List of forms of government
36-601: The River Banwy is a river about 19 miles (31 km) long in Powys , Wales . It is a tributary of the River Vyrnwy . The Banwy rises in the hills near the pass which takes the A458 road between Mallwyd and Welshpool . The river is called Nant Cerrig-y-groes at its source near Moel y Llyn. Then flowing east, it joins a number of lesser streams before reaching Pont Twrch near the village of Y Foel , at its confluence with
72-540: A Grand Duke . No sovereign duchy currently exists, but Luxembourg is a surviving example of a sovereign grand duchy. Historically there have been sovereign principalities with many styles of ruler, such as Countship , Margraviate and even Lordship , especially within the Holy Roman Empire . While the preceding definition would seem to fit a princely state perfectly, the European historical tradition
108-470: A polity , but in some occasions were rather territories in respect of which a princely title is held. The prince's estate and wealth may be located mainly or wholly outside the geographical confines of the principality. Generally recognised surviving sovereign principalities are Liechtenstein , Monaco , and the co-principality of Andorra . Extant royal primogenitures styled as principalities include Asturias (Spain). The Principality of Wales existed in
144-502: A feudal polity (often a former secular principality in the broad sense) held ex officio — the closest possible equivalent to hereditary succession — by a prince of the church , styled more precisely according to his ecclesiastical rank, such as prince-bishop , prince-abbot or, especially as a form of crusader state, grand master . Some of these instances were merely religious offices without sovereign power over any territory, while others, such as Salzburg and Durham , shared some of
180-705: A further 54 enclosures and settlement sites. Powys is served by the Cambrian Line and Heart of Wales line which offer connections to major towns and cities such as Swansea , Wrexham , Shrewsbury , Birmingham , Wolverhampton , Manchester , Cardiff , Aberystwyth , London and Telford . The county used to be served by key railways such as the Mid-Wales Railway , Oswestry and Newtown Railway , Tanat Valley Light Railway , Llanfyllin Branch , Leominster and Kington Railway , Swansea Vale Railway and
216-522: Is a county and preserved county in Wales . It borders Gwynedd , Denbighshire , and Wrexham to the north; the English ceremonial counties of Shropshire and Herefordshire to the east; Monmouthshire , Blaenau Gwent , Merthyr Tydfil , Caerphilly , Rhondda Cynon Taf , and Neath Port Talbot to the south; and Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion to the west. The largest settlement is Newtown , and
252-542: Is a " semé of black lozenges " for the former coal mining industry, while the golden fleece it carries is a reference to the importance of sheep rearing in the county. The county motto is: Powys – the paradise of Wales ( Welsh : Powys Paradwys Cymru ). On 1 April 1974, Powys was created under the Local Government Act 1972. At first, the former administrative counties of Montgomery , Radnor , and Brecknock were districts within it. On 1 April 1996,
288-772: Is now the largest administrative area in Wales by land and area ( Dyfed was until 1996 before several former counties created by the Local Government Act 1972 were abolished). It is bounded to the north by Gwynedd , Denbighshire and Wrexham County Borough ; to the west by Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire ; to the east by Shropshire and Herefordshire ; and to the south by Rhondda Cynon Taf , Merthyr Tydfil County Borough , Caerphilly County Borough , Blaenau Gwent , Monmouthshire and Neath Port Talbot . The largest towns are Newtown , Ystradgynlais , Brecon , Welshpool , Llandrindod Wells and Knighton . Powys has
324-404: Is the best vehicle to realise the aspirations of a people, became popular in the late 19th century. A characteristic of nationalism is an identity with a larger region such as an area sharing a common language and culture. With this development, principalities fell out of favour. As a compromise, many principalities united with neighbouring regions and adopted constitutional forms of government, with
360-725: Is the region northwest of Welshpool. The county is named after the Kingdom of Powys , which was a Welsh successor state , petty kingdom and principality that emerged during the Middle Ages following the end of Roman rule in Britain . Powys covers the same area as the historic counties of Montgomeryshire , Radnorshire , and Brecknockshire . Powys covers the historic counties of Montgomeryshire and Radnorshire , most of Brecknockshire , and part of historic Denbighshire . With an area of about 2,000 square miles (5,200 km ), it
396-526: Is to reserve that word for native monarchies in colonial countries, and to apply "principality" to the European monarchies. Though principalities existed in antiquity, even before the height of the Roman Empire , the principality as it is known today developed in the Middle Ages between 750 and 1450 when feudalism was the primary economic and social system in much of Europe. Feudalism increased
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#1732779991898432-563: The Hereford, Hay and Brecon Railway , all of which offered connections to South Wales , Hereford , Oswestry , North Wales and West Wales but have all since closed. The gold in the county coat of arms symbolises the wealth of the area. Black is for both mining and the Black Mountains . The fountain is a medieval heraldic charge displayed as a roundel barry wavy argent and azure. It represents water and refers to both
468-532: The Lord Lieutenant of Montgomeryshire . The Lord Lieutenant of Brecknockshire and Lord Lieutenant of Radnorshire were appointed as lieutenants. The present lord lieutenant is Shân Legge-Bourke of Crickhowell . From 2024, Powys would be in the UK parliament constituencies of Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe and Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr , both of which extend out of the county. In December 2007, Powys
504-484: The water catchment area and the rivers and lakes. Thus, the arms contain references to the hills and mountains, rivers and lakes, water supply and industry. The crest continues the colouring of the arms. A tower has been used in preference to a mural crown , which alludes to the county's military history and remains. From the tower rises a red kite , a bird almost extinct elsewhere in Britain but thriving in Powys. The bird
540-695: The Holy Roman Empire . During the Late Middle Ages from 1200 to 1500, principalities were often at war with each other as royal houses asserted sovereignty over smaller principalities. These wars caused a great deal of instability and economies were destroyed. Episodes of bubonic plague also reduced the power of principalities to survive independently. Eventually, agricultural progress and development of new trade goods and services boosted commerce between principalities. Many of these states became wealthy, expanded their territories and improved
576-482: The administrative centre is Llandrindod Wells . Powys is the largest and most sparsely populated county in Wales, having an area of 5,181 km (2,000 sq mi) and a population of 133,891 in 2022. After Newtown (11,362), the most populous settlements are Ystradgynlais (8,270), Brecon (8,254), and Llandrindod Wells (5,602). The county is entirely rural, and characterised by multiple market towns and villages. The Welsh language can be spoken by 16.4% of
612-576: The ancient Welsh Kingdom of Powys , which in the sixth century AD included the northern two-thirds of the area as well as most of Shropshire and adjacent areas now in England, and came to an end when it was occupied by Llywelyn ap Gruffudd of Gwynedd during the 1260s. The uplands retain evidence of occupation from long before the Kingdom of Powys, and before the Romans, who built roads and forts across
648-600: The area. There are 1130 identified burial mounds within the county, of varying styles and ages, dating from 4000 BC to 1000 BC, most of them belonging to the Bronze Age . Of these, 339 are scheduled monuments . Standing stones , most again dating to the Bronze Age, also occur in large numbers, 276 being found across the county, of which 92 are scheduled. From the Iron Age , the county has 90 scheduled hillforts and
684-554: The characteristics of secular princes. Prior to the European colonialism, South Asia and South East Asia were under the influence of the Indosphere , where numerous Indianized principalities and empires flourished for several centuries in Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Cambodia and Vietnam. The influence of Indian culture into these areas was given the term indianization . George Coedes defined it as
720-453: The districts were abolished, and Powys was reconstituted as a unitary authority . There was a minor border adjustment in the northeast—specifically, the addition of the communities of Llansilin and Llangedwyn from Glyndŵr district in Clwyd —and with moving the border, so that rather than half of Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant, all is included. The first Lord Lieutenant of Powys was previously
756-511: The expansion of an organized culture that was framed upon Indian originations of royalty, Hinduism and Buddhism and the Sanskrit dialect . This can be seen in the spread of Hinduism and Buddhism . Indian honorifics also influenced the Malay , Thai , Filipino and Indonesian honorifics. In the colonial context, the term princely states was used, especially for those that came under
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#1732779991898792-695: The first millennium, and this trend subsequently led to the creation of such states as France , Portugal , and Spain . Another form of consolidation was orchestrated in Italy during the Renaissance by the Medici family. A banking family from Florence , the Medici took control of governments in various Italian regions and even assumed the papacy . They then appointed family members as princes and assured their protection. Prussia also later expanded by acquiring
828-460: The industrial area of Ystradgynlais in the southwest of Brecknockshire. In Radnorshire, the language survived into the 20th century west of Rhayader with a few native speakers from Nantmel parish surviving into the 20th century too. The 2021 census recorded that 16.4% of the population were able to speak the Welsh language, a decline from 18.6% in 2011 and 21% in 2001 . The county is named after
864-516: The lowest population density of all the principal areas of Wales. Most of Powys is mountainous, and most roads and railways are relatively slow. Just under a third of the residents have Welsh linguistic skills: Welsh speakers are concentrated mainly in the rural areas both in and around Machynlleth , Llanfyllin and Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant (where William Morgan first translated the whole Bible into Welsh in 1588) in Montgomeryshire, and
900-522: The monarch acting as a mere figurehead while administration was left in the hands of elected parliaments. The trend in the 19th and 20th centuries was the abolition of various forms of monarchy and the creation of republican governments led by popularly elected presidents. Several principalities where genealogical inheritance is replaced by succession in a religious office have existed in the Roman Catholic Church , in each case consisting of
936-629: The northern and western areas of Wales between the 13th and 16th centuries; the Laws in Wales Act 1535 which legally incorporated Wales within England removed the distinction between those areas and the March of Wales . The Principality of Catalonia was a state located in the north-eastern area of the Iberian Peninsula and southern France between the late 12th and early 18th centuries, as
972-764: The population. The county is predominantly hilly and mountainous. To the west lie the Cambrian Mountains , where the River Severn and River Wye both have their source on the Powys side of the Plynlimon massif; together with their tributaries they drain most of the county. The southern quarter of the county is occupied by the Brecon Beacons (Bannau Brycheiniog) national park, and further north are two more upland areas, Mynydd Epynt and Radnor Forest . The only extensive area of flat land in Powys
1008-513: The power of local princes within a king's lands. As princes continued to gain more power over time, the authority of the king was diminished in many places. This led to political fragmentation as the king's lands were broken into mini-states ruled by princes and dukes who wielded absolute power over their small territories. This was especially prevalent in Europe , and particularly with the Princes of
1044-495: The river Twrch. Two miles further on, it is joined by the river Gam, which flows down from the Nant yr Eira, between Y Foel and Llangadfan. After flowing past the small village of Llanerfyl, the river meanders between hills of moderate altitude to reach a bridge at Llanfair Caereinion . For the last 5 miles (8.0 km) of its course it turns northwards through a narrow valley. 'Yr Hafesb' is its local name here. It passes Mathrafal ,
1080-467: The seat and court of the kings of Powys. Its confluence with the Vyrnwy is near Newbridge . [REDACTED] Media related to Afon Banwy at Wikimedia Commons 52°41′36″N 3°16′09″W / 52.69335°N 3.26926°W / 52.69335; -3.26926 ... Powys Powys ( / ˈ p oʊ ɪ s , ˈ p aʊ ɪ s / POH -iss, POW -iss , Welsh: [ˈpou̯ɪs] )
1116-559: The services provided to their citizens. Princes and dukes developed their lands, established new ports and chartered large thriving cities. Some used their new-found wealth to build palaces and other institutions now associated with sovereign states. While some principalities prospered in their independence, less successful states were swallowed by stronger royal houses. Europe saw consolidation of small principalities into larger kingdoms and empires . This had already happened in England in
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1152-759: The sway of a European colonising power: for example the British Indian and neighbouring or associated (e.g., Arabian) princely states were ruled by monarchs called Princes by the British, regardless of the native styles, which could be equivalent to royal or even imperial rank in the Indigenous cultures. Principalities have also existed in ancient and modern civilizations of Africa , Pre-Columbian America and Oceania . Several micronations , which de facto have few characteristics of sovereign states and are not recognized as such, more or less seriously claim
1188-477: The term "Principality of Catalonia" or simply "Principality" remains in popular and informal contexts to refer to the autonomous community of Catalonia . The term "principality" is also sometimes used generically for any small monarchy, especially for small sovereign states ruled by a monarch of a lesser rank than a king, such as a Fürst (usually translated in English as "prince"), as in Liechtenstein, or
1224-832: The term for the political entity ruled by the Catalan Courts (the parliament) as a member of the composite monarchy of the Crown of Aragon , until the defeat of the Habsburgs in the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714), when these institutions were abolished by the Bourbons due to their support for the Habsburg pretender. "Principality of Asturias" is the official name of autonomous community of Asturias , however,
1260-401: The territories of many other states. However, in the 17th to 19th centuries, especially within the Holy Roman Empire, the reverse was also occurring: many new small sovereign states arose as a result of transfers of land for various reasons. Notable principalities existed until the early 20th century in various regions of Germany and Italy . Nationalism , the belief that the nation-state
1296-443: Was awarded Fair Trade County status by The Fairtrade Foundation . Principality A principality (or sometimes princedom ) can either be a monarchical feudatory or a sovereign state , ruled or reigned over by a regnant- monarch with the title of prince and/or princess , or by a monarch with another title considered to fall under the generic meaning of the term prince . Most of these states have historically been
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