September 16th marks the anniversary of the coronation of Owain Glyndwr as Prince of Wales. A modest affair in 1400, its significance began in the uprising that followed, which freed Wales from English overlordship for the best part of the next sixteen years. The date of crowning of the last Welsh Prince of Wales has been used as a rallying flashpoint for nationalists ever since. Many individuals and even some boroughs of Wales celebrate September 16th as Owain Glyndwr Day. But should it be a national holiday too?
The Coronation of Owain Glyndwr on September 16th 1400.
Very few witnessed the crowning of Owain Glyndwr. The investiture of the last Welsh Prince of Wales took place secretly, in a hunting lodge, near to the modern village of Glyndyfrdwy in Denbighshire. Events were recorded by a poet, brought in from Glyndwr's ancestral manor home and birthplace, Sycharth in Powys. Neither building now exists. The English Prince Hal (later Henry V) burnt them both down to the ground in 1403.
Most of those present were family members: Tudor Glyndwr, Owain's brother; Griffith ap Owain Glyndwr, his son; and three of his brother-in-law, Robert Puleson and Griffith and Philip Hanmer. There were also a handful of members of the Powys nobility, as well as Howell Gyffin, the Dean of St Asaph's Cathedral, with his two nephews.
If the English had been tipped off in advance, then everyone there would likely have been executed. But the first they knew about it was when the Welsh started to take up arms, with the Welsh labourers working in England suddenly rushing home to join in. They were answering the call of bards and travelling friars, who had proclaimed the coronation of a Welsh Prince of Wales.
Why Was Owain Glyndwr Crowned Prince of Wales?
Much has been made of a land dispute, between Owain Glyndwr and his English neighbour, Lord Grey of Ruthin, but this is over-simplifying events. Undoubtedly, Lord Grey wished to extend his lands by seizing those of the Welsh lords over the border and this did include those held by the Glyndwr family. But there was a much wider context than that.
An analogy can be drawn between the Arab Spring of 2011 and the state of Europe between 1350-1400. All over the continent, the poor were rising up and demanding the end to an oppressive feudal society. In Britain, this had already found expression in the Peasants' Revolt of 1381, which was merely the start of centuries of struggle. The eventual result was the universal adult suffrage, human/civil rights and the welfare state enjoyed in Britain today.
Back in 1400, few regions of Britain were more dispossessed or in poverty than Wales. Welsh rebellion had been brewing for decades. It reached fever-pitch after Henry Bolingbroke usurped and killed Richard II. Richard had been regarded as pro-Welsh, though that was a term that was largely relative. As Henry IV, Bolingbroke punished Chester for their support of the deposed king, by proclaiming the city outside the rule of law. The now unruly Cheshire folk took to raiding Welsh properties, just over the border. The charred ruins of buildings dotted the landscape for another two centuries.
Wales was ripe for revolution and the Welsh people were already arming themselves. All it took was for a leader to emerge to organise them into a cohesive backlash against English rule. Owain Glyndwr was the direct descendent of two ancient Welsh royal houses, with links to a third. He had the blood and the inclination. This is why he was crowned Prince of Wales, on September 16th 1400, and led Wales into sixteen years of freedom.
The Legacy of Owain Glyndwr for Welsh Nationalism.
On the 600th anniversary of Glyndwr's coronation, in 2000, celebrations were held all over Wales. Sculptures were unveiled; carnivals and other events occurred in cities and towns; the Welsh Tourist Board urged everyone to fly the Ddraig Goch (Welsh flag) from their homes; and CADW opened up the Glyndyfrydwy site of the hunting lodge for public visits. It was designated Owain Glyndwr Day, but that was only barely official.
Elsewhere things became political. Welsh nationalism rose again under the banner of Glyndwr. The Royal Mail decided against releasing a stamp collection, bearing Owain Glyndwr's image, to mark the occasion. Welsh printing firm, Lolfa, created one instead. Another protest was staged outside the Welsh Assembly building, in Cardiff, by Cymdeithas Yr Iaith Gymraeg. They were campaigning for a new Welsh Language Act, in a country where the native language still wasn't adequately promoted and protected.
Since then very little has occurred to mark Owain Glyndwr Day. Members of the campaign group Embassy have worked tirelessly, since 1998, to find official recognition of the anniversary. They want September 16th to be made a national bank holiday. But the response has been lacklustre. Where it is celebrated, it is still a local or personal affair.
Cynog Dafis MP for Plaid Cymru has also made representations to restore the site of Sycharth, the birthplace and manor home of Owain Glyndwr, into a proper tourist attraction. It is currently off the beaten track, down a country lane, with little to show that the site exists. Nothing came of the call.
Yet the legacy of the last Welsh Prince of Wales limps on regardless. On the eve of Owain Glyndwr Day 2011, James Edwards, a teenager from Llanelli, was educating gaming friends, in a chat channel of the MMORPG Runescape. "There should definitely be a bank holiday for him. He stood up for us, and our language, when many others before him didn't. Sycharth would be a great place to remember Owain Glyndwr."
Sources:
- BBC News, Calls for 'Glyndwr Day' on anniversary. (September 18th, 2000.)
- Canolfan Owain Glyndwr Centre, Machnynlleth.
- Castles of Wales, Sycharth Castle.
- J Davies, A History of Wales. (Penguin, 1993.)
- Embassy Owain Glyndwr blog.
- Runescape. (Witnessed the statement by James Edwards, in the Canting clan chat channel, on September 15th, 2011.)
- I Skidmore, Owain Glyndwr, Prince of Wales. (Christopher Davies, 1992.)
Jo Harrington - Jo has a BA (Hons) in History and Philosophy and a MA in History. She has a book published on the history of Wicca.
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