Owain Glyndŵr - The Welsh Revolt, 1400 - 1415

1415

In the late 1390s, a series of events occurred that began to push Owain towards rebellion, in what was later to be called the Welsh Revolt, the Glyndŵr Rising or the Last War of Independence. His neighbour, Baron Grey de Ruthyn, had seized control of some land, for which Glyndŵr appealed to the English Parliament. In 1400, Lord Grey informed Glyndŵr too late of a royal command to levy feudal troops for Scottish border service, thus being able to call the Welshman a traitor in London court circles. Lord Grey was a personal friend of King Henry IV. Glyndŵr lost the legal case, and was under personal threat. 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.

These events led to Owain being proclaimed Prince of Wales on 16 September 1400, by a small band of followers which included his eldest son, his brothers-in-law, and the Dean of St Asaph in the town of Corwen, possibly in the church of SS Mael & Sulien.

After a number of initial confrontations between King Henry IV and Owain's followers in September and October 1400, the revolt began to spread in 1401. Much of northern and central Wales went over to Owain. Henry IV appointed Henry Percy – the famous ‘Hotspur’ – to bring the country to order. Hotspur issued an amnesty in March which applied to all rebels with the exception of Owain and his cousins, Rhys ap Tudur and Gwilym ap Tudur, sons of Tudur ap Gronw (forefather of King Henry VII of England). Both the Tudurs were pardoned after their capture of Edward I’s great castle at Conwy.

In June, Owain scored his first major victory in the field at Mynydd Hyddgen on Pumlumon. Retaliation by Henry IV on the Strata Florida Abbey followed, but eventually led to Henry's retreat.

In 1402, the English Parliament issued the Penal Laws against Wales, anti-Welsh legislation designed to establish English dominance in Wales, but actually pushing many Welshmen into the rebellion.

In the same year, Owain captured his arch enemy, Baron Grey de Ruthyn. He was to hold him for almost a year until he received a substantial ransom from Henry.

In June 1402, Sir Edmund Mortimer, the uncle of the Earl of March, was captured. Glyndŵr offered to release Mortimer for a large ransom but, in sharp contrast to his attitude to de Grey, Henry IV refused to pay. Mortimer's nephew could be said to have had a greater claim to the English throne than Henry himself, so his speedy release was not an option. In response, Mortimer negotiated an alliance with Owain and married one of Owain's daughters.

It is also in 1402 that mention of the French and Bretons helping Owain was first heard. The French were certainly hoping to use Wales as they had used Scotland as a base to fight the English.

1403 marks the year when the revolt became truly national in Wales. Royal officials continued to report that Welsh students at Oxford University were leaving their studies to join Owain, and Welsh labourers and craftsmen were abandoning their employers in England and returning to Wales. Owain could also draw on Welsh troops seasoned by the English campaigns in France and Scotland. Hundreds of Welsh archers and experienced men-at-arms left English service to join the rebellion.

In 1404, to demonstrate his seriousness as a ruler, Owain held court at Harlech and appointed Gruffydd Young as his Chancellor. Soon afterwards, he called his first Parliament (or more properly Cynulliad or "gathering") of all Wales at Machynlleth where he was crowned Prince of Wales and announced his national programme. He declared his vision of an independent Welsh state with a parliament and separate Welsh church. There would be two national universities (one in the south and one in the north) and return to the traditional law of Hywel Dda. Senior churchmen and important members of society flocked to his banner. English resistance was reduced to a few isolated castles, walled towns and fortified manor houses.