion by Rhys ap Gruffydd.
Einion was murdered by his own brother, Gwalter. Einion's other brother, Iorwerth Clud Iorwerth () is a Welsh name, composed of two elements: ''iôr'' meaning "lord" and ''berth'' meaning "fair", "fine", or "handsome". (Both morphemes are somewhat archaic in Modern Welsh.) The name has historically been associated with the name Edward ...
, was able to depose Gwalter with the aid of Reginald de Braose
Reginald de Braose (19 September 1182 – June 1228) was one of the sons of William de Braose, 4th Lord of Bramber and Matilda, also known as Maud de St. Valery and Lady de la Haie. Her other children included William and Giles.
The de Braoses ...
(who had, by now, inherited Buellt), in alliance with Llywelyn Fawr
Llywelyn the Great ( cy, Llywelyn Fawr, ; full name Llywelyn mab Iorwerth; c. 117311 April 1240) was a King of Gwynedd in north Wales and eventually " Prince of the Welsh" (in 1228) and "Prince of Wales" (in 1240). By a combination of war and ...
(the most powerful Welsh prince). Unfortunately, Llywelyn's son (and successor), Dafydd Dafydd is a Welsh masculine given name, related to David, and more rarely a surname. People so named include:
Given name Medieval era
:''Ordered chronologically''
* Dafydd ab Owain Gwynedd (c. 1145-1203), Prince of Gwynedd
* Dafydd ap Gruffydd (12 ...
, chose to repudiate the Treaty of Gwerneigron, which lead to Ralph Tosny
Raoul II de Tosny seigneur de Conches-en-Ouche (1027 - died 9 April 1102) was a Norman nobleman of the House of Tosny, son of Roger I of Tosny and older brother of Robert de Stafford / Tosny. He was active in Normandy, England and Wales.
Hastin ...
seizing Elfael, although Tosny was later expelled from Elfael by Dafydd's nephew, Llywelyn ap Gruffudd
Llywelyn ap Gruffudd (c. 1223 – 11 December 1282), sometimes written as Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, also known as Llywelyn the Last ( cy, Llywelyn Ein Llyw Olaf, lit=Llywelyn, Our Last Leader), was the native Prince of Wales ( la, Princeps Wall ...
. King Henry acknowledged Llywelyn ap Gruffudd's victory, by the Treaty of Montgomery
The Treaty of Montgomery was an Anglo-Welsh treaty signed on 29 September 1267 in Montgomeryshire by which Llywelyn ap Gruffudd was acknowledged as Prince of Wales by King Henry III of England (r. 1216–1272). It was the only time an English ...
.[Lloyd. pp. 739–740.]
However, when Llywelyn ap Gruffudd married Eleanor de Montfort
Eleanor de Montfort, Princess of Wales and Lady of Snowdon (1252 – 19 June 1282) was an English noble and Welsh Princess. She was the daughter of Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester and Eleanor of England. She was also the second woman wh ...
(the daughter of Henry's greatest enemy), Henry's son, Edward I (now King), declared Llywelyn a rebel, and attacked his lands. In 1277 Llywelyn was forced to agree the Treaty of Aberconwy
The Treaty of Aberconwy was signed on the 10th of November 1277, the treaty was by King Edward I of England and Llewelyn the Last, Prince of Wales, following Edward’s invasion of Llewelyn’s territories earlier that year. The treaty granted p ...
, which made Llywelyn a vassal of Edward, and limited his authority to Gwynedd alone; Elfael was given to Ralph Tosny's grandson.
Later history
In the 15th century, the Tosny lands were inherited by Margaret Beauchamp of Bletso
Margaret Beauchamp (c. 1410 – before 3 June 1482) was the oldest daughter of Sir John Beauchamp, ''de jure'' 3rd Baron Beauchamp of Bletsoe, and his second wife, Edith Stourton. She was the maternal grandmother of Henry VII of England, He ...
, and hence by her great-grandson, King Henry VIII. Following the latter's Laws in Wales Acts, Gwrtheyrnion and the rest of Ferlix became Radnorshire. In 1996, Radnorshire and the adjacent counties on either side - Montgomeryshire and Brecknockshire - became the main constituents of the modern county of Powys
Powys (; ) is a county and preserved county in Wales. It is named after the Kingdom of Powys which was a Welsh successor state, petty kingdom and principality that emerged during the Middle Ages following the end of Roman rule in Britain.
Geog ...
.
Notes
References
*
*
*
{{Welsh kingdoms
Commotes
History of Powys