lived in the western peninsular gradually began to think of themselves as a
distinct nation in spite of the many different rival kingdoms that
developed within their borders such as Morgannwg, Powys, Brycheinion, Dyfed
and Gwynedd. It is also from this period that we can speak of the Welsh
language, as distinct from the older Brythonic.
In a poem dated 633, the word Cymry appears, referring to the country; and
it was not too long before the Britons came to be known as the Cymry, by
which term they are known today. At this point, we should point out that
the word Welsh (from Wealas) is a later word used by the Saxon invaders of
the British Isles perhaps to denote people they considered "foreign" or at
least to denote people who had been Romanized. It originally had signified
a Germanic neighbor, but eventually came to be used for those people who
spoke a different language.
The Welsh people themselves still prefer to call themselves Cymry, their
country Cymru, and their language Cymraeg. It is also from this time that
the Celtic word Llan appears, signifying a church settlement and usually
followed by the name of a saint, as in Llandewi (St. David) or Llangurig
(St. Curig), but sometimes by the name of a disciple of Christ, such as
Llanbedr (St. Peter) or even a holy personage such as Llanfair (St. Mary).
Part II
It is in Wales, perhaps, that today's cultural separation of the British
Isles remains strongest, certainly linguistically, and for that, we must
look to the mid 8th Century, when a long ditch was constructed, flanking a
high earthen rampart that divided the Celts of the West from the Saxons to
the East and which, even today, marks the boundary between those who
consider themselves Welsh from those who consider themselves English. The
boundary, known as "Offa's Dyke," in memory of its builder Offa, the king
of Mercia (the middle kingdom) runs from the northeast of Wales to the
southeast coast, a distance of 149 miles.
English-speaking peoples began to cross Offa's Dyke in substantial numbers
when settlements were created by Edward 1st in his ambition to unite the
whole of the island of Britain under his kingship. After a period of
military conquest, the English king forced Welsh prince Llywelyn ap
Gruffudd to give up most of his lands, keeping only Gwynedd west of the
River Conwy.
Edward then followed up his successes by building English strongholds
around the perimeter of what remained of Llewelyn's possessions, and
strong, easily defended castles were erected at Flint, Rhuddlan,
Aberystwyth, and Builth., garrisoned by large detachments of English
immigrants and soldiers. Some of these towns have remained stubbornly
English ever since. Urban settlement, in any case, was entirely foreign to
the Celtic way of life.
In 1294, the Statute of Rhuddlan confirmed Edward's plans regarding the
governing of Wales. The statute created the counties of Anglesey,
Caernarfon, and Merioneth, to be governed by the Justice of North Wales;
Flint, to be placed under the Justice of Chester; and the counties of
Carmarthen and Cardigan were left under the Justice of South Wales.
In the year 1300, the situation seemed permanently established, when "King
Edward of England made Lord Edward his son [born at Caernarfon Castle],
Prince of Wales and Count of Chester," and ever since that date these
titles have been automatically conferred upon the first-born son of the
English monarch. The Welsh people were not consulted in the matter,
although an obviously biased entry in Historia Anglicana for the year 1300
reads:
In this year King Edward of England made Lord Edward, his son and heir,
Prince of Wales and Count of Chester. When the Welsh heard this, they were
overjoyed, thinking him their lawful master, for he was born in their
lands.
Following his successes in Wales, signified by the Statute of Rhuddlan,
sometimes referred to as The Statute of Wales, Edward embarked on yet
another massive castle-building program, creating such world-heritage sites
of today as Caernarfon, Conwy, Harlech, and Beaumaris in addition to the
earlier not so-well known (or well-visited) structures at Flint and
Rhuddlan. Below their huge, forbidding castle walls, additional English
boroughs were created, and English traders were invited to settle, often to
the exclusion of the native Welsh, who must have looked on in awe and
despair from their lonely hills at the site of so much building activity.
Their ancestors must have felt the same sense of dismay as they watched the
Roman invaders build their heavily defended forts in strategic points on
their lands.
The Welsh were forbidden to inhabit such "boroughs" or to carry arms within
their boundaries (even today, there are laws remaining on the statute books
of Chester, a border town, that proscribe the activities of the Welsh
within the city walls). With the help of the architect Master James of St.
George, and with what must have seemed like limitless resources in manpower
and materials, Edward showed his determination to place a stranglehold on
the Welsh. Occasional rebellions were easily crushed; it was not until the
death of Edward III and the arrival of Owain Glyndwr (Shakespeare's Owen
Glendower), that the people of Wales felt confident enough to challenge
their English overlords.
Owain Glyndwr was Lord of Glyndyfrdwy (the Valley of the Dee). He seized
his opportunity in 1400 after being crowned Prince of Wales by a small
group of supporters and defying Henry IV's many attempts to dislodge him.
The ancient words of Geraldus Cambrensis could have served to inspire his
followers:
The English fight for power; the Welsh for liberty; the one to procure
gain, the other to avoid loss. The English hirelings for money; the Welsh
patriots for their country
The comet that appeared in 1402 was seen by the Welsh as a sign of their
forthcoming deliverance from bondage as well as one that proclaimed the
appearance of Owain. His magnetic personality electrified and galvanized
the people of Wales, strengthening their armies and inspiring their
confidence. Even the weather was favorable.
The Welsh leader's early successes released the long-suppressed feelings of
thousands of Welshmen who eagerly flocked to his support from all parts of
England and the Continent. Before long, it seemed as if the long-awaited
dream of independence was fast becoming a reality: three royal expeditions
against Glyndwr failed: he held Harlech and Aberystwyth, had extended his
influence as far as Glamorgan and Gwent, was receiving support from Ireland
and Scotland; and had formed an alliance with France. Following his
recognition by the leading Welsh bishops, he summoned a parliament at
Machynlleth, in mid-Wales, where he was crowned as Prince of Wales.
It didn't seem too ambitious for Owain to believe that with suitable
allies, he could help bring about the dethronement of the English king;
thus he entered into a tripartite alliance with the Earl of Northumberland
and Henry Mortimer (who married Owain's daughter Caitrin) to divide up
England and Wales between them. After all, Henry IV's crown was seen by
many Englishmen as having been falsely obtained, and they welcomed armed
rebellion against their ruler. Hoping that The Welsh Church be made
completely independent from Canterbury, and that appointments to benefices
in Wales be given only to those who could speak Welsh, Glyndwr was ready to
implement his wish to set up two universities in Wales to train native
civil servants and clergymen.
Then the dream died.
Part III
Owain's parliament was the very last to meet on Welsh soil; the last
occasion that the Welsh people had the power of acting independently of
English rule. From such a promising beginning to a national revolt came a
disappointing conclusion, even more upsetting because of the speed at which
Welsh hopes crumbled with the failure of the Tripartite Indenture. Henry
Percy (Hotspur) was killed at the Battle of Shrewsbury, and the increasing
boldness and military skills of Henry's son, the English prince of Wales
and later Henry V, began to turn the tide against Glyndwr. Like so many of
his predecessors, Glyndwr was betrayed at home. It is not too comforting
for Welsh people of today to read that one of the staunchest allies of the
English king and enemy of Glyndwr was a man of Brecon, Dafydd Gam (later
killed at Agincourt, fighting for the English).
A sixth expedition into Wales undertaken by Prince Henry retook much of the
land captured by Owain, including many strategic castles. The boroughs with
their large populations of "settlers," had remained thoroughly English in
any case, and by the end of 1409, the Welsh rebellion had dwindled down to
a series of guerilla raids led by the mysterious figure of Owain, whose
wife and two daughters had been captured at Harlech and taken to London as
prisoners. Owain himself went into the mountains, becoming an outlaw. He
may have suffered an early death. for nothing is known of him either by the
Welsh or the English. He simply vanished from sight. According to an
anonymous writer in 1415," Very many say that he [Owain Glyndwr] died; the
seers say that he did not" (Annals of Owain Glyndwr). There has been much
speculation as to his fate and much guessing as to where he ended his final
days and was laid to rest.
There is an expression coined in the nineteenth century that describes a
