disintegrated by dividing it among his three sons who had their principals curiae at Aberffraw, Dinevwr, and Shrewsbury respectively. This we may dismiss at once as being the very reverse of the course of Welsh history. Every patria or gwlad must once have had its own curia principalis, and it is only after the fall of every gwlad in South Wales except Ceredigion and Ystrad Tywi prior to circa iioo that Dinevwr comes into prominence. It is first mentioned in the boundaries of Llandeilo Fawr in the Book of Llandav (78), where it is called gueith tineuwr, the 'work' of Dinevwr in the probable sense of fortifications. No reference is made to it in the Mabinogion collection of tales and romances, whilst in the Brut y Tywysogion its name appears for the first time not until the year 1161, where, however, it is clearly mentioned as a well-known stronghold.[1] Every king in the Deheubarth having fallen, with the exception of the King of Ystrad Tywi and Ceredigion, it is only natural that his curia principalis should assume a unique position in Welsh eyes. Dinevwr does not become historic until it stands alone as the stronghold of the last great native princes of South Wales.
dirwy, a fine, sometimes doubled, of twelve kine paid directly to the king. A triad in the Latin text written about 1250 reads ' De tribus fit dirwy, scilicet, de pugna, furto, treiss ', according to which dirwy is due for fighting, theft, and rape.[2]
diwyneb [lit. faceless], having no face in the sense of ' power to blush '. It is used in some parts of Wales to-day for one who is without a sense of honour.[3] In the triad in our present text, the effect intended appears to be somewhat as follows. There are three shameless ones in every patria, shameless, impudent, unabashed—and yet we cannot do without them : a lord, a priest, and law.
ebediw, a heriot. A relief payable to a superior lord for investiture of land on the occasion of a death. If the investiture fee had been paid during the lifetime of the holder of land, no ebediw was to be exacted. The sum varied according to the status of the persons concerned.
edling [A.S. aetheling], the king's successor, the 'crown prince ' so to speak, who was to be a brother, son, or nephew
