CANTRE'R
GWAELOD
(The Welsh Atlantis) |
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Background Information
Land in medieval Wales was divided into Cantrefi, which
were themselves divided into smaller cymydau (commotes).
The name "cantref" comes from the Welsh words "Cant"
(hundred) and "tref" (town).
There was once land instead of sea in what is now called
Cardigan Bay. This land was ruled by a king called Gwyddno
Garanhir. The land was called Cantre'r Gwaelod (or Cantref
Gwaelod).
It was very fertile land and hundreds of
people lived there. But the land was below sea level so the
only way that they could keep the sea from flooding the
land was with a huge stone wall. |
Keeping the sea at bay
The person in charge of looking after the
wall was Prince Seithenin.
His job was to make sure that there were
always at least two watchmen in the towers on the wall and
more at high tide or when there was a storm. The watchmen
were there to watch for holes in the great sea wall.
Sometimes holes would appear, but it was not a problem. All
they had to do was ring a big bell in the main tower and
people would come running up from the villages to repair
them.
The Big Party
One day the king decided to have a big party and
everyone was to be invited. Seithenyn was also invited and
so he put two watchmen on the tower. It was a good party
which ran all day and
everybody got very drunk.
Later that day, the two watchmen that were left on the tower were
getting worried because their relief hadn't turned up. So Gwyn ap Llywarch, one of the watchmen, sent the other man to
find out what was happening. After a few hours the other man
had not returned and Gwyn started
to get nervous. It was getting quite dark, no-one had come
to relieve him yet and a storm was brewing.
A breach in the wall
The storm became much worse and a hole appeared in the wall.
Gwyn rushed to the main tower and rang the bell as loudly as
he could, but no help came. So he jumped on his horse and
rode to the castle for help.
When Gwyn got there he found everybody
drunk and sleeping. He saw Seithenyn and tried to wake him,
but it was no good. He couldn't wake anyone else either,
they had all eaten and drunk too much.
The rescue of the Princess
Then Gwyn noticed that the king's daughter wasn't in the
hall. He ran upstairs and found the princess in her room.
They ran down to the stables and jumped onto Gwyn's horse.
They both rode away across the border and onto the high ground.
There they stood and watched the sea wall burst and the
whole of Cantre'r Gwaelod flooded. They were the only
survivors. Everybody except Gwyn and the princess had died.
Later that year they married and lived on the shore of the bay where
once Cantre'r Gwaelod had been.
Ghostly sounds
It is said that on a quiet
day, when the bay is calm, you can still hear the bells of
the watchtower in Cantre'r Gwaelod ringing under the sea.
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