Cydweli (Cantref)
Cydweli was a medieval cantref in South West Wales .
The Welsh Cantref Cydweli stretched from the coast of Carmarthen Bay to the Afon Tiwy in the west and north, to the River Loughor in the southeast, and to Black Mountain in the northeast. In the north joined the Cantref Mawr, which belonged to the core area of the Principality of Deheubarth . The Cantref was divided into the three commotes Cydweli in the west, Carnwyllion in the south and Iscennen in the north.
The name Cidwely was first mentioned as Cetgueli in the 9th century . The Cantref was part of Ystrad Tywi and thus belonged to Deheubarth. In 1102, King Henry I first gave it to the Welsh Hywel ap Goronwy , but he withdrew it again in 1105. After 1106 the coastal Commote Cydweli was conquered by Bishop Roger of Salisbury , who built Kidwelly Castle at the mouth of the Gwendraeth as the center of his new rule. Immediately south of the castle was an English settlement, in the immediate vicinity of which English, Norman and Flemish settlers settled who farmed sheep in the fertile coastal plain. The region immediately around the settlement called Kidwelly was therefore called Englishry or foreignry , while the eastern, hilly and largely densely forested parts of Cantrefs remained under Welsh control. The small Anglo-Norman rule was a minor barony of the Welsh Marches and a link between the Anglo-Norman rule Gower and Carmarthen Castle, which was directly subordinate to the English king . However, the Anglo-Norman conquerors failed to secure their territory with a network of castles, and the barony was repeatedly the target of raids and attacks by the Welsh princes of Deheubarth, who owned the wooded, hilly hinterland of Kidwelly until the mid-13th century offered numerous cover options for attacks. Between 1259 and 1201, from 1215 to 1220 and from 1231 to 1244, the region was owned by the Princes of Deheubarth.
Before 1139 the barony fell to Maurice de Londres of Ogmore Castle . Through the marriage of the heirloom Hawise de Londres to Patrick de Chaworth , the rule fell to the Chaworth family around 1240 . In 1297 the heiress Maud de Chaworth married Henry Plantagenet , who was raised to Earl of Lancaster in 1324. The rule became part of the later Duchy of Lancaster . Together with Ogmore, Grosmont , Skenfrith , White Castle , Monmouth , Brecon and Caldicot , it belonged to the southern possessions of the Duchy of Lancaster in Wales. After Henry Bolingbroke became English King in 1399, Kidwelly belonged to the private property of the English kings from 1485 to 1531, with interruptions due to the rule of Rhys ap Thomas . The barony's independence finally ended under King Henry VIII through the incorporation of Wales .
The Lord of Kidwelly had the privilege of having the King or his Justiciar with his flag waving when he traveled from Neath to Laugharne through the Barony.
Individual evidence
- ^ Kidwelly Town Council: About Kidwelly. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on May 2, 2014 ; Retrieved April 29, 2014 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ David Walker: Medieval Wales . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1990. ISBN 978-0-521-31153-3 , p. 36
- ↑ John Kenyon: Kidwelly Castle . Cadw, Cardiff 2007. ISBN 978-1-85760-256-2 , p. 15
- ^ David Walker: Medieval Wales . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1990. ISBN 978-0-521-31153-3 , p. 36
- ^ W. Pickering: Kidwelly Castle . In: Archaeologia Cambrensis 9 (1852), p. 17
