Glendower

Glendower, or GLENDWR, OWEN, a Welsh chief who headed the struggle of the Welsh for the recovery of their independence in the reign of Henry IV. of England, was descended from Llewelyn, the last Prince of Wales, and was born in Montgomeryshire about 1354. He was made esquire of the body to Richard II., and remained with him until his deposition by Henry IV. in 1399, after which he retired into private life. Shortly after the accession of the new king part of Glendower's lands were seized by his neighbour, Lord Grey of Ruthin. Thereupon the Welshman, being unable to obtain redress from the English king, took up arms in his own cause, and in 1400 seized the estates of Lord Grey. The king ordered his subjugation, and granted his estates to his brother, the Earl of Somerset. Then for two years Glendower carried on a guerilla warfare against the English marchers, backed up at times by the forces of Henry himself. In 1402 he drew Lord Grey into an ambush, and took him prisoner. In this same year Sir Edmund Mortimer was also captured by Glendower in a battle in which 1100 of Mortimer's followers were left dead upon the field. Both Grey and Mortimer married daughters of the Welsh chieftain (now formally proclaimed Prince of Wales), and with him formed the coalition with Harry Percy (Hotspur) against Henry of England. That coalition ended in the battle of Shrewsbury, in July 1403, in which the English king gained a decisive victory, Hotspur being amongst the slain. Next year Glendower made a treaty with Charles VI. of France, who in 1405 sent a force to Wales to act against the English. Meantime, Glendower had been twice severely defeated by Prince Henry (V.) of England. The Welsh prince nevertheless kept up a desultory warfare during the remaining years of his life. He never submitted to English rule, and is believed to have died peacefully in Monmouthshire after 1416. The popular idea of him is presented in Shakespeare's King Henry IV. See the works cited at HENRY IV.