Battle of Bryn Glas

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Battle of Bryn Glas

Date	June 22, 1402 St Alban's Day
Location	Pilleth, Powys (2 miles north of Presteigne)
Result	Decisive Welsh victory

Combatants

Welsh

English

Commanders

Owain Glyndŵr

Sir Edmund Mortimer

Strength

~5000

~8000

Casualties

Unknown

Army destroyed

The Battle of Bryn Glas, grid reference SO253682, (sometimes referred to in English accounts as the Battle of Pilleth - although Bryn Glas translates as the grey or blue hill) was fought on June 22, 1402, near the towns of Knighton and Presteigne in Powys. It was a great victory for the Welsh rebels under Owain Glyndŵr, and it resulted in the prolongation of Glyndŵr's revolt and the destabilisation of English politics for several years afterwards.

1 Background
2 Battle
3 The contemporary site
4 Reconstructions
5 External links
6 Sources
7 See also

[edit] Background

Owain Glyndŵr's revolt had begun in 1400 as a private war with an English neighbour, and had rapidly grown into a national insurrection. In the classic pattern of insurgencies, his forces had progressed from hit-and-run attacks to seeking confrontation with major enemy forces.

King Henry IV had appointed Sir Edmund Mortimer as his principal lieutenant in the Marches. Mortimer was uncle of the Earl of March, and either of them had a better claim in theory to be King of England than Henry, but Edmund had so far loyally supported the new king. In any case, as a substantial holder of lands in Wales and on the borders, Mortimer had already suffered from the depredations of Glyndŵr's rebels and had much to lose should the revolt continue.

[edit] Battle

Mortimer's army, which numbered about 8,000, was seeking to bring Glyndŵr's smaller army to battle. Although the location was only just inside Wales, Glyndŵr undoubtedly had many local informants and sympathisers, and could plan a decisive battle. Probably, he had also been able to summon reinforcements from other parts of Wales, which moved rapidly over hill tracks, and was therefore far stronger than Mortimer realised.

Part of Glyndŵr's army, numbering perhaps 3,000, occupied a hillside above the valley along which Mortimer's army was advancing. Mortimer's army formed up and attacked directly up the steep slope. They suffered severely from Glyndŵr's bowmen, who had the advantage of height, before being able to fight hand-to-hand. When they were fully engaged, they were attacked in the flank and rear by the other half of Glyndŵr's army which had been concealed in woods on the English right flank. Further disruption and panic were caused when Welsh contingents in Mortimer's army defected, and attacked their former comrades.

It is said that immediately after the battle, many English corpses were mutilated by Welsh women camp followers, in revenge for a punitive expedition by Henry IV the previous year which had been marked by many acts of brutality and rape.

Mortimer was captured, and subsequently renounced his allegiance to Henry, put forward his nephew's claim to the throne of England and married Glyndŵr's daughter Caitrin.

The battle is mentioned by William Shakespeare in Henry IV, Part 1 :

“

the noble Mortimer,

Leading the men of Herefordshire to fight,
Against the wild and irregular Glendower,
Was by the rude hand of that Welshman taken,
A thousand of his people butchered

”

[edit] The contemporary site

A church that predates the battle and a stand of Wellingtonia planted to commemorate it, mark the actual site of the battle. There is limited parking at the recently renovated church.

In the grounds of St Mary's Church is a spring-fed well; testament to ancient celtic connections[1].

[edit] Reconstructions

A computer-animated reconstruction of the battle was featured in the BBC series, "Battlefield Britain", narrated by Peter Snow.

[edit] External links

BBC "Battlefield Britain"

[edit] Sources

Famous Welsh Battles, Philip Warner, Fontana, 1977, ISBN 0-00-634151-9
The Revolt of Owain Glyn Dwr, R. R. Davies, Oxford Paperbacks, 1995, ISBN 0-19-285336-8