For the cantref of the same name on Anglesey, see Cemais (Anglesey cantref)

Cemais (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....

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Cemais (sometimes spelled Kemes after one of the several variations found in medieval orthography) was a cantref of Dyfed

Kingdom of Dyfed

The Kingdom of Dyfed is one of several Welsh petty kingdoms that emerged in 5th-century post-Roman Britain in south-west Wales, based on the former Irish tribal lands of the Déisi from c 350 until it was subsumed into Deheubarth in 920. In Latin, the country of the Déisi was Demetae, eventually to...

, and now part of Pembrokeshire

Pembrokeshire

Pembrokeshire is a county in the south west of Wales. It borders Carmarthenshire to the east and Ceredigion to the north east. The county town is Haverfordwest where Pembrokeshire County Council is headquartered....

, 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...

. It occupied the coastal area between the Teifi

River Teifi

The River Teifi forms the boundary between the counties of Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire in south-west Wales for most of its 75 mile length, flowing into the sea below the town of Cardigan. The catchment of the river is estimated to be 1,008 square kilometres yielding an average flow at Glan...

 estuary and Fishguard

Fishguard

Fishguard is a coastal town in Pembrokeshire, south-west Wales, with a population of 3,300 . The community of Fishguard and Goodwick had a population of 5043 at the 2001 census....

, and the northern and southern slopes of the Preseli Hills

Preseli Hills

The Preseli Hills or Preseli Mountains are a range of hills in north Pembrokeshire, West Wales...

, and had an area of about 359 km². The Afon Nyfer

Afon Nyfer

The Afon Nyfer is a river in North Pembrokeshire, West Wales which runs into the Irish Sea.The river rises at Blaencwm , just east of Crymych. It flows northward then westward, skirting the slopes of the Preseli Hills. It passes through Felindre Farchog and Nevern, and reaches the sea at Newport...

 divided it into two commotes: Is Nyfer

Cemais Is Nyfer

thumb|250 px|right|Location of the commote of Cemais Is NyferCemais Is Nyfer was a commote in the Dyfed cantref of Cemais, Wales. It consisted of the territory between the rivers Nyfer and Teifi, and comprised the parishes of Eglwyswrw, Monington, St. Dogmaels, Llanfair-Nant-Gwyn, Llantood,...

 to the north and Uwch Nyfer

Cemais Uwch Nyfer

Cemais Uwch Nyfer was a commote in the Dyfed cantref of Cemais. It consisted of the territory between the Afon Nyfer and Fishguard. Its civil headquarters were at Newport...

 to the south.

It was occupied by the Normans

Normans

The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...

 in the 12th century, and made part of the March

Welsh Marches

The Welsh Marches is a term which, in modern usage, denotes an imprecisely defined area along and around the border between England and Wales in the United Kingdom. The precise meaning of the term has varied at different periods...

, but remained exclusively Welsh

Welsh language

Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...

-speaking. The initial power-base of the Marcher Lords

Marcher Lords

A Marcher Lord was a strong and trusted noble appointed by the King of England to guard the border between England and Wales.A Marcher Lord is the English equivalent of a margrave...

hip was at Nevern

Nevern

Nevern is a small village or hamlet, of just a few houses in Pembrokeshire, West Wales. It lies in the valley of the River Nevern close to the Preseli Hills of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park east of Newport.-Nevern Parish Church:...

, but was soon moved to the borough of Newport

Newport, Pembrokeshire

Newport is a town in Pembrokeshire, south-west Wales, lying on the River Nevern in the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park.- History :The town was founded by the Norman William FitzMartin about 1197...

, which remained the seat of the Lords of Cemais until modern times. Nevern was the ecclesiastical centre of the cantref, and may have been the seat of a bishop.. George Owen was Lord of Cemais 1574-1613 and produced a detailed parish-by-parish description of the Lordship in his second book.

The Hundred of Cemais was created from the cantref at the time of the Acts of Union of 1535-1542, by transferring the parish

Civil parish

In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...

 of Llantood to Cilgerran

Cilgerran (hundred)

thumb|200px|right|Pembrokeshire showing Cilgerran HundredThe Hundred of Cilgerran was a hundred in the north of Pembrokeshire, Wales...

 hundred and adding a small area of Cantref Gwarthaf

Cantref Gwarthaf (Dyfed)

thumb|250 px|right|Location of the Cantref GwarthafCantref Gwarthaf was the largest of the seven cantrefi of Dyfed. It subsequently became part of Deheubarth in around 950. It consisted of the southeastern part of Dyfed containing most of the basin of the River Tâf.The name means "upper-most...

cantref.