Owain Gwynedd

“ Owain Gwynedd, the subject of the following poem was the eldest son of Gruffydd ab Cynan, Prince of Gwynedd, or North Wales, and he succeeded his father on his death in 1137. Father and son were illustrious warriors and patriotic rulers. They were also celebrated for their munificent protection of the Welsh Bards. The Saxons had established themselves at the castle of Wyddgrug, now Mold, and thence committed great ravages on the Welsh in that vicinity. ”

“ Most of the fighting took place in Powys, and Henry II withdrew, beaten by the elements and want of food as much as by the enemy, and never ventured on another Welsh campaign. The alliance between the two Owains was continued for some time. In 1166 they drove out their former ally, Iorwerth Goch, from his territory in Mochnant, and divided that district between them. But in 1167 the allies quarrelled, and Owain Gwynedd joined with Rhys of South Wales against Owain Cyveiliog, though the prince of Powys had married Rhys's daughter. ”

“ Owain was the first to revolt, having now the support of the younger brother, Davydd. In 1254 open war broke out between Llywelyn and his brothers. A pitched battle was fought at Bryn Derwyn, where, after an hour's hard fighting, Llywelyn prevailed. Owain Goch was taken prisoner, and remained in confinement until 1277. Davydd fled to England, leaving Llywelyn sole ruler of Gwynedd. ”

“ Cadwaladr appears to have found his portion in his former conquests of Meirionydd and northern Ceredigion. The intruder from Gwynedd soon became involved in feuds both with his south Welsh neighbours and with his family. In 1143 his men slew Anarawd, son of Gruffudd of South Wales, to whom Owain Gwynedd had promised his daughter in marriage. Repudiated by his brother, who sent his son Howel to ravage his share of Ceredigion and to attack his castle of Aberystwith, Cadwaladr fled to Ireland, whence he returned next year with a fleet of Irish Danes, to wreak vengeance on Owain. ”

“ Owain's merit was that he continued the successful resistance to marcher encroachment which his father had begun in the reign of Stephen. It required no small pertinacity on Owain's part to make so great a king as Henry II give up in despair his efforts to reduce Gwynedd to satisfaction. Owain seems, however, to have been more bloodthirsty than most men of his time and nation; and the chroniclers record many instances of murders and mutilations, especially of kinsfolk, effected at his command. Yet his career made it possible to preserve a strong Welsh state against the Normans ”

“ All contain valuable historical material. Thirty-two of his poems have been printed in the 'Myvyrian Archaiology of Wales,' pp. 199-217; one of these is an invocation when undergoing the fiery ordeal to exonerate himself from having any knowledge of the fate of Madog (fl. 1172) [q. v.] , the son of Owain Gwynedd, who it was subsequently alleged had sailed for America, which he had discovered in 1170. Llywarch possessed more poetic genius than any of his contemporaries, and has been justly described as the most illustrious Welsh bard of the middle ages. ”

“ In July, however, the king led a more formidable expedition against South Wales, where Rhys, like Owain, had been devastating the English border. For the first time the rival Welsh chieftains joined together in resisting the English invaders. Owain marched with Cadwaladr at the head of the men of Gwynedd to join Rhys. Even the men of Powys, now led by Owain Cyveiliog [q. v.] , joined in the national resistance. The united host of the three Welsh districts encamped at Corwen to oppose Henry. ”

“ Before leaving Wales he entered into suspicious dealings with Owain.
Owain's movements during this time are very obscure. He was plainly keeping himself in the background until his agents had got all things ready. A curious letter addressed to his partisan, Henry Don, explains clearly enough his general plan of operations (it is printed in Owen and Blakeway's Shrewsbury, i. 181–2) . In the spring of 1401 Owain suddenly appeared in South Wales, in the ‘marches of Carmarthen,’ driven there perhaps by Percy's activity in Gwynedd, or perhaps by the desire of extending the rising to the south. ”

“ Cadwallon, was blinded by Henry II in 1165 (Brut y Tywysogion, p. 202; Gwentian Brut calls them Rhys and Cadwallon) ; (13) one daughter, Angharad, is mentioned, who was a full sister of Iorwerth, and therefore legitimate (Brut y Tywysogion, p. 212) , and who married Morgan ab Seisyll; (14) another daughter, whose name is not given, was betrothed early in Owain's reign to her cousin Anarawd ap Rhys ap Gruflrdd of South Wales. For the reputed son or Owain who is fabled to have discovered America, see Madog ap Owain Gwynedd. ”

“ Both Randulf, earl of Chester, and Madog ap Maredudd [q. v.] , prince of Powys, resented this, and in 1149 Madog joined with the earl to attack Owain, but was signally defeated at Counsillt. But Owain's power was still diminished by family feuds. In 1149 he was forced to imprison his son Cynan. In 1151 he drove his brother Cadwaladr from his refuge in Anglesea, and blinded and mutilated his brother Cadwallon, and his nephew, Cadwallon's son, Cunedda. Such vigorous and bloodthirsty measures secured his hold more firmly over Gwynedd. In 1155 he was able to lead an expedition against Ceredigion. ”

“ Llewelyn, thy qualities are noble, I will valiantly make my path broad with the edge of my sword. May the prints of the hoofs of my prince’s steeds be seen as far as Cornwall. Numerous are the persons that congratulate him upon this success, for he is a sure friend. The lion of Gwynedd, and its extensive territories, the governor of the men of Powys, and the South, who hath a general assembly of his armed troops at Chester, who ravageth Lloegr to amass spoils. In battle his success is certain, in killing, burning, and in overthrowing castles. ”

“ The Princes of Powys and South Wales were absolved from their oath of homage to the ruler of Gwynedd, which Principality shrank once more to the banks of the Conway. In the meantime Griffith with his young son Owen was left by Henry to languish in the Tower, till, filled with despair, he made a bold bid for freedom. Weaving ropes out of his bed-clothing he let himself down by night from his prison window; but, being a corpulent man, his weight was too much for such slender supports, and he fell from a great height to the ground, breaking his neck upon the spot.
Dafydd makes war on the English. ”

“ It was thought that there should be one king over the whole people,but it was very rarely that every part of Wales obeyed one king. The country was divided into smaller kingdoms. In many ways Gwynedd was the most powerful. It was very easy to defend; for it was made up of the island of Mon (Anglesey) , the promontory of Lleyn, and the mountain mass of Snowdon. Its steep side was thus towards England,and its cornlands and pastures on the further side. It was also the home of the family of Cunedda, from Maelgwn to the last Llywelyn. ”

“ In the long roll of Welsh history which we have been unfolding there are many illustrious names—Cunedda Wledig, Howel Dda, Owen Gwynedd, the Lord Rees, Llewelyn Fawr, and Llewelyn the last Prince of Wales: but of all the men of the Middle Ages no one has so touched the heart and fired the imagination of Wales as Owen Glyndwr. For all Welsh people he stands alone and supreme, the ideal Welshman of all time. ”

“ We have at any rate to face tradition, which counts for much. And this places Glyndwr in the eyes of most Welshmen, with all his ravagings and burnings, on a pedestal above the greatest and most patriotic of their older Princes—above Llewelyn ap Iorwerth, above the last Llewelyn, the son of Gryffydd, above Owen Gwynedd. The cool-headed student may be much less enthusiastic. ”

“ The twenty years preceding the battle of Hastings were busy years in Wales, and the foremost name of that epoch in England came to be perhaps more dreaded among the native Welsh than that of any other Saxon since the days of Offa. But Harold, Earl of the West Saxons and commander of the English armies, got much deeper into Wales than Offa had ever succeeded in doing, and indeed came much nearer than any of his predecessors to a conquest of the country. Griffith ap Llewelyn, Prince of Gwynedd by right, and of all Wales by force, was, as we have seen, no mean soldier. ”

“ Llywelyn the Great rose into power in 1194, and reigned until 1240—a long reign, and in many ways the most important of all the reigns of the Welsh princes.
Llywelyn’s first task was to become sole ruler in Gwynedd. The sons of Owen Gwynedd had divided the strong Gwynedd left them by their father, and their nobles and priests could not decide which of the sons was to be supreme. Iorwerth, the poet Howel, David, Maelgwn, Rhodri, tried to get Gwynedd, or portions of it. Eventually, David I. became king; but soon a strong opposition placed Llywelyn, the able son of Iorwerth, on the throne. ”

“ It is a relief to turn to another feature of the age: it was an age of great men. Owen Gwynedd was probably the greatest. He disliked war, but he was an able general; he made Henry II. retire without great loss of life to his own army. He was a thoughtful prince, of a loving nature and high ideals, and his court was the home of piety and culture. He is more like our own ideal of a prince than any of the other princes of the Middle Ages. The Lord Rees was not less wise, and his life is less sorrowful and more brilliant. He also was as great as a statesman as he was as a general ”

“ Death and battle have been in ancient times busy enough around the rock of Harlech and upon the green slopes of the Ardudwy Mountains that from high above its grey towers look out upon the sea. From the days of Brân the Blessed, the first Christian Prince, whose fortress, Twr Bronwen, men say, stood upon this matchless site, till those of the fighting Maelgwyn, King of Gwynedd, when the coasts of Wales were strewn with the victims of plague and battle, it was a notable spot. ”

“ And to Llywelyn ap Gruffydd the prospect was even more tempting than to Llywelyn ap Iorwerth. The Barons’ War weakened the power of [Pg 24] England, and the necessities of Simon de Montfort led him to enter into an alliance with Llywelyn. The expansion of Gwynedd was great and rapid. Llywelyn’s rule extended as far south as Merthyr, and made itself felt on the shores of Carmarthen Bay. The Earl of Gloucester found it necessary to build Caerphilly Castle to uphold his influence in Glamorgan. But it was just the expansion of Llywelyn’s power which forced Edward I. to overthrow him once for all. ”

“ Mr Jones was exceedingly fond of reading, particularly poetry; and about this time he began “to torment the Awen” (Muse) , as he used to say; and wrote several things both in Welsh and English. In 1789 he was elected a member of the Gwyneddigion, and shortly afterwards he became secretary to the society. At the time when it was regularly attended by Owain Jones, Myfyr, Dr. W. O. Pughe, &c., who encouraged the young bard, and gave him much valuable advice. In 1794 we find his name as one of the stewards of the festival of Ancient Britons, and in 1801, as llywydd (chairman) of the Gwyneddigion. ”

“ For, altogether, it was great fun.
Now there was once a Prince of Gwynedd, in Wales, named Math, who was so fond of having his feet held, that he neglected to govern his people properly. He spent all his time lounging in an easy chair, while a pretty maiden held his heels and toes. He committed all public cares to two of his nephews. These were named for short, Gily and Gwyd.
The one whom the king loved best to have her hold his feet was the fairest maiden in all the land, and she was named Goewen. ”

“ It was the chief aim of Owen Gwynedd to be the ally of the Lord Rees; and in this he succeeded, though his brother Cadwaladr, in his desire for Ceredigion, had killed Rees’ brother, to Owen’s infinite sorrow. The princes of Powys, Madoc and Owen Cyveiliog, were in the same alliance also, and they were helped in their struggle with the Normans. Unity was never more necessary. Henry II. brought great armies into Wales. ”

“ The civil administration was almost entirely in native hands, and a large Welsh element had crept in even among the ‘English towns.’ Before long all North Wales was in revolt. Owain soon assumed the title of Prince of Wales, and gave himself the airs of a sovereign (Evesham, p. 171; Adam of Usk, p. 46) . The Welsh scholars at Oxford and Cambridge left their books and joined in the rebellion. The Welsh labourers from England hurried off to Owain with whatever weapons they could seize (Rot. Parl. iii. 457) . In Wales the farmers sold their cattle to buy arms (Ellis, 2nd ser. i. 8) . ”

“ Owen Gwynedd “left behind him manie children gotten by diverse women, which were not esteemed by their mothers and birth, but by their prowes and valiantnesse.” By his first wife, Gladus, the daughter of Llywarch ap Trahaern ap Caradoc, he had Orwerth Drwyndwn, that is, Edward with the broken nose; for which defect he was deemed unfit to preside over the principality of North Wales and was deprived of his rightful inheritance, which was seized by his brother David, who occupied it for the space of twenty-four years. ”

“ It was evident that nothing but a great effort would be of any avail; so returning to England he gathered a large army and sat down at Chester. In the meantime Owen Gwynedd as suzerain or Pendragon of Wales, with Rhys, Prince of Deheubarth, and even the two Princes of vacillating Powysland, which had recently been split in half, and in fact with the whole strength of the Cymry, raised the dragon standard at Corwen on the Dee. The two armies met eventually upon the banks of the Ceiriog, just beneath the hill where the Castle of Chirk, then called Crogen, [3] now lifts its storied towers. ”