Bolingbroke, for, in addition to his disasters in Wales, the powerful and wealthy family of the Percies conspired to throw off its allegiance to Henry. A dispute between the King and the Earl of Northumberland, respecting the exchange of some prisoners, appears to have been the primary cause of this disaffection; and, perhaps, the desire of becoming entirely independent might have contributed, in no small degree, to the same effect. At all events, this family, and its numerous adherents, joined Glyndwr, and added very materially to the power of the Welsh. The rebels gained another important ally this year,-Sir Edmund Mortimer, whom, we have already mentioned, Glyndwr had taken prisoner at the battle of Brynglas. He procured the alliance of this knight, whom he had treated with great kindness and liberality since his capture, by insinuating that it might be in his power to seat the representative of his house upon the throne of his ancestors, a temptation not to be withstood by the ambitious captive; and Glyndwr, and the gallant Percies, entered into a confederacy to overthrow the House of Lancaster, and to advance to the sovereignty of England the descendant of the Plantagenets. So confident were the rebel chieftains of success, that they determined, beforehand, to divide the empire between them, so that, when they had subdued their opponents, no discord might arise as to a division of the booty. Henry Percy was to possess the district north of the Trent; Sir Edmund Mortimer, all the country from the Trent and Severn, to the eastern and western limits of the island; and Glyndwr the whole of Wales westward from the Severn. It was on this occasion that Owain, to animate his followers, reminded them of the ancient prophecy, which predicted the fall of Henry, under the name of Moldwarp, or " cursed of God's own mouth;" and, to revive those pleasing and heroic sentiments, which are always associated in the mind of a Briton, with the achievements of the mighty Uthyn Pendragon, (the father of the immortal Arthur,) he adopted the title of the Dragon; Percy was styled the Lion, and Mortimer the Wolf and now, in the meridian of his glory, he assembled the states of the Principality at Machynlleth, in Montgomeryshire, where he was formally crowned and acknowledged Prince of Wales *. At this assembly the newly-crowned prince narrowly escaped assassination. A gentleman of Brecknockshire, called David Gain, (afterwards knighted for preserving the life of Henry the Fifth at the battle of Agincourt,) was among the chieftains who attended the coronation of Glyndwr. He had been long in the service of Bolingbroke, and was firmly attached to that king. Instigated by his attachment to Henry, or, as some say, by the personal exhortations of the monarch himself, he formed the cowardly design of murdering his prince. His plot, however, was timely discovered, and he was immediately arrested and imprisoned. He would have met with the punishment due to the crime he meditated, had not the prince's most zealous friends exerted their influence in his behalf. He was pardon. ed, therefore, upon condition that he would adhere in future to the common cause of his country,—a condition he had no opportunity of observing, as he was kept in rigid confinement till the rebellion was quelled. The affairs of Owain Glyndwr now bore so prosperous an aspect, that Charles, King of France, entered into an alliance with him †, and compensated, in a slight degree, for the loss of the gallant and highspirited Hotspur, who fell in the battle of Oswestry about a year before. But he did not reap any very extensive advantages from this union. When it was contracted, he appears to have arrived at the very acme of his career, and the crisis was any The building, now converted into a stable, in which this memorable synod was convened, is still to be seen. The treaty is dated from Dolgellan, in right royal style: " Datum apud Dol gellum, 10 die mensis Maii, 1404, et Principatus nostri quarto," and begins, " Owenus, Dei gratia, Princeps Walliæ, &c." Rymer, viii. 356. thing but favourable. Although Fortune had hitherto smiled upon him, the time was not far distant when he was to experience her capricious mutability; for, in an engagement between a party of his adherents (in number about eight thousand) and some English troops, the former were defeated with the loss of nearly a thousand men. To repair this misfortune, Glyndwr instantly dispatched his son Gruffydd, with a strong force, and another battle was fought five days afterwards, at Mynydd y Pwll Melyn, in Brecknockshire, when the Welsh again sustained a defeat, the prince's son being taken prisoner, and his brother Tudyr slain. The latter resembled the prince so closely, that it was at first reported that Glyndwr himself had fallen; but on examining the body, it was found to be without a wart over the eye, by which the brothers were distinguished from each other. After this defeat, many of the patriot's followers deserted him, and he was compelled to conceal himself in caves and desert places, from which he occasionally ventured forth to visit a few trusty friends, who still adhered to him, and who supported him with food and other necessaries *. It is possible that our chieftain's career would have terminated without further hostilities, had not his new ally, the King of France, afforded him assistance. A fleet, carrying an army of twelve thousand men, sailed from Brest, and reached Wales after a favourable voyage. But this succour, seasonable and liberal as it was, served only to prolong the war, without being eventually of any important service. Glyndwr never recovered the defeat of Mynydd y Pwll Melyn. From that time he acted chiefly on the defensive, or meditated nothing more than mere marauding excursions; his followers were daily forsaking him, and he was at length obliged to seek refuge among the mountains, from whence he never emerged to perform any exploit of consequence. "A worlde it was," says an old annalist, to see his quotidiane removyng, his painfull and busy wanderyng, his troublesome and uncertaine abiding, his continuall mocion, his daily peregrinacion in the desert felles and craggy mountains of that barreine, unfertile, and depopulate country t." Notwithstanding his ill fortune, however, he was still considered so important an enemy, that Henry the Fifth condescended to propose terms for a cessation of hostilities; and a treaty to this effect was concluded a short time before his death, which happened on the 20th of September 1415,-and afterwards renewed with his son Meredydd, on the 24th of February in the year following . The most prominent features in the character of Owain Glyndwr were boldness and activity, ambition, bravery, with no small portion of mili tary skill;-he was hospitable to profuseness,-the patron and liberal encourager of the bards §,-eager and faithful in his friendship-unforgiv. ing and revengeful in his enmities— patriotic, enthusiastic, and irrasci • There is a cavern, near the sea-side, in the parish of Llangelynin, in Merionethshire, into which, in our youth, we have often crept, still called Ogov Owain, or the Cave of Owain. Here the prince is said to have concealed himself, being secretly supported by Ednyved ab Arom, the representative of the royal tribe of Ednywain ab Bradwen. + Hall's Chronicle, 19. Rymer, ix. 283. This contradicts the general opinion that the Cambrian patriot died in extreme distress,—“ lackeing meate to sustaine nature, and for meere hunger and lacke of food, miserablie pining awaie." It was immediately after the defeat of Mynydd y Pwll Melyn, that he experienced those calamities usually attributed to a later period of his life; and we have every reason to suppose that he died, broken, indeed, in spirit, but unsubdued. He died in Herefordshire, at the house of one of his daughters: Rapin says, that he did not die till the year 1417, but the Welsh accounts, to be preferred in this case, place the event in 1415, as above stated. The Rev. Evan Evans, in his "Dissertatio de Bardis," thus speaks of Owain's liberality to the then persecuted race of poets. Hoc ævo multi claruere Bardi, inter quos Iolo Goch, (Iolo the Red,) Oweni magnificentiam et victoria sad sidera tulit, fuit enim Owenus Bardorum fautor et Mæcenas, et eos undiquâque ad aulam liberali. tate provocabat." Page 89. VOL. XIV. Y ble ;-in him were combined all the characteristics of the warm-hearted, impetuous Cambro-Briton; and his gallant spirit, unsubdued to the last, achieved those exploits, which are familiar, to this day, to the mountain-peasants of Merionethshire. Of his hospitality-a quality so conspicuous in the genuine Welshman-his chief bard, lolo Goch, has given us a good estimation. Within his mansion (sings the poet) were nine spacious halls, each furnished with a wardrobe containing clothing for his retainers; on a verdant bank, near the castle, was a wooden building, erected on pillars, and covered with tiles: it contained eight apartments, designed as sleeping-chambers for such guests as graced the castle with their company. In the immediate vicinity of the residence was every requisite for the purposes of good eating and drinking; a park well stocked with deer, a warren, a pigeon-house and heronry, a mill, an orchard, and vineyard, with a preserve well filled with pike, trout, and salmon. The hospitality of the chieftain was so boundless, says the bard, that no one could hunger or thirst in the house. Owain was deeply imbued with the superstition of the times. The fearful omens, which were supposed to have ushered in his birth, had, no doubt, considerable influence upon his future life. At his nativity, The front of heaven was full of fiery shapes ; And all the courses of his life did shew He was not in the roll of common men. Shakespeare, indeed, has glowingly delineated the portrait of this extraordinary man. His belief in supernatural agency-nay, more-his exulting boast that he could " call spirits from the vasty deep," and his ill-constrained choler at the taunts of the provoking Hotspur, are admirable illustrations of what we may suppose to have been the character of the Cambrian chief: and although, in this enlightened age, we cannot but regard with detestation the cruelties which he often inflicted upon those who fell into his hands, yet we must admire his heroism, and admit that his incitement to arms, in the first instance, was a just and powerful extenuation of the illegality of his conduct. But it is of little importance now, whether he was jus tified or not in the course which he pursued. Years have rolled on, and repaired the ravages which he committed; the bones of his brave warriors have mouldered into dust; and no traces of his valiant exploits remain, save such as tradition will supply in the minds of his admiring countrymen. The laws which were enacted by the English Parliament, in consequence of the insurrection of Owain Glyndwr, subjected the Welsh to a state of bondage, if possible, more severe than that in which they were immersed previous to the rebellion. While they were yet in arms, the provisions of these statutes could not well be enforced; but no sooner was the rebellion quelled, than they were put into execution with the most relentless vigilance. And it must be confessed, that, rigorous as these measures were, the peculiar circumstances of the times fully justified the remorseless severity of the English Government. In 1400, (2 Hen. IV.,) an Act passed, by which all native Welshmen were incapacitated from purchasing property in England, or from being made burgesses in any of the English towns; and they were not allowed to hold any civil office whatever. In consequence, also, of the complaints which were daily made of the daring incursions of the Welsh borderers, (in which they frequently plundered the English lordships to a very large amount,) it was enacted, that, if res titution was not made within seven days after request had been made under the seal of the Sheriff, Mayor, or Bailiff of the place where the injured party dwelt, it was lawful for the aggrieved person to arrest any Welshman coming from the district where the plunderer resided, with goods or cattle for sale; and he was to be detained, although he bore no relation whatever to the robbers, until complete satisfaction had been rendered for the robbery. In 1402, the tumults in Wales seem to have engrossed a considerable portion of the attention of the Legislature, as several enactments were made, for the purpose of limiting the extension of the revolt. In the first place, it was ordained, that an Englishman marrying a Welshwoman should lose his privileges, and become incapable of enjoying any office in the Principality. No Englishman, by the same statute, (4 Hen. IV.,) could be convicted in Wales at the suit of a Welshman, unless by English justices, and on the evidence of English burgesses. It was also enacted, that there should be no " westours, rymours, ministralx, ou autres vacabondes, pur faire kymorthas, ou coillage," no wasters, rhymers, minstrels, or other vagabonds, to institute assemblies or collections; that no Welshman should bear arms; that no victual, arms, or ammunition, should be conveyed into Wales, "sanz speciale congee de nostre seig nur le Roy, ou de son conseil ;" and that no Welshman should possess or command any "chastel, fortresse, ne maison defensive;" but that the castles in Wales should be garrisoned by Englishmen, and by such as were estranges a les Seignories ou les ditz chastelx sont assiz." Such is the substance of the most important Acts passed in the reign of Henry the Fourth: his successor added others not quite so rigorous, and certainly more beneficial. The following relates to the abolition of a curious custom :-By the laws of Wales, the evidence of three hundred men was necessary for the acquittal of a foreigner accused of any crime or misdemeanor. This was called an Assach †, and as the twentieth part of this preposterous number of compurgators could very rarely be procured by an Englishman, the suspected criminal was liable to languish in prison for life. It was therefore enacted, (1 Hen. V., c. 6.) that every attempt to enforce this Some of these terms require explanation. "A player at wasters," Mr Barrington informs us, on the authority of Minshew, signifies " a cudgeller;" but an ingenious correspondent supposes it rather to imply a wrestler," from "wast," hodie waist. Mr Pennant, however, offers another signification. He supposes it corrupted from gwester, which, in Welsh, means "the proprietor of a place of public entertainment ;" and such a place, he observes, must have been very convenient for rendezvous of this Tours, Vol. III., p. 389. nature. The word kymortha is mis-spelt from the Welsh cymorth, (plural, cymorthau,) an assembly of people to assist each other in manual labour. They exist even at present, and there are cymorthau for spinning, for works of husbandry, and for other employments. But we are inclined to believe, that the cymorthau of that period were rather of a political character. "They were composed," says Mr Pennant," of men the most dreaded by tyrants and usurpers-of BARDS-who animated their countrymen, by recalling to their recollection the heroic exploits of their ancestors, and by relating, in soul-stirring poetry, their sanguinary and successful contests with the Saxons and the Normans." They revived, also, the remembrance of ancient prophecies, and shewed that, in the hero Glyndwr, descended from the illustrious race of their princes, was to be expected the completion of the fondly-cherished predictions of the oracular Merlin." The band of minstrels then struck up, and the harp and the pipe filled up the measure of that enthusiasm which their wild recitations had begun to inspire. The people afterwards rushed fearlessly to battle, and, like their ancestors, when excited by the chants of the Druids, despised that death which was destined to confer upon them an enviable immortality. -Inde ruendi In ferrum mens prona viris, animæque capaces, + This law is not contained in the ancient code of Hywel Dda, which did not, in any case, require more than forty-eight compurgators. It appears to have been enacted we know not with what right-subsequently to the Conquest, for the purpose, no doubt, of retaliating upon the English for their oppressive conduct towards the Welsh. The literal meaning of the word Assach seems to have mightily puzzled the learned. It was proposed as a query to the Society of Antiquaries, in the reign of James the First, when a Mr Jones, who appeared to be well versed in the language and antiquities of Wales, answered, that he could not pretend to interpret the word. Richards, however, in his Dictionary, renders it "oath." law should be a penal offence; and the punishment consisted of two years imprisonment, the payment of treble costs, and a fine and ransom, "devaunt qu'il soit deliverez hors de prisone." These laws, like those enacted by Edward at the Conquest, were abused in their execution to a most unjustifiable extent; and the condition of the Welsh, who were now exposed, with very inadequate means of resistance, to the full brunt of revengeful power, became forlorn and miserable in the extreme. Altogether deprived of the benefits arising from an impartial administration of justice, still pertinaciously attached to the unshackled customs of their ancestors, holding in utter detestation the English and their country, and burning with an eager desire of revenge, their first impulse was to endeavour to avenge the indignities which had been heaped upon them, and which they were daily receiving at the hands of their persecutors. For this purpose, they plundered and laid waste the lordships on the confines of England, with unceasing activity; and a species of petty warfare was established between the English and Welsh on the Borders, which was carried on with the utmost animosity and rancour. This system of mutual robbery and ra- So wretchedly were the Welsh situated in this respect, that they could obtain no relief whatever from the English Justices. To remedy this, a few of the principal landholders in North Wales assembled in different parts of the Principality, in order to enforce the observance of justice by their own influence, without any other legal sanction, and the following is a brief summary of the resolutions which they adopted. In the first place, it was agreed, that no cognizance should be taken of the offences committed during the actual period of the rebellion, but all wrongs inflicted before or after that turbulent time were to be redressed. Every one was to have his property restored to him, without law-suit; and any goods detained after the institution of this enactment, were to be considered as stolen; or if they were sold, the seller was to be fined ten pounds, and restitution made to the right owner. If the refractory person died, the demand continued against his widow, heirs, or executors; but if they, or she, denied the demand, the plaintiff must procure six compurgators, to swear to the right of his claim; but, like the English in cases of jury, the defendant was permitted to challenge any one of the six compurgators. After this, follow various regulations for restoring the government of the country in general, and several laws, relative to waifs, and estrays, vagrants, bail, recovery of debts, manslaughter, and theft. The code concludes with the valuation of the several goods and chattels for which satisfaction was to be made. For example, a horse, sound in wind and limb, was valued at ten shillings; a foal at twentypence; an ox at a mark; a cow at ten shillings: the hire of an ox, and the milk of a cow, were also valued. An ewe was reckoned worth sixteen pence, her wool fourpence, her milk twopence, and her lamb eightpence. As a proof of the high value of arms, a two-handed sword was valued at ten shillings, (the price of a horse, it will be observed,) a single-handed one at six shillings and eightpence, and a steel-buckler at two shillings and eightpence; a bow was valued at sixteenpence, and an arrow at sixpence. |