Welsh Voices

Owain Glyndŵr and the Mortimers

Gareth Jones, Cymdeithas Owain Glyndŵr Society

 

Sunday, September 20th 2026, 2pm ET / 1pm CT / 12pm MT / 11am PT / 7pm Cymru/Wales, held on Zoom

Free but registration is required. (registration link: Welsh Voices: Owain Glyndŵr – Fill out form)

 

In June 1402, Owain Glyndŵr’s army defeated a large English force at the battle of Bryn Glas near Knighton; the English were led by Sir Edmund Mortimer, who was captured after the battle and then held for ransom by Glyndŵr.

 

This talk will describe the battle, then go on to explore Mortimer’s relationship with Glyndŵr - and particularly his daughter, Catrin. Edmund married Catrin immediately after his release from six months in captivity, when he also announced his allegiance to Owain’s cause.

 

A number of Glyndŵr’s other daughters had married into prominent English families, but Edmund and Catrin’s union was the most significant; the Mortimer family was powerful, and Edmund’s young nephew, the earl of March, potentially had a stronger claim to the English throne than the king, Henry IV.

 

Owain’s War of Independence had begun in September 1400 and technically did not end until his last remaining son, Maredudd, accepted a pardon in 1421. For all intents and purposes, however, his fight ended in February 1409 with the fall of Harlech Castle after a siege in which Edmund Mortimer had died and his family then captured.

 

 

Cymdeithas Owain Glyndŵr was founded in 1996 with the aim of promoting the name and story of the last native Prince of Wales. The year 2000 marked the 600th anniversary of the start of Glyndŵr’s War of Independence and the Society unveiled a monument in Machynlleth to commemorate this. Since then, the Society has continued to promote this important episode in our history at events around the country and through its website and Facebook pages. In recent years it has promoted Glyndŵr’s story in the new History curriculum in Welsh schools, and in November 2026 the Society will celebrate its 30th anniversary.

 

 

Gareth Jones, B.Sc., M.A., is a retired schoolteacher with a lifelong interest in Welsh history and Glyndŵr’s story, in particular. He has been the Secretary of Cymdeithas Owain Glyndŵr since 2014, and has given talks on behalf of the Society on a range of topics involving Owain Glyndŵr and other aspects of medieval Welsh history. Gareth is responsible for the Society’s Facebook page, and both he and other Members of the Society have contributed material to a variety of books and magazine articles in order to promote Glyndŵr’s name and story.

 

Website: owain-glyndwr.wales or owain-glyndwr.cymru

Facebook: Cymdeithas Owain Glyndŵr Society

 

Register here: Welsh Voices: Owain Glyndŵr – Fill out form