Llannau, llysoedd, and llociau: identifying the early medieval landscape of Gower

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis paper offers a detailed study of the landscape of the Gower peninsula in south Wales in the early medieval period. It attempts to identify the key settlements of the elite (the llysoedd) and the church (the llannau). It does this by the careful scrutiny of the evidence from Gower itself and selected, apt parallels from adjacent, betterunderstood, areas. Whilst this approach is standard, it has not been utilised in the limited number of historical studies of Gower and so the results are novel. In addition to identifying early llysoedd and churches it identifies a number of extensive tracts of cattle pasture (the llociau). All were key elements in the multiple estates into which the landscape was organised. Elements of this pattern could have their origins in the late Roman era. Crucial in the identification of these sites has been the idea of the boundary — defensive, divine and practical — which served to demark and divide space and society.