Welsh History

Lesson 3: Consolidation of a Kingdom

Rebellion

When the long-awaited revolt finally materialized, Owain Glyndwr was ready. His banner was the Red Dragon, the old symbol of victory of Briton over the Saxon. The way had been prepared not only by the men of literature, but also by earlier uprisings begun by Madog ap Llywelyn and by Owain Lawgoch.

Hailed as a brave and skilful soldier, Owain Lawgoch fought for the king of France against the English. He was hailed by Welsh poets as a deliverer but was betrayed and killed in 1378. His legend lived on in the hearts of the Welsh.

Popular Welsh prophetic tradition, united with great social unrest, opened the door for Owain Glyndwr, Lord of Glyndyfrdwy (the Valley of the Dee) who seized his opportunity in 1400 after being crowned Prince of Wales by a small group of supporters.

Repressive measures undertaken by the new King Henry, and the penal legislation of 1401 that further restricted Welsh civil rights at the expense of English settlers, gave Owain the support he needed.

As a wealthy landowner at Sycharth, overlooking the Shropshire Plain, Owain was well-educated, well-traveled, and greatly experienced in civil and military matters. Yet he was willing to leave the security and prosperity he enjoyed at Sycharth to risk everything in his desire to create a self-governing Welsh state.

The revolt began with a dispute over land between Owain as Lord of Glyndyfrdwy, and Reginald de Grey, Lord of Rhuthin, but a few miles distant. The English Parliament treated Owain's attempt at redress with contempt. Owain and his small band of warriors struck back, attacking some of the newly-created English boroughs in Wales. They captured Lord Grey, seized Conwy, threatened Harlech and Caernarfon, and managed to take a great deal of North Wales under their control. The Welsh people now had a chance to fight back under a trusted leader.

By 1404, all had gone well with the rebellion. Glyndwr possessed a magnetic personality, for he rallied the long-suffering people of Wales, strengthened their armies, and inspired their confidence. In June, 1402, Henry IV's invading army was totally destroyed at Pilleth.

At Machynlleth, where he was crowned as Prince of Wales, it didn't seem too ambitious for Owain to believe that with suitable allies, he could even help bring about the dethronement of the English king. Thus he entered into a tripartite alliance with Henry Percy, the Earl of Northumberland and Edmund Mortimer to divide up England and Wales among them.

From such a promising beginning to a national revolt came a terrible, disappointing conclusion, even more upsetting because of the speed at which Welsh hopes crumbled with the failure of the Tripartite Indenture.

After Henry Percy was killed at the Battle of Shrewsbury, the increasing boldness and military skills of Henry's son (the English Prince of Wales and later King Henry V) began to turn the tide against Glyndwr. Owain's parliament was the last to meet on Welsh soil for six hundred years -- the last occasion that the Welsh people had the power of acting independently of English rule.

By the end of 1409, the Welsh rebellion had dwindled down to a series of guerilla raids led by the mysterious figure of Owain, whose wife and two daughters had been captured at Harlech and taken to London as prisoners. Once again the imposition of harsh, punitive measures was enacted against any signs of further resistance to their rule. The Welsh people were forced to pay large subsidies; they were prohibited from acquiring land east of Offa's Dyke or even within the boundaries of the English boroughs in Wales.

To Charles VI of France, Glyndwr wrote "My nation has been trodden underfoot by the fury of the barbarous Saxons."(cited in Stephens, A Most Peculiar People, p. 12). The Welsh leader went into the mountains, or into a secret monastery, becoming an outlaw. He may have suffered an early death, for nothing was further known of him either by the Welsh or the English.

The failure of Owain's dream of an independent Wales was a crushing disappointment: for the first time since the Anglo-Saxon conquests, the old prophecies had seemed to be near fulfillment. Yet, despite the failure of the rebellion, so recent in their memory, and so glorious in its early days, the struggle was not over; many Welshmen continued to hope that one day they would regain their lost sovereignty.

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