Calchfynydd
Calchfynydd (Welsh calch "lime" + mynydd "mountain") was an obscure Brythonic kingdom or sub-kingdom of sub-Roman Britain. Its exact location is unknown and virtually nothing certain is known about it.
It is referred to directly in a single line of a poem in the Book of Taliesin where it appears to be connected with the kingdom of Powys; however the traditions of many figures from the Hen Ogledd ('Old North') "migrated" south to Wales in the early medieval period. The name also survived in the epithet of Cadrawd Calchfynydd, apparently a 6th century ruler of the district.
Because Cadrawd was referred to by the Welsh as one of the Gwyr y Gogledd or 'Men of the North', W F Skene suggested the area's identification with Kelso (formerly Calchow) in southern Scotland and Rachel Bromwich agrees that a location somewhere in the Hen Ogledd is most likely.[1] Alistair Moffat in his history of Kelso supports this position, citing early references to "Chalchou," as well as the chalk area and Chalkheugh Terrace.[2] David Nash Ford, however, seeks to place Calchfynydd in the Chiltern Hills, since 16th century pedigrees associate Cadrawd with the towns of Northampton and Dunstable;[3] this is not the general opinion of scholars of the period however.[4]
Presumed rulers in the line of Cadrawd
See also
References
- ^ Rachel Bromwich. (1961. rev 1990). Trioedd Ynys Prydein. Cardiff: University of Wales Press, p. 325
- ^ Moffat, Alistair (1985), Kelsae: A History of Kelso from Earliest Times, Mainstream, ISBN 0906391938
{{citation}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|1=(help) - ^ Early British Kingdoms: The British Kingdoms of the Midlands David Nash Ford's interpretation of the evidence.
- ^ Morris, John (1973), The Age of Arthur: A History of the British Isles from 350 to 650, New York: Scribner, ISBN 978-0684133133
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