Arwystli
Encyclopedia
Arwystli 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 many skirmishes between those groups. Like many other cantrefs and subdivisions, it was divided up by the Laws in Wales Acts in the 16th century.
Arwystli formed part of the territory of the Ordovices
, the Celtic tribe that controlled much of northern Wales. It is unclear when it formed as a distinct unit, but the name itself derives from the personal name Arwystl, borne by a disciple of Dubricius
. The first reference to Arwystli occurs in the 11th-century Domesday Book
, where it appears as the "hundred of Arvester". At some point it was subdivided into the commote
s of Arwystli Is Coed and Arwystli Uwch Coed (Arwystli Below the Wood and Arwystli Above the Wood). Important settlements included Talgarth
, Llandinam
, Llanidloes
, and Caersws
. There is some conjecture that Arwystli may have been associated with the region known as Rhwng Gwy a Hafren
(Between Wye and Severn). Hubert Hall suggests that it was one of the cantrefs of the obscure region once known as Cynllibiwg
, located "between Severn and Wye", mentioned in the Red Book of the Exchequer
.
. Significantly, the cantref became part of the Diocese of Bangor, which covered Gwynedd, rather than the Powys-centred Diocese of St Asaph
. As such Arwystli was the scene of periodic bloody disputes between the two kingdoms. Though the cantref mostly consisted of inarable moorland
, it did contain some valuable farmland in the river valleys and offered strategic access between Mid Wales
and the Welsh Marches
. In the late 11th century it was taken by the Norman
leader Roger de Montgomerie
, though his claim to it was disputed by Robert of Rhuddlan
, who controlled most of North Wales
at the time. It remained in the hands of Roger's heirs until the earlier 12th century, when it was retaken by Welsh lords. Over the next centuries Powys and Gwynedd resumed their violent struggle, and the Arwystli dynasty changed allegiances several times.
The contention over Arwystli played an important role in the buildup to the 1283 conquest of Wales by Edward I of England
. In 1263 Llywelyn the Last
, who ruled Gwynedd as Prince of Wales
, approved the claim over Arwystli of Gruffydd ap Gwenwynwyn
, Marcher Lord of the part of Powys known as Powys Wenwynwyn
. In 1274, however, Llywelyn reversed his earlier decision, and claimed the cantref as part of his own Principality of Wales
. Gruffydd protested, and in 1277 Llywelyn plead his case to Edward, his suzerain, hoping for a quick resolution. The 1277 Treaty of Aberconwy
guaranteed that Edward would provide full consideration to Llywelyn under the law, and also that disputes be settled "according to the laws of Wales for cases arising in Wales". Llywelyn claimed that Arwystli was part of Wales, and as such the dispute must be settled by Welsh law
, rather than the English common law of the Marches. Edward, however, used the case as a means to belittle the position of the Prince of Wales, insisting that Llywelyn must file his grievance as any other appellant, rather than receiving priority as one of the king's major vassals. This insult contributed to the widespread anti-royal sentiment that led to the revolt of 1282. After the conquest the following year, Edward upheld Gruffydd's claim, solidifying Powys' claim over Arwystli.
In the late 14th century Arwystli, along with the small lordships of Caereinion
and Cyfeiliog, was taken from the Cherleton
family by Edmund Mortimer. Edward Charleton
retook the lost territories in 1403, during the Glyndŵr Rising
. His heirs eventually sold it to the Crown in the time of Henry VIII
. Henry's Laws in Wales Acts divided Arwystli into smaller manors, and the former cantref was reorganized as Arwystli Hundred, later known as Llanidloes Hundred. It was part of the historic county of Montgomeryshire
until 1974, when the area became part of the new county of Powys
.
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...
, located in the headland of the River Severn
River Severn
The River Severn is the longest river in Great Britain, at about , but the second longest on the British Isles, behind the River Shannon. It rises at an altitude of on Plynlimon, Ceredigion near Llanidloes, Powys, in the Cambrian Mountains of mid Wales...
in what is now the county of Powys
Powys
Powys is a local-government county and preserved county in Wales.-Geography:Powys covers the historic counties of Montgomeryshire and Radnorshire, most of Brecknockshire , and a small part of Denbighshire — an area of 5,179 km², making it the largest county in Wales by land area.It is...
. It was chiefly associated with the Kingdom of Powys, but was heavily disputed between Powys, Gwynedd
Kingdom of Gwynedd
Gwynedd was one petty kingdom of several Welsh successor states which emerged in 5th-century post-Roman Britain in the Early Middle Ages, and later evolved into a principality during the High Middle Ages. It was based on the former Brythonic tribal lands of the Ordovices, Gangani, and the...
, and the Norman
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...
Marcher Lords for hundreds of years, and was the scene of many skirmishes between those groups. Like many other cantrefs and subdivisions, it was divided up by the Laws in Wales Acts in the 16th century.
Early history
During the Roman eraRoman Britain
Roman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...
Arwystli formed part of the territory of the Ordovices
Ordovices
The Ordovices were one of the Celtic tribes living in Great Britain, before the Roman invasion of Britain. Its tribal lands were located in present day Wales and England between the Silures to the south and the Deceangli to the north-east...
, the Celtic tribe that controlled much of northern Wales. It is unclear when it formed as a distinct unit, but the name itself derives from the personal name Arwystl, borne by a disciple of Dubricius
Dubricius
Saint Dubricius was a 6th century Briton ecclesiastic venerated as a saint. He was the evangelist of Ergyng and much of South-East Wales.-Biography:Dubricius was the illegitimate son of Efrddyl, the daughter of King Peibio Clafrog of Ergyng...
. The first reference to Arwystli occurs in the 11th-century Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
, where it appears as the "hundred of Arvester". At some point it was subdivided into the commote
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...
s of Arwystli Is Coed and Arwystli Uwch Coed (Arwystli Below the Wood and Arwystli Above the Wood). Important settlements included Talgarth
Talgarth
Talgarth is a small market town and community in southern Powys , Mid Wales, with a population of 1,645. Notable buildings in the town include its 14th-century parish church and 13th century Pele Tower, located in the town centre, now home to the Tourist Information and Resource Centre...
, Llandinam
Llandinam
Llandinam is village in Powys, central Wales, between Newtown and Llanidloes, located on the A470.Llandinam was the family home of David Davies who was responsible for much of the development of the South Wales Valleys and the export of coal in the 19th century...
, Llanidloes
Llanidloes
Llanidloes is a town along the A470 road and B4518 road in Powys, within the historic county boundaries of Montgomeryshire , Mid Wales.It is the first town on the River Severn...
, and Caersws
Caersws
Caersws is a village and community sitting on the River Severn, at miles west of Newtown, Powys, and halfway between Aberystwyth and Shrewsbury.- History & Amenities :...
. There is some conjecture that Arwystli may have been associated with the region known as Rhwng Gwy a Hafren
Rhwng Gwy a Hafren
Rhwng 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...
(Between Wye and Severn). Hubert Hall suggests that it was one of the cantrefs of the obscure region once known as Cynllibiwg
Cynllibiwg
Cynllibiwg was evidently a place name in early medieval Wales.The earliest surviving reference to it is in the Historia Brittonum, which describes a marvelous spring in the regione of Cinlipiuc that has an abundance of fish despite not being fed by a stream...
, located "between Severn and Wye", mentioned in the Red Book of the Exchequer
Red Book of the Exchequer
The Red Book of the Exchequer is a 13th-century manuscript compilation of the records of the English Exchequer. Made of vellum, the book was compiled by a royal clerk who died in 1246...
.
High Middle Ages
In earlier times Arwystli was evidently considered part of the Kingdom of Powys, but over time its local rulers established ties with GwyneddKingdom of Gwynedd
Gwynedd was one petty kingdom of several Welsh successor states which emerged in 5th-century post-Roman Britain in the Early Middle Ages, and later evolved into a principality during the High Middle Ages. It was based on the former Brythonic tribal lands of the Ordovices, Gangani, and the...
. Significantly, the cantref became part of the Diocese of Bangor, which covered Gwynedd, rather than the Powys-centred Diocese of St Asaph
Diocese of St Asaph
The Diocese of Saint Asaph is a diocese in north-east Wales, named after Saint Asaph, its second bishop.-Geography:The Anglican Diocese of St Asaph in the north-east corner of Wales stretches from the borders of Chester in the east, to the Conwy valley in the west, to Bala in the south-west, and...
. As such Arwystli was the scene of periodic bloody disputes between the two kingdoms. Though the cantref mostly consisted of inarable moorland
Moorland
Moorland or moor is a type of habitat, in the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome, found in upland areas, characterised by low-growing vegetation on acidic soils and heavy fog...
, it did contain some valuable farmland in the river valleys and offered strategic access between Mid Wales
Mid Wales
Mid Wales is the name given to the central region of Wales. The Mid Wales Regional Committee of the National Assembly for Wales covered the counties of Ceredigion and Powys and the area of Gwynedd that had previously been the district of Meirionydd. A similar definition is used by the BBC...
and the Welsh Marches
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...
. In the late 11th century it was taken by the Norman
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...
leader Roger de Montgomerie
Roger de Montgomerie, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury
Roger de Montgomerie , also known as Roger the Great de Montgomery, was the first Earl of Shrewsbury. His father was also Roger de Montgomerie, and was a relative, probably a grandnephew, of the Duchess Gunnor, wife of Duke Richard I of Normandy...
, though his claim to it was disputed by Robert of Rhuddlan
Robert of Rhuddlan
Robert of Rhuddlan was a Norman adventurer who became lord of much of north-east Wales and for a period lord of all North Wales....
, who controlled most of North Wales
North Wales
North Wales is the northernmost unofficial region of Wales. It is bordered to the south by the counties of Ceredigion and Powys in Mid Wales and to the east by the counties of Shropshire in the West Midlands and Cheshire in North West England...
at the time. It remained in the hands of Roger's heirs until the earlier 12th century, when it was retaken by Welsh lords. Over the next centuries Powys and Gwynedd resumed their violent struggle, and the Arwystli dynasty changed allegiances several times.
The contention over Arwystli played an important role in the buildup to the 1283 conquest of Wales by Edward I of England
Edward I of England
Edward I , also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England from 1272 to 1307. The first son of Henry III, Edward was involved early in the political intrigues of his father's reign, which included an outright rebellion by the English barons...
. In 1263 Llywelyn the Last
Llywelyn the Last
Llywelyn ap Gruffydd or Llywelyn Ein Llyw Olaf , sometimes rendered as Llywelyn II, was the last prince of an independent Wales before its conquest by Edward I of England....
, who ruled Gwynedd as Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales is a title traditionally granted to the heir apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the 15 other independent Commonwealth realms...
, approved the claim over Arwystli of Gruffydd ap Gwenwynwyn
Gruffydd ap Gwenwynwyn
Gruffydd ap Gwenwynwyn was a Welsh prince who was lord of the part of Powys known as Powys Wenwynwyn.Gruffydd was the son of Gwenwynwyn ab Owain and Margaret Corbet. He was still a child when his father, who had been driven out of his princedom by Llywelyn the Great, died in exile in 1216...
, Marcher Lord of the part of Powys known as Powys Wenwynwyn
Powys Wenwynwyn
Powys Wenwynwyn or Powys Cyfeiliog was the southern portion of the former princely state of Powys which split following the death of Madog ap Maredudd of Powys in 1160...
. In 1274, however, Llywelyn reversed his earlier decision, and claimed the cantref as part of his own Principality of Wales
Principality of Wales
The Principality of Wales existed between 1216 and 1542, encompassing two-thirds of modern Wales.It was formally founded in 1216 at the Council of Aberdyfi, and later recognised by the 1218 Treaty of Worcester between Llywelyn the Great of Wales and Henry III of England...
. Gruffydd protested, and in 1277 Llywelyn plead his case to Edward, his suzerain, hoping for a quick resolution. The 1277 Treaty of Aberconwy
Treaty of Aberconwy
The Treaty of Aberconwy was signed in 1277 by King Edward I of England and Llewelyn the Last of modern-day Wales, who had fought each other on and off for years over control of the Welsh countryside...
guaranteed that Edward would provide full consideration to Llywelyn under the law, and also that disputes be settled "according to the laws of Wales for cases arising in Wales". Llywelyn claimed that Arwystli was part of Wales, and as such the dispute must be settled by 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...
, rather than the English common law of the Marches. Edward, however, used the case as a means to belittle the position of the Prince of Wales, insisting that Llywelyn must file his grievance as any other appellant, rather than receiving priority as one of the king's major vassals. This insult contributed to the widespread anti-royal sentiment that led to the revolt of 1282. After the conquest the following year, Edward upheld Gruffydd's claim, solidifying Powys' claim over Arwystli.
In the late 14th century Arwystli, along with the small lordships of Caereinion
Llanfair Caereinion
Llanfair Caereinion is a small town in Powys, east central Wales upon the River Banwy , around 6 miles west of Welshpool....
and Cyfeiliog, was taken from the Cherleton
Baron Cherleton
The Barons Cherleton were a Shropshire knightly family, one of whom married Hawise "Gadarn" the heiress of the Lordship of Powys. This was the former Welsh Principality of Powys Wenwynwyn, which had as a result of the last prince's submission to Edward I been transformed into a marcher...
family by Edmund Mortimer. Edward Charleton
Edward Charleton, 5th Baron Cherleton
Edward Charleton , 5th Baron Cherleton, KG , 5th and last Lord Charlton of Powys, was the younger son of John Charlton, the third baron, and his wife, Joan, daughter of Lord Stafford....
retook the lost territories in 1403, during the Glyndŵr Rising
Glyndwr Rising
The Glyndŵr Rising, Welsh Revolt or Last War of Independence was an uprising of the Welsh, led by Owain Glyndŵr, against England. It was the last major manifestation of a Welsh independence movement before the incorporation of Wales into England by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542.- The Fall of...
. His heirs eventually sold it to the Crown in the time of Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
. Henry's Laws in Wales Acts divided Arwystli into smaller manors, and the former cantref was reorganized as Arwystli Hundred, later known as Llanidloes Hundred. It was part of the historic county of Montgomeryshire
Montgomeryshire
Montgomeryshire, also known as Maldwyn is one of thirteen historic counties and a former administrative county of Wales. Montgomeryshire is still used as a vice-county for wildlife recording...
until 1974, when the area became part of the new county of Powys
Powys
Powys is a local-government county and preserved county in Wales.-Geography:Powys covers the historic counties of Montgomeryshire and Radnorshire, most of Brecknockshire , and a small part of Denbighshire — an area of 5,179 km², making it the largest county in Wales by land area.It is...
.