commote

right|thumb|Note that some areas are shown as reorganised by the Normans, for hundred (administrative division)|hundred-style purposes, or in a manner that is not chronologically consistent A commote (, sometimes spelt in older documents as , plural , less frequently ) was a secular division of land in Medieval Wales. The word derives from the prefix ("together", "with") and the noun ("home, abode"). The English word "commote" is derived from the Middle Welsh .

The basic unit of land was the , a small basic village or settlement. In theory, 100 made up a (literally, "one hundred settlements"; plural: ), and half or a third of a was a , although in practice the actual numbers varied greatly. Together with the , commotes were the geographical divisions through which defence and justice were organised. In charge of a commote would be a chieftain probably related to the ruling Prince of the Kingdom. His court would have been situated in a special , referred to as a . Here, the bonded villagers who farmed the chieftain's estate lived, together with the court officials and servants. Commotes were further divided into or .