June 22nd, 1402
Owain Glynd?r, sometimes anglicised as Owen Glendower (1359?c. 1416) and crowned as Owain IV of Wales, was the last Welshman to hold the title Prince of Wales. He instigated an ultimately unsuccessful revolt against English rule of Wales.
Glynd?r was a descendant of the princes of Powys from his father Gruffydd: Fychan II, Hereditary Tywysog of Powys Fadog and Lord of Glyndyfrdwy, and of those of Deheubarth through his mother Elen ferch Tomas ap Llywelyn. On September 16, 1400, Glynd?r instigated the Welsh Revolt against the rule of Henry IV of England. Although initially successful, the uprising was eventually put down ? Glynd?r was last seen in 1412 and was never captured.
Glynd?r has remained a notable figure in the popular culture of both Wales and England, portrayed in Shakespeares play Henry IV as a wild and exotic man ruled by magic and emotion. In the late 19th century the Young Wales movement recreated him as the father of Welsh nationalism, revising the historical image of him as a purely local leader and joining him in popular memory as a national hero on a par with King Arthur.
In 2000 celebrations were held all over Wales to commemorate the 600th anniversary of the rising.
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. Mortimers 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. Glynd?r 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.
