Llanfaes (formerly also known as Llanmaes) is a small village on the island 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 ...

, Wales, located on the shore of the eastern entrance to 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 ...

, the tidal waterway separating Anglesey from the

north Wales , area_land_km2 = 6,172 , postal_code_type = Postcode , postal_code = LL, CH, SY , image_map1 = Wales North Wales locator map.svg , map_caption1 = Six principal areas of Wales common ...

coast. Its natural harbour made it an important medieval port and it was briefly the capital of 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 ...

. Following Prince Madoc's Rebellion,

Edward I Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vassal o ...

removed the Welsh population from the town and rebuilt the port a mile to the south at

Beaumaris Beaumaris ( ; cy, Biwmares ) is a town and community on the Isle of Anglesey in Wales, of which it is the former county town of Anglesey. It is located at the eastern entrance to the Menai Strait, the tidal waterway separating Anglesey from ...

. It is in the

community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, tow ...

Name

The current settlement of Llanfaes was originally known as Llan Ffagan Fach ("Church" or "Monastery of Fagan the Little") in honour of a Ffagan who founded a church at the site.

Saint Fagan Fagan ( la, Faganus; cy, Ffagan), also known by other names including Fugatius, was a legendary 2nd-century Welsh bishop and saint, said to have been sent by the pope to answer King Lucius's request for baptism and conversion to Christi ...

was supposed to have been a 2nd-century apostle among the Welsh and is also commemorated at St. Fagan's in

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

. The present name doesn't refer to a saint, but instead is simply

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

for the "Church" or "Monastery in the Meadow". Although both towns are pronounced ''Llanfaes'' in Welsh, the British government distinguishes an identically-named settlement in

Glamorgan , HQ = Cardiff , Government = Glamorgan County Council (1889–1974) , Origin= , Code = GLA , CodeName = Chapman code , Replace = * West Glamorgan * Mid Glamorgan * South Glamorgan , Motto ...

by spelling it

Llanmaes Llanmaes ( cy, Llanfaes) is a small village and community in the Vale of Glamorgan near the market town of Llantwit Major. The population in 2011 was 403. Amenities Llanmaes has a long history, with remains of a Roman fort in fields next to ...

. However, the town on Anglesey has also historically been known by that spelling as well. An unofficial Welsh variant is Llan-faes with a hyphen.

History

In the

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, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

, Llanfaes functioned as the royal

demesne A demesne ( ) or domain was all the land retained and managed by a lord of the manor under the feudal system for his own use, occupation, or support. This distinguished it from land sub-enfeoffed by him to others as sub-tenants. The concept or ...

( cy, maerdref) and seat of local governance for the

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 ...

Dindaethwy Dindaethwy was in medieval times one of two commotes of the cantref of Rhosyr, in the south-east of the Isle of Anglesey. It was between the Menai Strait and Conwy Bay (to the south), and the Irish Sea and Red Wharf Bay (to the north). It incl ...

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 ...

Mon.Lloyd, John E. ''A History of Wales from the Earliest Times to the Edwardian Conquest'', Vol. 1
p. 232
Longmans, Green, & Co. (London), 1911. Accessed 20 Feb 2013.

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

Cynan Dindaethwy __NOTOC__ Cynan Dindaethwy ( en, "Cynan of Dindaethwy") or Cynan ap Rhodri ("Cynan son of Rhodri") was a king of Gwynedd (reigned c. 798 – c. 816) in Wales in the Early Middle Ages. Cynan was the son of Rhodri Molwynog and ...

maintained his

royal court A royal court, often called simply a court when the royal context is clear, is an extended royal household in a monarchy, including all those who regularly attend on a monarch, or another central figure. Hence, the word "court" may also be appl ...

( cy, llys) in the town around the turn of the 9th century, but he was killed amid a protracted struggle against a rival named

Hywel Hywel (), sometimes anglicised as Howel or Howell, is a Welsh masculine given name. It may refer to: * Saint Hywel, a sixth-century disciple of Saint Teilo and the king of Brittany in the Arthurian legend. *Hywel ap Rhodri Molwynog, 9th-century ki ...

. Following Cynan's death, there was a major Battle of Llanmaes ( cy, Gwaith Llanfaes) recorded in all the Welsh annals. Various sources conjecture that the battle marked an invasion by

Mercia la, Merciorum regnum , conventional_long_name=Kingdom of Mercia , common_name=Mercia , status=Kingdom , status_text=Independent kingdom (527–879)Client state of Wessex () , life_span=527–918 , era=Heptarchy , event_start= , date_start= , ye ...

ns, Wessaxons, or

Vikings Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

, but the original sources simply do not record the combatants. A wooden fortresssquare with a round tower at each anglewas constructed at the site by the Normans Hugh the Wolf of

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

and Hugh the Red of

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'Sh ...

during their 1098 invasion.Carlisle, Nicholas. ''A Topographical Dictionary of Wales, a Continuation of the Topography of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland''
p. 308
Oxford Univ. Press, 1811. During the Battle of Anglesey Sound between the Two Hughs and

Magnus Barefoot Magnus Olafsson (Old Norse: ''Magnús Óláfsson'', Norwegian: ''Magnus Olavsson''; 1073 – 24 August 1103), better known as Magnus Barefoot (Old Norse: ''Magnús berfœttr'', Norwegian: ''Magnus Berrføtt''), was King of Norway (being Mag ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

, Magnus was said to have personally shot Hugh the Red through the eye with an arrow before discovering whom he was fighting and withdrawing back to the north. Llanmaes was still (or again) a ''maerdref'' during the 12th and 13th centuries, when its royal estates encompassed 780 acres.Gwynedd Archaeological Trust

". Accessed 20 Feb 2013. A stream powered a mill there and it was the northernmost ferry across the

separating Anglesey from the mainland. The town also had a leper colony to its north. By the end of the 13th century, it had become such an important trading centre that some estimates credit its trade in ale, wine, wool, and hides with 70% of Gwynedd's tariff revenue.The Harlech Medieval Society.
History of Beaumaris
. 2013. Accessed 20 Feb 2013. It also held two annual fairs and maintained a herring fishery. When

Llywelyn the Great 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 d ...

's wife

Joan Joan may refer to: People and fictional characters * Joan (given name), including a list of women, men and fictional characters *:Joan of Arc, a French military heroine * Joan (surname) Weather events *Tropical Storm Joan (disambiguation), multip ...

, the daughter of

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, died in 1237, her body was buried at Llanmaes and a

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

monastery constructed at Llywelyn's expense at the site. The Llanmaes suffered during the

rebellion Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority. A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...

Madog ap Llywelyn Madog ap Llywelyn (died after 1312) was the leader of the Welsh revolt of 1294–95 against English rule in Wales and proclaimed "Prince of Wales". The revolt was surpassed in longevity only by the revolt of Owain Glyndŵr in the 15th century. M ...

(129495), at the end of which

visited Llanfaes and ordered the construction of the new

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

and town of Beaumaris nearby as part of his pacification campaign. The nearby site of Porth y Wygyr ("Vikingport") or Cerrig y Gwyddyl ("Irishstone") was chosen and Edward evicted Llanmaes's Welsh population to the opposite coast of the island, turning

Rhosyr Rhosyr is a community in the far southern corner of Anglesey, Wales. It includes the villages of Dwyran and Newborough, Llangeinwen and Llangaffo. The community population taken at the 2011 census was 2,226. and includes Llanddwyn Island a ...

into "Newborough". Beaumaris then appropriated Llanmaes's former ferry and coastal trade. The monastery at Llanfaes was restored with help from

Edward II Edward II (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327), also called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir apparent to t ...

(r. 130727) but then thoroughly plundered and destroyed by agents of Henry IV as a punishment for its friars' support of the

Glyndŵr Rising The Welsh Revolt (also called the Glyndŵr Rising or Last War of Independence) ( cy, Rhyfel Glyndŵr) or ( cy, Gwrthryfel Glyndŵr) was a Welsh rebellion in Wales led by Owain Glyndŵr against the Kingdom of England during the Late Middle Ag ...

(14001415). Whatever was subsequently rebuilt was dissolved with the other monasteries by

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

in 1537. Afterwards, the church was used a barn and Joan's stone coffin as a watering trough before being removed along with the monastery's other furnishings to St. Mary's and St. Nicholas's in Beaumaris.Loomis, Richard. ''New House & Guto'r Glyn in 1492''
p. 118
Richard Loomis, 2005. Accessed 20 Feb 2013. The fortress first established by the Normans was held during the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

by Sir Thomas Cheadle on behalf of the Parliament, but was taken from him by Col. John Robinson in 1645 or '46.

References

External links

*
Llanfaes
at the Gwynedd Archaeological Trust *
Llanfaes
on Geograph.org.uk *
Llanfaes
in Ordnance Survey maps at ''A Vision of Britain Through Time'' {{authority control Villages in Anglesey Beaumaris Burial sites of the House of Aberffraw

Name

History

See also

References

External links