Owain Glyndwr
Owain Glyndwr was born in the mid fourteenth century. A lawyer of the Inns of Court in London, a knight and favourite of Richard II, he is more closely associated with Corwen than with any other part of Wales.
Descended from Llewelyn ap Grufydd, the last Welsh Prince of Wales, Owain's family seat was in the Vale of Edeyrnion at Glyndyfrdwy on the banks of the River Dee near Corwen.
His name Glyndwr was derived from the Glen of Dyfrdwy - the Welsh name meaning 'sacred water'.
After six centuries Owain Glyndwr is still a hero, remembered for his courageous attempt to restore freedom to his people and to his beloved Wales. The Glyndwr Rebellion, which was to last for fifteen years, started in a private quarrel between Reginald De Grey, Lord of Ruthin and Owain, concerning the boundaries between their respective Lordships of Glyndyfrdwy and Ruthin.
Any Welshman, including Owain Glyndwr, who had a supported the deposed Richard II was suspect and had no chance of restitution in the event of a dispute. De Grey was a favourite of the new King Henry IV, who chose not to listen to claims by Owain Glyndwr that Lord Grey had taken over large tracts of his land. So the proud main, showered with insult and malice, decided like a Marcher Lord to avenge his honour with his sword.
In due course this action developed into a national rebellion, and by 1405 Owain Glyndwr ruled the whole of Wales; however by 1415 the war was over, Owain Glyndwr had died, no-one knows where or how, for no one had betrayed him, he lives on still... if only in legend.
