Cantref
Encyclopedia
A Cantref (ˈkaːntrɛ) was a medieval Welsh
land division, particularly important in the administration of Welsh law
.
Land in medieval Wales
was divided into cantrefi, which were themselves divided into smaller cymydau
(commotes). The name "cantref" is derived from "Cant" ("a hundred") and "tref" ("town
" in modern Welsh 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
) was divided into seven commotes. To give an idea of the size of a cantref, the island of Anglesey
was divided into three cantrefi, Cemais, Aberffraw and Rhosyr.
The antiquity of the cantrefi is demonstrated by the fact that they often mark the boundary between dialects. 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 Welsh law
. 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 in the cantref, 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 matters concerning 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.
Rhwng Gwy a Hafren
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
land division, particularly important in the administration of Welsh law
Welsh law
Welsh law was the system of law practised in Wales before the 16th century. According to tradition it was first codified by Hywel Dda during the period between 942 and 950 when he was king of most of Wales; as such it is usually called Cyfraith Hywel, the Law of Hywel, in Welsh...
.
Land in medieval Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
was divided into cantrefi, which were themselves divided into smaller cymydau
Commote
A commote , sometimes spelt in older documents as cymwd, was a secular division of land in Medieval Wales. The word derives from the prefix cym- and the noun bod...
(commotes). The name "cantref" is derived from "Cant" ("a hundred") and "tref" ("town
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
" in modern Welsh 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
Ystrad Tywi
Ystrad Tywi is an area of south-west Wales situated on the banks of the Tywi river as it approaches the sea to join the Bristol Channel at Carmarthen...
(now in Carmarthenshire
Carmarthenshire
Carmarthenshire is a unitary authority in the south west of Wales and one of thirteen historic counties. It is the 3rd largest in Wales. Its three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford...
) was divided into seven commotes. To give an idea of the size of a cantref, the island of Anglesey
Anglesey
Anglesey , also known by its Welsh name Ynys Môn , is an island and, as Isle of Anglesey, a county off the north west coast of Wales...
was divided into three cantrefi, Cemais, Aberffraw and Rhosyr.
The antiquity of the cantrefi is demonstrated by the fact that they often mark the boundary between dialects. 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 Welsh law
Welsh law
Welsh law was the system of law practised in Wales before the 16th century. According to tradition it was first codified by Hywel Dda during the period between 942 and 950 when he was king of most of Wales; as such it is usually called Cyfraith Hywel, the Law of Hywel, in Welsh...
. 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 in the cantref, 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 matters concerning 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.
Deheubarth
- PenweddigPenweddig (place)Penweddig was a medieval cantref of the kingdom of Ceredigion , which is now in the county of Ceredigion, Wales. The community secondary school Penweddig is named after the cantref....
- Is Aeron
- Uwch Aeron
- CemaisCemais (Dyfed cantref)thumb|200px|right|Ancient Dyfed showing the cantref of Cemais and its commotesthumb|200px|right|Pembrokeshire showing the hundred of CemaisCemais was a cantref of Dyfed, and now part of Pembrokeshire, Wales...
- Pebidiog
- RhosRhosRhos may refer to the following places in Wales:*Rhos, Neath Port Talbot a village in Neath Port Talbot, Wales*Rhos-on-Sea , a village on the outskirts of Colwyn Bay, north Wales...
- Deugleddyf
- PenfroPenfro (cantref)thumb|250 px|right|Location of the cantref of Penfro within ancient DyfedPenfro was one of the seven cantrefi of Dyfed. It subsequently became part of Deheubarth in around 950. It consisted of the long peninsular part of Dyfed south of the Eastern Cleddau and the Daugleddau estuary, and bordered...
- Cantref Gwarthaf
- EmlynEmlynEmlyn was one of the seven cantrefi of Dyfed, an ancient district of Wales. It subsequently became part of Deheubarth in around 950. It consisted of the northern part of Dyfed bordering on the River Teifi...
- Y Cantref MawrCantref MawrCantref Mawr was a cantref in south-west Wales. It was of strategic importance in medieval Wales as the location of the main seat of the princes of Deheubarth at Dinefwr....
- Y Cantref Bychan
- Eginog
Gwynedd
- ArllechweddArllechweddThe ancient Welsh cantref of Arllechwedd in north-west Wales was part of the kingdom of Gwynedd for much of its history until it was included in the new county of Caernarfonshire, together with Arfon and Llŷn under the terms of the Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284.In the middle ages the Cantref...
- CemaisCemais (Anglesey cantref)Cemais was one of the three medieval cantrefs on the island of Anglesey, north Wales, in the Kingdom of Gwynedd. It lay on the northern side of the island on the Irish Sea.The cantref consisted of the two cwmwds of Talybolion and Twrcelyn....
- AberffrawAberffraw (cantref)Aberffraw was one of the three medieval cantrefs on the island of Anglesey, north Wales, in the Kingdom of Gwynedd. It lay on the western side of the island on Caernarfon Bay. Its administrative centre was Aberffraw, ancient seat of the Princes of Gwynedd....
- Rhosyr
- ArfonCantref ArfonThe mediaeval Welsh cantref of Arfon in north-west Wales was the core of the Kingdom of Gwynedd. Later it was included in the new county of Caernarfonshire, together with Llŷn and Arllechwedd under the terms of the Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284...
- Arllechwedd
- LlŷnCantref LlynThe ancient Welsh cantref of Llŷn in north-west Wales was part of the kingdom of Gwynedd for much of its history until it was included in the new county of Caernarfonshire, together with Arfon and Arllechwedd under the terms of the Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284....
- DunodingDunodingDunoding was an early sub-kingdom within the Kingdom of Gwynedd in north-west Wales which existed between the 5th and 10th centuries. According to tradition, it was named after Dunod, a son of the founding father of Gwynedd - Cunedda Wledig - who drove the Irish settlers from the area in c.460...
- Rhos
- RhufoniogRhufoniogRhufoniog was a small sub-kingdom of the Dark Ages Gwynedd, and later a cantref in medieval Wales. According to tradition, it was ruled by its eponymous founder Rhufon, the third son of the first King of Gwynedd, Cunedda, and his direct descendants from the year 445 until the year 540 when it was...
- Dyffryn ClwydDyffryn ClwydDyffryn Clwyd was a cantref of Medieval Wales and from 1282 a marcher lordship. In 1536, it became part of the new county of Denbighshire. The name means Vale of Clwyd in English and is still the name for that region of north Wales in modern Welsh...
- Tegeingl
Powys
- MaelorMaelorMaelor is a border area of north-east Wales. It originated as a Cantref of the Kingdom of Powys, focused on Bangor-on-Dee.-History:The Maelor was first divided from the rest of Wales by the construction of Offa's Dyke in the eighth century, but was reclaimed for Wales during the reign of Stephen...
- PenllynPenllynPenllyn is a former civil parish in the Welsh county of Gwynedd. The parish was created in 1894 from the part of Criccieth parish that lay outside the ancient borough. It was abolished in 1934, and divided between Llanystumdwy and Criccieth....
- Swydd y Waun
- ArwystliArwystliArwystli was a cantref in medieval Wales, located in the headland of the River Severn in what is now the county of Powys. It was chiefly associated with the Kingdom of Powys, but was heavily disputed between Powys, Gwynedd, and the Norman Marcher Lords for hundreds of years, and was the scene of...
- Mochnant
- Cyfeiliog
- Caereinion
- MechainMechainMechain was a medieval cantref in the Kingdom of Powys. It lay almost in the centre of the kingdom, bordering with cantref Caereinion to the south, the two cwmwds of the cantref of Mochnant to the north, and part of the cantref of Deuparth and the cwmwds of Deuddwr and Ystrad Marchell to the...
- Cedewain
Rhwng Gwy a HafrenRhwng Gwy a HafrenRhwng Gwy a Hafren was a region of medieval Wales, located in the Welsh Marches between Powys to the north and Brycheiniog to the south. It was bounded by the rivers Wye and Severn , hence its name. It covered approximately the same territory as Radnorshire, now part of the county of Powys...
- GwrtheyrnionGwrtheyrnionGwrtheyrnion or Gwerthrynion was a commote in medieval Wales, located in Mid Wales on the north side of the River Wye. For most of the Middle Ages its rulers operated independently of other powers, but it was sometimes associated with the cantref of Maelienydd and the Kingdom of Powys, and, in the...
- ElfaelElfaelElfael was one of a number of Welsh kingdoms occupying the region between the River Wye and river Severn, known as Rhwng Gwy a Hafren, in the early Middle Ages. Later in the Middle Ages it became a cantref. After the Laws in Wales Act of 1535, it became part of the new county of Radnorshire. ...
- MaelienyddMaelienyddMaelienydd, sometimes spelt Maeliennydd, was a cantref and lordship in east central Wales covering the area from the River Teme to Radnor Forest and the area around Llandrindod Wells. The area, which is mainly upland, is now in Powys...
- Buellt
Morgannwg
- GorfynyddGorfynyddGorfynydd was a cantref in Morgannwg, Wales lying between the rivers Thaw and Neath . The name survived in ecclesiastical use until recently as the rural deanery of Gronneath ....
- GwynllwgGwynllwgGwynllŵg was a kingdom of mediæval Wales and later a Norman lordship and then a cantref.-Location:It was named after Gwynllyw, its 5th century or 6th century ruler and consisted of the coastal plain stretching between the Rhymney and Usk rivers, together with the hills to the north...
- Gŵyr
- PenychenPenychenPenychen was a possible minor kingdom of early mediæval Wales and later a cantref of the Kingdom of Morgannwg. Penychen was one of three cantrefs that made up the kingdom of Glywysing, the other two being Gwynllwg and Gorfynydd...
- Senghenydd