Mechain

Mechain was a medieval

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 ...

in 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 ...

. This cantref has also been referred to as Y Fyrnwy (''Vyrnwy''). Mechain may owe its name to the

River Cain The River Cain (''Afon Cain'' in Welsh) is a river in north Powys which flows into the River Vyrnwy. Cain's source is just west of Llanfyllin, at the confluence of the Nant Alan and Nant Fyllon. After flowing east through Llanfyllin, where it ...

which flows through it on its way to join the

River Vyrnwy The River Vyrnwy ( cy, Afon Efyrnwy, ) is a river which flows through northern Powys, Wales, and Shropshire, England. The name derives from Severn, the river of which it is a tributary. Course The river used to be sourced from the many rivers a ...

; 'Me' or 'Mach' (c.f. Machynlleth, Mathrafal, etc., and in modern Welsh, field is ''maes'') may signify meadows or plain, in which case Mechain would mean "Meadows of the Cain". It corresponds to the later

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 de ...

Llanfyllin Llanfyllin ( – ) is a market town, community and electoral ward in a sparsely populated area in Montgomeryshire, Powys, Wales. Llanfyllin's community population in 2011 was 1,532, of whom 34.1% could speak Welsh. Llanfyllin means ''church or p ...

. Mechain lay almost in the centre of the kingdom, bordering with the cantref of

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 ...

to the south, the two commotes of the cantref of

Mochnant Mochnant, a name translating as "the rapid stream", was a medieval cantref in the Kingdom of Powys. In the 12th century it was divided into the commotes of Mochnant Is Rhaeadr (in the north) and Mochnant Uwch Rhaeadr (in the south) (''Is'' signif ...

to the north, and the commotes of

Deuddwr Deuddwr (; en, Confluence, literally: two waters) was a medieval commote (''cwmwd'') in the cantref of Ystlyg in the Kingdom of Powys. It lay at the east of the kingdom, bordering England to the north, the cantref of Mechain to the north-west a ...

and

Ystrad Marchell Ystrad Marchell sometimes Strad Marchell ( en, Vale of Marchell) was a medieval commote (''cwmwd'') in the cantref of Ystlyg in the Kingdom of Powys. It roughly coincides with the parish of Welshpool. It lay at the east of the kingdom, bordering ...

in the cantref of

Ystlyg Ystlyg ( en, possibly curve or open country) was a medieval cantref in the Kingdom of Powys. It lay at the east of the kingdom on the border with England. It consisted of the commotes (''cymydau'') of Deuddwr in the north, Ystrad Marchell in the ce ...

to the east. It consisted of 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 ...

s (''cymydau'') of Mechain Uwch Coed (''Mechain above the wood'') and Mechain Is Coed (''Mechain below the wood'') separated by the large wood or forest which stretched across the cantref around

Bwlch-y-cibau Bwlch-y-Cibau also known as the "pass of the husks" in English, is a small village located between Llanfyllin and Welshpool. It is situated on the A490. It is in the Community (Wales), community of Meifod. Amenities The village is very rural wit ...

. The

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