Saerlaith Conwy

Sáerlaith Conwy

• Middle Irish Gaelic given name Sáerlaith and the Welsh locative byname Conwy.

Sáerlaith

• Sáerlaith - Mari's Irish Annals has a single instance, dated 969 - https://medievalscotland.org/kmo/AnnalsIndex/Feminine/all.shtml
• Need a later date to go with Conwy (unless find a pre-1269 date for Conwy)

Byname/Surname

• Conwy castle - there exists a petition mentioning Conwy castle, by this spelling, dated to 1378-1390
• Apparently, Edward I started building Conwy Castle in 1283. Before that, there was a monastery at that place, which

historians call Aberconwy (established in the late 1100s per Wikipedia). This was on the bank of the Conwy River.

• Need a date earlier than 1269 to go with Saerlaith, unless find a later date than 969 for Saerlaith.

• • Llandudno: its history and natural history, 1861, Richard Parry - discusses the origin of the name of the Conway River, originally Cynwy or Abercynwy, Latinized to Conway, no dates apart from date of castle 1284 - https://books.google.com/books?id=i7kHAAAAQAAJ&q=cynwy#v=snippet&q=cynwy&f=false
  • A guide through North Wales, 1860, William Cathrall & Andrew Crombie Ramsay - no new info from above.

• History of Aberconwy Abbey per The Cistercians in Yorkshire website, https://www.dhi.ac.uk/cistercians/abbeys/aberconwy.php

• The Register and Chronicle of the Abbey of Aberconway, Sir Henry Ellis, digital book, transcription of Latin, uses the spelling Aberconwey, and Conwey - https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=inu.32000007373592;view=1up;seq=7

• KING JOHN AND THE CISTERCIANS IN WALES PhD Thesis - https://orca.cf.ac.uk/43581/1/2013jenkinsjhphd.pdf
• King John’s 1202 charter to Aberconwy abbey ‘is unique in English royal charters for Welsh foundations’, before then seemingly suggesting it was issued as a matter of routine, without explaining how a ‘unique’ charter could be routinely issued.74 Even Rhys Hays in his History of Aberconway Abbey says that it was surprising this 1202 charter was issued before again suggesting, ‘likely it was a matter of routine’.75
  • Unfortunately, the spelling in the 1202 Charter is Aberconwey - "(I)ohannes Dei gratia rex Anglie dominus Hibernie dux Normanie et comes Andegauie iusticiariis, vicecomitibus et omnibus balliuis suis Anglie et Wallie et totius terre sue et portuum maris salutem. Sciatis quod suscepimus in manum et protectionem nostram abbaciam de Aberconwey..."
  • http://magnacarta.cmp.uea.ac.uk/read/newly_discovered_charters/Notification_of_the_King_s_grant_of_protection_to_Aberconway_Abbey

• "Unnamed abbot: in 1216 an unnamed abbot of Aberconwy was excused from attending the annual General Chapter at Cîteaux given his infirmity." - Monastic Wales website, http://www.monasticwales.org/person/164

• "In 1277 Edward I imposed the humiliating Treaty of Aberconwy on Llywelyn.." - Wrexham Borough Website, http://www.wrexham.gov.uk/english/heritage/medieval_exhibition/conquest_aftermath.htm

Combination

• MI Gaelic and Welsh are a compatible lingual mix per SENA Appendix C
• MI Gaelic and Welsh are not in the same language family, so elements need to be within 300 years of each other, ibid