Providing Bread

Titles seemed to be an important aspect of name calling.  From the earliest time in English history, a title was taken (or given) in a variety of circumstances.  Ynyr(JB-1) ap Gadforch(JA-1) is given the title of "lord".  This title is applied to "both Maelors", "Oswestry", and "Whittington".  Now the word "lord" is derived from the Anglo-Saxon (Old English) word hlaford.  This word seems to be derived from the word hlaf which means loaf (or bread).  It certainly makes sense that the family group (tribe/clan) would look to the bread provider for helping the family to survive.  Having power or authority over others depended upon "bread".  Over time, this would lead to the fact that one became the provider (owner) of land or other real property and became known at "the lord".

Now the figure above is my attempt to show the geographic location of "both Maelor", "Oswestry", and "Whittington".  Both Maelors were part of "hundred of Exestan" from the Anglo-Saxon view.  [King Edgar of Mercia seemed to think that he owned it when he bestowed it upon St. Werburgh's Abbey, Chester in 958 AD.]  There seemed to be two settlement patterns were the Welsh kept control of the northwestern section (Welsh Maelor), and the Saxons took control of the southeastern section (English Maelor). [The name Maelor Saesneg is frequently used.]

Oswestry was the battle ground between both.  It is recorded as being founded by the "Britons" as Maes Usswalt around 500 AD. (Maserfield).  It became a swinging door between the settlement pattern of the Saxons and the land claims of the "Briton" (Welsh).  It took its present name from the battle fought 5 August 642 AD when the Pagans(Penda) won over the Christians (Oswald) and Oswald got chopped up afterward. [His body parts were place on several trees thus becoming "Oswald's Tree".

Whittington was equally as old being described as "drev wen" by a Welsh poet Llygar Gwr (Llowarch Hen) meaning "The White Town".  In the Topographical Dictionary of England, Vol.II, p.461, it is described as what was to become "...property and chief residence of Tudor Trevor...", but that is yet to come. [Tudor Trevor (JC-1)]

The red line roughly shows the relationship to Wat's Dyke, being the Anglo-Saxon line in the soil.  Both Oswestry and Whittington guard the entrance to the land bridge to Wales.  My Welsh family tree begins providing bread here before 900 AD.