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Rhos means 'moor' or 'moorland' in
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 peopl ...
. It is a region to the east of the River Conwy in north
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 started as a minor kingdom then became 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 wer ...
, and was usually part 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, ...
(later the region became part of
Denbighshire Denbighshire ( ; cy, Sir Ddinbych; ) is a county in the north-east of Wales. Its borders differ from the historic county of the same name. This part of Wales contains the country's oldest known evidence of habitation – Pontnewydd (Bontnewy ...
, then
Clwyd Clwyd () is a preserved county of Wales, situated in the north-east corner of the country; it is named after the River Clwyd, which runs through the area. To the north lies the Irish Sea, with the English ceremonial counties of Cheshire to th ...
, and is now in Conwy county borough).


Kingdom: history and archaeology

Rhos is identified as a small kingdom during the
sub-Roman Sub-Roman Britain is the period of late antiquity in Great Britain between the end of Roman rule and the Anglo-Saxon settlement. The term was originally used to describe archaeological remains found in 5th- and 6th-century AD sites that h ...
and early medieval periods in an
Old Welsh Old Welsh ( cy, Hen Gymraeg) is the stage of the Welsh language from about 800 AD until the early 12th century when it developed into Middle Welsh.Koch, p. 1757. The preceding period, from the time Welsh became distinct from Common Brittonic ...
genealogical document ‘Ancestry of the Kings and Princes of Wales’ listing thirteen of its kings (including two who are known to have ruled the wider region of
Gwynedd Gwynedd (; ) is a county and preserved county (latter with differing boundaries; includes the Isle of Anglesey) in the north-west of Wales. It shares borders with Powys, Conwy County Borough, Denbighshire, Anglesey over the Menai Strait, an ...
). The most famous monarch was perhaps Cynlas Goch, the son of
Owain Ddantgwyn Owain Danwyn (fl. 440) was a king of Rhos in Gwynedd, Wales, in the mid-5th century. He was the son of Einion Yrth and the father of Cynlas Goch, probably the Cuneglasus excoriated by Gildas. Very little is known of his life. Graham Phillips and ...
, who lived in the early 6th century and was denounced by the monk, Gildas. He wrote (in
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...
) that Cynlas was the “guider of the chariot which is the receptacle of the bear“. The latter may refer to a “Fort of the Bear”, possibly Dinerth, the name of a hillfort on Bryn Euryn in
Llandrillo-yn-Rhos Llandrillo yn Rhos is the name of an electoral ward in Conwy County Borough, Wales. Its boundaries are coterminous with those of the community of Rhos-on-Sea ( cy, Llandrillo-yn-Rhos), on the North Wales coast, with the Mochdre and Rhiw wards t ...
. The road that runs below the western side of the hill is still called Dinerth Road and Dinarth Hall is nearby. The Gwynedd Archaeological Trust have undertaken a trial excavation of this hillfort and set up related information boards in Colwyn Bay Library. Their investigations revealed a massive defensive stone wall, well built and faced with good-quality limestone blocks originally rising to about ten feet high. The ramparts were eleven and a half feet thick. These defences are unlike those of
Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly ...
hillforts but comparable with similar
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 ...
fortifications, so may represent a possible stronghold of the Kings of Rhos.


Administrative unit

By the 11th century, Rhos was part of
Gwynedd Is Conwy Gwynedd Is Conwy ( Welsh, meaning ''Gwynedd Below the Conwy'') was the portion of the former Kingdom of Gwynedd lying between the River Conwy and River Dee. This area was also known as ''Y Berfeddwlad'' ('The Middle Land') as it lay between and w ...
(Gwynedd "below" the River Conwy) as an administrative unit known as a
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 ...
. Along with its three adjoining cantrefi, the area was known as Y Berfeddwlad or the 'Middle Country' lying between Gwynedd and
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 ...
and often changing hands between those two powerful kingdoms. With the loss of Welsh independence in 1283, Rhos became part of the lordship of Denbigh, as granted to the English
Earl of Lincoln Earl of Lincoln is a title that has been created eight times in the Peerage of England, most recently in 1572. The title was borne by the Dukes of Newcastle-under-Lyne from 1768 to 1988, until the dukedom became extinct. Earls of Lincoln, first ...
. The cantrefi were abolished in 1536 with the creation of
Denbighshire Denbighshire ( ; cy, Sir Ddinbych; ) is a county in the north-east of Wales. Its borders differ from the historic county of the same name. This part of Wales contains the country's oldest known evidence of habitation – Pontnewydd (Bontnewy ...
, but the name of Rhos survives today in places such as
Llandrillo-yn-Rhos Llandrillo yn Rhos is the name of an electoral ward in Conwy County Borough, Wales. Its boundaries are coterminous with those of the community of Rhos-on-Sea ( cy, Llandrillo-yn-Rhos), on the North Wales coast, with the Mochdre and Rhiw wards t ...
( Rhos-on-Sea), Llanelian-yn-Rhos, and Penmaen Rhos.


Commotes

Creuddyn was a historic
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 Wale ...
of Rhos, then later of
Caernarfonshire , HQ= County Hall, Caernarfon , Map= , Image= Flag , Motto= Cadernid Gwynedd (The strength of Gwynedd) , year_start= , Arms= ''Coat of arms of Caerna ...
.


See also

*
Roose Hundred The Hundred of Roose (sometimes called Rowse) was a hundred in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It has its origins in the pre- Norman cantref of Rhos and was formalised as a hundred by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542. Its area was about . The area be ...


References


External links

{{Welsh kingdoms Cantrefs Commotes of Gwynedd History of Conwy County Borough Kingdoms of Wales States and territories established in the 5th century 5th century in Wales