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The Welsh Revolt, 1400–1415
On September 16, 1400, Owain acted, and was proclaimed Prince of Wales by a small band of followers. This was a revolutionary statement in itself. Owain’s men quickly spread through north-east Wales. By September 19 the De Grey stronghold of Ruthin was attacked and almost destroyed. Denbigh, Rhuddlan, Flint, Hawarden, and Holt followed quickly afterward. On September 22 the town of Oswestry was so badly damaged by Owain's raid that it had to be rechartered. By the 24th Owain was moving south and sacked Welshpool.
Simultaneously, the Tudor brothers from Anglesey launched a guerrilla war against the English. The Tudors were a prominent Anglesey family who were closely associated with Richard. Gwilym and Rhys ap Tudor had been captains of archers in Richard's campaigns in Ireland. They quickly switched allegiance to their cousin, Owain Glyndŵr.
Henry IV, on his way north to invade Scotland, turned his army around and by September 26 he was in Shrewsbury ready to invade Wales. In a lightning campaign, Henry led his army around North Wales. He was harassed constantly by bad weather and the attacks of Welsh guerrillas. By October 15, he was back in Shrewsbury with little to show for his efforts.
Memorial to the slain of the Battle of Mynydd Hyddgen
Memorial to the slain of the Battle of Mynydd Hyddgen
In 1401, the revolt began to spread. The whole of northern and central Wales went over to Owain. Multiple attacks were recorded on English towns, castles, and manors throughout the North. Even in the south in Brecon and Gwent reports began to come in of banditry and lawlessness by groups calling themselves the Plant Owain - the Children of Owain. In May, Gwilym and Rhys ap Tudor easily took Conwy Castle while the garrison was at church. They were to hold out for more than six months until they negotiated its return for a sizable payment and free passage.
Owain also scored his first major victory in the field. In June, at Mynydd Hyddgen in west Wales, Owain and his army of four hundred were camped at the bottom of the Hyddgen Valley when fifteen hundred English and Flemish settlers from Pembrokeshire charged down on them. Owain rallied his army and fought back, killing 200 and making prisoners of the rest.
The situation was sufficiently serious for the king to assemble another punitive expedition. This time he attacked through central Wales. From Shrewsbury and Hereford, Henry IV's forces drove through Powys toward the Abbey of Strata Florida.
The Cistercian house was known to be sympathetic towards Owain and Henry intended to remind them of their loyalties and prevent the revolt from spreading any further south. After terrible weather and constant harassment by the Plant Owain he reached Strata Florida. Henry was in no mood to be merciful. After a two-day drinking session, he partially destroyed the abbey and executed monks suspected of pro-Owain loyalties. However, he failed to engage Owain's forces in any large numbers. Plant Owain harassed him and engaged in hit-and-run tactics on his supply chain but refused to fight in the open.
Henry was forced to retreat. As he did so the weather turned. The army was nearly washed away in floods and Henry almost died when his tent was blown down. Wet, starving, and dejected, they returned to Hereford with nothing to claim for their efforts.
The English saw that if the revolt prospered it would inevitably attract disaffected supporters of the deposed king. They were concerned about the potential for disaffection in Cheshire and were increasingly worried about the complaints of the military governor of North Wales,
Henry "Hotspur" Percy.
The legendary warrior — son of the powerful Earl of Northumberland — complained that he was not receiving sufficient support from the king and that the repressive policy of Henry was only encouraging revolt. He argued that negotiation and compromise could persuade Owain to end his revolt. In fact, as early as 1401, Hotspur may have been in secret negotiations with Owain and other leaders of the revolt to attempt to negotiate a settlement. The core Lancastrian supporters would have none of this. They struck back with anti-Welsh legislation designed to establish English dominance in Wales. The laws actually codified common practices that had been at work in Wales and along the Marches for many years.
However, they sent a message to many of those who were wavering that the English viewed all the Welsh with equal suspicion. Many Welshmen who had tried to further their careers in English service now felt pushed into the rebellion as the middle ground between Owain and Henry disappeared.
In the same year, Owain captured his arch enemy, Reynald de Grey in an ambush at Ruthin. He was to hold him for a year until he received a substantial ransom from Henry. In June Owain's forces encountered an army led by Sir Edmund Mortimer, the uncle of the Lord of the March, at Bryn Glas in central Wales. Mortimer's army was badly defeated and Mortimer was captured. It is reported that the Welsh women following Owain’s army, killed the wounded English and mutilated the bodies of the dead, supposedly in revenge for plundering and rape by the English the previous year. Glyndŵr offered to release Mortimer for a large ransom but, in sharp contrast to his attitude to De Grey, Henry IV refused to pay. In response, Sir Edmund negotiated an alliance with Owain and married one of Owain's daughters, Catrin.
It is also in 1402, that mentions of the French and Bretons helping Owain were first heard. The French were certainly hoping to use Wales as they had used Scotland as a base from which to fight the English. French privateers began to attack English ships in the Irish Sea and provide weapons to the Welsh. French and Breton freebooters were also active in Owain's attacks.
The Revolt spreads
The ward of Caernarfon Castle, besieged by Glyndŵr in 1403, showing (from left to right) the Black Tower, the Chamberlain's Tower, and the Eagle Tower.
1403 marks the year when the revolt became truly national. Owain struck out to the west and the south. Recreating Llywelyn the Great's campaign in the west, Owain marched down the Tywi Valley. Village after village rose to join him. English manors and castles fell or their inhabitants surrendered. Finally, Carmarthen, one of the main English power-bases in the west, fell and was occupied by Owain. Owain then turned around and attacked Glamorgan and Gwent. The castle at Abergavenny in Gwent was attacked and burnt. Owain pushed on down to the coast, burning Usk and taking Cardiff and Newport.
Royal officials report that Welsh students at Oxford were leaving their studies for Owain and Welsh labourers and craftsmen were abandoning their employers and returning to Wales in droves. Owain could also draw on the seasoned troops from the English campaigns in France. Hundreds of Welsh archers and men-at-arms left English service to join the rebellion.
In the north, Owain's supporters launched a second attack on Caernarfon Castle (this time with French support) and almost captured it. In response, Henry of Monmouth (the son of Henry IV and the future King Henry V) attacked and burned Owain's homes at Glyndyfrdwy and Sycharth.
The situation became much worse – Hotspur defected to Owain.
Raising his standard of revolt in Cheshire – a bastion of support for Richard II – he challenged his cousin Henry's right to the throne.
His young protégé, Henry of Monmouth, then only 16, turned to the north to meet Hotspur.
On July 21, Henry arrived in Shrewsbury just before Hotspur forcing the rebel army to camp outside the town. Henry forced the battle before the Earl of Northumberland had managed to reach Shrewsbury. Thus, Henry was able to fight before the full strength of the rebels was present and on ground of his own choosing. The battle lasted all day. When the cry went out that Hotspur had fallen, the rebels' resistance began to falter and crumble. By the end of the day, Hotspur was dead and his rebellion was over. Over 300 knights had died and up to 20,000 men were killed or injured.
In 1404, Owain captured and garrisoned the great western castles of Harlech and Aberystwyth. Anxious to demonstrate his seriousness as a ruler, he held court at Harlech and appointed the devious and brilliant Gruffydd Yonge as his chancellor. Soon afterwards he called his first Parliament (or more properly a "Cynulliad" or "gathering") of all Wales at Machynlleth where he was crowned Owain IV 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 flowed to his banner. English resistance was reduced to a few isolated castles, walled towns, and fortified manors.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owain_Glynd%C5%B5r"
Categories: Monarchs of Powys | Welsh monarchs | Welsh rebels | Welsh soldiers | Welsh lawyers | Disappeared people | Historical figures portrayed by Shakespeare | 1359 births | 1416 deaths
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owain_Glynd%C5%B5r
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