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( Owain Glyndwr)
Owain Glyndwr (pronounced IPA&_160;['owain glin'dwr]), or Owain Glyn Dwr, anglicised by Shakespeare into Owen Glendower (c. 1354 or 1359 – c. 1416) and crowned as Owain IV of Wales, was the last native Welsh person to hold the title Prince of Wales. He instigated an ultimately unsuccessful but long-running revolt against English rule of Wales.[1] Glyndwr was a descendant of the Princes of Powys from his father Gruffydd Fychan II, hereditary Tywysog of Powys Fadog and Lord of Glyndyfrdwy, and of those of Deheubarth through his mother Elen ferch Tomas ap Llywelyn. On September 16, 1400, Glyndwr instigated the Welsh Revolt against the rule of Henry IV of England. Although initially successful, the uprising was eventually put down — Glyndwr was last seen in 1412 and was never captured, nor tempted by Royal Pardons and never betrayed. His final years are a mystery. Glyndwr has remained a notable figure in the popular culture of both Wales and England, portrayed in Shakespeare's play Henry IV (as Owen Glendower) as a wild and exotic man ruled by magic and emotion ("at my nativity, The front of heaven was full of fiery shapes, Of burning cressets, and at my birth The frame and huge foundation of the earth Shaked like a coward." — Henry IV Part 1, Act 3, scene 1). In the late 19th century the "Young Wales" movement recreated him as the father of Welsh nationalism, revising the historical image of him as a purely local leader and joining him in popular memory as a national hero on par with King Arthur. In 2000, celebrations were held all over Wales to commemorate the 600th anniversary of the Glyndwr rising. Owain has since been voted in at 23rd in a poll of 100 Greatest Britons in 2002.
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