Tintern 4.33

Tintern is a village on the west bank of the River Wye in Monmouthshire, Wales, close to the border with England, about north of Chepstow. It is popular with tourists, who visit for the scenery and the ruined Tintern Abbey.The modern settlement of Tintern has been formed through the coalescence of two historic villages, previously separate parishes - Tintern Parva, forming the northern end of the village, and Chapel Hill, which forms the southern end. The village is designated as a Conservation Area.HistoryEarly historyA ford across the navigable and tidal River Wye was in use in Roman times, close to the site of the abbey. After the Romans withdrew from Wales, the kingdom of Gwent emerged, and, according to tradition, in the 6th century one of their kings, Tewdrig, came out of retirement as a Tintern hermit to defeat the invading Saxons in battle, perhaps at a site known today as Pont y Saison (Bridge of the Saxons) in the Angiddy Valley. The name Tintern may derive from the Welsh din + d/teyrn, meaning "rocks of the king".The abbeyTintern Abbey was founded beside the river by Walter de Clare on 9 May 1131, during the reign of King Henry I. It was the second Cistercian foundation in Britain, and its monks came from a daughter house of Cîteaux in France.