CYMDEITHAS OWAIN GLYNDWR

THE OWAIN GLYNDWR SOCIETY

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MYNEGAI Y Gymdeithas Amcanion y Gymdeithas Yr hyn mae'r Gymdeithas wedi'i gyflawni Y gofeb Yr apel yn y wasg Cylchlythr Darlith "Owain Glyndwr a Chymru" Erthygl Cambria : Brwydr Castell Conwy Erthygl Cambria : Brwydr Mynydd Hyddgen Erthygl Cambria : Brwydr Bryn Glas  Pobl y Mileniwm Ffurflen aelodaeth Cardiau ar werth Swyddogion y Gymdeithas Llyfryddiaeth Cymdeithasau a diddordebau tebyg Map o Gymru Mapiau hynafiaethol   Cilmeri.Com, Connections to Wales http://www.cilmeri.com/ Wales on the Web! - Cymru ar y We!    INDEX The Society Forthcoming events  The Society's aims The Society’s achievements The memorial Press coverage of the appeal May Newsletter  Glyndwr’s place in Welsh history Darlith "Owain Glyndwr a Chymru"  Battles for Wales : Castell Conwy Battles for Wales : Mynydd Hyddgen  Battles for Wales : Bryn Glas People of the Millennium Membership form Greetings Cards The Society’s officers Bibliography Societies with similar interests Map of Wales Antiquarian maps     http://www.homecomingwales2000.com   Cilmeri.Com, Connections to Wales http://www.cilmeri.com/

NEW BID FOR LETTER FROM GLYNDWR PHIL DAVIES (Western Mail April 1999) An attempt is being made to have the priceless Pennal Letter and Seal of Owain Glyndwr brought back to Wales from France for the opening of the National Assembly for Wales. France has kept the artefacts ever since Glyndwr sent them to Paris in 1406 and so far all attempts to get them back for display in Wales have failed. The Owain Glyndwr Society has written to the Queen and to French President Jacques Chirac to try to have the relics on loan in Wales for the visit by the Queen and the Prince of Wales on May 26. The society said it was a golden opportunity for making the link between Wales’s last sitting parliament and the arrival of an Assembly. It also said the Queen would be making a tremendous gesture to Wales and encouraging modern-day harmony if she were able to see the relics. The case for having the Letter and Seal on loan from the National Library of Paris next month has been set out in a personal letter from the Society to the Queen which says, “The society feels it would be a significant, symbolic event if the Pennal Letter and seal of Glyndwr, emanating from the Welsh Parliament of 1404, were to be made available for your Majesty and the Prince to see. “We think that the Welsh people would appreciate gratefully such a gesture that would link the last Welsh Parliament with the new constitutional relationship as we move into the millennium.” The Society's letter said the exact burial site of Glyndwr was unknown, making the letter and seal among the few remaining physical links with him. A similar letter to President Chirac emphasises the historical significance to Wales of the letter and seal, which are kept from public view in Paris. Owain Glyndwr Society member Tony Carter, of Pontypridd, said, “This could cement relationships and be a great gesture. There is also a horse’s martingale with coat of arms in our national museum and it would be nice if that was made available for display as well on an Owain Glyndwr stand.” The Pennal Letter was drafted after Glyndwr was crowned Prince of Wales and descended on Pennal, just outside Machynlleth, with his courtiers, clerics and intellectuals for a meeting of parliament. It was a momentous period in Welsh history because the man born at Sycharth, near Oswestry, had swept the bulk of England’s military machine out of the country and established his own rule. To maintain Welsh independence in the face of a determined English crown Glyndwr needed allies, and the Pennal Letter was part of a complex series of negotiations going on at the time. Proposals set down on goatskin parchment were sent to the French Pope at Avignon at a time when Catholicism was divided. Glyndwr offered to transfer his allegiance from the Roman Pope, who was supported by England’s King Henry IV, in return for certain conditions. French support allied to the backing of Yorkist factions would have given him an even stronger hand to hold on to Wales after the uprising against English rule. Among those who dream of the letter coming home to Wales is the Rev Geraint ap Iorwerth, of Pennal, the prime mover in a group called MCDVI-1406 which thought it had secured an agreement with the French several years ago for a temporary display at the National Library in Aberystwyth and at Pennal itself. But the transfer never materialised, causing deep disappointment at a time when Scotland’s most precious relic, the Stone of Scone, was returned permanently from England after 700 years. Mr ap Iorwerth said every effort had been made to reach agreement with the French, including a visit to Paris when he was allowed to see the letter. “It was in a cardboard envelope file,” he said. “I thought there would be a lot of razzmatazz with handing it over but there wasn’t. “So I opened this file and it was just incredible, one of the few things I have touched and had a tingling feeling down my back. It is one of the great documents in Welsh history and the paradox is that it belongs to the French yet was produced by the last Welsh assembly and Owain Glyndwr. It is not the same as Magna Carta but it does carry that sort of magic and we cannot overstate its importance to Wales.”  The Pennal Letter was returned to Wales for six months during 2000 before being returned to Paris. Possibly more Glyndwr documents could exist! PHIL DAVIES (Western Mail April 2000) EXPATRIATE admirers of Owain Glyndwr are to investigate whether there are more of his priceless documents being kept in secret abroad. Suspicion that other artifacts might exist has been raised by a researcher with the Owain Glyndwr Society. Tony Carter, of Pontypridd, said he was delighted that the Pennal Letter and royal seal of Glyndwr were back in Wales for six months in a public exhibition. But he is convinced similar docurnents exist from the time before Glyndwr's power waned around 1409. Mr Carter said it was possible that letters containing proposals for alliances and strategies against the English throne had been kept in secret by the French and by the Catholic Church. "It is highly unlikely that Glyndwr would have written one letter only to the French during the time he held power in Wales," said Mr Carter. "That means there could be other immensely historic artefacts that could be brought back to Wales for exhibiting in addition to the Pennal Letter." Research in France is to be carried out by expatriate Welsh people who have been following the fortunes of the Owain Glyndwr Society avidly. These expatriates are known as the Paris Group and they will spend the next few weeks checking out the possibilities with French historians, museurns and personal contacts. "It is quite possible that the church over there could have been holding documents from Glyndwr secretly all these years," said Mr Carter. "The reason is that Glyndwr in his search for an alliance was prepared to submit himself and the Welsh church he planned to the Vatican Pope." The Paris Group will also research Welsh people in France during the turbulent Middle Ages. They included Glyndwr's son who fought against the English at Agincourt. Glyndwr's Pennal Letter, to King Charles VI of France, one of the most important items in Welsh history, went on display for six months at the National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth on Saturday (April 8). Library officials have put together an exhibition that celebrates the life and achievements of Glyndwr to coincide with the 600th anniversary of the start of the rebellion. The OGS marked the anniversary by unveiling a memorial stone to Glyndwr at Machynlleth on September 16, the town where he established the first Welsh parliament. Society members also reached agreement with Terradat Geophysics of Cardiff to conduct a scientific survey of what is believed to have been Glyndðr's burial site in South Herefordshire. Locating the last resting place and perhaps marking it appropriately has been one of the prime aims of the OGS since it was formed in 1996. Readers wishing to help the society's fund appeal should send donations to the "Owain Glyndwr Memorial Fund", marked (WM) and c/o Eirwyn Evans (Treasurer), 37 Glanyrafon Road, Pontarddulais, Swansea SA4 1LT. Dechrau'r dudalen   Top of page English language index