Kingdom of Dyfed
Encyclopedia
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...
petty kingdom
Petty kingdom
A petty kingdom is one of a number of small kingdoms, described as minor or "petty" by contrast to an empire or unified kingdom that either preceded or succeeded it...
s that emerged in 5th-century post-Roman Britain
Sub-Roman Britain
Sub-Roman Britain is a term derived from an archaeological label for the material culture of Britain in Late Antiquity: the term "Sub-Roman" was invented to describe the potsherds in sites of the 5th century and the 6th century, initially with an implication of decay of locally-made wares from a...
in south-west Wales
West Wales
West Wales is the western area of Wales.Some definitions of West Wales include only Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire, an area which historically comprised the Welsh principality of Deheubarth., an area called "South West Wales" in the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics....
, based on the former Irish
Gaelic Ireland
Gaelic Ireland is the name given to the period when a Gaelic political order existed in Ireland. The order continued to exist after the arrival of the Anglo-Normans until about 1607 AD...
tribal lands of the Déisi
Déisi
The Déisi were a class of peoples in ancient and medieval Ireland. The term is Old Irish, and derives from the word déis, meaning "vassal" or "subject"; in its original sense, it designated groups who were vassals or rent-payers to a landowner. Later, it became a proper name for certain septs and...
from c 350 until it was subsumed into Deheubarth in 920. In Latin, the country of the Déisi was Demetae
Demetae
The Demetae were a Celtic people of Iron Age Britain who inhabited modern Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire in south-west Wales, and gave their name to the county of Dyfed.-Classical mention:...
, eventually to evolve
Etymology
Etymology is the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time.For languages with a long written history, etymologists make use of texts in these languages and texts about the languages to gather knowledge about how words were used during...
into 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...
as Dyfed. Following the Norman invasions of Wales between 1067–1100, the region was conquered by the Normans and by 1138 incorporated into a new shire called 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....
after the Norman castle built in the Penfro cantref
Penfro (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...
, and under the rule of the Marcher Earl of Pembroke
Earl of Pembroke
Earl of Pembroke is a title created ten times, all in the Peerage of England. It was first created in the 12th century by King Stephen of England. The title is associated with Pembroke, Pembrokeshire in West Wales, which is the site of Earldom's original seat Pembroke Castle...
.
In the latter days of the Roman Empire through to the early post-Roman period, the Déisi
Déisi
The Déisi were a class of peoples in ancient and medieval Ireland. The term is Old Irish, and derives from the word déis, meaning "vassal" or "subject"; in its original sense, it designated groups who were vassals or rent-payers to a landowner. Later, it became a proper name for certain septs and...
peoples, a name which originates in Irish as déis meaning "vassal" or "subject", migrated
The Expulsion of the Déisi
The Expulsion of the Déisi is a medieval Irish narrative of the Cycles of the Kings. It dates approximately to the 8th century, but survives only in manuscripts of a much later date. It describes the fictional history of the Déisi, a group that had gained political power in parts of Ireland during...
to the region between 350 and 400 ad. Their migration may have been with the support of Magnus Maximus
Magnus Maximus
Magnus Maximus , also known as Maximianus and Macsen Wledig in Welsh, was Western Roman Emperor from 383 to 388. As commander of Britain, he usurped the throne against Emperor Gratian in 383...
, who contracted with them to become vassals and seafaring defenders of Britain from Wales to Cornwall, following standard Roman policies. Gaelic became, or remained, the predominant language of the region, as evidenced by twenty stones dated to this periode with Irish ogam inscriptions. One inscribed stone in Castelldwyran near Neath
Neath
Neath is a town and community situated in the principal area of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, UK with a population of approximately 45,898 in 2001...
memoralizes one leader known as Voteporix
Vortiporius
Vortiporius was a king of Dyfed in the early to mid-6th century. He ruled over an area approximately corresponding to the modern Pembrokeshire. As a mythical king in Geoffrey of Monmouth's treatment of the Matter of Britain, he was the successor of Aurelius Conanus and was succeeded by...
in Latin and in ogam, with his title given as Protictoris, who claimed decent from a Magnus Maximus, suggesting that "one of his ancestors was a member of the retinue of an emperor and that the title had become hereditary," according to Professor John Davies. Davies suggests that Voteporix may be descended from the same Maximus that had encouraged the Déisi to settle in the region in the late 4th century.
Dyfed may have originally occupied the area that bordered the rivers 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...
, Gwili and Tywi
River Tywi
With a total length of the River Towy is the longest river flowing entirely within Wales, and is noted for its sea trout and salmon fishing.The river rises within of the Teifi on the lower slopes of Crug Gynan in the Cambrian Mountains and, flowing through the Towy Forest, forms the border...
, and included contemporary 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....
, the western part of contemporary 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...
, and with the town of Carmarthen
Carmarthen
Carmarthen is a community in, and the county town of, Carmarthenshire, Wales. It is sited on the River Towy north of its mouth at Carmarthen Bay. In 2001, the population was 14,648....
. Dyfed eventually comprised at least seven cantrefi: Cemais
Cemais (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...
, Deugleddyf
Dungleddy (hundred)
thumb|200px|right|Ancient [[Kingdom of Dyfed|Dyfed]] showing Deugleddyf Cantref and its "commotes"thumb|200px|right|Pembrokeshire showing Dungleddy Hundred...
, Emlyn
Emlyn
Emlyn 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...
, 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...
, Pebidiog
Dewisland (hundred)
thumb|250px|right|The cantref of Pebidiog in ancient DyfedThe Hundred of Dewisland was a hundred in the north west of Pembrokeshire, Wales...
, Penfro
Penfro (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...
and Rhos
Roose (hundred)
The Hundred of Roose was a hundred in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It was formed by the Act of Union of 1536 and was essentially identical to the pre-Norman cantref of Rhos. It derives its Welsh name from its position nearly surrounded by water, bounded east by the tidal Western Cleddau, south by Milford...
, with an approximate area of about 2284 km2. During times of strength, the kingdom expanded to additionally cover the 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...
(Valley of the [river] Tywi), including Cydweli and Gwyr
Gower (Lordship)
thumb|350px|right|Map of the Lordship, showing the area detached , the area added and the Town and Franchise of Swansea. The language boundary is shown as a dotted line....
, and even bordered Brycheiniog
Brycheiniog
Brycheiniog was a small independent petty kingdom in South Wales in the Early Middle Ages. It often acted as a buffer state between England to the east and the powerful south Welsh kingdom of Deheubarth to the west. It was conquered and pacified by the Normans between 1088 and 1095, though it...
. Dyfed lost the Ystrad Tywi region to Ceredigion
Kingdom of Ceredigion
The Kingdom of Ceredigion was one of several Welsh kingdoms that emerged in 5th-century post-Roman Britain. Its area corresponded roughly to that of the modern county of Ceredigion. The kingdom's hilly geography made it difficult for foreign invaders to conquer. Cardigan Bay bordered to the west...
, another petty kingdom, in the late 7th century.
During the 'Age of the Saints
Celtic Christianity
Celtic Christianity or Insular Christianity refers broadly to certain features of Christianity that were common, or held to be common, across the Celtic-speaking world during the Early Middle Ages...
', Dyfed may have had as many as seven bishops: one for each cantref. However, by the High Middle Ages the bishopric of St. David's emerged as one of only three episcopal
Episcopal Area
An Episcopal Area in the United Methodist Church is a basic unit of this denomination. It is a region presided over by a resident bishop that is similar to a diocese in other Christian denominations. Each annual conference in the UMC is within a single episcopal area; some episcopal areas...
diocese
Diocese
A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...
in Wales, with St. David's covering all of West Wales
West Wales
West Wales is the western area of Wales.Some definitions of West Wales include only Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire, an area which historically comprised the Welsh principality of Deheubarth., an area called "South West Wales" in the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics....
and part of Mid Wales.
Dyfed was subject to extensive raids during the Viking Age
Viking Age
Viking Age is the term for the period in European history, especially Northern European and Scandinavian history, spanning the late 8th to 11th centuries. Scandinavian Vikings explored Europe by its oceans and rivers through trade and warfare. The Vikings also reached Iceland, Greenland,...
between the 8th and 11th centuries, causing social and political instability, and with the Vikings establishing settlements in southern Dyfed. By the latter part of the 9th century, the rulers of Dyfed had grown cautious of the influence of the sons of Rhodri the Great
Rhodri the Great
Rhodri the Great was King of Gwynedd from 844 until his death. He was the first Welsh ruler to be called 'Great', and the first to rule most of present-day Wales...
, and sought out an alliance and the patronage of Alfred the Great
Alfred the Great
Alfred the Great was King of Wessex from 871 to 899.Alfred is noted for his defence of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of southern England against the Vikings, becoming the only English monarch still to be accorded the epithet "the Great". Alfred was the first King of the West Saxons to style himself...
of England. The precise nature of the relationship between King Alfred and the rulers in Wales remains unclear, whether a transitory alliance or a formal mediatization
Mediatization
Mediatisation is the loss of imperial immediacy. Broadly defined it is the subsumption of one monarchy into another monarchy in such a way that the ruler of the annexed state keeps his sovereign title and, sometimes, a measure of local power...
of the Welsh rulers to the king of England. Historical attempts have been made to cast the relationship as one as a confederation of Christian unity on the isle of Britain, under the leadership of Alfred, against the heathen Danes. However there evolved a significant degree of coercion in the relationship, according to Davies. "The recognition by Welsh rulers that the king of England had claims upon them would be a central fact in the subsequent political history of Wales," according to Davies.
In about 904 Dyfed's ruler, Llywarch ap Hyfaidd
Llywarch ap Hyfaidd
Llywarch ap Hyfaidd was the king of Dyfed, Wales until its conquest in 904 or 905 by Cadell ap Rhodri and his son Hywel Dda, rulers of Seisyllwg. Kingship passed briefly to his brother, Rhodri, until rule was consolidated by Hywel. Hywel married Llywarch's daughter, Elen, to legitimise his claim...
, died, leaving his daughter Elen as his heiress. Elen was married to Hywel, ruler of neighbnoring Seisyllwg and grandson of Rhodri the Great
Rhodri the Great
Rhodri the Great was King of Gwynedd from 844 until his death. He was the first Welsh ruler to be called 'Great', and the first to rule most of present-day Wales...
through his second son Cadell
Cadell ap Rhodri
Cadell ap Rhodri was the son of Rhodri Mawr . He inherited the kingdom of Seisyllwg from his mother Angharad of Seisyllwg in 878, and passed it to his son, Hywel Dda , on his death in 909. Cadell and Hywel had previously conquered Dyfed in 904/905, establishing Hywel as the king in that region...
. Through
Jure uxoris
Jure uxoris is a Latin term that means "by right of his wife" or "in right of a wife". It is commonly used to refer to a title held by a man whose wife holds it in her own right. In other words, he acquired the title simply by being her husband....
his marriage to Elen, Hywel incorporated Dyfed into an enlarged realm to be known as Deheubarth, meaning the "south part", and later went on to conquer Powys and Gwynedd. However, both Powys and Gwynedd returned to their native dynasties on Hywel's death in 950. Hwyel's grandson Maredudd ab Owain
Maredudd ab Owain
Maredudd ab Owain was a King of Deheubarth, and through conquest also of Gwynedd and Powys, kingdoms in medieval Wales.Maredudd was the son of Owain ap Hywel and the grandson of Hywel Dda. His father was king of Deheubarth before him. As Owain grew too old to lead in battle his son Maredudd took...
recreated the kingdom of his grandfather, but his rule was beset with increasing Viking raids during the latter part of the 10th century. It is during this period that Viking settlements increased, particularly in the area in the cantref of Penfro, with other Viking settlements and trading station at Haverfordwest
Haverfordwest
Haverfordwest is the county town of Pembrokeshire, Wales and serves as the County's principal commercial and administrative centre. Haverfordwest is the most populous urban area in Pembrokeshire, with a population of 13,367 in 2001; though its community boundaries make it the second most populous...
, 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 Caldey Island
Caldey Island
Caldey Island lies south of Tenby in Pembrokeshire, Wales.The island is home to a small village, but is best known for its monastery. Caldey Island is separated from the mainland by the Caldey Sound which is 1 km to 2 km wide between Caldey Island and the coast of Pembrokeshire...
in Dyfed. Viking raids upon the Welsh were "relentless", according to Davies, and Maredudd was compelled to raise taxes to pay the ransoms for Welsh hostages in 993, and in 999 a Viking raiding party attacked St. David's and killed Morganau, the bishop.
Dyfed remained an integral province within Deheubarth until the Norman invasions of Wales between 1068-1100. In the Dyfed region, the cantrefi of Penfro, Rhos, Cemais and Pebidiog became occupied by Norman overlords. The Normans influenced the election of the Bishops of St. David's, in Pebidiog, from 1115 onwards. The Princes of Deheubarth, and later Llywelyn the Great as the Prince of a virtual Principality of Wales from 1216, fought to recover the region until the Edwardian Conquest of Wales in 1284 settled the matter. The 1284 Statute of Rhuddlan established the English county of Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire out of the region formally known as Dyfed.
Rulers
- Anwn ( ca. 357357Year 357 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Constantius and Iulianus...
) - Ednyfed ( ca. 373373Year 373 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Augustus and Valens...
) - Gloitgwyn
- Clotri ( ca. 405405Year 405 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Stilicho and Anthemius...
) - Triffyn FarfogTriffyn FarfogTriffyn Farfog, King of Dyfed was a King of Dyfed from the House of Eochaid Allmuir, and father of King Aergol Lawhir. Also known as Triffyn the Bearded, he married Gwledyr, the heiress of the British Kings of Dyfed, in the mid-5th century and inherited the kingdom....
( ca. 385385Year 385 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Augustus and Bauto...
) - Aergol LawhirAergol LawhirAergol Lawhir, King of Dyfed was a King of Dyfed and son and heir of King Triffyn Farfog. Some sources claim he was born around 480. His residence court was at Lis Castell near Din Bych and may have had a second residence at Castell Argoel in Dyfed...
( ca. 437437Year 437 was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Aetius and Sigisvultus...
) - Gwrthefyr (ca. 475475Year 475 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Zeno without colleague...
- 540540Year 540 was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Iustinus without colleague...
) - Arthwyr ( ca. 585585Year 585 was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 585 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Europe :* The Suebi kingdom on the Iberian peninsula...
) - ClotenCloten of Dyfed and BrycheiniogCloten was the king of Dyfed and Brycheiniog in southern Wales. Already the king of Dyfed, he married Princess Ceindrech of Brycheiniog c.650, briefly uniting the two kingdoms; they would be divided again after his son's reign....
( ca. 630630Year 630 was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 630 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Byzantine Empire :* Croats and Serbs settle in the...
) - RheinRhain of Dyfed and BrycheiniogRhain was king of Dyfed and Brycheiniog in southern Wales in the first half of the 8th century. The previous king of Dyfed, Rhain's father Cloten, had married the princess of Brycheiniog, briefly uniting the two kingdoms. During Rhain's rule, Seisyll, king of Ceredigion, invaded Dyfed and...
( ca. 690690Year 690 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 690 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Asia :* Beginning of Wu Zetian's Zhou Dynasty in China...
) - Tewdos ( ca. 710710Year 710 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 710 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Asia :* The Asuka period, the second and last part...
) - OwainOwainOwain is a name of Welsh origin, and may refer to:* Owain mab Urien , son of Urien, king of Rheged c. 590 AD, and fought with his father against the Angles of Bernicia. He is remembered as Sir Ywain in Arthurian legend* Owain Gwynedd Owain is a name of Welsh origin, and may refer to:* Owain mab...
(ca. 771771Year 771 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 771 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Europe :* December 4 – Carloman I, King of the...
- 811811Year 811 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar.- Byzantine Empire :...
) - Hyfaidd (ca. 815815Year 815 was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar.- Europe :* Bulgaria and the Byzantine Empire sign the Treaty of 815 in Constantinople....
- 893893Year 893 was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar.- Europe :* Council of Preslav: Simeon I succeeds Vladimir as prince of Bulgaria; the capital is moved from Pliska to Preslav....
) - Llywarch ap HyfaiddLlywarch ap HyfaiddLlywarch ap Hyfaidd was the king of Dyfed, Wales until its conquest in 904 or 905 by Cadell ap Rhodri and his son Hywel Dda, rulers of Seisyllwg. Kingship passed briefly to his brother, Rhodri, until rule was consolidated by Hywel. Hywel married Llywarch's daughter, Elen, to legitimise his claim...
(ca. 893893Year 893 was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar.- Europe :* Council of Preslav: Simeon I succeeds Vladimir as prince of Bulgaria; the capital is moved from Pliska to Preslav....
-904904Year 904 was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar.- Asia :* The Byzantines under Andronikos Doukas defeat the Arabs near Germanikeia...
) - RhodriRhodriRhodri is a first name of Welsh origin.It may refer to the following people:*Rhodri Molwynog ap Idwal , former King of Gwynedd*Rhodri the Great, a 9th Century ruler of Wales**Anarawd ap Rhodri, son of Rhodri the Great, and former Prince of Gwynedd...
(ca. 845845Year 845 was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar.- Europe :* March 28 – Paris is sacked by Viking raiders, probably under Ragnar Lodbrok, who collect a huge ransom in exchange for leaving.* The Vikings also sack Hamburg and Melun.* November 22 – Count of Vannes,...
- 905905Year 905 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar.- Africa :* The Abbasid Caliphate re-establishes control of Egypt from the Tulunids.- Asia :...
) - Hywel DdaHywel DdaHywel Dda , was the well-thought-of king of Deheubarth in south-west Wales, who eventually came to rule Wales from Prestatyn to Pembroke. As a descendant of Rhodri Mawr, through his father Cadell, Hywel was a member of the Dinefwr branch of the dynasty and is also named Hywel ap Cadell...
(ca. 905905Year 905 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar.- Africa :* The Abbasid Caliphate re-establishes control of Egypt from the Tulunids.- Asia :...
-909909Year 909 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar.- Africa :* The Aghlabid dynasty in North Africa is overthrown by the Fatimids....
)
Additional reading
- The Irish settlements in Wales, Myles Dillon, Celtica 12, 1977, p. 1-11.