Welsh Journals

centuries, and on occasions the area was subject to the control of the king of England. For long periods, however, the Perfeddwlad was considered to be an outlying appendage of Gwynedd, as is indicated by another designation for the area, namely, Gwynedd Is Conwy. In view of the periodic attachment of the cantref of Rhos and Rhufoniog to Gwynedd, an examination of the Survey of Denbigh enables one to appreciate the attitudes of the rulers of Gwynedd in the thirteenth century, and the impact of their policies upon the territory which they governed. The Survey reveals that the townships occupied entirely by bondmen were few in number. In the whole lordship, which consisted of eighty-one lay townships, only twelve were entirely bond while another twenty-one contained both bond and free elements. It is significant, however, that a number of bond townships were located in the neighbourhood of maerdrefi, which were certainly the oldest institutions noticed in the Survey. The maerdref was traditionally situated near the llys of the commotal lord, and contained large areas of tir bwrdd or demesne land for the maintenance of the court. An exclusively bond population, living in the maerdref or in the neigh- bouring townships, would work the tir bwrdd under the supervision of the maer. This pattern was evidently true of the four maerdrefi whose existence is implied by the evidence of the Survey, and these were situated at Cilcennis, Dinorben, Dinbych, and Ystradowen. The only render contributed in kind at the maerdref of Cilcennis was a heavy butter rent, and the nature of this payment reflects the pastoral economy of Uwch Dulas. Dinorben, located in a favourable position, was the demesne centre of Is Dulas and the focal point of an area which was largely populated by bond communities. Situated in the vicinity of Dinorben were the bond township of Talgarth and the mixed townships of Dinorben Fychan, Meifod and Cegidog, the latter two being predominantly bond.8 It is stated in the Survey that the bondmen of Dinorben Fychan, Meifod and Cegidog were 6 Survey, ff. 249-50. The bondmen render vi vasa et pigyn butiri at 30s. 3d. per annum. The full significance of this payment of a butter rent at a maerdref is indicated by the statement in G. R. J. Jones, 'The Tribal System in Wales', ante, I (1961), 120, that at the maerdref the bondmen exploited for their lord the arable land, which was usually the most suitable for cultivation within the commote. 7 G. R. J. Jones, 'The Military Geography of Gwynedd' (unpublished M.A. thesis, University of Wales, 1949), pp. 57-58, states that the maerdref of Dinorben was located on a limestone ridge extending from the lower Clwyd to the Great Orme's Head. The major environmental factor responsible for its location was aspect rather than soil fertility. I Survey, ff. 208-16.