Glyndwr’s Revolt 1400–05

By 1400, a middle-aged Owain Glyndwr appeared to have settled for the comfortable life of a country squire in Powys, until a land dispute erupted with his well-connected English neighbour, Baron Grey de Ruthyn. Furious at his treatment, Glyndwr first gathered followers to ravage Grey’s lands, then moved to open rebellion. The uprising snowballed after victories over English forces at Mynydd Hyddgen, and Pilleth; Glyndwr’s mounted archers outmanoeuvered the heavily armoured English knights. By 1403, the revolt had spread over most of Wales, and expatriate Welsh flocked to the banner. The French, in the middle of the Hundred Years’ War, landed an army at Milford Haven, marching as far as Worcestershire. The tide then turned: the French returned home, and Sir Henry Percy, who had joined Glyndwr’s cause, was defeated and slain at Shrewsbury (1403). By the end of 1405, the English had broken the back of the rebellion.