Gwely

/ˈɡweləs/ noun

Definition

In Welsh history, a territorial division or land held in common by a family or kinship group.

Etymology

From Welsh 'gwely' meaning literally 'bed', used metaphorically for ancestral land as the 'bed' of a family's livelihood and identity.

Kelly Says

In medieval Wales, 'gwely' wasn't a piece of furniture but a genealogical concept—your 'gwely' was your family's ancestral lands and your place in the kinship network that held them together.

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