Cantre'r Gwaelod

Cantre'r Gwaelod, also known as Cantref Gwaelod or Cantref y Gwaelod (English: The Lowland Hundred), is a legendary ancient sunken kingdom said to have occupied a tract of fertile land lying between Ramsey Island and Bardsey Island in what is now Cardigan Bay to the west of Wales. It has been described as a "Welsh Atlantis" and has featured in folklore, literature, and song.

"The Lowland Hundred" redirects here. For the band, see The Lowland Hundred (band).
Cantre'r Gwaelod
The Lowland Hundred
Welsh mythology location
Part of an ancient submerged forest at Ynyslas thought to be associated with Cantre'r Gwaelod
GenreLegend
Information
TypeSunken kingdom
Notable locationsCaer Wyddno
Notable characters

The myth

Cantre'r Gwaelod was an area of land which, according to legend, was located in an area west of present-day Wales which is now under the waters of Cardigan Bay. Accounts variously suggest the tract of land extended from Bardsey Island to Cardigan or as far south as Ramsey Island.[1] Legends of the land suggest that it may have extended 20 miles west of the present coast.[2]

Rachel Bromwich questions this identification, saying that "There is no certainty, however, that in twelfth century tradition Maes Gwyddneu did represent the submerged land in Cardigan Bay." She also links Gwyddno Garanhir with the Hen Ogledd, not Wales.[3]

There are several versions of the myth. The earliest known form of the legend is usually said to appear in the Black Book of Carmarthen, in which the land is referred to as Maes Gwyddno (English: the Plain of Gwyddno). In this version, the land was lost to floods when a well-maiden named Mererid neglected her duties and allowed the well to overflow.[2]

The popular version known today is thought to have been formed from the 17th century onwards. Cantre'r Gwaelod is described as a low-lying land fortified against the sea by a dyke, Sarn Badrig ("Saint Patrick's causeway"), with a series of sluice gates that were opened at low tide to drain the land.[2]

Cantre'r Gwaelod's capital was Caer Wyddno, seat of the ruler Gwyddno Garanhir. Two princes of the realm held charge over the dyke. One of these princes, called Seithenyn, is described in one version as a notorious drunkard and carouser, and it was through his negligence that the sea swept through the open floodgates, ruining the land.

The church bells of Cantre'r Gwaelod are said to ring out in times of danger.

Relationship to myth of Llys Helig

Rachel Bromwich discusses a similar tale, that of the submergence of the kingdom of Helig ap Glanawg in the Conwy estuary. As with Cantre'r Gwaelod, there are tales of remains being seen of the sunken kingdom (Llys Helig). Bromwich believes that the two stories influenced each other, and that "The widespread parallels to this inundation theme would suggest that the two stories are in fact one in origin, and were localized separately in Cardiganshire and in the Conway estuary, around two traditional figures of the sixth century. She also notes that the Halliwell Manuscript gives Helig the title "Lord of Cantre'r Gwaelod".[3] In the book New Directions In Celtic Studies Antone Minard wrote that "The Welsh legends of Cantre'r Gwaelod and Llys Helig (Helig's Court) contain the same details of audible bells beneath the waves and ruins which are visible at the equinoctial tides, which are the anchors of credulity in the story".[4]

Physical evidence
Cardigan Bay, supposed location of Cantre'r Gwaelod

There is no reliable physical evidence of the substantial community that legend promises lies under the sea, although several reports exist of remains being sighted.

In 1770, Welsh antiquarian scholar William Owen Pughe reported seeing sunken human habitations about four miles (6.4 km) off the Ceredigion coast, between the rivers Ystwyth and Teifi.[5]

In the 1846 edition of The Topographical Dictionary of Wales, Samuel Lewis described a feature of stone walls and causeways beneath the shallow waters of Cardigan Bay:

In the sea, about seven miles west of Aberystwyth in Cardiganshire, is a collection of loose stones, termed Caer Wyddno, "the fort or palace of Gwyddno;" and adjoining it are vestiges of one of the more southern causeways or embankments of Catrev Gwaelod. The depth of water over the whole extent of the bay of Cardigan is not great; and on the recess of the tide, stones bearing Latin inscriptions, and Roman coins of various emperors, have been found below high-water mark: in different places in the water, also, are observed prostrate trees."

— Samuel Lewis, The Topographical Dictionary of Wales.[5]

Lewis takes the view that maps by the cartographer Ptolemy marked the coastline of Cardigan Bay in the same location as it appears in modern times, suggesting that the date of the flood occurred before the second century AD.

External video
Sarn Gynfelyn and the submerged forest at Borth
Submerged trees in the Dyfi Estuary
Clips from Coast (BBC, 2006)

The "causeways" described by Lewis can be seen today at beaches around Cardigan Bay. Known as sarnau, these ridges stretch several miles into the sea at right angles to the coast, and are located between each of the four river mouths in the north of Cardigan Bay. Modern geologists surmise that these formations of clay, gravel and rocks are moraines formed by the action of melting glaciers end of the last ice age. In a 2006 episode of the BBC television documentary Coast, presenter Neil Oliver visited Sarn Gynfelyn at Wallog. The programme also featured the remains of the submerged forest at Ynyslas, near Borth which is associated with the lost land of Cantre'r Gwaelod.[6] The vista of dead oak, pine, birch, willow and hazel tree stumps preserved by the acid anaerobic conditions in the soil is revealed at low tide; storms in 2010 and 2014, and particularly Storm Hannah in 2019, have eroded the sea-bed offshore and caused more stumps to be visible.[7] The former forest is estimated to have been inundated between 4000 and 5000 years ago.[8][9][7]

Evidence of human habitation include a timber walkway made of coppiced branches and upright posts, human footprints preserved in hardened peat and burnt stones thought to be from hearths.[10]

Images
  • Submerged forest remains, March 2008
  • Submerged forest remains, details, March 2008
  • Preserved tree stump on Borth sands near Ynyslas
  • Sarn Gynfelyn revealed by low tide
  • The end of Sarn Gynfelyn

Origins of the myth
Comparable Celtic myths describe a submerged kingdom near Brittany or Cornwall

The myth, like so many others, may be a folk memory of gradually rising sea levels at the end of the ice age. The physical remains of the preserved sunken forest at Borth, and of Sarn Badrig nearby, could have suggested that some great tragedy had overcome a community there long ago and so the myth may have grown from that.[9]

Analogies in other legends

The legend of Cantre'r Gwaelod is comparable to the deluge myth found in nearly every ancient culture and it has been likened to the story of Atlantis.

Several similar legends exist in Celtic mythology which refer to a lost land beneath the waves. Both the Breton legend of Ker-Ys and the Arthurian tale of Lyonesse refer to a kingdom submerged somewhere in the Celtic Sea, off the coast of Brittany or Cornwall respectively. A weaker parallel is the Gaelic otherworld Tír na nÓg ('Land of Youth'), often conceived of an mystical land reached via a sea voyage; however, it lacks an inundation myth.

Cultural references

Literature

The legend has inspired many poems and songs throughout the ages. The earliest mention of Cantre'r Gwaelod is thought to be in the thirteenth-century Black Book of Carmarthen in a poem called Boddi Maes Gwyddno (English: The Drowning of the Land of Gwyddno) which relates the tale of Mererid and the well.

The story inspired a Victorian era-novel, The Misfortunes of Elphin (1829), by Thomas Love Peacock.[11] At the 1925 National Eisteddfod of Wales, held in Pwllheli, Dewi Morgan ('Dewi Teifi') won the Bardic Chair with his Awdl recounting the legend, adopting Thomas Love Peacock's version as the basis for his poetic rendition.

Ptolemy's map of Great Britain and Ireland (1467 copy)

Geologist William Ashton's 1920 book, The Evolution of a Coast-Line, Barrow to Aberystwyth and the Isle of Man, with Notes on Lost Towns, Submarine Discoveries, &C, discusses the legend and takes Ptolemy's map as evidence of the existence of an area of lost land in Cardigan Bay. Ashton also includes a conjectural map of Cantre'r Gwaelod within the bay.[12]

Cantre'r Gwaelod is also featured in modern children's literature. Cantre'r Gwaelod is central to the setting of the 1977 Newbery Honor Book A String in the Harp by Nancy Bond. The kingdom also plays a major role in Silver on the Tree, the last book of The Dark Is Rising by Susan Cooper, parts of which are set in Aberdyfi. Siân Lewis and Jackie Morris's book Cities in the Sea (2002) retells the legend for children,[13] and Welsh musician Cerys Matthews's first children's book Tales from the Deep (2011) features a story, The Ghost Bells of the Lowlands, which was adapted from the legend of Cantre'r Gwaelod.[14]

Music and art
The bells of St Peter's, Aberdyfi can play Clychau Aberdyfi

The folk song Clychau Aberdyfi ("The Bells of Aberdovey"), popularised in the 18th century, relates to the part of the legend about the bells being heard ringing beneath the waves in the town of Aberdyfi. This song inspired cultural projects in the town involving bells; a new chime of bells was installed in September 1936 in the tower St Peter's Church, Aberdyfi, specifically designed to allow the playing of The Bells of Aberdovey.[15] An art installation by the sculptor Marcus Vergette, a bronze "Time and Tide Bell", was mounted beneath the jetty in Aberdyfi Harbour in July 2011 as a homage to the folk song. The bell is rung by the action of water at high tide.[16][17]

Local representation

In the 1990s the village of Aberdyfi had a small primary school which changed its school badge to show a raven surrounded by bells on a shield. The raven represented the nearby Corbett Estate which owned a large amount of land and built a number of houses. The raven can be seen on various buildings in the area. The school has since been closed and demolished, making way for affordable housing.

Television

An episode of the BBC CBeebies programme Telly Tales, first broadcast in 2009, featured a children's re-enactment of the legend of Cantre'r Gwaelod through a mixture of animation and live action.[18]

Cantre'r Gwaelod featured in the BBC documentary series Coast. Presenter Neil Oliver visited the sands of Aberdyfi and Ynyslas, near Borth, and examined the remains of the submerged forest and Sarn Badrig which are revealed at low tide, assisted by local historians and dendrochronologists.[8][9]

See also

References
  1. Gwyndaf, Robin (1989). "34. Cantre'r Gwaelod, Dyfed". Welsh folk tales/Chwedlau gwerin Cymru (2 ed.). Cardiff: National Museum Wales/Amgueddfa Genedlaethol Cymru. ISBN 978-0-7200-0326-0.
  2. "Cantre'r Gwaelod – The Lost Land of Wales". Legacies - UK History Local to You. BBC. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  3. Rachel Bromwich (1950). "Cantre'r Gwaelod and Ker-Is". In Cyril Fox, Bruce Dickins (ed.). The Early Cultures of North-West Europe. Cambridge University Press. p. 231.
  4. Antone Minard (2000). "Pre-Packaged Breton Folk Narrative". In Amy Hale and Philip Payton (ed.). New Directions In Celtic Studies. University of Exeter Press. p. 60. ISBN 9780859896221.
  5. Haughton, Brian (2008). Haunted spaces, sacred places : a field guide to stone circles, crop circles, ancient tombs, and supernatural landscapes. Franklin Lakes, NJ: New Page Books. p. 100. ISBN 978-1-60163-000-1. Haunted Spaces, Sacred Places Cantre'r Gwaelod.
  6. Kavanagh, Erin; Bates, Martin (2019). "Semantics of the Sea — Stories and Science along the Celtic Seaboard". Internet Archaeology (53). doi:10.11141/ia.53.8.
  7. Griffiths, Chris (19 March 2020). "How a storm revealed a Welsh kingdom". BBC Travel.
  8. "Cardigan Bay to the Dee". Coast. Series 1. Episode 4. 2005. BBC.
  9. "5. Submerged Forest". Mid Wales Coast - Ynyslas Walk. BBC. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  10. Griffiths, Chris (19 March 2020). "How a storm revealed a Welsh kingdom". BBC | Travel. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  11. Thomas Love Peacock, Thomas Love (1829). "1. The Prosperity of Gwaelod". The Misfortunes of Elphin. Thomas Hookham. pp. 240.
  12. Ashton, William. "31. The Lost Cantref Gwaelod". The Evolution of a Coast-Line, Barrow to Aberystwyth and the Isle of Man, with Notes on Lost Towns, Submarine Discoveries, &C. London: Edward Stanford Ltd. ISBN 978-1-176-60264-9. OL 7161480M. (map illustration on page 257)
  13. Morris, Siân Lewis & Jackie (2002). Cities in the sea. Llandysul: Pont. ISBN 1-84323-172-7.
  14. "Cerys Matthews writes children's book of Welsh legends". BBC News. 4 May 2011. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  15. "About us". St Peter's Church website. Archived from the original on 26 April 2012. Retrieved 3 January 2012.
  16. "New bell rings as the tide rises in Aberdyfi, Gwynedd". BBC News. 12 July 2011. Retrieved 3 January 2012.
  17. "Time and Tide Bell". Marcus Vergette official website. Archived from the original on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 3 January 2012.
  18. Director: Elen Rhys, Producer; Dylan Adams, Writer (15 October 2009). "Cantre'r Gwaelod". Telly Tales. BBC. BBC Two Wales, Cbeebies. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
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