Now, if only my library was less confusing. The only country listed separately from the others for history is USA.
The Golden Dragon of Wales: A Glyndwr Rebellion TL
- Thread starter Gwrtheyrn Annwn
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I will enjoy it, i am sure of that.
Well the original Name sounds hard to pronounce too, but then I am quite untalented in learning the more challenging languages i fear.
I tried learning Polish once and one of my best friends, originally from Krakow nearly fell down from the couch, she was laughing so hard about me trying to speak to her Mother in their own tongue.
I fear, if i will try to speak Welsh, there would be the same reaction.
A fair point, but at least it wasn't made up to promote tourism.
Personally, I'm not that good at languages either but I lived in north Wales for a time so have a basic understanding of Welsh.
Apart from "y" most of Welsh is easier to pronounce once you know the rules. Much more regular than English. And certainly easier than Gaelic!
Caernarfon falls about a year early here, doesn't it? Presumably the idea is that with a secure rear area Owain gets to concentrate more forces on other areas creating a cascade effect (Harlech and Aberystwyth also falling earlier being an obvious one)? I suspect it also helps that a secure port will make it easier for the French to ship in supplies as well as providing a base to allow Jean d'Espagne's fleet of French pirates to cause even more trouble for the English than they did OTL.
Also, is the use of Welsh names for places in the English Marches a hint that this all ends up with the Tripartite Indenture sticking? Will definitely be watching this BTW
Also, is the use of Welsh names for places in the English Marches a hint that this all ends up with the Tripartite Indenture sticking? Will definitely be watching this BTW
Yeah, it really helps to live among people that speak a different language when one wants to learn said language.A fair point, but at least it wasn't made up to promote tourism.
Personally, I'm not that good at languages either but I lived in north Wales for a time so have a basic understanding of Welsh.
Isn't Welsh one member of the Gaelic language family?
I always thought so.
Celtic. The Celtic languages have two sub families - Q Celtic or Goidelic (Irish, Scots Gaelic and Manx) and P Celtic or Brittonic (Welsh, Cornish and Breton). The labels refer to a consonant shift that took place about 2,500 years ago that caused the languages to start diverging and stop being mutually intelligible.
Upps, so sorry, i always confuse Gaelic and Celtic.
So Gaelic and Welsh are both members of the Celtic language family, but cousins, not siblings.
Got it.
You've hit the nail on the head there. The earlier capture of Caernarfon more or less secures his North Wales core territory and allows him to reach further afield, to Harlech and Aberystwyth to start with as you say.Caernarfon falls about a year early here, doesn't it? Presumably the idea is that with a secure rear area Owain gets to concentrate more forces on other areas creating a cascade effect (Harlech and Aberystwyth also falling earlier being an obvious one)? I suspect it also helps that a secure port will make it easier for the French to ship in supplies as well as providing a base to allow Jean d'Espagne's fleet of French pirates to cause even more trouble for the English than they did OTL.
Also, is the use of Welsh names for places in the English Marches a hint that this all ends up with the Tripartite Indenture sticking? Will definitely be watching this BTW
Maybe...
Glad to hear it.
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Yeah though use of P/Q Celtic is mostly outdated since it also referred to a similar split in the now extinct Continental Celtic languages of Gaulish, Celtiberian, etc - "Q Celtic" Celtiberian is held to be closer to "P Celtic" Gaulish than the Goidelic languages.
Chapter 3: The Four Henrys
Chapter 3: The Four Henrys
If Glyndŵr thought it couldn’t get any better for his cause in the summer of 1403, then he was wrong. It was not in Wales, or even by Glyndŵr’s hand, that the political situation in England was vastly improved for Glyndŵr, but rather by the hand of the man appointed to stop him. Henry Hotspur, son of Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland, and cousin of Henry IV, raised his standard in revolt against Henry IV at Chester, the bastion of Richard II’s support in England, on 9th July, only 3 days after the fall of Carmarthen. This was a shocking event in many respects, not least because the Percys had supported Henry IV in his war against Richard II. So what lay behind this sudden change? Firstly, the Percys’ relationship with Hnery IV was far more complicated than it first appeared. They might have backed him against Richard II but his action as King since then had roused their anger. Indeed, their grievances were many and included Henry IV’s failure to pay the wages due to them for defending the Scottish border, his demand that the Percys hand over their Scottish prisoners, his failure to put an end to Owain Glyndŵr's rebellion through a negotiated settlement (which also involved him ignored Hotspur’s counsel), his increasing promotion of his son Prince Henry's military authority in Wales (which was side lining Hotspur) and the final straw, his failure to pay the ransom for Hotsur's brother-in-law, Sir Edmund Mortimer.
The Arms of Hotspur
and the Rebellion
This sudden defection by Hotspur resulted in Henry IV, accompanied by his 16 year old son Prince Henry, turning his army northwards to march towards Amwythig[1]. The distance proved too much for the young Prince’s force to cover in time and the army of Hotspur arrived in Amwythig in the morning of 20th July, where he was joined in the evening by the army of his uncle who had rapidly travelled south from the family’s estates in Northumberland. Henry IV and his army arrived the day after on the 21st July and after camping overnight outside the town, battle was joined by the two armies only a few hours before dusk on the 22nd July.
The battle began with a massive archery barrage from both sides, with arrows killing or wounding many men on both sides even before they could meet in hand to hand combat. On the whole, the Percys’ gained an early advantage with their Swydd Gaerlleon[2] bowmen proving to be superior to the simple English bowmen of Henry IV. The situation quickly went from bad to worse for Henry IV and his followers as his right wing, under the command of the Earl of Stafford, broke and fled the field, but the battle was not yet lost. At least until disaster struck. Prince Henry was hit in the face with an arrow from one of the Percys’ Welsh archers and killed by a terrible wound. Henry IV and his men fought on, but news of the death of heir to throne boosted the spirit of the Percys’ soldiers and broke the spirit of Henry IV’s. Seeing the King’s men flagging, Hotspur led a final charge right at the King himself and after heavy fighting the Royal Standard was overthrown and victory looked certain. But then Hotspur became the second prominent victim to be struck down by a stray arrow. With their leader dead, the Percys’ charge was broken and Henry IV and what was left of his army soon forced the Percys to flee the field, leaving over 300 knights lying dead in the mud. The king who had won his crown on the field of battle had been bloodied and come close to defeat, but had narrowly emerged victorious. The Battle of Amwythig had been a disaster for its participants with both sides losing leaders and suffering heavy casualties in the battle which prevented either side from seizing the initiative in the aftermath of the battle.
The death of Hotspur
One man did benefit greatly from the result of the Battle of Amwythig, and that was Glyndŵr. The principal reason for this was it particularly gave him a free hand in Wales for a time, whilst Henry IV regrouped his forces to fight the far more pressing matter of the Percys and the second reason was that it provided Glyndŵr with an ally against the English. In the light of this new opportunity, Glyndŵr moved quickly in the spring of 1404 to capitalise on the situation. His first target was Harlech Castle, which was severely under-equipped and under-staffed with the garrison being equipped with only three shields, eight helmets, six lances, ten pairs of gloves, and four guns. As such, Glyndŵr was able to quickly take the castle, with the help of a large French contingent that had landed at Caernarfon over the winter. From Harlech, Glyndŵr marched his army southwards along the coast of Ceredigion Bay[3] to Aberystwyth and its castle. Once more, he found a castle under-equipped and ill-prepared to defend against a siege and thus the two great castles of west Wales fell into Glyndŵr’s hands by the end of June 1404.
Harlech Castle
These two castles, along with the castle and port of Caernarfon formed the core of Glyndŵr’s new Principality of Wales as he, for the first time in the rebellion, sat down to draw up plans for the future of the Welsh nation. So it was that he held court in Harlech, appointing Gruffyd Young, the Archdeacon of Meirionnydd[4], as his Chancellor. From there, he moved onto Machynlleth where he called the first Cynulliad, or Parliament, of his reign and was finally crowned as Prince of Wales at Cynulliad House in the presence of his supporters, including Edmund Mortimer and the Hamners, as well as representatives from the lords of Brittany, France and Scotland. At this point, English resistance in Wales had been reduced to just a handful of isolated castles and walled towns and over the rest of the nation Glyndŵr reigned as Prince.
Owain Glyndŵr on his throne at Machynlleth
[1] Shrewsbury
[2] Cheshire
[3] Cardigan Bay
[4] Merioneth
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And now for the biggest change yet. Hopefully its suitably surprising!
As always, please feel free to comment and, more importantly, enjoy it!
Gwyn
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As someone who speaks welsh, lives in Wales, has a Welsh partner, but is not welsh, this talk of the lingo is great
TL is pretty good as well
TL is pretty good as well
"In all forms but physical, I am Welsh"As someone who speaks welsh, lives in Wales, has a Welsh partner, but is not welsh, this talk of the lingo is great
TL is pretty good as well
Revolts against the English
Henry V is dead?!? That will have some serious ramifications especially in France, not to mention Wales.
He is indeed, this is where things really start to diverge from OTL.
How convenient.
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