Welsh medieval commote
Castell Dinas Bran , North Wales, also known as Castle of Yale
Ial or Yale (
Welsh : Iâl ) was a
commote of
medieval Wales within the
cantref of
Maelor in the
Kingdom of Powys .
[1] When the Kingdom was divided in 1160, Maelor became part of the Princely realm of
Powys Fadog (Lower Powys or Madog's Powys), and belonged to the Royal
House of Mathrafal . Yale eventually merged with another commote and became the
Lordship of Bromfield and Yale , later a royal lordship under the
Tudors and
Stuarts .
[2]
[3]
History
The Neolithic cave next to Castle
Tomen y Faerdre , Llanarmon-yn-Yale, c.1795
Map showing the
commote of iâl (Yale) on the right side, when part of the former
Kingdom of Gwynedd
Pillar of Eliseg , 9th century stone cross next to
Valle Crucis Abbey
The commote of Iâl, anglicized as Yale, was the stronghold of the Principality of
Powys Fadog , and its capital was at
Llanarmon-yn-Iâl , in
Denbighshire ,
Wales , in a village situated at a
shrine dedicated to the Roman Bishop,
Germanus of Auxerre (
Welsh : Garmon ).
[4] The nearby castle, named
Tomen y Faerdre , built next to a
Neolithic
cave , was erected by the first
Prince of Wales ,
Owain Gwynedd , after capturing the commote of Yale from the last Prince of
Powys ,
Madog ap Maredudd .
The castle was later rebuilt by King
John of England , signatory of
Magna Carta and brother of
Richard the Lionheart , as a way to secure the area for his military campaign against the Prince of North Wales,
Llywelyn ap Iorwerth . Other castles were built in the commote such as Tomen y Rhodwydd, also built by Owain Gwynedd, in the form of a
motte and bailey castle made out of timber, and the
"Castle of Yale" , built by the Prince of
Powys Fadog ,
Gruffydd II ap Madog , Lord of Dinas Bran.
[5] For centuries the
Castle of Dinas Bran was in possession of the Lords of Yale.
[6]
For iron mallets for breaking the rocks in the ditch of the Castle of Yale. --The entry in the Pipe Roll for 1212-13, by King
John of England when he re-occupied the site in 1212
During the
Conquest of Wales by King
Edward Longshanks , Iâl would be taken very early on and added to the county of
Shropshire , annexing the commote into the
Kingdom of England . It would be around that time that the Welsh name Ial would be anglicised to Yale. However, the commote would remain
Welsh in culture and retain Welsh laws and customs under the terms accorded by the
Statute of Rhuddlan .
King Edward would later merge the Lordship with others nearby, renaming it the
Lordship of Bromfield and Yale , and would award it to his relative, the military commander and
Guardian of Scotland ,
John de Warenne, 6th Earl of Surrey .
[7]
[8] After his successful conquest of Wales, King Edward would go on a campaign to conquer Scotland.
John de Warenne would be one of his Commanders at the
Battle of Stirling , fighting against
William Wallace , and later, fighting at the
Battle of Falkirk .
The title of Lord of Yale would eventually be reclaimed by the Princes of Powys Fadog, while the title of Lord of Bromfield and Yale would be passed to the
Earls of Surrey of the
House of Warenne , and later on, to the
Earls of Arundel of the
House of Howard . The co-Lordship of Yale, when part of the
Lordship of Bromfield and Yale , featured the manor of Llan Egwestl belonging to
Valle Crucis Abbey , and the manor of
Llandegla belonging to
St Asaph Cathedral , next to
Horseshoe falls , in
Llangollen .
[9]
The rest of the Lordship of Yale was divided into two manors called the Manor of Yale Raglaria, and the Manor of Yale Praepositura, dating back to the Welsh period before English rule.
[10]
[11] Anglicized as the Manor of Yale Raglar, it later belonged to Roger, son of John Wynne, ancestor of the Rogers of Bryntagor and the Yales of Plas-yn-Yale.
[12]
[13]
Within the lordship, a monument dating back to the 9th century was erected by king
Cyngen ap Cadell of Powys named the
Pillar of Eliseg , in honor of his great-grandfather king
Elisedd ap Gwylog , born c. 725. The
stone cross in
Llangollen , next to
Valle Crucis Abbey , depicts the claimed lineage of the kings of Powys from a daughter of the 4th century Roman Emperor
Magnus Maximus , of the Imperial
Theodosian dynasty , named
Sevira , wife of
Vortigern .
Lords of Yale
The
coat of arms of the Lords of Yale, showing the lion of
Powys
The
commote of Ial (Yale) when part of the princely realm of
Powys Fadog , after its separation from the
Kingdom of Powys
Yale belonged to the
Powys Dynasty from at least the 4th century through king
Cadell Ddyrnllwg , and was lost and retaken from the
Danish Vikings in the early 10th century during the
Viking Age .
[14]
[15] It was thereafter held by the
Kings of Powys and granted to:
Elgud ab Gwrisnadd
[16]
Cynddelw Gam ab Elgud, his son
Along with the Lordship of Ystrad Alun, it was granted to:
Llywelyn Aurdorchog ,
[17] War-chief (Welsh: penteulu ) and Prime Minister to the King of Wales,
Gruffydd ap Llywelyn
Llywelyn Fychan
[18] (r. 1065 – ?), his son, married to Anne, daughter of
Cadwallon ap Madog , son of Prince
Elystan Glodrydd
Ithel Felyn, his son, married to Lucy, daughter of Howel ab Brochwel.
Hwfa ap Ithel Felyn,
[19] his son, married to Elen, the sister of King
Owain Gwynedd , and daughter of the King of the Welsh,
Gruffydd ap Cynan
[20]
Ithel ap Hwfa,
[21]
Einion ap Rees, Lord of Yale, great-grandson of
Llywelyn Aurdorchog
[22]
The arms of this family were azure, a lion rampant guardant or .
[23]
Before 1236, the Lord of Yale title was eventually reclaimed or reverted to the
Prince of Powys Fadog ,
Madog ap Gruffudd Maelor , son of Prince
Gruffydd Maelor I . After his death, his sons confirmed his Lordship. In 1284, King
Edward II of England , husband of Queen
Isabella of France , confirmed and granted to Madog's son,
Gruffydd ab Madog , the Lordship of Yale.
[24]
Gruffydd's son, Prince
Gruffudd Fychan I , was the great-grandfather of the Prince of Wales,
Owain Glyndŵr , and his brother, Lord
Tudor Glendower , and was a
Prince of Powys Fadog of the Royal
House of Mathrafal .
His descendants, the
House of Yale (Yale family), cadets and co-representatives of the
Mathrafal Dynasty , took their surname from the
commote of Iâl, later the lordship of Yale.
[25]
[26]
[27]
[28]
[29]
[30] Their seat was at Plas-yn-Yale Manor, near the village of
Bryneglwys and the
Yale Chapel , built during the
Tudor era .
[31]
See also
References
^ Rees, William (1951). An Historical Atlas of Wales from Early to Modern Times . Faber & Faber.
^
ALMER (AYLMER), Edward (by 1516-74 or later), of Denbigh and Gresford, Denb. , The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1509-1558, ed. S.T. Bindoff, 1982
^ Jacob Youde, William Lloyd (1887).
"The History of the Princes, the Lords Marcher, and the Ancient ..., Volume 1" . p. 394.
^ Bartrum, Peter C. (1993).
A Welsh Classical Dictionary; People In History And Legend Up To About A. D. 1000 , National Library of Wales, p.83
^ Yale, Rodney Horace, 1908, page 32
" "Yale Genealogy, and History of Wales; The British Kings and Princes; Life of Owen Glyndwr: Biographies of Governor Elihu Yale, for Whom Yale ..." " .
^
Wanderings and excursions in North Wales , Thomas Roscoe, Esq., C. Tilt and Simpkin & Co., Wrightson and Webb, Birmingham, London, 2020, p. 87
^
John de Warenne, earl of Surrey, lord of Bromfield and Yale, and his niece Eleanor, The National Archives
^
The baronage of England, or, An historical account of the lives and most memorable actions of our English nobility in the Saxons time to the Norman conquest , University of Michigan, Dugdale, William, Sir, 1605-1686.
^ Alfred Neobard Palmer (1910).
"A History of Ancient Tenures of Land in the Marches of North Wales" . p. 167.
^ Alfred Neobard Palmer (1910).
"A History of Ancient Tenures of Land in the Marches of North Wales" . p. 167.
^ Jacob Youde, William Lloyd (1887).
"The History of the Princes, the Lords Marcher, and the Ancient ..., Volume 6" . p. 494.
^ Jacob Youde, William Lloyd (1887).
"The History of the Princes, the Lords Marcher, and the Ancient ..., Volume 6" . p. 496.
^ Burke, Bernard (1852).
"A genealogical and heraldic dictionary of the landed gentry of Great Britain & Ireland for 1852" . p. 1485.
^ Pedigrees of Montgomeryshire Families, 1711-1712, FB & C Limited, Lewis Dunn, 2017
^ Davies, R. R., 'The Struggle for Supremacy: Wales 1063–1172', The Age of Conquest: Wales 1063-1415, History of Wales (Oxford, 2000; online edn, Oxford Academic, 3 Oct. 2011),
https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198208785.003.0002 , accessed 4 Nov. 2023.
^ Montgomery-shire Collections: Volume 9 gen 1876 · Powys-land Club, page 211
^ Encyclopaedia of Heraldry or general Armory of England, Scotland and Ireland, comprising a registry of all armorial bearings from the earliest to the present time, including the late grants by the college of arms: By John and John Bernard Burke, 1847, page 52
^ A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain & Ireland for 1852, Volume 2 of John Burke, Bernard Burke, page 1485
^ A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain & Ireland, Volume 2 of John Burke, Bernard Burke, page 95
^ Transactions of the Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire, Volume 66 of Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire, page 238 and 243
^ Called Ithel Gwrion in genealogies, where y wrion ("and his grandchildren") was probably meant.
^ A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain & Ireland for 1852, Volume 2 of John Burke, Bernard Burke, page 1077
^ Yorke, Philip & al.
The royal tribes of Wales . Accessed 4 Feb 2013.
^
Tout, Thomas (1890).
"Gruffydd ab Madog" .
Dictionary of National Biography . Vol. 23. p. 308.
^
University of Cambridge, Squire Law Library, Biography: Mr David Eryl Corbet Yale
^ Yorke, Philip (1887).
"The royal tribes of Wales; To which is added an account of The fifteen tribes of north Wales. With numerous additions and notes, preface and index" . pp. 16–17.
^ William Arthur (1857).
"An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names: With an Essay on Their Derivation and Import" . Sheldon, Blakeman & Company. p. 270.
^ Thomas Nicholas (1872).
"Annals and Antiquities of the Counties and County Families of Wales" . Longmans, Green, Reader, and Co. p. 419.
^
The History of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations , Biographical, The American Historical Society, New York, 1920, p. 51-52
^
Encyclopedia of Connecticut Biography, Genealogical-Memorial, Representative Citizens , The American Historical Society Publishers, 1917. Vol. 7, Chicago, p. 95-96
^ Burrow, Edward J. (1926).
Burrow's Handy Guide to Europe: For All English-speaking Tourists , 29 Maps & Plans, David McKay Company, Washingston Square, Philadelphia, p. 399