Demetae

TheDemetaewere aCelticpeople ofIron AgeandRomanperiod, who inhabited modernPembrokeshireandCarmarthenshirein south-westWales.The tribe also gave their name to the medievalKingdom of Dyfed,the modern area and county ofDyfedand the distinct dialect of Welsh spoken in modern south-west Wales,Dyfedeg.

Tribes of Wales at the time of the Roman invasion. The modern Anglo-Welsh border is also shown, for reference purposes.

Etymology and relationship to Dyfed

The tribal name Demetae is thought to derive from aCommon Celticelement related to themodern Welshworddefaid(sheep) as well as theAncient Brythonicworddefod(wealth, property or riches).^[1]This element persists in the name for the area of West Wales that the tribe inhabited, with thepost-Roman Kingdom of Dyfed(proto-Celtic*dametos) a clear continuation of the Pre-Romanetymon.The name even survived theNorman conquest of Walesand the introduction of theShire system,withThomas Morgannoting that the Welsh inhabitants ofPembrokeshirestill referred to the area asDyfedin the nineteenth century.^[2]

This etymology is supported by the tribal area being especially noted for the cultivation of sheep, from which the Demetae would have generated much of their wealth. Even in the modern era, etymologists and antiquarians such asWilliam Baxternoted the names Dyfed and Demetae derived as "a country fit for the pasture of sheep" and that the local people were noted for their cultivation of large numbers of sheep and goats from ancient times.^[3]^[4]

History

The Demetae are mentioned inPtolemy'sGeographia,as being west of theSilures.He mentions two of their towns,Moridunum(modernCarmarthen) andLuentinum(identified as theDolaucothi Gold MinesnearPumsaint,Carmarthenshire).^[5]They are not mentioned inTacitus' accounts of Roman warfare in Wales, which concentrate on their neighbours the Silures andOrdovices.

Vortiporius,"tyrant of the Demetae", is one of the kings condemned byGildasin his 6th century polemicDe Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae.^[6]This probably signifies thesub-Roman petty kingdomofDyfed.

References

^Southey, Thomas (1832)."Observations addressed to the Wool Growers of Australia and Tasmania respecting Improvements in the Breed of Sheep preparing and assorting Wools & c also on the Introduction of other laniferous lanigerous Animals suited to their Climate and Localities and recommended for their Adoption By Thomas Southey Wool Broker 2d edit London Redford and Robins London Road Southwark 1831".Cambrian and Caledonian Quarterly Magazine and Celtic Repertory.4.proprietors: 401–402.
^Morgan, Thomas (1887).Handbook of the Origin of Place-names in Wales and Monmouthshire.H.W. Southey. p. 29.
^Baxter, William. "Quasi regio ovibus pascendis apt".Cambrian Register.2:61–65.
^Baxter, Mr (1832)."The Cambrian Quarterly Magazine and Celtic Reportage".The Cambrian Quarterly Magazine and Celtic Reportage.4:401.
^Ptolemy,Geographia2.2;DemetaeatRoman-Britain.co.uk
^Gildas,De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae31

[1] Southey, Thomas (1832)."Observations addressed to the Wool Growers of Australia and Tasmania respecting Improvements in the Breed of Sheep preparing and assorting Wools & c also on the Introduction of other laniferous lanigerous Animals suited to their Climate and Localities and recommended for their Adoption By Thomas Southey Wool Broker 2d edit London Redford and Robins London Road Southwark 1831".Cambrian and Caledonian Quarterly Magazine and Celtic Repertory.4.proprietors: 401–402.

[2] Morgan, Thomas (1887).Handbook of the Origin of Place-names in Wales and Monmouthshire.H.W. Southey. p. 29.

[3] Baxter, William. "Quasi regio ovibus pascendis apt".Cambrian Register.2:61–65.

[4] Baxter, Mr (1832)."The Cambrian Quarterly Magazine and Celtic Reportage".The Cambrian Quarterly Magazine and Celtic Reportage.4:401.

[5] Ptolemy,Geographia2.2;DemetaeatRoman-Britain.co.uk

[6] Gildas,De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae31

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