The Golden Dragon of Wales: A Glyndwr Rebellion TL

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Prologue
The Golden Dragon of Wales:
A Glyndwr Rebellion TL

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Yr Ddraig Aur Cymru

Prologue:
The story of Glyndŵr’s War, also known as the War of Welsh Independence and the Tripartite War, began not in 1400, when the first stirrings of Welsh rebellion were unleashed by Glyndŵr across north Wales, but many years earlier in 1384 when a young Owain Glyndŵr travelled north to guard the Scottish border at Berwick-on-Tweed with his elder brother Tudur. This was start of his career in the English army and the following year he took, or rather attempted to take, a step up the ladder to knighthood by joining the army of Richard II in its campaign northwards against the Scots. It was abundantly clear that Glyndŵr had acquired a taste for the adventure of a military career and the opportunity for acquiring both fame and a fortune that it afforded. Thus, it can come as no surprise that in 1387 Glyndŵr joined the retinue of the Earl of Arundel and helped to defeat a French fleet at the Battle of Margate, thus ending the threat of a French invasion from a time at least. The future looked bright for Glyndŵr to establish himself as first a knight of the land and then a prominent military commander in England’s armies. After all, he had the friendship of England’s most powerful Earl and had played a part in the Earl’s hugely popular victory over France. But this all went out the window when he suddenly, and very surprisingly, withdrew from the Earl of Arundel’s retinue that had been preparing for an invasion of France. The reason for this sharp change in attitude has been lost to time, but Glyndŵr’s withdrawal from Arundel’s retinue marked the end of the Welshman’s once promising military career and made it impossible for Glyndŵr to ever achieve the rank of knight.

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The castle at Berwick-on-Tweed

From that point onwards, Glyndŵr returned to his estates in his homeland and did not stray from them until he was proclaimed Prince of Wales on 16th September 1400. Nonetheless, Glyndŵr’s short-lived adventures in the English army had provided him with was a firm grounding in military matters and experience of warfare that would stand him in good stead during the war that bears his name. He had served under the Welsh hero and battle-hardened warrior, Sir Gregory Sais, whilst garrisoning the Scottish border and under the prominent Earl of Arundel during, perhaps, his finest moment and had thus learnt from the best before returning home.

The estates that Glyndŵr returned to in 1387, and from which his war against the English crown in 1400, were three in number and were moderately prosperous, at least by Welsh standards. First came Sycharth, his family home and the seat of his lands, second was a collection of lands in the Dee valley around Corwen and Glyndyfrdwy which held the Cistercian abbey of Valle Crucis which had been established by Glyndŵr’s ancestors and would go on to be the final resting place for Glyndŵr and many of his descendants, finally came lands in region of Iscoed and Gwynionydd which were some distance from his home at Sycharth. At this point it is important to note that Glyndŵr was the descendent of the Princely Houses of both Powys and Deheubarth and, perhaps fortunately, his estates were places steeped in the past glories of these most illustrious of Welsh houses. Whilst residing at Sycarth, Glyndŵr mixed with both born and bred Welshmen, the so-called ‘barwniaid’ or barons of Wales, and also minor English lords from the Marches, it was many of these nobles that formed the core of Glyndŵr’s friends and allies after his crowning as Prince of Wales, but at the tome were little more than drinking and hunting companions.

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Sycharth, Glyndŵr's family home

Glyndŵr was by no means the wealthiest of lords nor the most prestigious but nonetheless he, at the aged of around 45 in 1400, had enjoyed a successful career, though perhaps not as successful as he had once hoped, in the English army and had a relatively comfortable life in his estates. Despite this, it is hard to imagine that Glyndŵr would not have had thoughts of bitterness and resentment at having been passed over for knighthood, unlike many of his companions after his part in the victory against the French in 1387, and also for a Stewardship in the March of Wales by his one time friend Earl of Arundel. To make matters worse, Glyndŵr also had a long running land dispute with his English neighbour, the Reginald Grey, 3rd Baron Grey de Ruthyn. Whilst it is certain that these feelings of resentment played a part in his motivation to rebel, it must also be remembered that Glyndŵr, as a Welshman through and through, had been exposed to the legends of the Welsh people, the tales of Welsh heroes like Llywellyn the Great, and most importantly to the dreams of an independent Wales. Nobody expected anyone to even attempt to achieve this impossible dream, but Glyndŵr was foolish enough to try.
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Welcome to my latest TL on the rise of the Principality of Wales and the Welsh national hero, Owain Glyndwr. This is the first TL I've written in some time so excuse any rustiness in the writing and do please comment, but most importantly, I hope you enjoy it!
 
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Very interesting start, I like what I see so far. I am curious what the POD is (I'm woefully unfamiliar with Owain Glyndwr other than in the broad sense)? Anyway, looking forward to more!
 
Very interesting start, I like what I see so far. I am curious what the POD is (I'm woefully unfamiliar with Owain Glyndwr other than in the broad sense)? Anyway, looking forward to more!
Thanks. The POD hasn't actually occurred yet. The prologue is just an introduction to the man himself and the POD will be revealed in the next update. ;)
 

TruthfulPanda

Gone Fishin'
Interesting.
As he is 45, he must be married (or widowed).
Whom is he allied with by marriage?
Any siblings? Aunts, uncles, cousins, nephews and nieces?
Pretty pics :)
Berwick holds a special place in my heart - the local team plays in the SFL ...
 
Interesting.
As he is 45, he must be married (or widowed).
Whom is he allied with by marriage?
Any siblings? Aunts, uncles, cousins, nephews and nieces?
Pretty pics :)
Berwick holds a special place in my heart - the local team plays in the SFL ...
Checked the wiki - apart from the already mentioned brother, Tudor, quite a few relatives to draw upon :)
His main allies by marriage are the Hanmers, but as you say he has a lot of relatives available.
 
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Chapter 1: Owain Glyndŵr, Prince of Wales
Chapter 1: Owain Glyndŵr, Prince of Wales
No one will ever truly know why Owain Glyndŵr began the Welsh revolt as and when he did, but on the 16th September 1400 he was proclaimed Prince of Wales at Corwen whilst surrounded by a small band of his friends and allies that included his eldest son, his brother, his brothers-in-law, the Hamners, and the Dean of Llanelwy[1]. This proclamation carried little political weight but was a hugely significant statement of intent from Glyndŵr and his followers and carried the burden of hundreds of years of Welsh history with it, not to mention its invocation of the legacy of Llywelyn the Great and is own efforts to unite the Welsh territories. After the proclamation of Glyndŵr as Prince of Wales, his men quickly spread across north-east Wales and only two days later descended upon Ruthyn Castle, the stronghold of Baron Grey. This choice of target was hardly surprising given the Glyndŵr’s existing animosity towards the de Grey family and within the day the castle was nearly destroyed by Glyndŵr’s forces. The action at Ruthyn formed the first battle of Glyndŵr’s War and his victory set the tone for the rest of the war. After the ransacking of Ruthyn, Glyndŵr’s men continued to sweep across north-eastern Wales and Dinbych[2], Rhuddlan, Y Fflint[3], Penarlâg[4], and Holt all fell to Glyndŵr in rapid succession. His own campaigns continued with a raid on the town of Oswestry, that left it badly damaged as Glyndŵr moved southwards to attack Powys Castle and sack Y Trallwng[5] on the 23rd September.


The arms of the Grey de Ruthyn family

Whilst Glyndŵr was beginning his campaign against the English, the Tudur brothers of Ynys Môn[6] began there own guerilla war against the English. The Tudurs of Penmynydd were a prominent Ynys Môn family that had previously been loyal servants of the English but crucially they remained loyal to Richard II, not to his deposer Henry IV. Two of the brothers, Gwilym ap Tudur and Rhys ap Tudur had both been importantly military leaders under Richard II’s rule, having commanded a contingent of soldiers raised only 4 years earlier in 1396 to protect North Wales against the threat of French invasion, this had never materialised, however, and the Tudur brothers joined Richard II’s expedition against the Irish two years later. All of this had made Gwilym and Rhys fiercely loyal to Richard II and opposed to the rule of Henry IV. As such, when Glyndŵr announced himself Prince of Wales and launched his rebellion against the English, Gwilyn, Rhys and the third brother, Maredudd, swore allegiance to their cousin. This open defection by the Tudur brothers prompted Henry IV, who was returning southwards from invading Scotland, to turn his army against the Welsh.

He arrived at Amwythig[7] on the 26th September, only ten days after Glyndŵr had been proclaimed Prince of Wales, and launched his army on a lightning campaign through North Wales. It was a very real possibility that Glyndŵr’s rebellion would be ended by Henry IV before it had truly begun. Fortunately for Glyndŵr, however, Henry IV’s forces were constantly harassed by the terrible Welsh weather and the Tudur brothers’ guerilla forces. Despite this, Henry IV and his men reached Anglesey, where he proceeded to harry the island, burning villages and monasteries, including Llanfaes Friary, the historical burial place of the Tudurs. But when they reached Rhos Fawr, Henry IV and his men were ambushed by Rhys ap Tudur’s guerilla forces and forced to flee back to Biwmares[8] Castle. After this embarrassing defeat, Henry IV and his men retreated back to Amwythig, where they arrived on the 15th October. Here he released some Welsh prisoners of war and two days later was in Caerwrangon[9] with very little to show for his efforts. Perhaps encouraged by the failure of Henry IV’s punitive expedition, many more Welshmen rallied to Glyndŵr’s banner and much of northern and central Wales swore loyalty to Glyndŵr and throughout north Wales there were attacks against English towns, castles and manor houses as the Welsh grew bolder. Even in the south, which was far more loyal to the English than the north, there was a loss of order and lawlessness in Aberhonddu[10] and Gwent. Faced with this growing tide of rebellion, Henry IV appointed Henry Percy, known as Hotspur, the son of the powerful Earl of Northumberland to bring order and return the authority of the English crown to Wales. Henry Hotspur proceeded to issue an amnesty in March to all except Glyndŵr himself and the Tudur brothers.

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A modern statue Henry Hotspur in Alnwick

Many Welsh rebels took advantage of this amnesty as they feared the retribution of the English, but at this point, the Tudurs launched an audacious attack to acquire a bargaining chip for their own pardon that reignited the Welsh cause. Indeed, they went for a prize that they could not hope to hold, the great castle of Edward I at Conwy. The castle was sparingly garrisoned, with only 75 soldiers, but the Tudurs had only 40 men and the castle was well stocked and easy to reinforce from the Conwy estuary. As a result, the Tudurs were forced to draw-up a plan that was brave and foolhardy in equal measure. On Good Friday, which fell on the 1st April 1401, a Welsh carpenter arrived at the castle gate and asked to be allowed inside the castle in order to carry out some work, the two English guards opened the gates only for the carpenter to kill them both and throw wide the gates to let in the Tudurs and their companions. Having taken the castle, all the Tudur brothers had to do was to sit tight and wait for Henry Hotspur to arrive. And this he did, accompanied by 420 soldiers. Despite his numerical superiority, Hotspur lacked the strength to take as formidable a fortress as Conwy castle by force of arms and thus was forced to negotiate with the rebels. A mutually agreeable arrangement was reached, that granted pardons to the Tudurs and their companions, only for the King himself to overrule Hotspur on the 20th April. After that, the Tudurs held the castle for over two months until a compromise was reached on the 24th June that allowed the Tudurs to go free, but only after 9 of the rebels were turned over to the English. Despite the ultimate failure of the Tudurs’ plan, the revelation that the mighty castles of the English could be taken revitalised the Welsh and this was further helped by Glyndŵr’s own success in the field.

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Conwy Castle

Whilst the Tudurs were bargaining for their freedom, Glyndŵr won his first major victory of the war at Mynydd Hyddgen. Glyndŵr’s army, which numbered only a few hundred men, were camped at the bottom of the Hyddgen Valley when around 1500 English and Flemish settlers from Sir Benfro[11], which was known at the time as “little England”, charged down the valley on the Welsh camp. Glyndŵr and his men were surprised and outnumbered but rallied to kill 200 of their attackers. This victory for the Welsh alarmed Henry IV so much that he assembled another military force to launch a new punitive expedition against Glyndŵr and his followers. Marching once more into Wales from Amwythig, Henry IV targeted not Ynys Môn, as he had done once before, nor even Glyndŵr’s estates, but rather the Cistercian Strata Florida Abbey, which was known to be sympathetic towards Glyndŵr. This target was chosen to remind the Welsh clergy of their loyalty to the King and to try and prevent the rebellion spreading further south. After much harassment from Glyndŵr’s forces, Henry IV reached Strata Florida and on his arrival was in mood to be merciful. His forces partially destroyed the abbey and even executed a monk on suspicion of bearing arms against him. Despite his success in the punitive aspect of his campaign, he was unable to engage Glyndŵr’s forces in a meaningful number as they stuck to harassing Henry IV’s army and supply chain with hit-and-run tactics. As such, Henry IV was forced to retreat from Wales once more and returned to Caerwrangon on the 28th October with nothing to show for they efforts. The year ended with an inconclusive battle at Tuthill, outside of Caernafon Castle as part of Glyndŵr’s failed first siege of the castle.

[1] St. Asaph
[2] Denbigh
[3] Flint
[4] Hawarden
[5] Welshpool
[6] Anglesey
[7] Shrewsbury
[8] Beaumaris
[9] Worcester
[10] Brecon
[11] Pembrokeshire
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And the now the TL starts in earnest with Chapter 1, which is the first part of double chapter special to get us up to the POD.
Please do comment and, most importantly, enjoy!
Gwyn
 
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Chapter 2: The Rebellion Intensifies
Chapter 2: The Rebellion Intensifies
In the face of Glyndŵr’s ever growing success, the English became divided into two camps on the matter of how to deal with the rebellion. One camp, whose chief proponent was Henry Hotspur himself, saw that the more successful the revolt got, the more disaffected Welshmen and, much more dangerously, supporters of the deposed Richard II it would attract, especially amid rumours that Richard II was still alive. Their fear was that the supporters of Richard II in his former stronghold, Swydd Gaerlleon[1], would take advantage of the rebellion in Wales and rise up against Henry IV, on this matter they were not wrong but the eventual leader of the rebellion that originate in Cheshire would turn out to be someone entirely unexpected. In the meantime Hotspur and the others in the negotiation camp were making overtures to Glyndŵr in an effort to reach a compromise and end the rebellion peacefully. The problem was, however, that Henry IV and his core support, were vehemently opposed to this strategy and did little to support Hotspur’s efforts and instead were determined to introduce further repressive measures against the Welsh.

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Henry IV

Thus, in 1402 a wave of anti-Welsh legislation was introduced in an effort to establish English dominance over the region. These laws prohibited any Welshman from buying land in England, from holding any senior public office in Wales, from bearing arms, from holding any castle or defending any house, no Welsh child was to educated or apprenticed to any trade, no Englishman could be convicted in any lawsuit brought by a Welshman, Welshmen were to severely penalised when marrying an Englishwoman, any Englishman marrying a Welshman was disenfranchised and all public assembly was forbidden. The message of this sweeping new laws sent was one of utmost suspicion on the part of the English and convinced any who still wavered on the matter that Glyndŵr was the only option left to them. This was especially the case for those Welshmen who had tried to make a career for themselves in English service, but were now being forced from their positions as the middle ground between supporting Glyndŵr and supporting Henry IV vanished.

Henry IV’s new repressive laws were not the only thing to buoy Welsh support for Glyndŵr’s rebellion as Glyndŵr himself captured not one, but two English noblemen that year. First was his one-time neighbour and arch enemy, Reginald Grey, 3rd Baron Grey de Ruthyn, was captured at his stronghold at Ruthyn itself in early February. Grey was held captive for just over a year until Henry IV agreed to pay Glyndŵr a large ransom for his freedom. Then in June of that year, Glyndŵr’s forces, under his flag bearer Rhys Ddu, captured a prisoner of far more use to him, one Sir Edmund Mortimer, uncle of the Earl of March, the young legitimate heir to the throne. Mortimer was captured by Glyndŵr after the Battle of Bryn Glas, in which Mortimer’s army was badly defeated after rashly charging up the steep Bryn Glas hillside and it was reported that the Welsh women following Glyndŵr’s army went among the dead and dying English soldiers and defiled the bodies of the dead, in revenge for the pillaging and rape carried out by the English the previous year. As he would do with Baron Grey, Glyndŵr offered to free Mortimer in exchange for a large ransom but Henry IV refused to pay for his release, thanks in part to Henry IV’s fear of Mortimer as a potential threat to his hold on the English throne. In response, Glyndŵr and Mortimer agreed a highly surprising alliance against Henry IV and the alliance was sealed by the marriage of Mortimer and Catrin, one of Glyndŵr’s daughters. This was the first of Glyndŵr’s two alliances with English noblemen against Henry IV but, by virtue of being the first, was arguably the most important in lending real legitimacy to Glyndŵr’s cause and making the strength of his position, even at this early stage, abundantly clear.


The arms of the Earl of March, nephew of Mortimer
and claimant of the English throne

To crown it all of, 1402 also marked the start of French and Breton support for Glyndŵr’s rebellion. The French hoped to use Wales as a staging post to attack the English, just as they did through Scotland. The Bretons, meanwhile, were motivated more by their shared Celtic heritage with the people of Wales. As such, French and Breton privateers began to harass English ships in the Irish Sea and provide weapons, food and other supplies necessary for a war effort to the Welsh rebels. Glyndŵr was also supported by French and Breton mercenaries in many of his attacks.

So it was that as 1403 dawned, Glyndŵr was rapidly growing in power and confidence and, even more importantly, the rebellion was becoming a truly national one as the English administration ground to a halt and many communities and individuals made their own tax arrangements with Glyndŵr and his forces in order to “buy” peace. These payments of “protection money” made Glyndŵr’s success painfully clear to the English. This growing fear of the power and strength of Glyndŵr and his rebellion was all but confirmed when Glyndŵr attacked Caernarfon Castle, one of Edward I’s great castles in north Wales, accompanied by French soldiers and, after a short siege, the castle was taken. This prompted the English to dispatch a substantial army into Wales on a punitive expedition as Prince Henry attacked and burnt Glyndŵr’s estates at Sycharth and Glyndyfrdwy.

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Caernarfon Castle

Despite this personal loss that took the shine of his success at Caernarfon, Glyndŵr began the campaigning season in July by recreating Llywelyn the Great’s campaign in the west and marching down the Tywi Valley. Village after village deserted the English and rose up to join Glyndŵr and he soon reached Llanymddyfri[2] on the 3rd July, where the both the local gentry and the common folk of the town proclaimed him Prince of Wales and joined his rebellion. From here, he marched on to Llandeilo, after dispatching 300 men to besiege Dinefwr Castle, and once again the local people of all ranks came to swear fealty to the Glyndŵr. From Llandeilo, Glyndŵr pressed westwards to the greatest of English castles in the west of Wales, Carmarthen. The castle did not last long and surrendered to Glyndŵr on the 6th July and Glyndŵr moved onwards to attack Morgannwg[3] and Gwent, burning Y Fenni[4], Brynbuga[5] and even taking the castles at Caerdydd[6] and Casnewydd[7].

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Carmarthen Castle

This string of successes for Glyndŵr prompted an outpouring of support for the rebellion and the Welsh national ideal and English officials reported tales of Welsh students leaving their studies at Oxford University and Welsh labourers and craftsmen downing tools in England and travelling west to join up with Glyndŵr’s forces. This wave of recruitment meant Glyndŵr could call on seasoned troops as hundreds of Welsh archers and men-at-arms who were veterans of English campaigns in France and Scotland left English service to join the rebellion. A glance at the captains of Glyndŵr’s army of some 8000 men, the largest Welsh army ever assembled, reveals the truly national nature of Glyndŵr’s rebellion. First was the hero of Bryn Glas, Rhys Ddu (the Black) who had once been the Sheriff of Ceredigion and a leading servant of the English regime and second was Gwilym Gwyn ap Rhys Llwyd who had served the Duke of Lancaster for years. Both of these men had been loyal servants of the English but when the time came they had joined the students and labourers in joining Glyndŵr under his banner of Yr Ddraig Aur Cymru.

[1] Cheshire
[2] Llandovery
[3] Glamorgan
[4] Abergavenny
[5] Usk
[6] Cardiff
[7] Newport
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And that concludes tonight's double special to get us up to the POD. Which is, if you haven't noticed, Caernarfon Castle falls to Glyndŵr. The effect of this will, of course, cause a ripple in the events of the rebellion.
Once again, do please feel free to comment and enjoy it!
Gwyn
 
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