Tegeingl, in English Englefield, was a cantref in north-east

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 ...

during the mediaeval period. It was incorporated into

Flintshire , settlement_type = County , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , image_flag = , image_shield = Arms of Flint ...

following Edward I of England's conquest of northern Wales in the 13th century.

Etymology

The region's name was derived from the ''

Deceangli The Deceangli or Deceangi (Welsh: Tegeingl) were one of the Celtic tribes living in Britain, prior to the Roman invasion of the island. The tribe lived in the region near the modern city of Chester but it is uncertain whether their territory co ...

'', an

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 mostl ...

Celtic tribe which had inhabited the region and attested since the 1st century BC.

Location

The cantref formed the eastern part of

Perfeddwlad Perfeddwlad or Y Berfeddwlad was an historic name for the territories in Wales lying between the River Conwy and the River Dee. comprising the cantrefi of Rhos, Rhufoniog, Dyffryn Clwyd and Tegeingl. Perfeddwlad thus was also known as the Four ...

(or ''Y Berfeddwlad'') on the northern coast of Wales between the

River Clwyd The River Clwyd ( Welsh: ''Afon Clwyd'') is a river in Wales that rises in the Clocaenog Forest () northwest of Corwen. Its total length is . It flows due south until, at Melin-y-wig, it veers north-eastwards, tracking the A494 and passing ...

and

Deeside Deeside ( cy, Glannau Dyfrdwy) is the name given to a predominantly industrial conurbation of towns and villages in Flintshire and Cheshire on the Wales–England border lying near the canalised stretch of the River Dee that flows from nei ...

. The territory is roughly equivalent to the modern county of

Flintshire , settlement_type = County , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , image_flag = , image_shield = Arms of Flint ...

today.

History

Comprising the three

commotes 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 Wal ...

Rhuddlan Rhuddlan () is a town, community, and electoral ward in the county of Denbighshire, Wales, in the historic county of Flintshire. Its associated urban zone is mainly on the right bank of the Clwyd; it is directly south of seafront town Rhyl. ...

Prestatyn Prestatyn is a seaside town and community in Denbighshire, Wales. Historically a part of Flintshire, it is located on the Irish Sea coast, to the east of Rhyl. Prestatyn has a population of 19,085, History Prehistory There is evidence that ...

and Coleshill (Cwnsyllt), the territory originally formed 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, th ...

until, in the late 8th century, it was conquered by the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of

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= , ...

. It remained under Mercian (or English) control for over three centuries until

Dafydd ab Owain Gwynedd Dafydd ab Owain Gwynedd ( – 1203) was Prince of Gwynedd from 1170 to 1195. For a time he ruled jointly with his brothers Maelgwn ab Owain Gwynedd and Rhodri ab Owain Gwynedd. Dafydd was the son of Owain Gwynedd by Cristin ferch Goronwy ab ...

recovered it in the 12th century.

Edwin of Tegeingl Edwin of Tegeingl (born about 1020 and died 1073) was a prince or lord of the cantref of Tegeingl in north-east Wales. Biography Later pedigrees provide Edwin and his descendants with a Welsh pedigree, making him son of Gronwy and great-great-g ...

(d.1073) was in the 11th century described as "lord" or "prince" of Tegeingl. He was succeeded as lord of Tegeingl by his son Owain who supported the

Anglo-Normans The Anglo-Normans ( nrf, Anglo-Normaunds, ang, Engel-Norðmandisca) were the medieval ruling class in England, composed mainly of a combination of ethnic Normans, French, Anglo-Saxons, Flemings and Bretons, following the Norman conquest. A sma ...

' invasion of North Wales in the 1090s. The family remained powerful in North Wales until Owain's sons were killed in 1125 by a son of

Gruffudd ap Cynan Gruffudd ap Cynan ( 1137), sometimes written as Gruffydd ap Cynan, was King of Gwynedd from 1081 until his death in 1137. In the course of a long and eventful life, he became a key figure in Welsh resistance to Norman rule, and was rememb ...

, Prince of Gwynedd.Wilcott, Darrell "The Ancestry of Edwin of Tegeingl"
/ref> It then changed hands several times between England and Gwynedd, but was eventually seized by Edward I as part of his conquest of the

Principality of Wales The Principality of Wales ( cy, Tywysogaeth Cymru) was originally the territory of the native Welsh princes of the House of Aberffraw from 1216 to 1283, encompassing two-thirds of modern Wales during its height of 1267–1277. Following the co ...

between 1277 and 1283. It was then incorporated into the county of

Flintshire , settlement_type = County , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , image_flag = , image_shield = Arms of Flint ...

by the

Statute of Rhuddlan The Statute of Rhuddlan (12 Edw 1 cc.1–14; cy, Statud Rhuddlan ), also known as the Statutes of Wales ( la, Statuta Valliae) or as the Statute of Wales ( la, Statutum Valliae, links=no), provided the constitutional basis for the government of ...

References

{{reflist Cantrefs Commotes of Gwynedd Medieval Wales