The Glyndwr Rising was an uprising of the Welsh between 1400 and 1415, led by Owain Glyndwr, against England. It was the last major Welsh revolt before the incorporation of Wales into England in 1535.
History[]
The Welsh revolts of the late 13th and early 14th centuries were followed by a period of quiet. The effects of the Black Death, which struck as hard in Wales as in England, bringing with it wholesale changes in land tenure system and a move to a monetary economy, led to deprivation in the countryside and a distinct rise in Welsh resentment at English rule.
There was no focus for resistance, however, until the emergence of Owain Glyndwr in 1400. He was descended from the royal houses of both Powys and Deheubarth, but was also a member of the Anglicized aristocracy, who had learnt law and fought with the English army in Scotland in 1385.
In 1400, a land dispute arose between Glyndwr and Lord Grey of Ruthin, a supporter of Henry IV of England. With little prospect of resolution from an unfriendly Crown, Glyndwr called a meeting on 16 September and was proclaimed Prince of Wales. The rebellion rapidly spread and Glyndwr's men captured Conwy Castle. In 1402, he seized two important English prisoners, Lord Grey and Edmund Mortimer. The latter, who was the uncle of the Earl of March, who had a stronger claim to the throne than Henry IV, and the king declined to ransom him. Mortimer became Glyndwr's son-in-law. The Welsh rebel leader extended bis network of friends by allying himself with Sir Henry Percy.
Glyndwr's first real setback was Percy's defeat and death at Shrewsbury in 1403, as he marched south to link up with the Welsh. The following year, he captured Harlech and Aberystwyth, while the English were reduced to a handful of strongholds. Glyndwr established all the trappings of government, with a Welsh Great Seal and a Welsh Parliament summoned to meet at Machynlleth. In 1405, he signed a triple Indenture with the Earl of Northumberland and Mortimer, by which England and Wales were divided into three. Glyndwr was to receive Wales and a portion of west England.
However, events were moving against the Welsh. A French army landed at Milford Haven, but failed to engage the English and slipped away. In 1408, Glyndwr lost Harlech and Aberystwyth. By 1410, he was reduced to fighting a guerrilla campaign in the hills and in 1412 he was mentioned in the sources fot the last time. His exact fate is unknown, but when his surviving son Maredudd accepted a pardon in 1421, all hopes for a revival of the revolt and Welsh political freedom were finished.