Pengwern was a

Brython The Britons ( *''Pritanī'', , ), also known as Celtic Britons or Ancient Britons, were the Celtic people who inhabited Great Britain from at least the British Iron Age until the High Middle Ages, at which point they diverged into the Welsh, ...

ic settlement of

sub-Roman Britain Sub-Roman Britain, also called post-Roman Britain or Dark Age Britain, is the period of late antiquity in Great Britain between the end of Roman rule and the founding of Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. The term was originally used to describe archae ...

situated in what is now the English county of

Shropshire Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...

, adjoining the modern Welsh border. It is regarded as possibly being the early seat of the kings of

Powys Powys ( , ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It borders Gwynedd, Denbighshire, and Wrexham County Borough, Wrexham to the north; the English Ceremonial counties of England, ceremo ...

before its establishment at Mathrafal, further west, but the theory that it was an early kingdom (or a sub-kingdom of Powys itself) has also been postulated. Its precise location is uncertain.

History and legend

Nothing is known about the foundation of Pengwern, although according to Welsh tradition it was part of the Welsh

kingdom of Powys The Kingdom of Powys (; ) was a Welsh successor state, petty kingdom and principality that emerged during the Middle Ages following the end of Roman rule in Britain. It very roughly covered the northern two-thirds of the modern county of Pow ...

in the

early Middle Ages The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages (historiography), Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th to the 10th century. They marked the start o ...

. Early Powys, much larger in extent than the later medieval kingdom, seems to have roughly coincided with the territory of the Celtic Cornovii tribe, whose ''civitas'' under Roman rule (capital or administrative centre) was '' Viroconium Cornoviorum'' (now Wroxeter), replacing a fort located on the Wrekin, which was abandoned. Once the

Roman legions The Roman legion (, ) was the largest military unit of the Roman army, composed of Roman citizens serving as legionaries. During the Roman Republic the manipular legion comprised 4,200 infantry and 300 cavalry. After the Marian reforms in 1 ...

left the area, Viroconium Cornoviorum had taken control of governing. However, the surrounding

pagus In ancient Rome, the Latin word (plural ) was an administrative term designating a rural subdivision of a tribal territory, which included individual farms, villages (), and strongholds () serving as refuges, as well as an early medieval geograp ...

(possibly multiple) may have revolted against the rule of Viroconium Cornoviorum, establishing a separate centre of power, which would become Powys. Between 530 and 550, Viroconium Cornoviorum, like many other Roman urban sites and villas in Britain at the time, was abandoned, possibly eventually developing into part of the royal court of ''Llys Pengwern''. The exploits of Cynddylan, as imagined around the 9th century, are told in the

Old Welsh Old Welsh () is the stage of the Welsh language from about 800 AD until the early 12th century when it developed into Middle Welsh.Koch, p. 1757. The preceding period, from the time Welsh became distinct from Common Brittonic around 550, ha ...

'' Canu Heledd'' (a cycle of poems named after Cynddylan's sister), possibly dating from the 9th century but not recorded until later, and this material situates Cynddylan's seat at Pengwern. These relate to a further cycle of heroic and elegiac poetry concerning early Powys and the

Hen Ogledd Hen Ogledd (), meaning the Old North, is the historical region that was inhabited by the Celtic Britons, Brittonic people of sub-Roman Britain in the Early Middle Ages, now Northern England and the southern Scottish Lowlands, alongside the fello ...

known as '' Canu Llywarch Hen''.

Possible locations

A number of places still identifiable in the

landscape today are mentioned alongside Pengwern in this poetry. The exact location of ''Llys Pengwern'' — the Court of Pengwern — is not known, and the problem is compounded by the fact that several other Pengwerns exist in Wales (e.g. near

Denbigh Denbigh ( ; ) is a market town and a community (Wales), community in Denbighshire, Wales. It was the original county town of the Denbighshire (historic), historic county of Denbighshire created in 1536. Denbigh's Welsh name () translates to ...

in north Wales). A tradition, recorded by Giraldus Cambrensis in the late 12th century, associates it with the site of modern

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , ) is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is sited on the River Severn, northwest of Wolverhampton, west of Telford, southeast of Wrexham and north of Hereford. At the 2021 United ...

(although that town has been known as ''Amwythig'' in Welsh since the Middle Ages). A more recent suggestion is the ''Berth'', a dramatic

hillfort A hillfort is a type of fortification, fortified refuge or defended settlement located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typical of the late Bronze Age Europe, European Bronze Age and Iron Age Europe, Iron Age. So ...

at Baschurch, is the location of Pengwern. However, archaeological evidence shows only the Iron Age fort with possible Roman reuse. Wroxeter, the former

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

town of ''Viroconium Cornoviorum'', is near these places. Archaeological evidence suggests that the settlement at Wroxeter continued after the Roman withdrawal, and was only finally abandoned in about 520, when it had become indefensible as the last vestiges of Romano-British central government broke down. A fort on the Wrekin, near Wroxeter, has also been suggested for this reason. Another theory is that the earthworks under Whittington Castle may be Pengwern.

Conflict with Northumbria

Cynddylan apparently joined forces with king Penda of

Mercia Mercia (, was one of the principal kingdoms founded at the end of Sub-Roman Britain; the area was settled by Anglo-Saxons in an era called the Heptarchy. It was centred on the River Trent and its tributaries, in a region now known as the Midlan ...

to protect his realm, possibly also for personal reasons: his brother Gwion had been killed during the Battle of Chester. (Fellow ally Selyf ap Cynan of Powys died as well, and it is unclear what happened to Powys afterwards, as mentions of their rulers became scarce for nearly a century.) Together Cynddylan and Penda fought against the increasingly powerful Anglian kingdom of Northumbria at the Battle of Maes Cogwy (

Oswestry Oswestry ( ; ) is a market town, civil parish and historic railway town in Shropshire, England, close to the England–Wales border, Welsh border. It is at the junction of the A5 road (Great Britain), A5, A483 road, A483 and A495 road, A495 ro ...

or Forden) in 642. It was here that their mutual enemy, king Oswald, was slain. Regardless, this seems to have bought a period of peace until Penda's death, when a Northumbrian raiding party led by Oswald's brother

Oswiu of Northumbria Oswiu, also known as Oswy or Oswig (; c. 612 – 15 February 670), was King of Bernicia from 642 and of Northumbria from 654 until his death. He is notable for his role at the Synod of Whitby in 664, which ultimately brought the church in Northu ...

overran northern Mercia and, a bit later, Cynddylan's palace at ''Llys Pengwern'' in a surprise attack. Caught completely off guard and without defence, the royal family, including the king, were slaughtered, according to the poetry commemorating the tragedy, with the palace being burned to the ground, likely along with records. Princess Heledd was the only survivor and fled to western Powys. After this the region associated with Pengwern seems to have been shared between

and Powys; part of it remained in Welsh hands until the reign of

Offa Offa ( 29 July 796 AD) was King of Mercia, a kingdom of Anglo-Saxon England, from 757 until his death in 796. The son of Thingfrith and a descendant of Eowa, Offa came to the throne after a period of civil war following the assassination of ...

of Mercia and the construction of his dyke. Part of it consisted of the Anglian sub-kingdom of the

Magonsæte Magonsæte was a minor sub- kingdom of the greater Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia, thought to be coterminous with the Diocese of Hereford. The former territory of the Cornovii tribe was conquered by Oswiu of Northumbria in 656, while he was ov ...

and Wreocensæte.

Later usage

In Shrewsbury there is the Pengwern Boat Club on the banks of the River

Severn The River Severn (, ), at long, is the longest river in Great Britain. It is also the river with the most voluminous flow of water by far in all of England and Wales, with an average flow rate of at Apperley, Gloucestershire. It rises in t ...

, opposite The Quarry park, as well as other shops and businesses that use the name.

References

*Clancy, Joseph (1970), ''The Earliest Welsh Poetry'' *Remfry, P. M. ''Whittington Castle and the families of Bleddyn ap Cynfyn, Peverel, Maminot, Powys and Fitz Warin'' ({{ISBN, 1-899376-80-1) * Williams, Ifor (1935) ''Canu Llywarch Hen'' Kingdoms of Wales History of Shropshire History of Wales History of Powys Sub-Roman Britain