Cantref

A cantref (/ˈkæntrɛv/ KAN-trev; Welsh pronunciation: [ˈkantrɛ(v)]; plural cantrefi or cantrefs; also rendered as cantred)^[1] was a medieval Welsh land division, particularly important in the administration of Welsh law.

Description

Land in medieval Wales was divided into cantrefi, which were themselves divided into smaller cymydau (commotes).^[2] The word 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.

History

List of hundreds (left) and cantrefi (right) from the Red Book of Hergest pre-1285

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.^[3]

Cantrefi were of particular importance in the administration of 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, 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

Deheubarth	Kingdom of Gwent	Kingdom of Gwynedd	Kingdom of Powys	Morgannwg	Rhwng Gwy a Hafren
Penweddig Is Aeron Uwch Aeron Cemais Pebidiog Rhos Deugleddyf Penfro Gwarthaf Emlyn Y Cantref Mawr Y Cantref Bychan Eginog	Ergyng Ewias Gwent Is-coed Gwent Uch-coed	Arllechwedd Cemais Aberffraw Rhosyr Arfon Llŷn Dunoding Rhos Rhufoniog Dyffryn Clwyd Tegeingl	Penllyn Powys Fadog Maelor Swydd y Waun Ystlyg Powys Wenwynwyn Arwystli Cedewain Cyfeiliog Caereinion Mechain Mochnant	Gorfynydd Gwynllwg Gŵyr Penychen Senghenydd	Gwrtheyrnion Elfael Maelienydd Buellt

Other Cantrefi

Cantref Coch is associated with the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, and defined as the land between the River Severn and the River Wye. 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 in 926 by king Æthelstan.^[4]

Cantre'r Gwaelod is an ancient sunken kingdom said to have occupied a tract of fertile land lying in Cardigan Bay. First mentioned in the Black Book of Carmarthen, the cantref is a recurring topic in Welsh literature and Welsh mythology. In one version of the story, Seithenyn, 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.^[5]^[6]

Citations

^ "cantred". The Chambers Dictionary (9th ed.). Chambers. 2003. ISBN 0-550-10105-5.
^ Rees, William (1951). An Historical Atlas of Wales from Early to Modern Times. Faber & Faber.
^ Davies, John; Jenkins, Nigel; Baines, Menna; Lynch, Peredur I. (2008), The Welsh Academy Encyclopedia of Wales, Cardiff: University of Wales Press, p. 113, ISBN 978-0-7083-1953-6
^ Stenton 1971, pp. 340–41; Foot 2011, p. 163.
^ Gwyndaf, Robin (1989). "34. Cantre'r Gwaelod, Dyfed". Welsh folk tales/Chwedlau gwerin Cymru (2 ed.). Cardiff: National Museum Wales/Amgueddfa Genedlaethol Cymru. ISBN 978-0-7200-0326-0.
^ "Cantre'r Gwaelod – The Lost Land of Wales". Legacies - UK History Local to You. BBC. Retrieved 4 January 2012.

References

Foot, Sarah (2011). Æthelstan: The First King of England. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-12535-1.
Fulton, Helen (2018), Mapping the Marches of Wales, Bristol: The University of Bristol
Koch, John T., ed. (2005), Celtic Culture: a historical encyclopedia, ABC-Clio (published 2006), ISBN 978-1-85109-440-0
Lloyd, John Edward (1911), A History of Wales from the Earliest Times to the Edwardian Conquest, vol. I (2nd ed.), London: Longmans, Green, and Co (published 1912)
RCAHMW (2017), Mapping the Historic Boundaries of Wales: Commotes and Cantrefs, Aberystwyth: Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales
Stenton, Frank (1971). Anglo-Saxon England (3rd ed.). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-280139-5.

Further study

Kocourek, Albert; Wigmore, John H., eds. (1915). "Laws of Howel Dda". Sources of Ancient and Primitive Law. Translated by Owen, Aneurin. Boston: Little, Brown, and Company. pp. 519–553.
Lewis, Hubert (1889). Lloyd, John Edward (ed.). The Ancient Laws of Wales. London: Elliot Stock.
Probert, William, ed. (1823). The Ancient Laws of Cambria. London: E. Williams.
Richards, G. Melville (1969). Welsh Administrative and Territorial Units, Medieval and Modern. Cardiff: University of Wales Press.
Seebohm, Frederic (1904) [1895]. The Tribal System in Wales (2nd ed.). London: Longmans, Green, and Co.

[1] "cantred". The Chambers Dictionary (9th ed.). Chambers. 2003. ISBN 0-550-10105-5.

[2] Rees, William (1951). An Historical Atlas of Wales from Early to Modern Times. Faber & Faber.

[3] Davies, John; Jenkins, Nigel; Baines, Menna; Lynch, Peredur I. (2008), The Welsh Academy Encyclopedia of Wales, Cardiff: University of Wales Press, p. 113, ISBN 978-0-7083-1953-6

[FOOTNOTEStenton1971340–41Foot2011163-4] Stenton 1971, pp. 340–41; Foot 2011, p. 163.

[5] Gwyndaf, Robin (1989). "34. Cantre'r Gwaelod, Dyfed". Welsh folk tales/Chwedlau gwerin Cymru (2 ed.). Cardiff: National Museum Wales/Amgueddfa Genedlaethol Cymru. ISBN 978-0-7200-0326-0.

[6] "Cantre'r Gwaelod – The Lost Land of Wales". Legacies - UK History Local to You. BBC. Retrieved 4 January 2012.

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