Welsh out of the land acquired by the invaders, clearly indicates that the Welsh, though beaten, were not subdued. This entrenchment was an artificial boundary made by Offa in 779 A.D., which extended from the estuary of the Dee to the mouth of the river Wye. The debatable and fiercely contested land on both sides of this boundary was then, and subsequently, designated the "Marches of Mercia (England and Wales)"; it was a large district, difficult of access, subject to little control, the dwelling-place of lawless and predatory bands, who plundered, disturbed, and ravaged the adjoining territories.
A.D. 940.—The laws and customs which were observed by the Welsh, until the time of Edward the First, are to be found in the ancient Laws and Institutes collected, codified, and promulgated by Howel the Good in A.D. 940. Caradog of Llancarvan states that "Howel Dda constituted and gave lawes to be kept through his dominions which were used in Wales till such time as the inhabitants received the lawes of England in the time of Edward the first, and in some places long after." A remarkable gathering of Welsh representatives, consisting of clergy, chieftains, and delegates from every commote in Wales, was convened by Howel at Ty Gwyn (Whitland in Caermarthenshire), to examine the customs and ancient institutions of Wales. The duty imposed upon these representatives was that of framing wholesome laws on the basis of the ancient national laws, and of promulgating a code which bears witness to the care and perspicuity of its framers and to the nature of the national customs of the Welsh people. From this code, we find existing at that period three great divisions of Wales, namely, (1) Gwynedd, including the greater part of what is now known as North Wales, with its capital at Aberffraw; (2) Powys, roughly speaking Mid Wales, with its capital at Shrewsbury (Pengwern); and (3) Deheubarth, or Southern Wales, with its capital at Dynevor (near Llandilo). For our purpose, it is unnecessary to
