Owain Glyndŵr, Classroom Worksheet

The story

On 16 September 1400, a Welsh lord called Owain Glyndŵr raised his banner at Glyndyfrdwy and declared himself Prince of Wales. The Welsh came to him from every valley. By 1404 most of Wales answered to Owain, and he summoned a Welsh parliament at Machynlleth, the first in the country's history.

Two years later, on 31 March 1406, at Pennal in Merionethshire, he sealed a letter to the King of France setting out what Wales would be. The rising was crushed by 1412. His wife Margaret, his daughter Catrin, and his grandchildren died in the Tower of London. Owain vanished into the mountains and was never seen again.

But the letter survived. Every word he wrote in 1406 has now come true. It took over six centuries. He didn't fail. He kept the vision alive for the future of Wales.

Timeline

1282

Edward I conquers Wales

1400

Banner raised at Glyndyfrdwy

1404

Machynlleth Parliament

1406

The Pennal Letter

1412

Glyndŵr vanishes

2020

The Senedd

The four demands of the Pennal Letter (1406)

An independent Welsh church. Free of Canterbury, the Welsh church to govern itself.

Two Welsh universities. One in the north, one in the south, so Welsh children would never again have to leave Wales to learn.

Welsh-speaking priests. Every Welsh church to have clergy who spoke the language of the people.

Welsh people governing themselves. In their own tongue. By their own laws.

Test yourself

In what year did Owain Glyndŵr raise his banner at Glyndyfrdwy?

Whose laws were set aside after the English conquest of 1282?

In which town was the Pennal Letter sealed?

Where can the Pennal Letter still be seen today?

In what year was the National Assembly for Wales first opened?

Your turn

If you were writing down what these islands should be in 600 years, what would you put in your letter?