cantref
Sign in to savethumb|right|Cantrefi of Medieval Wales A cantref ( ; ; plural cantrefi or cantrefs; also rendered as cantred) was a medieval Welsh land division, particularly important in the administration of Welsh law.
Article
8 sectionsContents
- Description
- History
- The Cantrefi of Wales
- Lost Cantrefi
- See also
- Citations
- References
- Further study
thumb|right|Cantrefi of Medieval Wales A cantref ( ; ; plural cantrefi or cantrefs; also rendered as cantred) was a medieval Welsh land division, particularly important in the administration of Welsh law.
==Description== Land in medieval Wales was divided into cantrefi, which were themselves divided into smaller cymydau (commotes). The word cantref is derived from cant ("a hundred") and tref ("town" 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. Cantrefi 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 (now in Carmarthenshire) was divided into seven commotes.