Blathewyc or Blathewic () is the name of several historical territorial divisions in what is now County Down,

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. It is the anglicised name of an ancient Irish ''

túath ''Túath'' (plural ''túatha'') is the Old Irish term for the basic political and jurisdictional unit of Gaelic Ireland. ''Túath'' can refer to both a geographical territory as well the people who lived in that territory. Social structure In ...

'', ruled by the ''Uí Blathmaic'', later becoming a barony, bailiwick, and county in the Anglo-Norman

Earldom of Ulster The Earldom of Ulster was an Anglo-Norman lordship in northern medieval Ireland, established by John de Courcy from the conquest of the province of Ulaid in eastern Ulster. It was the most important Anglo-Norman lordship in the north of Ireland ...

Uí Blathmaic

Blathewyc is an anglicisation of the

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

tribal name ''Uí Blathmaic'', which means the "descendants of Blathmac". They take their name from Blathmac, who was of the

Dál Fiatach Dál Fiatach was a Gaelic dynastic-grouping and the name of their territory in the north-east of Ireland during the Middle Ages. It was part of the over-kingdom of Ulaid, and they were its main ruling dynasty for most of Ulaid's history. Their ...

. Blathmac is cited as being the son of Áed Róin mac Bécce Bairrche, an over-king of

Ulaid Ulaid (Old Irish, ) or Ulaidh ( Modern Irish, ) was a Gaelic over-kingdom in north-eastern Ireland during the Middle Ages made up of a confederation of dynastic groups. Alternative names include Ulidia, which is the Latin form of Ulaid, and i ...

who died in 735. Their territory roughly matched the later barony of Castlereagh Lower. According to historian James O'Laverty, "Their territory extended from the vicinity of Bangor to that of Carrickmannon, and included the modern civil parishes of

Holywood Holy Wood or Holywood may refer to: Places * Holywood, County Down, a town and townland in Northern Ireland ** Holywood, County Down (civil parish), a civil parish in County Down, Northern Ireland ** Holywood railway station (Northern Ireland) * ...

, Dundonald,

Comber Comber ( , , locally ) is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies south of Newtownards, at the northern end of Strangford Lough. It is situated in the townland of Town Parks, the civil parish of Comber and the historic barony of Ca ...

Killinchy Killinchy () is a townland and small village in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is two miles inland from the western shores of Strangford Lough in the Borough of Ards and North Down. It is situated in the townland of the same name, the civil p ...

, Kilmood, Tullynakill, with parts of Bangor, Newtownards, and Knock-breda."O'Laverty, James (1878)
"The Territory of the Ards"
''An Historical Account of the Diocese of Down and Conor, Ancient and Modern''. p.64

Bailiwick and county

After the invasion of Ulaid in 1177 by 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 ...

knight

John de Courcy {{Infobox noble , image = Sir John de Courcy (1150-1219).jpg , caption = , alt = , more = no , succession = , reign = , predecessor = , successor = , ...

, and its subsequent conquest, the neighbouring districts of '' Aird Uladh'' and ''Uí Blathmaic'' were combined to form a county, which was styled as "Comitatus de Arde" and "Comitatus Novae Villae". This county was divided into two bailiwicks: "Balliva del Art" and "Balliva de Blathewick", with its capital at ''Nove Ville de Blathwyc'' (present-day Newtownards). In 1345, Edward III, appointed Robertus de Halywode as sheriff of "Comitatus Nove Ville de Blawico".

References

Baronies of County Down Former baronies of Ireland County Down Former counties of Ireland Earldom of Ulster Ulaid {{Down-geo-stub