Plots 

The Rebellion

For much of his life Owain did not seem to be the man who would free Wales. He was educated, he spent time in London, and he served in the army of the King of England against the Scots in 1385. He could certainly speak English as well as Welsh, and he may possibly have known French as well. He was a married man with many children - we're not sure how many. His wife was Margaret Hanmer, descended from an English family who had become Welsh. He was middle-aged by the year 1400. Then several things happened. In 1399 the King of England, Richard II, was murdered, and a usurper (ask about that word) took his place. His name was Henry Bolingbroke, Henry IV. In 1400 Owain quarrelled with one of the Marcher Lords, Reginald Grey of Ruthin (find the town of Ruthin on a map). Grey was his neighbour, and Owain was so angry that on September 16, 1400, he gathered his men together and attacked Ruthin. It could have been just another row between two powerful men, but Owain was someone special. Many Welsh people believed that he was 'the Son of Prophecy', the man who would free Wales, and they proclaimed Owain to be Prince of Wales. Many Welshmen started to gather round him. His cousins, the Tudor brothers of Anglesey, captured Conway Castle from the King's men. In 1401 Owain and a few of his followers crossed Pumlumon mountain (look for it on a map) to the river Hyddgen. An army of men from Ceredigion, both Welsh and English, came to fight against him. The Welshmen decided to change sides and join Owain, and they drove the English soldiers away. At the same time Owain wrote to the leaders of Ireland and Scotland, asking them for help. In 1402 Owain and his men were fighting along the eastern border of Wales, and they probably came through Llanbister, though there is no record of this. They won a battle at Bryn Glas, killing many Englishmen. Owain captured his enemy, Reginald Grey, and held him to ransom (find out what that means). They were able to get 10,000 marks for him (a mark is two-thirds of a pound) which was a huge sum! So fierce were Owain's men that the people of Shropshire and Herefordshire were willing to pay Owain to leave them in peace! Also in 1402 he captured a much more important man, Edmund Mortimer, but instead of holding him to ransom, Owain persuaded him to join the rebellion, and Mortimer married Owain's daughter Catrin. Why was Edmund Mortimer important? Because he was related both to the old Princes of Wales and to the Kings of England! In 1403 and 1404 Owain captured the castles of Llansteffan and Newcastle Emlyn in the south, and the much more important castles of Aberystwyth and Harlech. What were the English doing while the Welsh were having such great successes? The King of England, Henry IV, had many enemies. He had trouble with Scotland, with Ireland, with France, as well as many enemies in England itself. He sent several armies into Wales, but with all his other worries, he couldn't concentrate on destroying the Welsh rebellion. Instead his parliament passed many laws against the Welsh - which only made the Welsh more angry still! Between 1404 and 1408 Owain was amazingly successful. He controlled nearly the whole of Wales. Many clever men, churchmen and lawyers, supported him. He plotted with Henry IV's enemies in England to divide England up, so that Owain would rule a Wales much bigger than it is now - all the way to Worcester. But Henry defeated his English enemies at the battle of Shrewsbury in 1405. Nevertheless, Owain enjoyed much success. Ambassadors from France, Scotland and Spain came to see him crowned. In 1403 the French king sent soldiers to help in battle, although they didn't do much. Owain held parliaments in Machynlleth and Harlech, and perhaps in Dolgellau as well. He proclaimed his policy for Wales - the Welsh church was to be separate from the church in England, and Wales was to have two universities, one in the north and one in the south. But alas for his dreams! Henry IV began to grow stronger. He defeated his English enemies. His son Henry of Monmouth, (also Prince of Wales) although very young, was a good soldier. The Welsh did not have the same large numbers of men that the king of England could gather together. The French soldiers went home. The English had ships to bring supplies around the coast - Owain had no ships. The Welshmen needed to spend time farming to grow food. Owain did not have great sums of money to pay his men and feed them. The winter of 1407/8 was terribly cold. The Welsh suffered greatly. In 1408 the English captured Aberystwyth and Harlech, and after that, Owain was on the run, an outlaw. Several of his sons had been killed in battle. His wife and daughters were captured by the English. Edmund Mortimer died. However, even in 1412 Owain could still bring together a force of men to attack his enemies. When the new king, Henry V, offered him a pardon, Owain refused. We don't know what happened to him. By 1416 he was probably dead, but no-one knows for sure. Nor does anyone know where he was buried. It took many years for Wales and the English border counties to recover from Owain's rebellion. Both sides, English and Welsh, had done great damage, destroying towns, villages and farmland. Many legends gathered around Owain Glyndwr even while he was still alive. a. Welsh people believed that a great leader would come who would drive the English out of Wales, and make the Welsh free again. Especially this belief was encouraged by many of the Welsh poets of the time. There were also men who were believed to be prophets, able to see into the future. We know that Owain Glyndwr had such a prophet. He was a man with a strange name - Crach y Ffinnant. Even before the rebellion in 1400, people believed that Owain might be the great leader they hoped for. They believed this because he was descended from the kings of Powys (through his father) and the kings of Deheubarth (south-west Wales) through his mother. Owain certainly believed in the power of prophets. b. Owain was a skilful leader in battle. He and his men would appear suddenly, attack, and then disappear. Some of the English started to believe that he had magical powers, and especially that he could control the weather. He was believed to practise trickery. For example, when chased by the English, he asked a blacksmith to change the shoes on his horse back to front, so that the tracks in the earth would lead them the wrong way. On other occasions Owain is supposed to have stuck poles in the ground with hats on them, so that the enemy would think his army to be enormous. It was believed that Owain could disguise himself and come in among the English soldiers, speaking French to them, and learning about their plans. c. Owain was never killed or captured by the English. Even when the rebellion was over, and he could have given himself up without fear of punishment, he stayed in hiding. Consequently no-one knew when or where he had died. As a result, people began to believe about Owain as they believed about Arthur, that he had not died, but was sleeping in a cave, waiting until Wales called on him again. d. There are many caves in Wales where Owain is supposed either to have slept before a battle, or to be sleeping until the Welsh call upon him again. e. According to one story, Owain came to Glyn-y-groes abbey, near Llangollen, very early in the morning, and found the abbot walking in the monastery garden. "Master Abbot," said Owain, "you have risen too early." "No," said the abbot, "you are the one who has risen too early, by a hundred years." This story refers to the fact that nearly a hundred years after Owain's rebellion, Henry Tudor from Wales made himself king of England and Wales - people believed that at last the prophecies had come true. f. Great leaders often have enemies among their own men. According to legend, Owain's cousin Hywel Sele, who lived at Nannau near Dolgellau in Merioneth, had quarrelled with Owain. The two men were brought together to make them friends again, and went for a walk. Hywel saw a deer, raised his bow and arrow and then turned on Owain and shot at him. Fortunately Owain was wearing armour under his cloak, which saved his life. According to the story, Owain burnt down Hywel's house, and imprisoned Hywel in a hollow oak, where he died. g. As well as all the caves around Wales where Owain spent time, or sleeps, there are many other places connected with him. Here are two examples. On Pumlumon mountain there is a rock with a deep mark on it, like the mark of a hoof. According to tradition it was made by Owain's favourite horse, whose name was Llwyd y Bacsie. h. There is a mountain above Corwen called Cadair Glyndwr [cadair means 'seat']. According to tradition, Owain threw a dagger which flew all the way to the church in Corwen, leaving a knife-shaped mark on the church tower which you can still see.