Owain Glyn Dwr
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Well, Hallowe’en is nigh, a time when we like to shiver and squeal, so here is a dark legend to set those shivers and squeals in motion. It happened at the end of the 14th/beginning of the 15th century among the dense trees of Nannau Park near Dolgelly/Dolgellau, the county town of Merionethshire (now Gwynedd).…
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The Battle of Pwll Melyn, 5 May,1405.
abbot of llantarnam, Adam of Usk, Alianore Countess of March, battle of worcester, bramham moor, Dafydd Gam, executions, grosmont, gruffudd ap owain, Gwent, Henry Earl of Northumberland, Henry IV, Lord Grey of Codnor, monkswood, Mortimers, Owain Glyn Dwr, Pwll Melyn, rhys gethin, Sir john greyndore, Sir John Oldcastle, Usk CastleThe Battle of Pwll Melyn (Yellow Pool in English) was, in retrospect, the turning point for Henry IV. Up to this time, his enemies had largely held the initiative and were a real threat to him. This was to be the last time his forces were engaged in a full-scale battle against them. (1) Owain Glyndŵr‘s…
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Digging for Britain (series 11)
Alice Roberts, bags, bath houses, Cardiff, Carlisle, Chedworth, defences, digging for Britain, docks, dodecahedrons, Domesday Book, Dorset, Dover, Enfield, evacuation, Exeter Cathedral, flint tools, forty hall, Gloucester, Grampians, gun emplacement, Henry V, Hereford, Imber, Kent, Leicester cathedral, Lincoln, Lowther Castle, Marshes, mosaic tiles, mudlarking, Norfolk, Northampton, norton disney, nunneries, Owain Glyn Dwr, Platonic solids, postern gates, pubs, Roman Britain, roundhouses, Scotland, Septimus Severus, shoes, Smallhythe, Snodhill Castle, Strathclyde, Syston, timber, Tintern Abbey, trade, Trellau Park, Wales, Waterloo, William II, WW2 defences, WyeAs another year dawns, it must be time for another series of Britain’s archeological highlights, divided into five regions. This time, it started in the north with Carlisle Cricket Club hosting a dig associated with the bathhouse of the emperor Septimius Severus, a particularly steep part of the Grampians and Lowther Castle, a site that…
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This excellent article by Douglas Biggs suggests that many of the Welsh gentlemen who rose with Glyndwr, or at around the same time, did so, not because of perceived national sentiment but because of patronage, or the lack of it. The usurpation of Henry IV has the side effect of disturbing ‘normal’ patterns of patronage.…
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‘Great magician, damned Glendower'(Part 4.)
Anglesey, Archbishop Scrope, archers, Battle of Shrewsbury, Catrin ferch Owain, Cheltenham, Constance of York, executions, France, Glyn Dwr rebellion, Henry IV, Henry V, Hotspur, Lord Grey of Ruthin, maredydd ap owain, Mortimers, Owain Glyn Dwr, Percies, Pilleth, R.R. Davies, ransom, siege of harlech, Sir Edmund Mortimer, Sir John Scudamore, Thomas Percy Earl of Worcester, Tripartite Alliance, Wales, WorcesterIt is not my purpose to describe the Glyndŵr Rising in detail. The story is far too complex to be contained within a blog post. The reader who is interested in the full tale would do well to consult (for example) The Revolt Of Owain Glyn Dŵr by R.R Davies, an excellent work. The initial…
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‘Great magician, damned Glendower'(Part 3.)
Bishop of St. Asaph, Cheshire, Corwen, courts, Dukes of Norfolk, Earls of Warwick, executions, exile, France, Henry IV, Ireland, John of Gaunt, John Trevor, Llewellyn ap Iorweth, Lord Grey of Ruthin, Lords Appellant, Marcher Lords, naval battles, Owain Glyn Dwr, Radcot Bridge, Richard II, Richard of arundel, Roger Mortimer 4th Earl of March, Ruthin, son of prophecy, Thomas of woodstock, Wales, wineOwain‘s service to Arundel included taking part in the naval victory over the French in 1387 in which a wine fleet was captured. Such was the booty that the price of wine in England fell through the floor. He may well also have been involved in Arundel’s attack on the French coast a few months…
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‘Great magician, damned Glendower'(Part 2.)
Berwick. garrison duties, castles, Chester, Chirk Castle, Cilgerran Castle, cymorth, Edeyrnion, Edmund Grey Lord Ruthin, Gascony, John of Gaunt, legal cases, legal training, Owain Glyn Dwr, Parliament, Pembroke, Powys, Richard Earl of Arundel, Richard II, Scottish campaign 1385, Scrope v Grosvenor, Sir Gregory Sais, taxation, Tenby, Thomas Despenser, Wales, Welsh MarchesOwain‘s training as a lawyer certainly did not stop him from pursuing a military career. in 1384 he is found undertaking garrison duty at Berwick in the retinue of the Flintshire knight Sir Gregory Sais. Sais was a renowned knight, with extensive combat experience in France, particularly Gascony. (He is also a good example of…
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Shrewsbury Battlefield and the memorial church of St Mary Magdelene
Alex Marchant, archers, Battle of Shrewsbury, book signing, Cheshire, Church of St. Mary Magdalene, College of Priests, Earl of Stafford, Flintshire, Fotheringhay, Henry IV, Hotspur, Manchester Picadilly, Milford Haven, Owain Glyn Dwr, Percies, re-enactment, rebellion, Tewkesbury Festival, trains, videosI have long wanted to attend the re-enactment of the Battle of Shrewsbury and also visit the church of St Mary Magdelene. In 2022 I finally managed it. It was touch and go, although I had booked my train ticket some weeks back. These days such an excursion demands a lot of effort and I…
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Joanna Fitzalan, Lady of Abergavenny
Abergavenny Castle, Adam of Usk, Azincourt, Constance of York, Edward Duke of York, executions, House of Lords, Isabel le Despenser, Joanna Fitzalan, King’s Council, life jointure, Owain Glyn Dwr, Richard Earl of Arundel, Richard Earl of Worcester, Richard II, Thomas Earl of Gloucester, William Beauchamp Lord BergavennyJoanna was the daughter of that Richard Fitzalan, Earl of Arundel, who was executed by Richard II in 1397. In 1392, when she was about 17, she was married to William Beauchamp, Lord Bergavenny, younger brother of the Earl of Warwick, who was 55. They had a son, Richard, who eventually became Earl of Worcester,…
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