It was up to another Llywelyn, Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, the grandson of ap Iorwerth, to restore the situation. Through military conquest, after imprisoning his brothers and taking the kingdom of Gwynedd for himself, Llywelyn was able to re-unite much of his country in order to assert his claim to be called Prince of Wales. Henry III accorded him the title officially in 1267 at the Treaty of Montgomery, recognizing the Welsh leader's claim to the three major kingdoms of Gwynedd, Powys, and Deheubarth.
It seemed, for a short time at least, that the dream of the Welsh people had been realized -- they had their own prince, they governed their own territories, under their own laws and were able to conduct their own affairs in their own language free from English influence.
The accession to the English throne of Edward I in 1272 completely reversed the tide of affairs. The struggle had to begin anew.
Edward I (left) was determined to rule a united island of Britain under his kingship, and this meant he had ultimately to conquer Wales and Scotland.
King Edward took a huge army into Wales to assert his might. He was greatly helped by further family squabbles between Prince Llywelyn and many of the minor princes who resisted his authority.
After heavy defeats in the field and lacking any significant support, Llywelyn`s great achievement at Montgomery was completely negated. At the Treaty of Aberconwy in 1277, he was forced to accept humiliating terms and to give up most of his recently acquired lands, keeping only Gwynedd west of the Conwy River.
Edward followed his successes by building English strongholds around the perimeter of what remained of Llywelyn`s possessions. Strong, easily defended, forbidding castles were erected at the strategic points of Flint, Rhuddlan, Aberystwyth and Builth,
Without having much of a choice and hoping for better fortune in the future, Llywelyn simply waited for better circumstances, but the harsh methods used by Edward to control the conquered principality were soon to produce a major revolt.
An entry in "Brut y Tywysogion" reads: "The gentlefolk of Wales, despoiled of their liberty and their rights, came to Llywelyn ap Gruffudd and revealed to him with tears their grievous bondage to the English; and they made known to him that they preferred to be slain in war for their liberty than to suffer themselves to be unrighteously trampled upon by foreigners."
At first, the Welsh leader enjoyed a period of success: the castles of Builth, Aberystwyth and Ruthin fell into his hands, and a large English force was utterly destroyed in the Menai Straits in Gwynedd.
It was a mere chance encounter that broke the spirit of his enemy and effectively ended the Welsh dream.
Separated from the main body of his army, Llywelyn found himself in a minor skirmish in which, an English knight unaware of the Welsh prince’s identity killed him. Upon discovery, Llywelyn`s head was sent to London for display as that of a traitor.
Edwardian Conquest
After Llywelyn`s death, the struggle continued fitfully under his brother Dafydd, now calling himself Prince of Wales. Despite their being united by multiple grievances, however, lack of the needed resources to conduct a long campaign brought the stubborn resistance of the Welsh to an inevitable end. Edward, euphoric at the death of Llywelyn, was determined to "check the impetuous rashness of the Welsh, to punish their presumption and to wage war against them to their extermination." Unable to command more than a remnant of those who had flocked to the banner of his elder brother, Dafydd was quickly captured, executed as a traitor in London, and the King of England was now free to do with Wales as he wished.
In 1294, the Statute of Rhuddlan confirmed Edward's plans regarding the governing of Wales (apart from the Marches, left more or less as quasi-independent earldoms as rewards for their help in disposing of the Welsh problem). The statute created the counties of Anglesey, Caernarfon and Merioneth, to be governed by the Justice of North Wales; Flint, to be placed under the Justice of Chester and the counties of Carmarthen and Cardigan to be left under the Justice of South Wales
The status of the conquered nation seemed permanently confirmed when, in 1301, King Edward of England made Lord Edward his son (who had been born at Caernarfon Castle), Prince of Wales and Count of Chester. Ever since that date, these titles have been automatically conferred upon the first-born son of the English monarch.
Following his successes in Wales, signified by the Statute of Rhuddlan, sometimes referred to as The Statute of Wales, Edward embarked on his second massive castle-building program. He created such world-heritage sites as Caernarfon, Conwy, Harlech, and Beaumaris (below) in addition to the not so well known (or visited) earlier structures at Flint and Rhuddlan.
Below the huge, forbidding castle walls, new English boroughs were created, and English traders were invited to settle, By rule of their new invaders, the Welsh were forbidden to inhabit such "boroughs" or to carry arms within their walls (some English border cities such as Chester and Hereford still have laws on the books proscribing the activities of the Welsh). With the help of the architect Master James of St. George, and with what must have seemed like limitless resources in manpower and materials, Edward showed his determination to place a stranglehold on the people of Wales, who were hemmed on all sides: the struggle seemed lost forever.
The struggle did not die out completely, but occasional rebellions were easily crushed; it was not until the death of Edward III and the arrival of Owain Glyndwr (Shakespeare's Owen Glendower), that any Welsh leader felt confident enough to challenge their English overlords.
Rebellion
When the long-awaited revolt finally materialized, Owain Glyndwr was ready to lead it. His banner was the Red Dragon, the old symbol of victory of Briton over the Saxon. His revolt was not unforeseen; the way had been prepared not only by the men of literature, but also by earlier uprisings begun by Madog ap Llywelyn and by Owain Lawgoch.
Madog ap Llywelyn, calling himself Prince of Wales, had actually begun the revolt against English rule in 1294, only a dozen years after the death of Llywelyn Gruffudd. Though his efforts did not gain enough support to succeed, they brought a harsh response from King Edward in the form of humiliating and punitive ordinances further restricting the civil rights and economic and social opportunities of the Welsh.
It wasn't long before Llywelyn Bren, Lord of Senghenydd, led a second rebellion, aided by some of the more prominent Marcher Lords in 1316. Prior to the arrival of Glyndwr, it was Owain Lawgoch (Owain ap Thomas: Owain Red Hand ) who had the greatest and most lasting influence upon Welsh aspirations for independence from England.
Hailed as a brave and skillful soldier, Owain Lawgoch fought for the King of France against the English. He was hailed by Welsh poets as a deliverer, but he never arrived with his promised army to reclaim his native country despite his having taken the Isle of Guernsey on his way from Harfleur in France. He was betrayed and killed in 1378, but his legend lived on in the hearts of the Welsh whose prophetic poetry even compared his life to that of the legendary Arthur.
It was this popular prophetic tradition, uniting with the social unrest and racial tension that opened the door for Owain Glyndwr, Lord of Glyndyfrdwy (the Valley of the Dee). He seized his opportunity in 1400 after being crowned Prince of Wales by a small group of supporters and who subsequently felt confident enough to defy Henry IV's many attempts to dislodge him.
It soon seemed as if the long-awaited dream of independence was fast becoming a reality. Three royal expeditions against Glyndwr had completely failed. He held Harlech and Aberystwyth in the West, had extended his influence as far as Glamorgan and Gwent in the South and East, and was receiving support from Ireland and Scotland. He had also formed an alliance with France, been recognized by the leading Welsh bishops, and had summoned parliaments at various towns in Wales including Machynlleth where he was crowned as Prince of Wales.
Then the dream died.
Henry Percy, (Hotspur) was killed at the Battle of Shrewsbury, and the increasing boldness and military skills of Henry's son, the English prince of Wales and later King Henry V, began to turn the tide against Glyndwr.his French allies could not sustain their support; they withdrew their forces from Wales.
Owain's other main ally, the Scottish king, was taken prisoner by the English. Saddest of all, like so many of his predecessors, Glyndwr was betrayed at home. It is not too comforting for Welsh people of today to read that one of the staunchest allies of the English king and enemy of Glyndwr was a man of Brecon, Dafydd Gam (later killed at Agincourt, fighting for the English).
A sixth expedition into Wales undertaken by Prince Henry retook much of the land captured by Owain, including many strategic castles. Edmund Mortimer was killed at the siege of Harlech (right) in 1409. The boroughs, with their large populations, had remained English, and by the end of 1409, the Welsh rebellion had dwindled down to a series of guerilla raids led by the mysterious figure of Owain, whose wife and two daughters had been captured at Harlech and taken to London as prisoners.
The English response was predictable: again the imposition of harsh, punitive measures were enacted against any signs of further resistance to their rule. The Welsh people were forced to pay large subsidies; they were prohibited from acquiring land east of Offa's Dyke or even within the boundaries of the English boroughs in Wales.
Owain Glyndwr simply vanished from sight. According to an anonymous writer in 1415," Very many say that he [Owain Glyndwr] died; the seers say that he did not." ("Annals of Owain Glyndwr") There has been much speculation as to his fate and much guessing as to where he ended his final days and was laid to rest. |
