Cathedine ( cy, Cathedin) is a small

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

that lies between the Brecon Beacons and the Black Mountains, in

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 ...

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 is an approximately 2 miles from

Llangors Llangors (also known as Llangorse) is a small village, community and electoral ward in southern Powys, in the historic county of Brecknockshire, within the Brecon Beacons National Park. Description Llangors lies a few miles east of Brecon, betwe ...

e and 2 miles from Bwlch, in the community of

. It has a Norman castle and great views of

Llangorse Lake Llangorse Lake ( cy, Llyn Syfaddon, variant: ) is the largest natural lake in Mid and South Wales, and is situated in the Brecon Beacons National Park, near the town of Brecon and the village of Llangors. The lake is famous for its coarse fishin ...

. St Michael's church at Cathedine occupies a rectangular churchyard on a hill slope at the southern end of the hamlet. The church was first recorded at about the beginning of the 12th century, but was almost entirely rebuilt in the second half of the 19th century. Some stonework from the earlier structure may survive specifically the west wall and the jambs of the south door which could be relics from its predecessor.

History

Following the conquest of

Brycheiniog Brycheiniog was an independent kingdom in South Wales in the Early Middle Ages. It often acted as a buffer state between England to the east and the south Welsh kingdom of Deheubarth to the west. It was conquered and pacified by the Norman ...

Bernard de Neufmarché Bernard de Neufmarché (), also Bernard of Newmarket or Bernard of Newmarch was the first of the Norman conquerors of Wales. He was a minor Norman lord who rose to power in the Welsh Marches before successfully undertaking the invasion and co ...

in the late 11th century, and its conversion into his

Lordship of Brecknock The Lordship of Brecknock was an Anglo-Norman marcher lordship located in southern central Wales. Beginnings In the century before the Lordship was founded, Brycheiniog had been contested between its traditional dynasty, and that of Ferlix (a rea ...

, the whole of Cathedine was initially assigned by him to his prisoner Gwrgan ap Bleddyn, son of the last king of Brycheiniog (Bleddyn ap Maenarch) but was later repossessed by Bernard. From the late 12th century formed part of the medieval Marcher lordship of Blaenllynfi (of which

Talgarth Talgarth is a market town, community and electoral ward in southern Powys, Mid Wales, about north of Crickhowell, north-east of Brecon and south-east of Builth Wells. Notable buildings in the town include the 14th-century parish church and ...

was the main town), which eventually came into the possession of Gwrgan's descendant, Rhys ap Hywel (ancestor of Sir

Dafydd Gam Dafydd ap Llewelyn ap Hywel (c. 1380 – 25 October 1415), better known as Dafydd Gam, anglicized to David or Davy Gam, was a Welsh warrior, a prominent opponent of Owain Glyndŵr. He died at the Battle of Agincourt fighting for Henry V, King o ...

). Following Rhys' involvement in the coup against Edward II, Edward III terminated the Lordship of Blaenllynfi, returning the land to Bernard's descendant, the then Marcher Lord of Brecknock. Following the Laws in Wales Act of 1536, the Lordship of Brecknock became part of the new county of Brecknockshire, with Cathedine forming part of the hundred of Talgarth, and later formed part of the 19th-century tithe parish of Cathedine. The hamlet was reputably a favourite country hunting base for the 19th century industrialist, Crawshay Bailey.

Landscape

Predominantly regular fieldscapes with hedged boundaries to the south and east of Llangorse Lake, on sloping hill-land of Allt yr Esgair and the western flanks of Mynydd Llangors, lying between a height of between about 150–390 metres above sea level. The distinctive field patterns in the area appears to represent systematic clearance and enclosure or the enclosure of former common grazing in the later medieval or early post-medieval period. Modern land use predominantly pasture, with some conifer plantation on Allt yr Esgair. Modern settlement includes a number of widely dispersed farms including Trebinshwn farm and house and Lower Cathedine, both of which are perhaps late medieval or early post-medieval in origin. Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust
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Notes

References

*Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trus

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