Owain

“ When the collops were cooked, Owain divided them into two parts, between himself and the maiden; and after they had eaten, they talked together until the day dawned. And the next morning Owain enquired of the damsel, if there was any place where he could get food and entertainment for that night. “There is, lord,” said she; “cross over yonder, and go along the side of the river, and in a short time, thou wilt see a great Castle, in which are many towers. And the Earl who owns that Castle, is the most hospitable man in the world. There thou mayest spend the night.” ”

“ And he beheld a maiden, with yellow curling hair, and a frontlet of gold upon her head; and she was clad in a dress of yellow satin, and on her feet were shoes of variegated leather. And she approached the gate, and desired that it should be opened. “Heaven knows, Lady,” said Owain, “it is no more possible for me to open to thee from hence, than it is for thee to set me free.” “Truly,” said the damsel, “it is very sad that thou canst not be released, and every woman ought to succour thee, for I never saw one more faithful in the service of ladies than thou. ”

“ And Owain kept on the track of the knight who had divided the apples in Arthur’s Court, whom they were in pursuit of. “Mother,” said Peredur, “what are those yonder?” “They are angels, my son,” said she. “By my faith,” said Peredur, “I will go and become an angel with them.” And Peredur went to the road, and met them. “Tell me, good soul,” said Owain, “sawest thou a knight pass this way, either to-day or yesterday?” “I know not,” answered he, “what a knight is.” “Such an one as I am,” said Owain. “If thou wilt tell me what I ask thee, I will tell thee that which thou askest me.” ”

“ Those that hung by the tongue and ever sang "Alas!" and cried so loudly were backbiters in their lives. Beware, man or wife, if thou art fond of chiding! All the places the knight came by were full of the pains of purgatory. Whosoever takes the name of God in vain, or bears any false witness, suffers strong pains there.
Owain saw where a grisly-looking wheel turned; huge it was, burning like a brand as it wound around, and covered with hooks. A hundred thousand souls and more were hanging from the wheel. The fiends turned it about so fast that Sir Owain could not recognize anybody there. ”

“ He has the form of a man, but in stature he is no less than a giant."
"Truly," said Owain, "that is lamentable. And which wilt thou do?"
"Heaven knows," said the Earl, "it will be better that my sons should be slain against my will, than that I should voluntarily give up my daughter to him to ill-treat and destroy." Then they talked about other things, and Owain stayed there that night.
The next morning they heard an exceeding great clamour, which was caused by the coming of the giant with the two youths. And the Earl was anxious both to protect his Castle and to release his two sons. ”

“ When they came in sight of the enemy they could not see where the army ended, it was so great; but Owain asked where the earl himself was, and when he was pointed out, he sent the pages back to the castle, and rode forward till he met the earl. And Owain was now so strong that he drew the earl completely out of the saddle, and turned his horse's head towards the castle, and, although it was no easy task, brought the earl to the gate. When they had entered, he gave the earl as a gift to the Countess, and said to her: "Lo, here is a return to you for your wondrous balsam." ”

“ And they said to him, “Chieftain, it was not p. 48agreed that we should fight, save with thyself alone, and it is harder for us to contend with yonder animal, than with thee.” And Owain put the lion in the place where the maiden had been imprisoned, and blocked up the door with stones. And he went to fight with the young men as before. But Owain had not his usual strength, [48] and the two youths pressed hard upon him. And the lion roared incessantly at seeing Owain in trouble. And he burst through the wall, until he found a way out, and rushed upon the young men, and instantly slew them. ”

“ As long as thou concealest it, it will conceal thee. When they come forth to fetch thee, they will be much grieved that they cannot find thee. I will await thee on the horseblock yonder, and thou wilt be able to see me, though I cannot see thee. Therefore come and place thy hand upon my shoulder, that I may know that thou art near me. And by the way that I go hence do thou accompany me."
Then the maiden went away from Owain, and he did all that she had told him. The people of the castle came to seek Owain to put him to death ”

“ There is no use in crying over spilt milk."
Then the Countess looked again on Owain, and when she saw he was a very goodly knight, and courageous withal, she began to return his affection for her; and soon afterwards they were married. So Owain defended the fountain with lance and sword; and whenever a knight came there, he overthrew him, and ransomed him for his full worth, and what he then obtained he divided among his barons and his knights, so that he became very much beloved. ”

“ Next morning a great noise was heard as the giant entered the courtyard, dragging behind him the two youths by the hair of their heads. Then Owain put on his armour, and went out to fight the giant, and the lion followed him. The giant made a great rush upon the knight; and the lion fought on Owain's side, more fiercely than his master. At length the giant said: "I could easily settle this business with you were it not for the animal that is with you." So Owain shut the lion up inside the castle walls, and went back to fight the giant as before. ”

“ And lo, the thunder was heard, and after the thunder came the shower, much more violent than Kynon had described, and after the shower, the sky became bright. And when Owain looked at the tree, there was not one leaf upon it. And immediately the birds came, and settled upon the tree, and sang. And when their song was most pleasing to Owain, he beheld a Knight coming towards him through the valley, and he prepared to receive him; and encountered him violently. Having broken both their lances, they drew their swords, and fought blade to blade. ”

“ After this time Arthur, with his nephew Gwalchmai and with Kymon for guide, rode forth at the head of a host to search for tidings of Owain. They came to the fountain, and here they met Owain, neither knowing the other as their helms were down. And first Kai was overthrown, and then Gwalchmai and Owain fought, and after a while Gwalchmai was unhelmed. Owain said, “My lord Gwalchmai, I did not know thee; take my sword and my arms.” Said Gwalchmai, “Thou, Owain, art the victor; take thou my sword.” ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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) . ”

“ Asaph, John Trevor, warned the parliament not to despise Owain. The lords replied that they did not care for the barefooted rogues, and Owain went home in a rage with his grievances unredressed.
Owain soon had another complaint. Grey had neglected to deliver a writ summoning Owain to the Scottish expedition, until it was so late that obedience was impossible. Grey then denounced him before the king as a traitor for not appearing (Monk of Evesham, p. 171) . Owain now plundered and burnt Grey's estates, and cruelly murdered some of Grey's household (Ann. Hen. IV, p. 333) . ”

“ 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 ”

“ It seems to have been now, if ever, that Owain, Mortimer, and Northumberland signed the famous tripartite treaty for dividing England, ‘to fulfil the prophecy’ which gave Owain as his share all Wales and the lands west of a line drawn from the Mersey to the source of the Trent and thence to the Severn, at a point just north of Worcester, after which it followed the Severn to its mouth (Ellis, 2nd ser. i. 27–8, from Sloane MS. 1776, f. 42 b; Chron. Giles, p. 39; Hall, p. 28, whose account, followed by Shakespeare, is very inaccurate; Tyler, Henry V, i. 150) . ”

“ One daughter (Catharine) married Edmund Mortimer, another John Hanmer, her cousin (ib. i. 234) . In 1433 the direct line of Owain was represented by his daughter Alice, wife of Sir John Scudamore of Ewyas, who, in consequence of a parliamentary decision, in 1431, that Owain's attainder was not to affect his heirs to entailed lands, claimed Glyndyvrdwy and Sycharth from the Earl of Somerset, then a prisoner in France (Rot. Parl. iv. 377, 440) . ”

“ The princes of Wales were again confined to the highlands of Gwynedd.
For the next few years there was peace upon the borders. In 1248 Henry allowed Owain and Llywelyn to transfer the body of their father from the Tower to Aberconway Abbey (Brut y Tywysogion, p. 335) . The princes of Gwynedd were too weak to be able to do Henry much harm, and soon quarrelled with each other. Llywelyn, though the younger, was certainly more able and energetic than Owain, and showed such an ascendency as to provoke universal jealousy among the Welsh chieftains. ”

“ A third royal expedition was now undertaken. Three great armies invaded Wales from different points in the early part of September; but the elaborate plan to shut up Owain from different sides proved a signal failure. Owain found new hiding-places. The hundred thousand men suffered grievously from the cold and constant storms. The English ravaged the land and took a great spoil of cattle; but within three weeks they had returned home beaten, of course by magic, and believing that Owain could make himself invisible at will. Reginald Grey had now to purchase his ransom at a ruinous cost. ”