Owain Glyndŵr

Owain Glyndŵr
Lord of Gruffydd Fychan II
Mother	Elen ferch Tomas ap Llywelyn
Signature

Owain ap Gruffydd (c. 1354 – c. 1415), commonly known as Owain Glyndŵr or Glyn Dŵr (pronounced

In 1400 Owain Glyndŵr, a descendant of several Welsh royal dynasties, had

King Charles VI of France

; in 1405 a French army landed in Wales to support the rebellion.

Under Owain Glyndŵr's leadership, an internationally recognised independent Welsh state was briefly established. It lasted for five years until February 1409, when English forces captured Owain's last remaining strongholds of

Despite the large bounty placed on him by the English crown, Glyndŵr was never betrayed or captured, and in

as a king rather than a prince.

Early life

Owain Glyndŵr was born in 1354 in the northeast

The young Owain ap Gruffydd was possibly fostered at the home of

Glyndŵr joined the king's military service in 1384 when he undertook garrison duty under the renowned Welshman Sir Gregory Sais, or Sir Degory Sais, on the English–Scottish border at

King Richard was distracted by a growing conflict with the Lords Appellant from this time on. Glyndŵr's opportunities were further limited by the death of Sir Gregory Sais in 1390 and the sidelining of FitzAlan, and he probably returned to his stable Welsh estates,^{[citation needed]} living there quietly for ten years during his forties. The bard Iolo Goch, himself a Welsh lord, visited Glyndŵr in Sycharth in the 1390s and wrote a number of odes to Owain, praising his host's liberality and writing of Sycharth, "Rare was it there / to see a latch or a lock."^[23]

Welsh Revolt

In the late 1390s, a series of events began to push Owain towards rebellion, in what was later to be called the Welsh Revolt, the Glyndŵr Rising or (within Wales) the Last War of Independence. His neighbour,

On 16 September 1400, Owain Glyndŵr instigated a 15-year

Sources state that Glyndŵr was under threat because he had written an angry letter to Lord Grey, boasting that lands had come into his possession,[13] and he had stolen some of Lord Grey's horses; and believing Lord Grey had threatened to "burn and slay" within his lands, he threatened retaliation in the same manner. Lord Grey then denied making the initial threat to burn and slay, and replied that he would take the incriminating letter to Henry IV's council and that Glyndŵr would hang for the admission of theft and treason contained within the letter.^[33] The deposed king, Richard II, had support in Wales, and in January 1400 serious civil disorder broke out in the English border city of Chester after the public execution of an officer of Richard II.^[34][35]

These events led to Glyndŵr's formally assuming his ancestral title of Prince of Powys on 16 September 1400 at his

In 1401 and 1402, the English Parliament enacted

]

Glyndŵr, facing years on the run, finally lost his estate in the spring of 1403, when Prince Henry as usual marched into Wales unopposed and burnt down Glyndŵr's houses at Sycharth and Glyndyfrdwy, as well as the commote of Edeirnion and parts of Powys. Glyndŵr continued to besiege towns and burn down castles; for 10 days in July that year, he toured the south and southwest of Wales until all of the south joined arms in rebelling against English rule. These actions induced an internal rebellion against the King of England, with the Percys joining the rising.^[13] It is around this stage of Glyndŵr's life that Hywel Sele, a cousin of the Welsh prince, attempted to assassinate Glyndŵr at the Nannau estate.^[13][39]

In 1403 the revolt became truly national in Wales. Royal officials reported that Welsh students at

]

In 1404, Glyndŵr's forces took Aberystwyth Castle and Harlech Castle,^[1] then continued to ravage the south by burning Cardiff Castle. Then a court was held at Harlech and Gruffydd Young was appointed as the Welsh Chancellor. There had been communication to Louis I, Duke of Orléans in Paris to try (unsuccessfully) to open the Welsh ports to French trade.^[13]

Crowning as Prince of Wales

By 1404 no less than four royal military expeditions into Wales had been repelled and Owain had solidified his control of the nation. In 1404, he was proclaimed by his supporters Prince of Wales (Welsh: Tywysog Cymru) and held a parliament at Machynlleth, where he outlined his national programme for an independent Wales.^[40] This included such plans as building two national universities (one in the south and one in the north), re-introducing the traditional Welsh laws of Hywel Dda, and establishing an independent Welsh church. There were envoys from other countries including France, Scotland and the Kingdom of León (in Spain). In the summer of 1405, four representatives from every commote in Wales were sent to Harlech.^[41]

Parliament House in Machynlleth

Machynlleth may have been chosen due to its central location in Wales and the recently acquired possession of three nearby castles:

Tripartite indenture

In February 1405, Glyndŵr negotiated the "

Although negotiations with the lords of Ireland were unsuccessful, Glyndŵr had reason to hope that the French and Bretons might be more welcoming. He dispatched Gruffydd Yonge and his brother-in-law (Margaret's brother), John Hanmer, to negotiate with the French. The result was a formal treaty that promised French aid to Glyndŵr and the Welsh. The immediate effect seems to have been that joint Welsh and Franco-Breton forces attacked and laid siege to Kidwelly Castle. The Welsh could also count on semi-official fraternal aid from the Duchy of Brittany and from Scotland.^[46] Scots and French privateers were operating around Wales throughout Owain's war. Scottish ships had raided English settlements on the Llŷn Peninsula in 1400 and 1401. In 1403, a Breton squadron defeated the English in the Channel and devastated Jersey, Guernsey and Plymouth, while the French made a landing on the Isle of Wight. By 1404, they were raiding the coast of England, with Welsh troops on board, setting fire to Dartmouth and devastating the coast of Devon.^{[citation needed]}

1405 was the "Year of the French" in Wales. A formal treaty between Wales and France was negotiated. On the continent, the French pressed the English as the French army invaded the English Plantagenet Aquitaine.^[47] Simultaneously, the French landed in force at Milford Haven in west Wales and attempted to capture Pembroke Castle before they were bought off.^[13][48] The combined forces of French and Welsh marched through Herefordshire and on into Worcestershire to Woodbury Hill. They met the English army just ten miles from Worcester.^[1] The armies took up battle positions daily and viewed each other from a mile without any major action for eight days. Then, for reasons that have never become clear, the Welsh retreated, and so did the French shortly afterwards.^[49]

The Pennal Letter

By 1405, most French forces had withdrawn after politics in

Glyndŵr's Great Seal and a letter handwritten by him to the French in 1406 are in the

, he was signalling a family blood line connection.

Glyndŵr rebellion faltering

During early 1405 the Welsh forces, who had until then won several easy victories, suffered a series of defeats. Glyndŵr's brother, Lord Tudur ap Gruffudd, a commander during the war, died at the Battle of Pwll Melyn in May 1405. English forces landed in Anglesey from Ireland and would over time push the Welsh back until the resistance in Anglesey formally ended toward the end of 1406.^[19]

Following the intervention of French forces, battling ensued for years, and in 1406 Prince Henry restored fines and redemption for Welsh soldiers to choose their own fate, prisoners were taken after the battle, and castles were restored to their original owners, this same year a son of Glyndŵr died in battle. By 1408 Glyndŵr had taken refuge in the North of Wales, having lost his ally from Northumberland.^[13]

Despite the initial success of the revolution, in 1407 the superior numbers, resources, and wealth that England had at its disposal eventually began to turn the tide of the war, and the much larger and better-equipped English forces gradually began to overwhelm the Welsh. In times of war, the English changed their strategy.^[58] Rather than focusing on punitive expeditions as favoured by his father, the young Prince Henry adopted a strategy of economic blockade. Using the castles that remained in English control, he gradually began to retake Wales while cutting off trade and the supply of weapons. By 1407 this strategy was beginning to bear fruit, and by 1409 they had reconquered most of Wales. In 1409, it was the turn of Harlech Castle to surrender.^[58] Edmund Mortimer died during the siege, and Owain's wife Margaret along with two of his daughters (including Catrin) and three of Mortimer's granddaughters were captured on the fall of the castle and imprisoned in the Tower of London. They were all to die in the Tower in 1413 and were buried at St Swithin, London Stone. ^[59]

Glyndŵr managed to escape capture by disguising himself as an elderly man, sneaking out of the castle and slipping past the English military blockade in the darkness of the night. Glyndŵr retreated to the Welsh wilderness with a band of loyal supporters; he refused to surrender and continued the war with guerrilla tactics such as launching sporadic raids and ambushes throughout Wales and the English borderlands.

Glyndŵr remained free, but he had lost his ancestral home and was a hunted prince. He continued the rebellion, particularly wanting to avenge his wife. In 1410 Owain led a raid into rebel-controlled

]

On 21 December 1411, the King of England issued pardons to all Welsh except their leader and Thomas of Trumpington (until 9 April 1413, from which Glyndŵr was no longer excepted).[13] Glyndŵr twice ignored offers of a pardon from the new king Henry V, and despite the large rewards offered for his capture, Glyndŵr was never betrayed by the Welsh. His death was recorded by a former follower in the year 1415, at the age of approximately 56.^{[29][page needed]}

Disappearance

Nothing certain is known of Glyndŵr after 1412.^[1] Despite enormous rewards being offered, he was neither captured nor betrayed. He ignored royal pardons. Tradition has it that he died and was buried possibly in the church of Saints Mael and Sulien at Corwen close to his home, or possibly on his estate in Sycharth or on the estates of his daughters' husbands: Kentchurch in south Herefordshire or Monnington in west Herefordshire.^[63]

In his book The Mystery of Jack of Kent and the Fate of Owain Glyndŵr, Alex Gibbon argues that the folk hero

Death

Adam of Usk, a one-time supporter of Glyndŵr,^[13] made the following entry in his Chronicle in the year 1415: "After four years in hiding, from the king and the realm, Owain Glyndŵr died, and was buried by his followers in the darkness of night. His grave was discovered by his enemies, however, so he had to be re-buried, though it is impossible to discover where he was laid." Thomas Pennant writes that Glyndŵr died on 20 September 1415 at the age of 61 (which would place his birth at approximately 1354).^[66]

In 1875, the Rev. Francis Kilvert wrote in his diary that he saw the grave of "Owen Glendower" in the churchyard at Monnington "[h]ard by the church porch and on the western side of it ... It is a flat stone of whitish-grey shaped like a rude obelisk figure, sunk deep into the ground in the middle of an oblong patch of earth from which the turf has been pared away, and, alas, smashed into several fragments."^[67]

In 2006, Adrien Jones, the president of the Owain Glyndŵr Society, said, "Four years ago we visited a direct descendant of Glyndŵr, a John Skidmore, at

. Although Kimbolton is an unexceptional and relatively unknown place outside of Herefordshire, it is closely connected to the Scudamore family. Given the existence of other links with Herefordshire, its place within the mystery of Owain Glyndŵr's last days cannot be discounted.

As of 2023[update], his final resting place remains uncertain.

Legacy

Previously, George Owen, in his book A Dialogue of the Present Government of Wales, written in 1594, commented on the topic of the "Cruell lawes against Welshmen made by Henrie the ffourth" in his attempts to quell the revolt.^[70] But it was not until the late 19th century that Glyndŵr's reputation was revived, when the Cymru Fydd ('Young Wales') movement recreated Glyndŵr as the father of Welsh nationalism.^[71]

Glyndŵr is now remembered as a national hero and numerous small groups have adopted his symbolism to advocate

Glyndŵr was described by Fidel Castro as the first effective guerrilla leader. It has been suggested that Castro, who may have kept books about the Welshman, and Che Guevara copied some of Glyndŵr's methods in the Cuban Revolution.^[74][75]

During the

Owain, you're our defiance, – Owain,
Yours is our allegiance,
Our steel, and in your stance
See our nation's renaissance.

— Dafydd Wyn Jones

The 600th anniversary also saw a new expansion of the old song Marwnad yr Ehedydd, ('The Lark's Elegy') which some suppose to have been written about Glyndŵr by one of his followers.

Literature

After Glyndŵr's death, there was little resistance to English rule. The

Glyndŵr later acquired mythical status as the hero awaiting a call to return and liberate his people.[87]^[88] Thomas Pennant, in his Tours in Wales (1778, 1781 and 1783), searched out and published many of the legends and places associated with the memory of Glyndŵr.^[89] Glyndŵr has been featured in a number of works of modern fiction, including most notably John Cowper Powys's novel Owen Glendower (1941),^[90][91][92] and Edith Pargeter's 1972 publication A Bloody Field by Shrewsbury.^[93][94]

A highly fictionalized Glyndŵr is featured in the popular YA book series The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater as Owen Glendower. In the series, which takes place in the Shenandoah Valley, characters believe that Glyndŵr's body was brought from Wales to Virginia after his death, and that whoever can 'wake' him will be granted a wish.^[95]

Glyndŵr's name in public use

The

At least two ships and one locomotive have been named after Glyndŵr.

• In 1808, the Royal Navy launched a 36-gun fifth-rate frigate, HMS Owen Glendower. She served in the Baltic Sea during the Gunboat War where she participated in the seizure of Anholt Island, and then in the Channel. Between 1822 and 1824, she served in the West Africa Squadron (or 'Preventative Squadron') chasing down slave ships, capturing at least two.^[101]
• Owen Glendower, an East Indiaman, a Blackwall frigate built in 1839.^[102]
• In 1923, a
  privatised.^[103]

Following Glyndŵr's death, he acquired mythical status as the hero awaiting a call to return and liberate his people in the classic Welsh mythical role Y Mab Darogan ('The Foretold Son').[87]^[88] Glyndŵr came second to Aneurin Bevan in the 100 Welsh Heroes poll of 2003/2004.^[104] Stamps were issued with his likeness in 1974 and 2008,^[105] and streets, parks, and public squares were named after him throughout Wales. There is a campaign to make 16 September (Owain Glyndŵr Day), the date Glyndŵr raised his standard, a public holiday in Wales, including by Dafydd Wigley in 2021.^[106] Many schools and organisations commemorate the day, and street parades such as Gŵyl y Fflam ('Festival of the Flame') are held to celebrate it.^{[107][108][109]}

On 16th September 2023, a portrait of Owain Glyndwr was unveiled at Sycharth by the artist, Dan Llywelyn Hall. The portrait was made in support of a campaign to restore the motte and bailey of Sycharth.^[110]

An annual award for achievement in the arts and literature, the Glyndŵr Award, is named after Glyndŵr.^[111] From 2008 to 2023, Wrexham University was known as (Wrexham) Glyndŵr University in his honour. Despite adopting its new name without Glyndŵr in 2023, the university maintains links with the Owain Glyndŵr Society for one of its annual top graduate awards.^{[112][113][114]} Glendower Residence, at the University of Cape Town in South Africa, was named after Owain Glyndŵr. The residence was opened in 1993 having previously been the Glendower Hotel. The hall of residence houses 135 male students.^[115]

Glyndŵr's personal standard (the quartered arms of Powys and Deheubarth rampant) began to be seen in Wales on commercial products, and also flags used at games and other sporting events.^[116] RGC 1404 (Rygbi Gogledd Cymru/North Wales Rugby) rugby union team is named in honour of the year Owain Glyndŵr was crowned Prince of Wales.^[117][118]

Banners and coat of arms

• 
  Owain Glyndŵr's banner. Glyndŵr used the same coat of arms as his predecessors as Princes, Llywelyn ap Gruffudd and Owain Lawgoch.^{[119][120][121][122][123][b]}
• 
  Gold dragon of Wales, a flag used by Glyndŵr in his independence campaign.^{[124]: 238 [125]}

  ^: 43
• 
  Arms assigned Owain Glyndŵr in A Tour in Wales by Thomas Pennant (1726–1798), which chronicles the three journeys he made through Wales between 1773 and 1776.^[89]
• 
  Owain Glyndŵr arms used as a sign for a hotel at Pale Hall.^[126]

Marriage and issue

Owain married Margaret Hanmer, also known by her Welsh name Marred ferch Dafydd, daughter of Sir David Hanmer of Hanmer, early in his life.^{[1][13][127][c]}

Owain's daughter Alys had secretly married Sir John Scudamore,^[13] the King's appointed Sheriff of Herefordshire. Somehow he had weathered the rebellion and remained in office. It was rumoured that Owain finally retreated to their home at Kentchurch. A grandchild of the Scudamores was

Glyndŵr's daughters Janet and Margaret married respectively Sir John de Croft and Sir Richard Monnington, in Herefordshire.

Owain's sons were either taken prisoner or died in battle and had no issue. Gruffudd, born about 1375, was captured by the English, confined in Nottingham Castle, and taken to the Tower of London in 1410. He died in prison of bubonic plague in about 1412. Maredudd, whose date of birth is unknown, was still living in 1421 when he accepted a pardon. Little is known about Madog, Thomas, and John. Owain had additional illegitimate children: David, Gwenllian, Ieuan, and Myfanwy.^[127][d]

Lineage

Owain Glyndŵr's ancestry:^{[129][130][131]}

(Rulers of Powys)

(Rulers of Deheubarth)

(Rulers of Gwynedd)

Bleddyn ap Cynfyn d. 1075

Rhys ap Tewdwr d. 1093

Gruffudd ap Cynan

Maredudd ap Bleddyn d. 1132

Gruffudd ap Rhys d. 1137

Owain Gwynedd

Rhys ap Gruffudd (Yr Arglwydd Rhys) d. 1197

Iorwerth Drwyndwn

Llywelyn Fawr

Madog ap Gruffudd Maelor d. 1236

Owain d. 1235

Angharad ferch Llywelyn

Gruffudd Maelor II d. 1269

Maredudd ab Owain d. 1265

Eleanor

Marared

Gruffudd Fychan I d. 1289

Owain d. 1275

Angharad

Madog Crypl c. 1275 – 1304

Llywelyn ab Owain d. 1308

Gruffudd

Tomos d. 1343

Gruffudd Fychan II d. before 1340

Elen

Owain Glyndŵr c. 1354 – c. 1414

Ancestry confusion

Some sources allege that Glyndwr's royal ancestor from the Kingdom of Gwynedd as a Prince of Wales was

.

See also

• Buildings associated with Owain Glyndŵr
• Welsh heraldry
• Welsh Seal
• List of people who disappeared

References

Notes

1. ^ R. R. Davies noted that certain internal features underscore the roots of Glyndŵr's political philosophy in Welsh mythology: in it, the three men invoke prophecy, and the boundaries of Wales are defined according to Merlinic literature.
2. ^ Arms: Quarterly or and gules, four lions rampant armed and langued azure counterchanged.^[116]
3. ^ According to Lloyd, Owain and Margaret had five sons and four (p. 211) or five (p. 199) daughters:^[127]
4. Sir Edmund Mortimer, son of Edmund Mortimer, 3rd Earl of March
   , and died in 1413.

Sources

• Bradley, A. G. (1901). Owen Glyndwr and the Last Struggle for Welsh Independence. G. P. Putnam's Sons.
• Davies, John; Jenkins, Nigel; Baines, Menna, eds. (2008). The Welsh Academy Encyclopaedia of Wales. Cardiff: University of Wales Press.
  ISBN 978-0708319536
  .
• ISBN 978-0198205081
  . Retrieved 26 October 2022.
• Davies, R. R.; Morgan, Gerald (2009). Owain Glyn Dŵr: Prince of Wales. Ceredigion: Y Lolfa.
  ISBN 978-1-84771-127-4
  .
• Hodge, Geoffrey (1995). Owain Glyn Dwr: The War of Independence in the Welsh Borders. Logaston Press.
  ISBN 1-873827-24-5
  .
• ISBN 978-0-85989-884-3
  .
• Lloyd, J. E. (1931). Owen Glendower. Oxford University Press.
• Pierce, Thomas Jones (1959). "Owain Glyndwr (c. 1354–1416), 'Prince of Wales'". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales.
• Tout, T.F. (1901). "Glendower, Owen (1359?–1416?), Welsh rebel" . In Stephen, Leslie (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography
  . Vol. 21. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
• Williams, Gruffydd Aled (2017). The Last Days of Owain Glyndŵr. Y Lolfa.
  ISBN 978-1-7846-146-38. Archived from the original
  on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 23 November 2017.

Further reading

• Burton, Robert (1730). The history of the principality of Wales. : In three parts. Paternoster Row, London. – A history of the Principality of Wales at Google Books
• Latimer, Jon; Murray, John (2001). Deception in War. pp. 12–13.
• Lowe, Walter Bezant (1912). The Heart of Northern Wales. Vol. 1. pp. 205–207. – The Heart of Northern Wales, p. 205, at Google Books
• Morgan, Owen (1911). A history of Wales from the Earliest Period: Including Hitherto Unrecorded Antiquarian Lore. – A History of Wales at Google Books
• ISSN 0950-4125
  .

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Owain Glyndŵr.

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

Owen Glendower

• "Canolfan & Senedd-Dŷ Owain Glyndŵr (Owain Glyndŵr's parliament & centre)". canolfanowainglyndwr.org.
• "The Owain Glyndŵr Society". owain-glyndwr.wales.
• "Owain Glyn Dŵr". britannica.com. 12 January 2024.
• "BBC Wales History – Profile of Owain Glyndŵr". bbc.co.uk.
• "Owain Glyndwr and his uprising – Interpretation Plan" (PDF). cadw.gov.wales.
• Cefn Caer

Preceded by Owain Lawgoch	Prince of Wales (titular) 1400 – c. 1416	Succeeded by Vacant
Preceded by Gruffydd Fychan II	Hereditary Lord of Glyndyfrdwy 1369 – c. 1416	Succeeded by Maredudd ab Owain Glyndŵr