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Calchfynydd (Welsh calch "lime" + mynydd "mountain") was an obscure Britonnic kingdom or sub-kingdom of sub-Roman Britain. Its exact location is uncertain, although the name suggests somewhere in one of Great Britain's Chalk Groups and might refer to southern Scotland,[1] the Cotswolds,[2] or the Chilterns.[3] Virtually nothing else definitive is known about it.
The name survives in the epithet of Cadrawd Calchfynydd, apparently a 6th-century ruler of the district. Welsh sources refer to Cadrawd as one of the Gwyr y Gogledd or 'Men of the North', suggesting the area was located somewhere in northern Britain. William Forbes Skene suggested an identification with Kelso (formerly Calchow) in southern Scotland.[4] Rachel Bromwich agrees that Kelso or a similar location in the Hen Ogledd is most likely, while noting that Kenneth Jackson doubted this identification.[1] Alistair Moffat in his history of Kelso supports this position, citing early references to "Chalchou," as well as the chalk area and Chalkheugh Terrace.[5] John Morris placed it south of the realm of Urien of Rheged, "between Trent and Thames".[6][7] Based at least in part on the forgeries of Iolo Morganwg, the Rev. Thomas Barns located Calchfynydd around Dunstable,[8] however sources predating Iolo's time, notably 18th century antiquarian Henry Rowlands' Mona Antiqua Restaurata and David Powel's sixteenth century History of Wales, mention a connection with Dunstable through "Cadrod Calchfynydd" being Earl of Dunstable (a very anachronistic title) in the post-Roman period.[9][10] Robert Owen placed the kingdom among the Cotswolds.[2]
- ^ a b Bromwich, Rachel (1961). Trioedd Ynys Prydein (2014 ed.). University of Wales Press: Cardiff. p. 327.
- ^ a b Owen, Rev. Robert (1891). The Kymry: Their Origin, History, and International Relations. Carmarthen: W. Spurrell and Son. p. 84. Retrieved 29 May 2025.
- ^ Rutherford Davis, K. (1982). Britons and Saxons: the Chiltern Region 400-700. Chichester: Phillimore & Co. pp. 43, 46, 106–107. ISBN 0-85033-418-7.
- ^ Skene, William Forbes (1868). The Four Ancient Books of Wales Containing the Cymric Poems Attributed to the Bards of the Sixth Century. Vol. 1. Edinburgh: Edmonston and Douglas. pp. 172–173.
- ^ Moffat, Alistair (1985), Kelsae: A History of Kelso from Earliest Times, Edinburgh: Mainstream Publishing, ISBN 0-906391-93-8
- ^ Morris, John (1966). "Dark Age Dates". In Jarrett, Michael G.; Dobson, Brian (eds.). Britain and Rome: Essays Presented to Eric Birley on His Sixtieth Birthday. Wilson. p. 172. Retrieved 29 May 2025.
- ^ Morris, John (1973). The Age of Arthur: A History of the British Isles from 350 to 650. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson. pp. 211, 232. ISBN 978-0-684-13313-3.
- ^ Barns, Rev. Thomas (1911). Bladen, W. Welles (ed.). "Annual Address: The Making of Mercia". North Staffordshire Field Club Annual Report and Transactions, 1910-1911. XLV. Stafford: J. & C. Mort: 64. Retrieved 28 May 2025.
- ^ Powel, David (1697). Wynne, W. (ed.). The History of Wales: Comprehending the Lives and Succession of the Princes of Wales, from Cadwalader the Last King, to Lhewelyn the Last Prince, of British Blood. : With a Short Account of the Affairs of Wales, Under the Kings of England (Wynne's ed.). London: M. Clark. p. 332. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
- ^ Rowlands, Henry (1766). Mona Antiqua Restaurata: An Archæological Discourse on the Antiquities, Natural and Historical, of the Isle of Anglesey, The Ancient Seat of the Druids, In Two Essays. With an Appendix, Containing a Comparative Table of Primitive Words, and the Derivatives of Them Together with Some Letters, and Three Catalogues. London: J. Knox. p. 156. Retrieved 28 May 2025.