Calchfynydd
Calchfynydd (Welsh calch "lime" + mynydd "mountain") was an obscure Britonnic kingdom or sub-kingdom of sub-Roman Britain. Its exact location is uncertain, and virtually nothing certain is known about it. Hills of lime or chalk might refer to the Cotswolds,[1] or the Chilterns.[2]
The name survives in the epithet of Cadrawd Calchfynydd, apparently a 6th-century ruler of the district. Welsh sources refer to Cadrawd as one of the Gwyr y Gogledd or 'Men of the North', suggesting the area was located somewhere in northern Britain. William Forbes Skene suggested an identification with Kelso (formerly Calchow) in southern Scotland and Rachel Bromwich agrees that a location somewhere in the Hen Ogledd is most likely.[3] Alistair Moffat in his history of Kelso supports this position, citing early references to "Chalchou," as well as the chalk area and Chalkheugh Terrace.[4] John Morris placed it south of the realm of Urien of Rheged, "between Trent and Thames".[5][6] Based at least in part on the forgeries of Iolo Morganwg, the Rev. Thomas Barns located Calchfynydd around Dunstable,[7] however sources predating Iolo's time, notably Henry Rowlands' Mona Antiqua Restaurata, mention a connection with Dunstable through "Cadrod Calchfynydd" being Earl of Dunstable (a very anachronistic title) in the post-Roman period.[8] Robert Owen placed the kingdom among the Cotswolds.[1]
Presumed rulers in the line of Cadrawd
[edit]- Cynwyd Cynwydion
- Cadrawd Calchfynydd
- Yspwys Mwyntyrch
- Mynan
References
[edit]- ^ a b Owen, Rev. Robert (1891). The Kymry: Their Origin, History, and International Relations. Carmarthen: W. Spurrell and Son. p. 84. Retrieved 29 May 2025.
- ^ Rutherford Davis, K. (1982). Britons and Saxons: the Chiltern Region 400-700. Chichester: Phillimore & Co. pp. 43, 46, 106–107. ISBN 0-85033-418-7.
- ^ Bromwich, Rachel (1961). Trioedd Ynys Prydein (1990 ed.). University of Wales Press: Cardiff. p. 325.
- ^ Moffat, Alistair (1985), Kelsae: A History of Kelso from Earliest Times, Edinburgh: Mainstream Publishing, ISBN 0-906391-93-8
- ^ Morris, John (1966). "Dark Age Dates". In Jarrett, Michael G.; Dobson, Brian (eds.). Britain and Rome: Essays Presented to Eric Birley on His Sixtieth Birthday. Wilson. p. 172. Retrieved 29 May 2025.
- ^ Morris, John (1973). The Age of Arthur: A History of the British Isles from 350 to 650. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson. pp. 211, 232. ISBN 978-0-684-13313-3.
- ^ Barns, Rev. Thomas (1911). Bladen, W. Welles (ed.). "Annual Address: The Making of Mercia". North Staffordshire Field Club Annual Report and Transactions, 1910-1911. XLV. Stafford: J. & C. Mort: 64. Retrieved 28 May 2025.
- ^ Rowlands, Henry (1766). Mona Antiqua Restaurata: An Archæological Discourse on the Antiquities, Natural and Historical, of the Isle of Anglesey, The Ancient Seat of the Druids, In Two Essays. With an Appendix, Containing a Comparative Table of Primitive Words, and the Derivatives of Them Together with Some Letters, and Three Catalogues. London: J. Knox. p. 156. Retrieved 28 May 2025.