Calchfynydd

Calchfynydd (Welsh calch "lime" + mynydd "mountain") was an obscure Britonnic kingdom or sub-kingdom of sub-Roman Britain. Its exact location is uncertain, although the name suggests somewhere in one of Great Britain's Chalk Groups and might refer to southern Scotland, the Cotswolds, or the Chilterns. Virtually nothing else definitive is known about it.

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. Rachel Bromwich agrees that Kelso or a similar location in the Hen Ogledd is most likely, while noting that Kenneth Jackson doubted this identification. Alistair Moffat in his history of Kelso supports this position, citing early references to "Chalchou," as well as the chalk area and Chalkheugh Terrace. John Morris placed it south of the realm of Urien of Rheged, "between Trent and Thames". Based at least in part on the forgeries of Iolo Morganwg, the Rev. Thomas Barns located Calchfynydd around Dunstable, however sources predating Iolo's time, notably 18th century antiquarian Henry Rowlands' Mona Antiqua Restaurata and David Powel's sixteenth century History of Wales, mention a connection with Dunstable through "Cadrod Calchfynydd" being Earl of Dunstable (a very anachronistic title) in the post-Roman period. Robert Owen placed the kingdom among the Cotswolds.

Presumed rulers in the line of Cadrawd

References

  1. 1 2 Bromwich, Rachel (1961). Trioedd Ynys Prydein (2014 ed.). University of Wales Press: Cardiff. p. 327.
  2. 1 2 Owen, Rev. Robert (1891). The Kymry: Their Origin, History, and International Relations. Carmarthen: W. Spurrell and Son. p. 84. Retrieved 29 May 2025.
  3. ↑ 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.
  4. ↑ Skene, William Forbes (1868). The Four Ancient Books of Wales Containing the Cymric Poems Attributed to the Bards of the Sixth Century. Vol. 1. Edinburgh: Edmonston and Douglas. pp. 172–173.
  5. ↑ Moffat, Alistair (1985), Kelsae: A History of Kelso from Earliest Times, Edinburgh: Mainstream Publishing, ISBN 0-906391-93-8
  6. ↑ 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.
  7. ↑ 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.
  8. ↑ 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.
  9. ↑ Powel, David (1697). Wynne, W. (ed.). The History of Wales: Comprehending the Lives and Succession of the Princes of Wales, from Cadwalader the Last King, to Lhewelyn the Last Prince, of British Blood. : With a Short Account of the Affairs of Wales, Under the Kings of England (Wynne's ed.). London: M. Clark. p. 332. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
  10. ↑ 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.