Product Description

Owain Glyn Dwr is arguably the most famous figure in the history of Wales. His revolt (1400-1409) was the last major Welsh rebellion against English rule. It established a measure of unity such as Wales had never previously experienced and generated a remarkable vision of Wales as an independent country with its own native prince, its own church, and its own universities. In the event, Owain's rebellion was defeated or, perhaps more correctly, burnt itself out. But Owain himself was not captured; and soon after his death he became a legendary hero among the Welsh people. In more recent times he has come to be regarded as the father of modern Welsh nationalism. Written by one of Britain's leading medieval historians, this book will appeal to those who are fascinated by national heroes in all periods. It is also of particular interest to those who are intrigued by this most famous movement in the history of Wales, and by the remarkable man who led the rebellion.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #362527 in Books
• Published on: 2001-09-27
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 424 pages

About the Author
Rees Davies is Chichele Professor of Medieval History at All Soul's College, Oxford, and is currently President of the Royal Historical Society. He is the author of The Age of Conquest: Wales 1063-1415, joint winner of the Wolfson Literary Award for History, 1987.

Customer Reviews

Great academic study of the Welsh war of independance.
This book is great, the only thing I disagreed with was the books title. However, the author (Davies) does describe how the events led to a full blown war of independance and one of the conclusions of the book is that the war could possibly have won if his luck had been better.

Chapters describe in depth the reasons for the revolt and the allies and enemies of Owain and his cause. He also describes how the war was fought and the aftermath and submission.

The bad luck for Owain was that the Scots were pacified, the French declared a truce with the English, Hotspur lost, the Irish were not interested in helping, and one of the winters was really bad. Much of this happened in one or two years. Also, Henry V proved to be a good tactician and tough adversary, much better than Henry IV.

The book is evidence based and the author is careful not to write anything without qualifying it with evidence and sources. It is still fairly easy to read and a very good read, I highly recommend it.

Gyn Dwr
I agree with Mr. Price's review. R R Davies is Welsh I would imagine (?), and yet the book would appear to be from an English slant. For example, the title could be chosen differently as the first reviewer noted.
I have enjoyed the book, but found that it is in frustratingly small font which unexpectedly changes sizes (even smaller) in the middle of a page.
I haven't found this to be an easy read, as the use of English is unsympathetic in my opinion. Sentences are often inordinately long...I've just taken a random page and there is one sentence 128 words long between full stops.
However, having said this, I found the content interesting and informative, and certainly usefull to anyone studying or interested this period fo Welsh history.