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58
A SHORT HISTORY OF WALES

the possession of a literary language—for romance and poem, for court and Eisteddvod.

Conquered Wales may be divided into two parts—the Wales conquered by the Norman barons and the Wales conquered by the English king.

The Wales conquered by the English king was the country ruled by Llywelyn and his allies. In 1284, by the statute of Rhuddlan, it was formed into six shires. The Snowdon district—which held out last—was made into the three shires of Anglesey, Carnarvon, and Merioneth.The part of the land between Conway and Dee that belonged to the king, not to barons, was made into the shire of Flint. The lands of Llywelyn's allies beyond the Dovey were made into the shires of Cardigan and Carmarthen. Instead of the chiefs of the Welsh prince,the king's sheriffs and justices ruled the country. But much of the old law remained.

The Wales conquered by the Norman barons lay to the east and south of the Wales turned into shires in 1284. It included the greater part of the valleys of the Clwyd, Dee, Severn, and Wye; and the South Wales coast from Gloucester to