The Owains, pretenders as rulers of Wales

Owain Lawgoch, and Owain Glyndwr, the 14th to early 15th century self-proclaimed Princes (King) of Wales (Wikipedia links used).

In the Welsh language, Owain is the name of the son of destiny. A reputation attributed to both of the self-proclaimed Princes of Wales in and around the turn of the 14th century. They were Lawgoch and Glyndwr.

It was during the 14th century that the Royal House of Aberffraw finally finished. That was the final time that the Kings and Princes emerged from the former Kingdom of Gwynedd. The aspiring Princes from the 13th century were the final legitimate direct descendants of Welsh Royalty using the Welsh medieval custom of gavelkind, i.e. Llywelyn I & II, Dafydd II & III. The succession of male line descent (son of son) meant the final lineal successor to the House of Aberffraw and the Kingdom of Gwynedd was Owain Lawgoch, albeit his grandfather renounced his rights to the crown. But, the Gwynedd family succession ended with him, as he never had children. The other Royal Welsh family members as direct descendants of Kings had either lost all but their family seat like Deheubarth or conspired with the English like Powys. By the 13th century, Powys was divided into north and south, and the rulers gained titles as the Lords of Powys in northeast Wales. Powys Fadog survived for almost 200 years in the north of Powys and culminated in the birth of Owain Glyndwr by 1354. Unlike Lawgoch from Gwynedd, Glyndwr was actually descended from all three of Wales' royal houses; Dinefwr (Deheubarth), Aberffraw (Gwynedd), Mathrafal (Powys). Effectively, Owain Glyndwr was the final hereditary male descendant of the ruling royal families of Wales due to the dismantling of the kingdoms by the invading Anglo-Normans. That family connection made Glyndwr a Prince in his own right, but like Lawgoch, they strove to better the situation of the Welsh people than under English control.

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, attributed to Sodacan, digitalised Coat of Arms of Owain Lawgoch & Glyndŵr.

Owain Lawgoch

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, attributed to Tipcake, seal of Yvain de Galles (Owen of Wales).

Owain ap Thomas ap Rhodri (c. 1330 - July 1378) was his official historical name, his nickname was Lawgoch (red hand in English), and he was later named Owain (Owen in English) of Wales. Owain was remembered as Rhodri's grandson, who in turn was the grandson of Llywelyn the Great (Llywelyn I), an original overlord of Wales, and one of the most famous Welshmen to date. Owain Lawgoch was born in England, his grandfather Rhodri was given lands to live in Tatsfield Manor after the dissolution of the House of Aberffraw due to the English invasions on Wales. Rhodri renounced his rights as an heir of Gwynedd and lived in England, the country of his enemies. Rhodri's son and grandson were raised in the same manor, until Owain, the grandson left for France for a different life as a soldier of fortune (mercenary). Lawgoch returned to Wales from France after his father died in 1363. It was during his stay in Montgomeryshire that he proclaimed himself as the Prince of Wales against the English named Prince of Wales. That provocation against the crown of England was deemed illegal and would start a threat that would last decades. Lawgoch entered the war between England and France which was the hundred years war (1337-1453). The hostilities of the war had been suspended between 1360-69. During that period Lawgoch was able to travel to Wales for the final time in 1366. The French called him Yvain de Galles (Owen of Wales), but he was known as Lawgoch, Welsh for red hand, being his nickname. He was 7 foot tall and supposedly had a red right hand. At one point, he was recorded as living in a cave in the Snowdonia mountain range in Wales, and he was observed as being surrounded by gold.

Lawgoch had proclaimed himself as the ruler of Wales, in which he aspired to regain his ancestral title, the original title of the Celtic rulers of Wales, however modern sources differ as to what title he claimed be it king or prince, nevertheless he wanted to rule the Principality of Wales. The self proclamation was directed against the Anglo-Norman appointed Prince of Wales, Edward (Black Prince) of the House of Plantagenet. Edward was the son of Edward III, King of England. The Black Prince was also known as the titular Prince of Aquitaine in France, and the Duke of Cornwall in England. To date, the Prince of Wales is also the Duke of Cornwall, but since the Middle Ages (until 1500), Wales has not been a part of the French Empire.

The concept of rebelling against the English crown made Lawgoch a rebel and an English traitor. Therefore, he spent most of his life in France, in exile, as an enemy of the crown of England. But, historically the French were allies of Wales. Sporadically, between the 12th and 15th centuries, the Welsh were on terms with Roman Catholics from the Vatican in Rome and the Kingdom of France ahead of the Kingdom of England. That was because of the hostilities of the English on the European continent especially against the French. Also, there were occasional issues between England and the Pope in Rome. There was an issue primarily between the English and Catholics. Hence the break of the English Church from the Vatican in the 16th century, and the subsequent formation of the protestant Church by King Henry VIII, a descendant of Aberffraw and Gwynedd.

The war between England and France encouraged the pretender Owain as the Prince of Wales to attempt a military invasion (coup d'etat) from the European continent to the British Isles. Lawgoch decided on a naval expedition to Wales to reclaim his ancestor's country. Lawgoch was a direct descendant and lineal male successor of the final rulers of the last ruling Kingdom of Wales, specifically the great-nephew of Llywelyn II, Prince of Wales, who was officially recognised by the English crown and Welsh people as the Prince of Wales in the 13th century.

In 1372, Lawgoch and the Kingdom of France set off a naval expedition to Britain. After attacking the English-controlled island of Guernsey, he received a message from Charles V, King of France telling him to abandon his mission, and instead attack La Rochelle. He defeated the English in battle with France. He continued to fight for France until he died in 1378. He was supposedly killed by a Scottish spy named John Lamb who was paid by England to enter his service and assassinate him. He died childless, and with him, the lineal succession of the House of Aberffraw ended.

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, attributed to Jason.NLW. Owain Lawgoch's death scene at the Mortagne siege, France.

Owain Glyndŵr

Owain ap Gruffudd (anglicised as Owen Glendower) (www.Owain-Glyndwr.Wales), born 28th of May, 1354, was the heir of the Lordship of Glyndyfrdwy in Cynllaith Owain, then a part of the former Kingdom of Powys, in Powys' separated northern territory known as Powys Fadog. He was the direct descendant of all three of Wales' Royal houses (3 Talaith in Welsh; Aberffraw, Dinefwr, Mathrafal) which ceased to exist during the Welsh high middle ages (12-13th centuries) due to Anglo-Norman (English monarchs) incursions in Wales. His father Gruffydd Vychan was the hereditary Prince of Powys and Lord of Glyndyfrdwy, whilst his mother Elen, daughter of Thomas ap Llywelyn (3x grandson of Llywelyn I), Lord of South Wales, and was of the senior line as an heiress of the final rulers of both Deheubarth (Prince Gruffydd of Dinefwr) now Ceredigion, and Gwynedd (Prince Llywelyn II of Wales, Llywelyn the last/Ein Llyw Olaf in Welsh), and he was also a descendant of the English King Edward I (d. 1307). Although Glyndwr's ancestry was confirmed in 1844 by modern genealogist Bernard Burke, the Norroy and Ulster King of Arms, his Gwynedd ancestry has become an open debate amongst scholars and enthusiasts, because he was definitely descended from the King of Gwynedd Gruffudd ap Cynan (d. 1037), the 3x grandad of Llywelyn II (d. 1282), but the existence of Catherine, the daughter of Llywelyn II has been brought into disrepute, despite its modern-day confirmation. Also the existence of Elenor Goch (daughter of Eleanor of Bar), the wife of Thomas ap Llywelyn has been questioned, making Glyndwr's Gwynedd ancestry a conundrum as to what to believe is the truth, as he was potentially a living descendant of 3 different monarchs of Gwynedd via different ancestors as intermarrying cousins.

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, attributed to Hogyncymru, the Golden Dragon (Y Draig Aur) banner raised by Glyndwr.

Glyndwr made a name for himself to the point that the Welsh people celebrate his proclamation date as a national day of celebration, the 16th of September 1400. The self-proclamation to a group of 300 closest allies in his home at Sycarth, Glyndyfrdwy in Owain's Cynllaith was similar to that of his Welsh predecessor Prince of Wales, Owain Lawgoch, whose grandfather was uncle to Glyndwr's ancestor, Llywelyn II, Prince of Wales. Born just before Lawgoch's ascension and attempted coup d'etat, Glyndwr's rebellion would start in the 1400s and last for a decade between 1400 and 1415 (until his death, 20/9/1415). From 1400, Glyndwr became an enemy of the state. The revolt stemmed from an argument where he was named a traitor in a lawsuit regarding land and property by his neighbour, Baron Grey de Rhuthyn, as his military service invitation was withheld, meaning Glyndwr became a deserter for his missing his military conscription. Upon being named a traitor, Glyndwr moved his attention away from helping the English Crown as a soldier who served against the French and the Scots and effectively wanted to help his Welsh people who were being subdued by the English oppressors. Glyndwr started a rebellion through guerilla warfare tactics which would successfully defeat the English in battle on several occasions. In 1403, the King of England marched troops to his ancestral home of Sycharth in Glyndfrwdy and destroyed his residence by burning it to the ground. The lands were given to John, Earl of Somerset. But, in 1431, his daughter, Alice Scudamore, who was recognised as the Lady of Glyndyfrdwy, and heiress de jure of Principality of Wales did successfully regain her possessions in Powys through a court case.

The Welsh people chose to support the war in opposition to English rule, even students studying at Oxford and Cambridge Universities abandoned their studies to fight for Glyndwr, the newly crowned Prince of Wales. By 1404, he convened the first Welsh parliament at Machynlleth in Wales and confirmed his position as Prince with emissaries from the British Isles and Europe. His ambitions were earnest about creating a Welsh state by reintroducing the laws of Hywel Dda (Cyfraith Hywel in Welsh) instead of English law. He had also planned to create universities in the north and south of Wales and had gone as far as to plan to divide England between his adversaries, some of who had originally fought against him for England but changed sides to support Glyndwr, a common theme during his War of Independence. In 1405, the Tripartite indenture was signed between Glyndwr, Edmund Mortimer, and Henry Percy, Duke of Northumberland. The agreement was that if the Welsh were successful in defeating the English, then England too would be divided amongst itself. The concept of creating new borders was not necessarily new, as Glyndwr was referring to the original countries of Britain ruled by Kings, referring to the sons of Brutus of Troy who ruled Wales and England 2,000 years prior, and a border that was used until after the Anglo-Saxon invasion from the 5th century onwards. But again his ambition came to no fruition. Glyndwr also sent a request named the pennal letter. In which he referred to himself as; Owynus Dei Gratia Princeps Walliae (in Latin) – 'Owain, by the grace of God, Prince of Wales'. He sent the letter to Charles VI, the King of France in 1406 requesting military assistance in Wales against the English and how he would formally recognise the Pope's authority in the church, however, the request came to nothing. But in Wales, that impassioned plea saw senior officials and clergymen of the church support Glyndwr more than ever, seeing England's control dwindle to a few castles and manors in Wales.

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, attributed to Hogyncymru, Glyndwr's great seal with him sat on a throne.

The success of the rebellion saw Wales claim independence from 1404 until 1409. But despite its initial success in controlling Wales from England, the English would recapture Anglesey and most of south Wales in 1408, then castles in mid-Wales in 1409, which effectively ended Glyndwr's control of Wales. He was considered a rebel and a traitor, but he ignored pardons offered by England and continued to fight for Wales. Although the Welsh people backed Glyndwr's rebellion from all quarters of the country, the concept of going to war against the English, a country with 10 times the population was a doomed effort. The war went on for over a decade. The Welsh did not receive the support they needed from the French. Slowly Glyndwr's efforts were broken down and finally beaten. The castles he had overthrown eventually returned to the English, such as Aberystwyth Castle having been in the hands of the Welsh were taken back in the winter of 1408-09. Glyndwr escaped the English invasion of Harlech Castle disguised as an old man. This was one of the final times Glyndwr was actively seen in public continuing his guerilla warfare in Wales. 

By 1412, he had quietly disappeared and supposedly lived as Sion Cent, a chaplain to the Scudamore family in Ewias, today in Herefordshire England, and was buried by his closest followers in secret in Monnington Straddel on the 21st of September, St. Matthew's Day in 1415. Yet, it is said, his grave was kept a secret, but then discovered, and his corpse was moved, perhaps to Carmarthenshire it has been suggested. Glyndwr and his wife Margaret had 5 sons and 5 daughters, but none of their sons had any children, furthermore, they were killed in action or imprisoned and died in jail, except for Maredudd, who was given a royal pardon in 1421 and died a few years later. Also, he did have 4 illegitimate children, who integrated into Welsh society. His illegitimate daughter Gwenllian was written an elegy after her death, stating her Dad had all of Wales under his control during his lifetime, and later in life he supported 62 female pensioners. He was also known as the wealthiest Welshman during his time as Prince. The Scudamores would later claim descent from one of his legitimate daughters, Alice, and Glyndwr's descendants would intermarry into English Royalty, such as the Croft Baronets and the Cavendish family. Another family, The Tudors of Penmynydd from Anglesey were his cousins, and they actively fought in the war alongside him, and their family married into English monarchs in the mid-15th century. Glyndwr and most of his followers would reject the chances of royal pardons for their crimes against the English state in Wales. The English anti-sentiment still lives on still this generation, with the terrorist group Meibion Glyndŵr (sons of Glyndwr) committing arson crimes in Wales as recently as the 1990's. Today, the current Prince of Wales is a descendant of Glyndwr as of the past century from the marriage of George VI, King of England to a Scottish noblewoman.

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, attributed to Jr8825, Glyndwr in parliament.