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Owain Glyndwr: The Story of the Last Prince of Wales
If it had not been for Owain Glyndŵr's 15-year struggle against overwhelming odds, the Welsh would not have survived as Europe's oldest nation. His war is the defining era in the history of Wales. Yet Glyndŵr is hardly known a cultured, literate warrior who was never betrayed or captured and vanished into history. No less than six separate invasions were beaten back by Glyndŵr's army of volunteers before he disappeared, his family and children either dead or imprisoned for life. Not for Glyndŵr the brutal public death of Braveheart, nor a grave to desecrate only an immortal legacy of hope and freedom. His war of independence led the way for the success of another mab darogan (son of prophecy) seven decades later, when a Welsh army won at Bosworth Field and the Tudor dynasty was founded.
This book tells us how Glyndŵr came to stir Wales into war, and why his name still resonates today as one of the greatest warriors the world has ever seen.
'A scholarly but highly readable book on a timely subject'.
The Good Book Guide
This book tells us how Glyndŵr came to stir Wales into war, and why his name still resonates today as one of the greatest warriors the world has ever seen.
'A scholarly but highly readable book on a timely subject'.
The Good Book Guide
222 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2009
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173 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
November 3, 2016
For a Welsh person, I used to know sadly little about Owain Glyndŵr. I knew he was a national hero, and I knew a tiny little bit about the history surrounding his revolts. He was mentioned, briefly, in one of my high school history textbooks, as a violent and dangerous criminal; the rest I sort of absorbed by osmosis, or from brief appearances in fiction like Silver on the Tree (Susan Cooper).
Well, now I ‘know’ a lot more facts and figures, though I’m not sure how well they’re going to stick. While the style itself is readable, it felt like a long list of facts from the beginning, with the lightning-quick tour of English-Welsh history prior to Glyndŵr’s time. It didn’t really get much better once talking about Owain himself. And the bias is — well, I’m not against pointing out all the things the English (speaking abstractly, not of any one person, government, time period, etc) have done to the Welsh over time; there’s been a lot of really terrible behaviour. But there was something blinkered about this — calling Henry Tudor’s ascent to the throne a victory for Wales seems a little off, and I highly doubt that it was ever just the English being savage when it came to war and contested borders.
I don’t know how you can manage to make your facts dry and unmemorable, without much commentary, yet also give such a strong impression of only considering one side of the story. I’m not sure I’d recommend this as a biography of Glyndŵr, though unfortunately I don’t know of a better one.
Originally posted here.
Well, now I ‘know’ a lot more facts and figures, though I’m not sure how well they’re going to stick. While the style itself is readable, it felt like a long list of facts from the beginning, with the lightning-quick tour of English-Welsh history prior to Glyndŵr’s time. It didn’t really get much better once talking about Owain himself. And the bias is — well, I’m not against pointing out all the things the English (speaking abstractly, not of any one person, government, time period, etc) have done to the Welsh over time; there’s been a lot of really terrible behaviour. But there was something blinkered about this — calling Henry Tudor’s ascent to the throne a victory for Wales seems a little off, and I highly doubt that it was ever just the English being savage when it came to war and contested borders.
I don’t know how you can manage to make your facts dry and unmemorable, without much commentary, yet also give such a strong impression of only considering one side of the story. I’m not sure I’d recommend this as a biography of Glyndŵr, though unfortunately I don’t know of a better one.
Originally posted here.
March 15, 2013
Author Terry Breverton begins with English and Welsh history from 1066 to 1378. Then he zeros in on the historical character of Owain Glyndwr. Glyndwr the warrior Prince who raised up an army against the brute injustice of England. Glyndwr who fought for a continuance of an Independent nation of Wales. Glyndwr who became a legend for the people of Wales, and a mighty hero of valor.
Owain Glyndwr's birth has been given in three dates: 1349, 1354, and 1355. "The most accredited date is 28 May 1354". Three major bloodlines were in him. He studied at Oxford or Cambridge, possibly studying law. He married, and had six sons, 7 daughters. When Glyndwr went to war against England, Henry II had taken the throne. The year was 1400. The war would last 15 years.
Terry Breverton through documented research, plus a strong dedication for the truth of Welsh history, has written a remarkable historical book.
This is the second book on Welsh history I've read by Terry Breverton, I'm just amazed at his dedication to study and research in his topics. I'm even more amazed at his candor in wanting accurate information given about Welsh history.
The primary theme is Owain Glyndwr, yet several other historical figures were written about.
Richard II
House of Plantagenet
John of Gaunt
Edmund Mortimer
Earl of Warwick
Henry IV
Tudor family
The description of the individual battles are given; but also France's role in the war, political intrigue in England, the suffering of the Welsh people during the war, Glyndwr's stark determination and military prowess, and the influence he's had through the generations.
I felt the book was well-written, organized and arranged well, and very interesting. There are 32 color photographs of Wales which includes the various locations of interest from the book.
Thank you to Amberley for my free review copy.
Owain Glyndwr's birth has been given in three dates: 1349, 1354, and 1355. "The most accredited date is 28 May 1354". Three major bloodlines were in him. He studied at Oxford or Cambridge, possibly studying law. He married, and had six sons, 7 daughters. When Glyndwr went to war against England, Henry II had taken the throne. The year was 1400. The war would last 15 years.
Terry Breverton through documented research, plus a strong dedication for the truth of Welsh history, has written a remarkable historical book.
This is the second book on Welsh history I've read by Terry Breverton, I'm just amazed at his dedication to study and research in his topics. I'm even more amazed at his candor in wanting accurate information given about Welsh history.
The primary theme is Owain Glyndwr, yet several other historical figures were written about.
Richard II
House of Plantagenet
John of Gaunt
Edmund Mortimer
Earl of Warwick
Henry IV
Tudor family
The description of the individual battles are given; but also France's role in the war, political intrigue in England, the suffering of the Welsh people during the war, Glyndwr's stark determination and military prowess, and the influence he's had through the generations.
I felt the book was well-written, organized and arranged well, and very interesting. There are 32 color photographs of Wales which includes the various locations of interest from the book.
Thank you to Amberley for my free review copy.
October 30, 2022
Biography of the famous Welsh rebel/revolutionary. I vaguely knew Glyndwr's story, mainly through Horrible Histories, so it was interesting to read up on this man's life. I found the writing a little dry at times and there was a lot of reprinting of passages from early 20th century biographies. The small text didn't help matters either.
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October 8, 2025I didn't finish Owain Glyndwr (Apologies but I am unable to put the special character on 'w').
Often times I am able to push through dry history books if I feel that the information offered is interesting. I gained a lot of interesting knowledge on the culture of my Hen Cymru but so much of this book is honestly dry and uninteresting. The first chapter was highly enlightening on the role that Wales played in the politics of Europe in general during the middle ages but this position that Breverton elaborated on was always threatened by obvious and unscholarly bias. I'm all for this sort of decolonial attitude in many ways but it felt like this book was written more by the nationalists down the pub then by a scholar who should be commited to clear standards. Perhaps it offers insights into Owain's life I didn't know but as someone who has had a vested interest in this character since high school where I had to learn about him for a significant portion of a year, I highly doubt that.
Breverton has written scholarly articles and produced serious scholarly work on business (as I read in Wikipedia and have not read nor investigated further), so I also question why this book was written so poorly. Many other reviews have pointed to the incessant use of quotes that are so far from embedded, some take up entire pages and are used to reveal new information. Scholars should acknowledge their sources while writing in their own unique voice avoiding overly long verbatim quotes that threaten the fluidity of reading. I'm talking about the fluidity of reading primarily in the sense of popualr history in all fairness and not so much scholarly work (which we all agree does not read fluidly), Breverton is writing popular history though and to that degree not only should the writing be fluid in its lack of quotes but also in its lack of dryness. Staying on quotes for a minte, I read Morris' 'Anglo-Saxons' this year as well and was able to finish it in a week despite its sizeable page count. That is all down to Morris' engaging writing that lacked dryness and also avoided long quotes in their entirety. Their are short quotes of primary sources followed by cited conclusions based off of secondary scholarly work. Morris writes that in his own voice and doesn't threaten the piece with actually quoting his secondary sources like Breverton; who also will quote suspiciously Victorian secondary sources without any analysis or critical points.
On critical thinking, it is critical insights and analysis that often give historical writing pace and interest. Reading Breverton, and this is why I didn't finish it and why the writing is dry, is exhausting because as a reader you feel you must be the only one who draws critical insights. Great popular history is a conversation between you and a writer on the past and the sources. Yes they must expound on events for the average reader to understand and I know that many consumers of popular history are primarily invested in the events of the period. So am I when I commit to reading a history book I want to know about said historical period or figure. I think though that even the average reader, once understanding the narrative, finds analysis and critical speculation hte priamary interesting aspects of a history book. The "What really happened" is the core driver of the best true crime and in a similar, but admittedly far more nerdy way, so is the best history writing. Listening to an interesting episode of 'The Rest is History' is all you need to understand this.
In short; the dryness and over quoting of Breverton's writing, along with his commited bias and lack of critical insights or analysis, ensure that this book is a boring, dry and exhausting read. It does provide unique insights in its first chapter into Wales position in its conflict with England and its place in Europe but its bias betrays my trust in its accuracy and I cannot recommend it. Perhaps the book provides unique insights into Owain's life I've yet to encounter but to encounter it with no scholarly exercises in analysis or critical thinking would lead me to question this information anyway.
Yma o Hyd
Often times I am able to push through dry history books if I feel that the information offered is interesting. I gained a lot of interesting knowledge on the culture of my Hen Cymru but so much of this book is honestly dry and uninteresting. The first chapter was highly enlightening on the role that Wales played in the politics of Europe in general during the middle ages but this position that Breverton elaborated on was always threatened by obvious and unscholarly bias. I'm all for this sort of decolonial attitude in many ways but it felt like this book was written more by the nationalists down the pub then by a scholar who should be commited to clear standards. Perhaps it offers insights into Owain's life I didn't know but as someone who has had a vested interest in this character since high school where I had to learn about him for a significant portion of a year, I highly doubt that.
Breverton has written scholarly articles and produced serious scholarly work on business (as I read in Wikipedia and have not read nor investigated further), so I also question why this book was written so poorly. Many other reviews have pointed to the incessant use of quotes that are so far from embedded, some take up entire pages and are used to reveal new information. Scholars should acknowledge their sources while writing in their own unique voice avoiding overly long verbatim quotes that threaten the fluidity of reading. I'm talking about the fluidity of reading primarily in the sense of popualr history in all fairness and not so much scholarly work (which we all agree does not read fluidly), Breverton is writing popular history though and to that degree not only should the writing be fluid in its lack of quotes but also in its lack of dryness. Staying on quotes for a minte, I read Morris' 'Anglo-Saxons' this year as well and was able to finish it in a week despite its sizeable page count. That is all down to Morris' engaging writing that lacked dryness and also avoided long quotes in their entirety. Their are short quotes of primary sources followed by cited conclusions based off of secondary scholarly work. Morris writes that in his own voice and doesn't threaten the piece with actually quoting his secondary sources like Breverton; who also will quote suspiciously Victorian secondary sources without any analysis or critical points.
On critical thinking, it is critical insights and analysis that often give historical writing pace and interest. Reading Breverton, and this is why I didn't finish it and why the writing is dry, is exhausting because as a reader you feel you must be the only one who draws critical insights. Great popular history is a conversation between you and a writer on the past and the sources. Yes they must expound on events for the average reader to understand and I know that many consumers of popular history are primarily invested in the events of the period. So am I when I commit to reading a history book I want to know about said historical period or figure. I think though that even the average reader, once understanding the narrative, finds analysis and critical speculation hte priamary interesting aspects of a history book. The "What really happened" is the core driver of the best true crime and in a similar, but admittedly far more nerdy way, so is the best history writing. Listening to an interesting episode of 'The Rest is History' is all you need to understand this.
In short; the dryness and over quoting of Breverton's writing, along with his commited bias and lack of critical insights or analysis, ensure that this book is a boring, dry and exhausting read. It does provide unique insights in its first chapter into Wales position in its conflict with England and its place in Europe but its bias betrays my trust in its accuracy and I cannot recommend it. Perhaps the book provides unique insights into Owain's life I've yet to encounter but to encounter it with no scholarly exercises in analysis or critical thinking would lead me to question this information anyway.
Yma o Hyd
February 17, 2021
The Author makes a valid point right at the beginning - this is a name we in the UK know little about. I have memories of learning history, including from the degree I completed, and there's not a mention of Owain, not even a sniff. Fair enough, he's mentioned briefly in Shakespeare, and it's possible by learning about Henry V before his kingship that we can get glimpses in some history books, but the English are not and never will be fans of those who fight against them: they erase them from history. Or so they've done with Glyndwr.
And yet here is the man, the freedom fighter, in all his glory, finally. A romantic character, a welsh man who melted back into the mountains after he lost the war for freedom. In years to come, the IRA will continue to be seen as terrorists and not freedom fighters, and the bombings were technically terrorist acts, but when you look at the support from other places that the IRA received, you'll see the opposite side, the freedom fighters, come through!
Well written, fascinating, thought-provoking and comprehensive, this book is worth reading, simply to see Henry V as a man who didn't always win, though Agincourt was an exercise in French bad luck and bad judgement rather than the underdog winning a battle. After all, the chevauchees in France could be seen in the same light as the IRA or the Welsh resistance shown in this book. The Welsh later took over by killing Richard III, and then destroying his reputation, and to make things even better, the king then married his daughter to the King of Scotland, and their progeny then became Kings and Queens of England too. Before that it was the Northmen and the Germanic tribes, and later came the Germans once again to make the English royals decidedly un-English.
The only true Britons left were then in Wales, and in Brittany, though just how much of their blood is left is a matter for geneticists!
And yet here is the man, the freedom fighter, in all his glory, finally. A romantic character, a welsh man who melted back into the mountains after he lost the war for freedom. In years to come, the IRA will continue to be seen as terrorists and not freedom fighters, and the bombings were technically terrorist acts, but when you look at the support from other places that the IRA received, you'll see the opposite side, the freedom fighters, come through!
Well written, fascinating, thought-provoking and comprehensive, this book is worth reading, simply to see Henry V as a man who didn't always win, though Agincourt was an exercise in French bad luck and bad judgement rather than the underdog winning a battle. After all, the chevauchees in France could be seen in the same light as the IRA or the Welsh resistance shown in this book. The Welsh later took over by killing Richard III, and then destroying his reputation, and to make things even better, the king then married his daughter to the King of Scotland, and their progeny then became Kings and Queens of England too. Before that it was the Northmen and the Germanic tribes, and later came the Germans once again to make the English royals decidedly un-English.
The only true Britons left were then in Wales, and in Brittany, though just how much of their blood is left is a matter for geneticists!
February 15, 2022
I might have been able to look past the blatant Welsh nationalism if this book had been well written. Unfortunately, 'Owain Glyndwr: The Story of the Last Prince of Wales' was not. Politics aside, this was just not a good biography. I learned nothing from it other than the Welsh engaged in Guerrilla tactics. Breverton's style was incredibly dry when he did write, and most of this book is just quotes from other authors with no analysis. To my limited knowledge, he somehow missed the most interesting part of Glyndwr's story: his chosen one narrative. Glyndwr never chose to be a revolutionary 'hero.' Instead, that title was thrust upon him. That should have been the ongoing narrative in this biography. Instead, Breverton just dryly repeats the same facts throughout the book.
Add to all this the Welsh nationalism and the authors need to comment on wind turbines ruining the landscape (why would he want to support sustainable energy?!), and I really did not enjoy this book. Welsh nationalism is not a problem in itself, but it influenced and biased Breverton's biography. I think there is a lot to admire in Glyndwr, but the war was not as cut and dry (Welsh = good/ English = bad) as Breverton makes it seem. Read any other history book, and you will find this out.
Because of this, I can only recommend this book to people intensely interested in the titled figure or the period. It has been a disappointing year all around concerning biographies for me.
Add to all this the Welsh nationalism and the authors need to comment on wind turbines ruining the landscape (why would he want to support sustainable energy?!), and I really did not enjoy this book. Welsh nationalism is not a problem in itself, but it influenced and biased Breverton's biography. I think there is a lot to admire in Glyndwr, but the war was not as cut and dry (Welsh = good/ English = bad) as Breverton makes it seem. Read any other history book, and you will find this out.
Because of this, I can only recommend this book to people intensely interested in the titled figure or the period. It has been a disappointing year all around concerning biographies for me.
June 17, 2021
Firstly, ignore the Goodreads blurb accompanying the book. This is neither a ‘full scale’ biography or a first; it is a small scale paperback of 150 pages, and the author himself cites J.E.Lloyds biography “Owen Glendower / Owain Glyn Dwr” of 1931 as the most important. The blurb, like the book itself is pretty shameless propaganda for Welsh Nationalism.
It is difficult to believe that the author is an academic, given the narrative of the story is often at odds with the limited evidence it presents..
Glyn Dwr was a very comfortably off member of the Welsh gentry, thanks to the fleecing of the ordinary workers and tenants of his large landholdings. He fought imperialist war against France for England, and only rebelled when he didn’t receive the honour, land and prestige he felt he deserved.
He was sadistic and laid waste to the land and homes of those who didn’t ‘support him’. In other words he was running a protection racket, and put the lives and livelihoods of the inhabitants of Wales at great risk. He declared himself ‘Prince of Wales’ on the basis of his own ego from what I can see. Yet somehow or other, he is considered a national hero….I remain to be convinced, and I defy anyone to read this little tome with an open mind and explain his heroism.
It is difficult to believe that the author is an academic, given the narrative of the story is often at odds with the limited evidence it presents..
Glyn Dwr was a very comfortably off member of the Welsh gentry, thanks to the fleecing of the ordinary workers and tenants of his large landholdings. He fought imperialist war against France for England, and only rebelled when he didn’t receive the honour, land and prestige he felt he deserved.
He was sadistic and laid waste to the land and homes of those who didn’t ‘support him’. In other words he was running a protection racket, and put the lives and livelihoods of the inhabitants of Wales at great risk. He declared himself ‘Prince of Wales’ on the basis of his own ego from what I can see. Yet somehow or other, he is considered a national hero….I remain to be convinced, and I defy anyone to read this little tome with an open mind and explain his heroism.
July 13, 2023
Absolutely excellent. I've always been a bit embarrased that my knowledge of this legend of a man was quite basic, and this book was exactly what I needed. Detailed but easy to follow, this fleshes out the character and the war, along with tons of information about the first Lancastrian kings (I'd never known much about Henry IV outside the absolute basics and the Shakespeare plays, which are hardly noted for their historical accuracy!).
Though it obviously sympathises with Glyndwr and his rebellion, the book is also objective and not (as I've seen elsewhere) written with a slant of nationalist propaganda. We get the historical facts sprinkled with the author's opinion, rather than the other way around. That opinion lends just enough heart to the book while keeping it true to history.
If you're at all interested in medieval Wales, I can strongly recommend.
Though it obviously sympathises with Glyndwr and his rebellion, the book is also objective and not (as I've seen elsewhere) written with a slant of nationalist propaganda. We get the historical facts sprinkled with the author's opinion, rather than the other way around. That opinion lends just enough heart to the book while keeping it true to history.
If you're at all interested in medieval Wales, I can strongly recommend.
June 28, 2021
A good oversight of the life of Wales' favourite son.
The author draws on numerous historical sources but has the annoying habit of including large portions of text that reference events that happen much later chronologically, leading to the reader wonder if they missed part of the story.
He also mentions his dislike of wind turbines on three different occasions which was incredibly strange and unnecessary.
The author draws on numerous historical sources but has the annoying habit of including large portions of text that reference events that happen much later chronologically, leading to the reader wonder if they missed part of the story.
He also mentions his dislike of wind turbines on three different occasions which was incredibly strange and unnecessary.
February 4, 2021
Detailed insight into the last Prince of Wales. Ashamed that I knew so little of Welsh history as a Welshman.
May 20, 2024
Interesting period of history, but presented in a very one sided way
November 19, 2024
Great book on the subject. If you know nothing about Owain Glyndwr this is the first book you should read.
August 19, 2024
Not much of a narrative, rather a presentation of facts, with obvious strong bias from Welsh perspective.
Can be difficult to read, especially when a lot of the information is getting repeated in snippets from primary/secondary sources (which are sometimes repeated).
Certainly learned a lot about glyndwr, and his interesting connection with the Tudor
Can be difficult to read, especially when a lot of the information is getting repeated in snippets from primary/secondary sources (which are sometimes repeated).
Certainly learned a lot about glyndwr, and his interesting connection with the Tudor
October 14, 2016
This book has ever fact, date and name that you would ever need, and even provides alternate dates in the many cases of uncertainty that exist. Hard to read because of its dryness, I wish I could have come away with a greater sense of awe of this great hero.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews