Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Owain Glyndŵr
Anti-English feeling was rife throughout Wales by 1400 and Owain ap Gruffydd (better
known as Owain Glyndŵr), a descendant of the royal house of Powys, became the upris-
ing's leader, declaring himself Prince of Wales and attacking neighbouring Marcher Lords.
Henry IV reacted harshly and passed a series of penal laws imposing severe restrictions
on the Welsh. This only increased support for the rebellion and by 1404 Glyndŵr con-
trolled most of Wales, capturing Harlech and Aberystwyth castles, and summoning a par-
liament at Machynlleth and at Harlech. But Glyndŵr met his match in Prince Henry, son of
Henry IV and hero of the Battle of Agincourt. After a series of defeats, his allies deserted
him and after 1406 Glyndŵr faded into myth-shrouded obscurity. Glyndŵr remains a great
hero to the Welsh; he is memorialised in the Owain Glyndŵr Centre in Machynlleth, de-
voted to his life story, and the Glyndŵr's Way National Trail, a multiday walking track
connecting places associated with him.
