Owain Glyndŵr

. Only a mound remains after the building was burnt to the ground. Owain ap Gruffudd Fychan was born in or before 1359. Owain's father Gruffudd Fychan was descended from a younger brother of Llywelyn Fychan ap Gruffudd, the last lord of Northern Powys who was killed in the Edwardian conquest of Wales alongside Llywelyn ap Gruffudd. Gruffudd Fychan was baron of Glyndyfrdwy (or Glyndŵr) and Cynllaith in his own right. Owain's father was dead by 1370, which left his mother Elen ferch Tomas a widow whilst he was still a boy. Owain's mother was from Iscoed, Ceredigion, and was a descendant of Gruffudd, eldest son of the Lord Rhys, prince of Deheubarth. Through his father, Owain could boast senior, if remote, ancestry from Madog ap Maredudd of Powys. However, his mother's lineage granted him descent from the Second Dynasty of Gwynedd no fewer than in three discrete instances, as her ancestors had married daughters of Gruffudd ap Cynan, Tomas ap Rhodri, and Llywelyn ab Iorwerth, whose daughter Angharad ferch Llywelyn was both Owain's progenitor and the daughter of Joan, whose father in turn was King John. Early career The young Owain ap Gruffudd Fychan was possibly fostered at the home of David Hanmer, a rising lawyer shortly to be a justice of the King's Bench, or at the home of Richard Fitzalan, 3rd Earl of Arundel. Owain is then thought to have been sent to London to study law at the Inns of Court, as a student in Westminster, London, for over a period of seven years. He was possibly in London during the Peasants' Revolt of 1381. By 1384, he was living in Wales and married to David's daughter, Margaret Hanmer; their marriage took place, perhaps in 1383, in St Chad's Church, Hanmer in north-east Wales. Although other sources state that they were married in the 1370s. They started a large family and Owain established himself as the squire of his ancestral lands at Sycharth and Glyndyfrdwy. Owain joined the king's military service in 1384 when he undertook garrison duty under the Welshman Sir Gregory Sais on the English–Scottish border at Berwick-upon-Tweed. His surname Sais, meaning 'Englishman' in Welsh, refers to his ability to speak English, not common in Wales at the time. In August 1385, he served King Richard II under the command of John of Gaunt, again in Scotland. Then, in 1386, he was called to give evidence at the High Court of Chivalry, in the Scrope v Grosvenor trial at Chester on 3 September that year. In March 1387, Owain fought as a squire to Richard Fitzalan, 4th Earl of Arundel, where he saw action in the English Channel at the defeat of a Franco-Spanish-Flemish fleet off the coast of Kent during the Battle of Margate. Upon the death in late 1387 of his father-in-law, Sir David Hanmer, knighted earlier that same year by the then King of England, Richard II, Owain returned to Wales as executor of his estate. Owain next served as a squire to Henry Bolingbroke (later King Henry IV), son of John of Gaunt, at the short Battle of Radcot Bridge in December 1387. From 1384 until 1388 he had been active in military service and had gained three full years of military experience in different theatres, and had witnessed some key events and noteworthy people at first hand. King Richard was distracted by a growing conflict with the Lords Appellant from this time on. Owain's opportunities were further limited by the death of Sir Gregory Sais in 1390 and the sidelining of FitzAlan, and he probably returned to his stable Welsh estates, living there quietly for ten years during his forties. The bard Iolo Goch, himself a Welsh Lord, visited Owain in Sycharth in the 1390s and wrote a number of odes to Owain, praising his host's liberality and writing of Sycharth, "Very rarely was a bolt or lock to be seen there." ==Prelude to rebellion==

In the late 1390s, a series of events occurred which cornered Owain, and forced his ambitions towards a rebellion. The events would later be called the "Welsh Revolt", "the Glyndŵr Rising" (within Wales), or the "Last War of Independence". His neighbour, Baron Grey of Ruthin, had seized control of some land, for which Owain appealed to the English Parliament; however, Owain's petition for redress was ignored. Later, in 1400, Lord Grey did not inform Owain in time about a royal command to levy feudal troops for Scottish border service, thus enabling him to call Owain a traitor in London court circles. Lord Grey had stature in the royal court of Henry IV. The law courts refused to hear the case, or it was delayed because Lord Grey prevented Owain's letter from reaching the King, which would have repercussions. Sources state that Owain was under threat because he had written an angry letter to Lord Grey, boasting that lands had come into his possession, and he had stolen some of Lord Grey's horses; and believing Lord Grey had threatened to "burn and slay" within his lands, he threatened retaliation in the same manner. Lord Grey then denied making the initial threat to burn and slay, and replied that he would take the incriminating letter to Henry IV's council and that Owain would hang for the admission of theft and treason contained within the letter. The deposed king, Richard II, had support in Wales, and in January 1400 serious civil disorder broke out in the English border city of Chester after the public execution of an officer of Richard II. ==Rebellion==

At Sycharth on 16 September 1400, in front of his immediate family, his in-laws, Welsh people from Berwyn, friends from North-East Wales, the Dean of St Asaph totalling 300 men, Owain Glyndŵr prophecised that he was the person to save his people from the English invasions, and proclaimed himself the Prince of Wales. The following day, he instigated a 15-year rebellion against the rule of Henry IV. Then came a number of initial confrontations between Henry IV and Owain's followers in September and October 1400, as the revolt began to spread around North Wales. Owain was immediately proclaimed Prince of Wales by his followers and subsequently launched an assault on Lord Grey's territories, burning Ruthin. They continued to Denbigh, Rhuddlan, Flint, Holt, Oswestry and Welshpool, all of which were seen as English towns in Wales. The initial revolt got the attention of the King of England after letters were sent asking for military assistance to combat the Welsh rebels. Much of northern and central Wales went over to Owain, and from then on, he would only make an appearance to attack his enemy, his army using effective guerrilla warfare tactics against the English occupying territories. Burial Although the location of his burial is unknown, there has long been speculation where Owain's final resting place may be. In 1875, the Rev. Francis Kilvert wrote in his diary that he saw the grave of "Owen Glendower" in the churchyard at Monnington on Wye "[h]ard by the church porch and on the western side of it ... It is a flat stone of whitish-grey shaped like a rude obelisk figure, sunk deep into the ground in the middle of an oblong patch of earth from which the turf has been pared away, and, alas, smashed into several fragments." Another nearby location is suggested by Adrien Jones, the president of the Owain Glyndŵr Society, who stated, "Four years ago we visited a direct descendant of Owain, a John Skidmore, at Kentchurch Court, near Abergavenny. He took us to Mornington Straddle in Herefordshire, where one of Owain's daughters, Alice, lived. Mr. Skidmore told us that he (Owain) spent his last days there and eventually died there... It was a family secret for 600 years, and even Mr Skidmore's mother, who died shortly before we visited, refused to reveal the secret. There's even a mound where he is believed to be buried at Mornington Straddle." The historian Gruffydd Aled Williams suggests in a 2017 monograph that the burial site is in the Kimbolton Chapel near Leominster, the present parish church of St James the Great which used to be the chapelry of Leominster Priory, based upon a number of manuscripts held in the National Archives. Although Kimbolton is an unexceptional and relatively unknown place outside of Herefordshire, it is closely connected to the Scudamore family. ==Issue and descendants==

in a late-night vision. This is one of a number of such sketches known collectively as the Visionary Heads. Owain married Margaret Hanmer, also known by her Welsh name Marred ferch Dafydd, and together they had five or six sons and four or five daughters. Also, Owain had some illegitimate children out of wedlock. Sons • Gruffudd d. 1411. • Madog. • Maredudd alive in 1421. • Thomas. • John. All of Owain and Margaret's sons from their marriage were either taken prisoner and died in confinement, or died in battle and had no issue. Gruffudd was captured in Gwent by Prince Henry, imprisoned in Nottingham Castle, and later taken to the Tower of London in 1410. Maredudd was recorded as communicating with John Talbot and the English Crown on 24 February 1416, and receiving a royal pardon in 1421, but dying a few years later. Daughters • Alice (Alys), m. John Scudamore of Ewyas. • Jane. • Janet, m. Sir John De Croft. • Margaret, m. Sir Richard Monnington. • Catherine (Catrin) (d. 1413), m. (1) Edmund Mortimer (d. 1409), (2) Roger Mortimer. Upon Owain's disappearance and death, his eldest (oldest child with descendants) daughter Alice came to be known as the Lady of Glyndyfrdwy and Cynllaith, and heiress of the Principalities of Powys, South Wales and Gwynedd. During 1431, she successfully went to court in Meirionydd to regain her inheritance as the heiress of Sycharth in Glyndyfrdwy against John, Earl of Somerset, who had been granted Owain's forfeited lands by the King of England in 1400. Alice's descendants married into the Scudamore family and her direct descendant John Lucy Scudamore married the daughter of Harford Jones-Brydges in the early 19th century, and whose daughter in 1852 married the son of Edward Lucas from the Castleshane estate in Ireland. Another daughter, Jane, married Henry, Lord Grey de Ruthin without issue. Then, Janet married into the noble family of Croft Castle in Herefordshire, whose descendants today are titled the Croft Baronets. Whilst Margaret married a knight from Monnington, also in Herefordshire. Illegitimate Owain's illegitimate children with other women included Ieuan, Myfanwy and Gwenllian, whilst it is debated whether his son David was born out of wedlock. Ieuan became Owain's only male descendant to have children. Like his other illegitimate kin, they remained in Wales and married locally into Welsh families. Gwenllian became the wife of Philip ab Rhys ab Cenarth, and died near St Harmon in Powys (Radnorshire). Family poem Iolo Goch wrote of Owain's wife, Margaret: == Legacy ==

In Welsh culture Owain acquired a mythical status alongside other medieval kings such as Cadwaladr, Cynon ap Clydno and King Arthur. He was perceived as a folk hero awaiting a call to return and liberate his people in the classic Welsh mythical role – (). The myth was that one day after a thousand years of servitude under English rule, a 'Son of Prophecy' would return the Welsh people as rulers of the island of Great Britain. Also, in Welsh folklore, the name Owain has been connected to a legend of the 'son of destiny'. His claim as the Prince of Wales was similar to that of another distant relative from the Gwynedd dynasty. It was another Owain, Lawgoch (Owain ap Thomas ap Rhodri) who proclaimed his patrimony a few decades earlier, when he attempted to regain his family stature with aid from the King of France in a Franco-Welsh alliance from the late 1360s, until his assassination in 1378. Modern legacy • Owain was described by Fidel Castro as the first effective guerrilla leader. It has been suggested that Castro, who may have kept books about the Welshman, and Che Guevara copied some of Owain's methods in the Cuban Revolution. • During the First World War, the prime minister David Lloyd George unveiled a statue to Owain in Cardiff City Hall. A statue of Owain by the sculptor Simon van de Put was installed in The Square in Corwen in 1995, and in 2007 it was replaced with a larger equestrian statue by Colin Spofforth. • Owain came second to Aneurin Bevan in the 100 Welsh Heroes poll of 2003/2004. Stamps were issued with his likeness in 1974 and 2008, and streets, parks, and public squares were named after him throughout Wales. There is a campaign to make 16 September (Owain Glyndŵr Day), the date Owain raised his standard, a public holiday in Wales, including by Dafydd Wigley in 2021. • RGC 1404 (, ) rugby union team is named in honour of "the year Owain Glyndŵr became Prince of Wales". • To celebrate the 600th anniversary of Owain's life, a monument was erected in Machynlleth in the grounds of Plas Machynlleth. • Owain has been featured in a number of works of modern fiction, including most notably John Cowper Powys's novel Owen Glendower (1941), and Edith Pargeter's 1972 publication A Bloody Field by Shrewsbury. • A highly fictionalised Owain is featured in the popular YA book series The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater as Owen Glendower. In the series, which takes place in the Shenandoah Valley, characters believe that Owain's body was brought from Wales to Virginia after his death, and that whoever can "wake" him will be granted a favour. • In 2026, a new play by Gary Owen called Owain & Henry, about Owain's rebellion against the rule of Henry IV of England in the 15th century, will be performed at the Welsh National Theatre with Michael Sheen playing Owain. Namesakes • The Owain Glyndwr Hotel in Corwen is a historic 18th century coaching inn. • The Owain Glyndŵr pub in Cardiff, briefly named Owen Glendower was named in his honour. • The waymarked, 132-mile long-distance footpath Glyndŵr's Way runs through Mid Wales near to his homelands. • At least two ships and two locomotives have been named after Owain: • In 1808, the Royal Navy launched a 36-gun fifth-rate frigate,. She served in the Baltic Sea during the Gunboat War where she participated in the seizure of Anholt Island, and then in the Channel. Between 1822 and 1824, she served in the West Africa Squadron (or "Preventative Squadron") chasing down slave ships, capturing at least two; • Owen Glendower, an East Indiaman, a Blackwall frigate built in 1839; • In 1923, a 2-6-2T Vale of Rheidol locomotive was named after Owain. The locomotive is still operational and was one of a few used by British Rail until it was privatised; • 70010 Owen Glendower, renamed Owain Glyndŵr, built in 1951 at the Crewe Works, it was withdrawn in June 1965. It was a British Railways Standard Class 7 mixed-traffic steam locomotive. • In 2002, a plaque was unveiled near the Tower of London to commemorate Glyndwr's daughter Catrin who died there with her children. • From 2008 to 2023, Wrexham University was known as (Wrexham) Glyndŵr University in his honour. Despite dropping the name in 2023, the university maintains links with the Owain Glyndŵr Society for one of its annual graduate awards. ==Arms==