(Welsh Owain ab Gruffydd) (1359?-1416?),
lord of Glyndwr, in Wales, and
the last Welsh chief to claim the title of independent prince of Wales.
He is a Welsh national hero and historically famous as the leader of a
major revolt for Welsh independence from English domination during the
reign of King Henry IV of England. Henry retaliated in 1400 and 1401,
but his campaigns were ineffectual. Glyndwr, gaining control of most of
Wales, negotiated for aid with the Irish, the Scots, and the French,
all enemies of England and intrigued also with prominent English lords.
The Welsh chief began to style himself prince of Wales; he called a
parliament, established his own government for Wales, and entered a
formal alliance with France in 1404. A year later, an English army under
Prince Henry, later Henry V, defeated Glyndwr's forces in three
successive battles. The fortunes of the Welsh chief began to wane,
and his battles assumed the aspect of petty mountain warfare.
He was pardoned by Henry V in 1415; nothing is known of him after that
date.
Glyndwr was the last great champion of Welsh independence and the one
who came closest to realizing it. The Welsh have invested him with a
mythology that has obscured historical fact. Shakespeare's Henry IV,
Part I, presents Glyndwr as this idealized hero.
"Glyndwr, Owain,"
Microsoft (R) Encarta.
Copyright (c) 1994 Microsoft Corporation.
Copyright (c) 1994 Funk & Wagnall's Corporation.