Définition : Capitale du Pays de Galles, à l'embouchure de la rivière Taff. Autrefois Tamium.

Population : 6187 hab. en 1863; 289 300 hab. en 1968; 

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Extrait de Ordnance Survey : Map of Roman Britain.

A l'époque celtique, le site de Cardiff se trouve dans le territoire de la tribu 'bretonne' des Silures. Pour la question de cette tribu, manifestement d'origine pré-celtique, voir page spéciale. 

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Lors de la conquête romaine, voir notre site : Histoire ..., plus précisément à la page : histoire-chap6-49-60.htm

Cardiff / Caerdidd est alors un camp romain bâti à l'embouchure de la rivière Tamius / Taff.

Dans le cadre de la Bretagne romaine, la cité des Silures, dont la capitale est Isca Silurum / Carwent, fait partie successivement des provinces : 

- Britannia romania, cap. Londinium / Londres; 

- Britannia Prima, cap. Londinium / Londres;

- Britannia Prima, cap. Corinium / Cirencester.

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A l'époque de la fin de l'empire romain, ce territoire fait partie du 'royaume' de Glywysing, puis de celui d'Aurelius. 

Il prend plus tard le nom de Morgannwg / Glamorgan.

Dès 1039, il fait partie des possessions du prince gallois Gruffydd ap Llywelyn.

Dans le cadre de l'organisation territoriale galloise, il fait partie du comté de Morgannwg / Glamorgan, cantreff de Senghenydd, communauté de Cibur.

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Dans la progression de l'invasion normande, ce territoire est attaqué par Fitzhamon. 

Dans le cadre ecclésiastique, ce territoire dépend du diocèse de Llandaff.

Étymologie :

A. Tamius (rivière) / Tamium (fort) : 

cf. Rivet & Smith, p 466-467 : 

Source : 

- Ravenna, 108₂₈ : Tamion; variantes : Tanison, Taimon.

Derivation. The name is British *Tam-io, that is *tam- (see Tamarus) with *-io derivational suffix. This is an entry in Ravenna's river-list, but this is no guarantee that it refers to a river (as even R&C realised), and we know that at least one other entry in this section (Durolavi 108,37) is a place-name misread from a map. There are two other relevant criteria. One is that for a river-name one would expect -us (nominative) or -o (oblique) for a masculine name such as this, not the -um which Ravenna here shows with its -on ; but several other entries in the river-list show -um-, and are certainly rivers. The other is that the *-io- suffix is normally used to form names of forts and settlements derived from water-names; but a few river-names are also formed with it (e.g. Derventio). Neither of these criteria, then, helps towards a solution in this case. As to position, the entry in Ravenna falls between mentions of the rivers Usk and Ewenny in S. Wales, and there is no reason to doubt that the present name belongs there geographically. Already under Ratostabius we have suggested that if *Tabios (*Taba with *-io- suffix) is in question, it might represent the river Taff (Welsh Taf) ; but also the present * Tamios (Tamius) could be the origin of Taff / Taf, since British -b- and -m- by lenition both > Welsh -f-. But both cannot be right. For Ratostabius all Ptolemy MSS show b (b), and are inherently more likely to be right than the single MS of Ravenna with -m-; on the other hand, it is unlikely that Ravenna's entirely acceptable -m- would have arisen as a copying accident. We have, then, a genuine conflict of evidence which neither linguistic nor geographical analysis can resolve; only an epigraphic discovery would do so. All that is clear is that Ptolemy's Ratostabius is, or at least incorporates, a river-name, while Ravenna's entry might refer to a river or to a fort / settlement. 

IDENTIFICATION. Possibly a Roman fort at Cardiff, Glamorgan (ST 1876), but if so presumably the onc which, on the evidence of pottery, is believed to have preceded the known fort, which is not earlier than the late third century (V. E. Nash-Williams, The Roman Frontier in Wales (2nd edn, revised by M. G. Jarrett, Cardiff, 1969), 71)".

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B. Cardiff : 

Sources : 

* M.N BOUILLET : Dictionnaire universel d'histoire et de géographie. Librairie Hachette. 1863.

* William REES : An Historical Atlas of Wales, from early to modern times. Faber & Faber. London. 1951. Edition 1972.

* Ordnance Survey : Map of Roman Britain. 1956.

* Éditions Larousse : Petit Larousse illustré. 1979.

* A.L.F RIVET & C. SMITH : The Place-names of Roman Britain. Batsford Ltd. london. 1979 / 1982.

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