He went on to serve the Crown as a soldier against the Scots, and wearing a scarlet flamingo feather as his crest, he drove the Scotsmen before him with only the butt of his broken lance!

He married the daughter of an Anglo-Welsh judge, fathering six sons with remarkable speed, and led a very peaceful life on his pleasant estates.

But in September, 1400, when he was 50, he organised a rebellion against the English king, Henry IV and claimed the title, Prince of Wales.

He suddenly became popular and Welsh students, seeing in him the leader they had been looking for, left their universities and joined him. Welsh labourers threw down their hoes and joined the national uprising!

Owen’s men quickly spread through North-East Wales. Ruthin, Denbigh, Rhuddlan, Flint, Hawarden, Holt, Oswestry and Welshpool fell quickly. Simultaneously, the Tudor brothers from Anglesey launched a guerrilla war against the English. The Tudors were a prominent Anglesey family and cousins of Owen.

Owen's cause continued to grew fast - in 1401, despite English expeditions to north and south Wales his stature grew as a national hero. The whole of northern and central Wales went over to Owain.

In 1402 the sighting of a great comet in the sky was taken by Owen's followers to be a sign of victory and they captured Owen's enemy Reginald Grey of Ruthin. Ruthin was later released on the payment of a ransom of £6,666.

Owen was blessed with a sound common sense, and when Edmund Mortimer, the King's nephew was captured, he did not demand a ransom for him, but married him instead to his daughter Catherine. Now Owen was on course for not only the throne of Wales, but for that of England too!

Owen continued to fight the English but after the battle at Woodbury Hill near Worcester in 1405 he retreated to Wales.

In Wales, Owen issued the Pennal Manifesto on the future of the Welsh Church and was supported by most of the churchmen. Not all of the churchmen were loyal however.

Before the battle of Pwll Melyn in 1406, the story goes that a friar had preached with great spirit that all who fell in the battle would sup that night in heaven! As it became obvious that defeat for Owen's men was in the wind, the friar tried to slip away, but some soldiers caught him and pointed out to him that he was missing the chance of a heavenly banquet; he smartly informed them that this was one of his fast days, and scurried away.

By now, one by one, Owen's castles were falling to the English, his wife and children were captured, and by 1410 he had become a hunted bandit.

Yet he lived on and was never captured!

Where did he go? His whereabouts were never known, only fragments of information kept coming until 1416 when he was believed to have died somewhere in Herefordshire.

Like the legend of King Arthur, Welsh legend has it that when Wales is threatened again, he will rise in order to lead the defence of Wales. The year 2000 saw the 600th anniversary of  of the rising and was commemorated throughout Wales. Owen’s personal standard (the quartered arms of Powys and Deheubarth rampant) is now to be seen all over Wales -  especially at rugby matches against the English!

Useful links:
Heritage Accommodation in Wales

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