A cantref ( ; ; plural cantrefi or cantrefs; also rendered as ''cantred'') was a

medieval Welsh Middle Welsh ( cy, Cymraeg Canol, wlm, Kymraec) is the label attached to the Welsh language of the 12th to 15th centuries, of which much more remains than for any earlier period. This form of Welsh developed directly from Old Welsh ( cy, Hen G ...

land division, particularly important in the administration of

Welsh law Welsh law ( cy, Cyfraith Cymru) is an autonomous part of the English law system composed of legislation made by the Senedd.Law Society of England and Wales (2019)England and Wales: A World Jurisdiction of Choice eport(Link accessed: 16 March 202 ...

Description

Land 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 ...

was divided into ''cantrefi'', which were themselves divided into smaller ''cymydau'' (commotes). The word ''cantref'' is derived from ''cant'' ("a hundred") and ''tref'' ("town" in modern

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 ...

, but formerly used for much smaller settlements). The ''cantref'' is thought to be the original unit, with the commotes being a later division. ''Cantrefi'' could vary considerably in size: most were divided into two or three commotes, but the largest, the ''Cantref Mawr'' (or "Great Cantref") in Ystrad Tywi (now in

Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire ( cy, Sir Gaerfyrddin; or informally ') is a county in the south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. The county is known as ...

) was divided into seven commotes.

History

Jesus-College-MS-111 00179 90r (cropped) Cantrefi a Chymydau Cymru

The antiquity of the ''cantrefi'' is demonstrated by the fact that they often mark the boundary between

dialects The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of linguistic phenomena: One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a ...

. Some were originally kingdoms in their own right; others may have been artificial units created later. Cantrefi were of particular importance in the administration of the

. Each ''cantref'' had its own court, which was an assembly of the ''uchelwyr'', the main landowners of the ''cantref''. This would be presided over by the king if he happened to be present, or if he was not present, by his representative. Apart from the judges there would be a clerk, an usher and sometimes two professional pleaders. The ''cantref'' court dealt with crimes, the determination of boundaries, and inheritance. The commote court later took over many of the functions of the ''cantref'' court, and in some areas the names of the commotes are much better known than the name of the ''cantref'' of which they formed parts.

The Cantrefi of Wales

Other Cantrefi

Cantref Coch Cantref Coch ( ) was a cantref associated with the kingdoms of Ergyng, Gwent and the later Kingdom of Glamorgan. Its area is defined as the land between the River Severn and the River Wye, with the Severn Sea as its southern border although ...

'' is associated with the

Forest of Dean The Forest of Dean is a geographical, historical and cultural region in the western part of the county of Gloucestershire, England. It forms a roughly triangular plateau bounded by the River Wye to the west and northwest, Herefordshire to ...

, Gloucestershire, and defined as the land between the

River Severn , name_etymology = , image = SevernFromCastleCB.JPG , image_size = 288 , image_caption = The river seen from Shrewsbury Castle , map = RiverSevernMap.jpg , map_size = 288 , map_c ...

and the

River Wye The River Wye (; cy, Afon Gwy ) is the fourth-longest river in the UK, stretching some from its source on Plynlimon in mid Wales to the Severn estuary. For much of its length the river forms part of the border between England and Wales ...

. It was traditionally part of the kingdom of Ergyng but would in later times, be recorded as part of the kingdoms of Gwent and Morgannwg. The Cantref was annexed into the

Kingdom of England The Kingdom of England (, ) was a sovereign state on the island of Great Britain from 12 July 927, when it emerged from various Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, until 1 May 1707, when it united with Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain. On ...

in 926 by king

Æthelstan Æthelstan or Athelstan (; ang, Æðelstān ; on, Aðalsteinn; ; – 27 October 939) was King of the Anglo-Saxons from 924 to 927 and King of the English from 927 to his death in 939. He was the son of King Edward the Elder and his fir ...

. ''

Cantre'r Gwaelod , also known as or ( en, The Lowland Hundred), is a legendary ancient sunken kingdom said to have occupied a tract of fertile land lying between Ramsey Island and Bardsey Island in what is now Cardigan Bay to the west of Wales. It has been ...

'' is an ancient sunken kingdom said to have occupied a tract of fertile land lying in

Cardigan Bay Cardigan Bay ( cy, Bae Ceredigion) is a large inlet of the Irish Sea, indenting the west coast of Wales between Bardsey Island, Gwynedd in the north, and Strumble Head, Pembrokeshire at its southern end. It is the largest bay in Wales. Geo ...

. First mentioned in the

Black Book of Carmarthen The Black Book of Carmarthen ( cy, Llyfr Du Caerfyrddin) is thought to be the earliest surviving manuscript written solely in Welsh. The book dates from the mid-13th century; its name comes from its association with the Priory of St. John the Ev ...

, the cantref is a recurring topic in Welsh literature and

Welsh mythology Welsh mythology (Welsh: ''Mytholeg Cymru'') consists of both folk traditions developed in Wales, and traditions developed by the Celtic Britons elsewhere before the end of the first millennium. As in most of the predominantly oral societies Celti ...

. In one version of the story,

Seithenyn Seithenyn (sometimes spelt Seithennin) sometimes known as ''Seithenyn of the feeble mind'' is a figure from Welsh legend, apparently contemporary with King Gwyddno Garanhir. He is the protagonist of a poem in the Llyfr Du Caerfyrddin (Black Bo ...

a prince of the kingdom, is a notorious drunk and it was through his negligence that the sea swept through the open floodgates, flooding the land forever.

Description

History

The Cantrefi of Wales

Other Cantrefi

See also

Citations

References

Further study