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Owain Glyndŵr, sometimes anglicised as Owen Glendower (1359–c. 1416), was the last Welshman to hold the title Prince of Wales, and was a descendant of the princes of Powys.
He instigated an ultimately unsuccessful revolt against English rule of Wales.
Biography
Owain inherited property in the north of Wales: he was the claimant through his mother to the lands of Rhys ap Gruffydd. He is believed to have studied law in London before serving with the forces of Henry Bolingbroke, an opponent of King Richard II of England, who later seized the throne and became King Henry IV.
On his return to Wales, he found that England's oppressive rule had paralysed the Welsh economy and aroused popular resentment. He married Margaret Hanmer, whose father, Sir David Hanmer, a judge, came of an English family that was totally integrated with the local population. They settled down to a peaceful and prosperous family life, but Owain was regarded by many as the man most likely to revive Welsh hopes of self-government.
In September 1400, a year after Bolingbroke usurped the throne, Glyndwr's feud with a neighbour, Reynold, Lord Grey of Ruthin, touched off an insurrection in north Wales. The insurgency quickly became a national struggle for Welsh independence.
Glyndwr formed strategic alliances with Henry's most powerful opponents. In 1402 he captured Edmund Mortimer, uncle of the 5th Earl of March and a claimant to the English throne. When the king refused to ransom Mortimer, Owain secured his support and married him off to one of his own daughters. He then allied himself with the Percy family (Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland, Sir Henry "Hotspur" Percy, and Thomas Percy, 2nd Earl of Worcester). The defeat of the Percys at the Battle of Shrewsbury in 1403 (in which Owain did not take part) was a temporary setback for the Welsh leader.
By 1404 he had gained control of most of Wales. Styling himself prince of Wales, he established an independent Welsh Parliament at Machynlleth and began to formulate his own foreign and ecclesiastical policies.
In 1405, Glyndwr's army, bolstered by a French force which had been landed at Milford Haven, invaded England and marched to a point near Worcester, where they sighted the English army. The two sides never engaged each other, and — after a stand-off lasting more than a week — Glyndwr's men retreated to Wales. This failure weakened Glyndwr's position within his own country. The recapture by the English of Aberystwyth (1408) and Harlech (1409) under Prince Henry, later Henry V, left him powerless. His allies in England were crushed. He was, however, active in guerrilla fighting as late as 1412.
Legacy
The actual date and place of Glyndwr's death is not known. It is said that he disappeared into the Welsh mountains, never to be seen again. Legend has it that Glyndwr is not dead, but is actually asleep, waiting to one day rise again and restore Welsh independence.
A movement known as Meibion Glyndwr (The sons of Glyndwr) grew up in Wales during the 1980s and 1990s, campaigning against the increasing number of second homes bought by outsiders, especially English outsiders, in rural areas. Their methods included arson.
Fiction
Glyndwr is the subject of several historical novels, including:
He is also a character in Shakespeare's Henry IV, part 1.
Bibliography
- J.E. Lloyd, Owen Glendower. Although written in 1931, this book is still considered a classic.
- Rees R. Davies, The Revolt of Owain Glyn Dwr. Oxford: University Press, 1995. ISBN 0192853368
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