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A Cantref was a medieval Welsh
Wales

native_name = Cymru|conventional_long_name = Wales|common_name = Wales|image_flag = Flag of Wales 2.svg|national_motto = ...
 land division, particularly important in the administration of Welsh law
Welsh law

Welsh law, the law of Wales, was traditionally first codified by Hywel Dda during the period between 942 and 950 when he was king of most of Wales....
.

Land in medieval Wales
Wales

native_name = Cymru|conventional_long_name = Wales|common_name = Wales|image_flag = Flag of Wales 2.svg|national_motto = ...
 was divided into cantrefs, which were themselves divided into smaller cymydau (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). The name "cantref" is derived from "Cant" ("a hundred") and "tref" ("town
Town

A town is a type of human settlement ranging from a few to several thousand inhabitants, although it may be applied loosely even to huge metropolitan areas; the precise meaning varies between countries and is not always a matter of legal definition....
" 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.






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A Cantref was a medieval Welsh
Wales

native_name = Cymru|conventional_long_name = Wales|common_name = Wales|image_flag = Flag of Wales 2.svg|national_motto = ...
 land division, particularly important in the administration of Welsh law
Welsh law

Welsh law, the law of Wales, was traditionally first codified by Hywel Dda during the period between 942 and 950 when he was king of most of Wales....
.

Land in medieval Wales
Wales

native_name = Cymru|conventional_long_name = Wales|common_name = Wales|image_flag = Flag of Wales 2.svg|national_motto = ...
 was divided into cantrefs, which were themselves divided into smaller cymydau (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). The name "cantref" is derived from "Cant" ("a hundred") and "tref" ("town
Town

A town is a type of human settlement ranging from a few to several thousand inhabitants, although it may be applied loosely even to huge metropolitan areas; the precise meaning varies between countries and is not always a matter of legal definition....
" 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. Cantrefs 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
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....
 (now in Carmarthenshire
Carmarthenshire

Carmarthenshire is a subdivisions of Wales in the South West Wales of Wales and one of thirteen counties of Wales. Its three largest towns are Carmarthen, Llanelli and Ammanford....
) was divided into seven commotes. To give an idea of the size of a cantref, the island of Anglesey
Anglesey

Anglesey is an island and principal areas of Wales off the northwest coast of Wales, with a predominantly Welsh language-speaking population. It is connected to the mainland by two bridges spanning the Menai Strait: the original Menai Suspension Bridge , designed by Thomas Telford in 1826; and the newer reconstructed Britannia Bridge ; which...
 was divided into three cantrefs, Cemais, Aberffraw and Rhosyr.

Cantrefs were of particular importance in the administration of the Welsh law
Welsh law

Welsh law, the law of Wales, was traditionally first codified by Hywel Dda during the period between 942 and 950 when he was king of most of Wales....
. 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 in the cantref, 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 matters concerning 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 Cantrefs of Wales


Deheubarth

  • Penweddig
    Penweddig (place)

    Penweddig was a medieval cantref of the kingdom of Ceredigion , which is now in the county of Ceredigion, Wales. The community secondary school Ysgol Gyfun Penweddig is named after the cantref....
  • Is Aeron
  • Uwch Aeron
  • Cemais
    Cemais (Dyfed cantref)

    Cemais was a cantref of Kingdom of Dyfed, and now part of Pembrokeshire, Wales. It occupied the coastal area between the River Teifi estuary and Fishguard, and the northern and southern slopes of the Preseli Hills, and had an area of about 359 km2....
  • Pebidiog
  • Rhos
  • Deugleddyf
  • Penfro
  • Cantref Gwarthaf
  • Emlyn
    Emlyn

    Emlyn was one of the seven cantrefi of Kingdom of Dyfed, an ancient district of Wales. It subsequently became part of Deheubarth in around 950....
  • Y Cantref Mawr
    Cantref Mawr

    Cantref Mawr was a cantref in south-west Wales. It was of strategic importance in medieval Wales as the location of the main seat of the princes of Deheubarth at Dinefwr Castle....
  • Y Cantref Bychan
  • Eginog


Gwynedd

  • Arllechwedd
    Arllechwedd

    The ancient Welsh cantref of Arllechwedd in north-west Wales was part of the kingdom of Gwynedd for much of its history until it was included in the new county of Caernarfonshire, together with Cantref Arfon and Cantref Llyn under the terms of the Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284....
  • Cemais
    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....
  • Aberffraw
    Aberffraw (cantref)

    Aberffraw was one of the three medieval cantrefs on the island of Anglesey, north Wales, in the Kingdom of Gwynedd. It lay on the western side of the island on Caernarfon Bay....
  • Rhosyr
  • Arfon
    Cantref Arfon

    The mediaeval Welsh cantref of Arfon in north-west Wales was the core of the Kingdom of Gwynedd. Later it was included in the new county of Caernarfonshire, together with Cantref Llyn and Cantref Arllechwedd under the terms of the Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284....
  • Arllechwedd
  • Llyn
    Cantref Llyn

    The ancient Welsh cantref of Llyn in north-west Wales was part of the kingdom of Gwynedd for much of its history until it was included in the new county of Caernarfonshire, together with Cantref Arfon and Cantref Arllechwedd under the terms of the Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284....
  • Dunoding
    Dunoding

    Dunoding was an early sub-kingdom within the Kingdom of Gwynedd in north-west Wales which existed between the 5th and 10th centuries. According to tradition, it was named after Dunod, a son of the founding father of Gwynedd - Cunedda Wledig - who drove the Ireland settlers from the area in c.460....
  • Rhos
  • Rhufoniog
    Rhufoniog

    Rhufoniog was a small sub-kingdom of the dark ages Kingdom of Gwynedd, and later a cantref in medieval Wales. According to tradition, it was ruled by its eponymous founder Rhufon, the third son of the first King of Gwynedd, Cunedda, and his direct descendants from the year 445 until the year 540 when it was probably absorbed back into direct...
  • Dyffryn Clwyd
    Dyffryn Clwyd

    Dyffryn Clwyd was a cantref of Medieval Wales and from 1282 a marcher lordship. In 1536, it became part of the new county of Denbighshire. The name means Vale of Clwyd in English and is still the name for that region of north Wales in modern Welsh language....
  • Tegeingl


Morgannwg

  • Gorfynydd
  • Gwyr
  • Penychen
    Penychen

    Penychen was a possible minor kingdom of early medi?val Wales and later a cantref of the Kingdom of Morgannwg. Penychen was one of three cantrefs that made up the kingdom of Glywysing, the other two being Gwynllwg and Gorfynydd....
  • Senghenydd


Powys

  • Maelor
    Maelor

    Maelor is a Wales-England border area of north-east Wales. It originated as a Cantref of the Kingdom of Powys, focused on Bangor-on-Dee....
  • Penllyn
  • Swydd y Waun
  • Arwystli
  • Mochnant
  • Cyfeiliog
  • Caereinion
  • Mechain
    Mechain

    Mechain was a medieval cantref in the Kingdom of Powys. It lay almost in the centre of the kingdom, bordering with cantref Caereinion to the south, the two cwmwds of the cantref of Mochnant to the north, and part of the cantref of Deuparth and the cwmwds of Deuddwr and Ystrad Marchell to the east....
  • Cedewain
  • Gwrtheyrnion
    Gwrtheyrnion

    File:Map of the Cantrefs and Commotes of Rhwng Gwy a Hafren.svgGwrtheyrnion, or Gwerthrynion, was a possible early medieval minor monarchy and attested later medieval commote of mid-Wales, supposedly named after its traditional founder, Gwrtheyrn who, according to tradition, was High King of Britain of the Brython c.425 - c.455....
  • Elfael
    Elfael

    File:Map of the Cantrefs and Commotes of Rhwng Gwy a Hafren.svgElfael was, probably, one of a number of Wales kingdoms occupying the region between the River Wye and river Severn, known as Rhwng Gwy a Hafren, in the early Middle Ages....
  • Maelienydd
    Maelienydd

    File:Map of the Cantrefs and Commotes of Rhwng Gwy a Hafren.svgMaelienydd, sometimes spelt Maeliennydd, was a cantref and lordship in east central Wales covering the area from the River Teme to Radnor Forest and the area around Llandrindod Wells....
  • Buellt


See also

  • Ergyng
    Ergyng

    Ergyng was a Wales kingdom of the sub-Roman Britain and Early Middle Ages period, between the 5th and 7th centuries. It was later referred to by the English people as Archenfield....
  • Hundred (country subdivision)