Owen Glendower (novel)
Encyclopedia
Owen Glendower is a historical novel
by John Cowper Powys
, first published in 1940.
, as seen through the eyes of his young relation, Rhisiart ab Owen of Hereford
. In addition to Glyndŵr and his family, the cast of characters includes real historical figures such as Gruffydd Young
and the Lollard Walter Brut
.
s led by the Abbot
of Caerleon
, to find himself embroiled in a struggle between the local authorities, who are about to burn "Mad Huw", a local friar
who preaches that King Richard II of England
is still alive, and those trying to prevent the burning. Mad Huw’s chief protector is a teenage girl, Tegolin, known as the "Maid of Edeyrnion", and Rhisiart immediately becomes infatuated with her. Having succeeded in preventing the burning, Rhisiart is approached by Meredith
, the son of Owen Glendower, who invites him and his fellow-travellers to Owen’s stronghold at Glyndyfrdwy
.
They arrive there, in the company of Father Rheinalt (Tegolin’s natural father) and Father Pascentius from the nearby abbey of Valle Crucis
, in time to save the life of Gruffydd Young
, who has been captured and mistaken for a spy by Owen’s men. At Glyndyfrdwy they meet Owen’s wife (the “Arglwyddes”) and his eldest son, Griffith (Gruffudd ab Owain Glyndŵr
), but Rhisiart is particularly taken with Owen’s young daughter, Catharine
. After feasting and entertainment, they witness the death of the bard Iolo Goch
. With his last breath, the bard predicts Owen’s rebellion. The monks, Rhisiart, Brut, Mad Huw, Master Young and a few other chosen individuals are summoned by Owen to give their opinions on the best course of action. During the meeting, a messenger arrives from the Pope in Rome.
The following day, Rhisiart learns that the papal messenger has taken word of the proposed rebellion to Owen’s enemies, and Owen must act quickly. He has agreed to the Church’s demand that he give up Tegolin, Mad Huw, and a young woman named Alice, a former servant at Ruthin
who has been captured by Owen’s men. Owen has refused to give up Walter Brut, but Brut insists on accompanying the others to Valle Crucis, and Rhisiart goes with them, gradually finding himself strangely attracted to Alice. The abbot of Valle Crucis, though sympathetic to their plight, allows the hostages to be taken into custody at Rhisiart’s ancestral castle of Dinas Bran, now the home of Tegolin’s mother, Lowri, and grandmother, the Lady Ffraid.
On arrival at the semi-ruined castle of Dinas Bran, Rhisiart is taken into the custody of Adda, the elderly seneschal, who shows him a famous relic, the so-called “sword of Eliseg”. He is introduced to more of the castle’s female residents, including the mysterious Luned, her friend Efa (a teenage girl who has volunteered to be sacrificed as the “bride of Derfel”), and the dwarf Sibli. All three wait on Lowri’s mother, Ffraid ferch Gloyw, in her tower room. Rhisiart comes close to being seduced by Lowri, but she departs shortly after his arrival, with her lover Denis Burnell, the constable of the castle.
Rhisiart and Brut are held hostage in the castle for three months, until Lowri and Denis return. Rhisiart makes an assignation with Lowri, but after he and Sibli eavesdrop on her and her ex-husband, Simon (now a prisoner at the castle), he realises that Lowri feels nothing for him and is making use of him in a perverted game she is playing with Simon. Soon afterwards the castle receives an unexpected visit from a party including Harry Hotspur and the young Prince of Wales, Henry of Monmouth (the future King Henry V of England
). With them are monks from Valle Crucis, one of whom turns out to be Owen Glendower in disguise. Owen reclaims the hostages and takes them to Glyndyfrdwy, where he is proclaimed Prince of Wales by his followers. Chief among these is Crach Ffinnant, “the Scab”, a self-proclaimed prophet who follows the rule of St Derfel. Owen is expected to take Efa as his ceremonial “bride”, but instead he takes her to the home of his friend, the miller, Broch o’Meifod. Rhisiart, newly appointed Owen’s secretary, accompanies them. The miller’s wife, upset by her husband’s decision to join Owen’s rebellion, puts a curse on him, saying that he will only be successful as long as he destroys and kills, but will fail when he tries to rebuild.
Almost two years pass, and Rhisiart continues to serve Owen as secretary, whilst beginning a romance with Owen's daughter Catharine. Owen, though aware of their relationship, has other plans for his daughter, as a potential pawn in the political game. After Adda is brutally murdered with the sword of Eliseg by the son of Lord Grey of Ruthin
, attitudes towards the English harden. At the Battle of Pilleth, Owen is wounded but the Welsh are victorious against an army led by Edmund Mortimer
. Rhisiart is horrified by the desecration of dead English bodies by a group of women led by Lowri. Mortimer, left unransomed by the English king, agrees to a marriage with Catharine that will give Owen the assistance of both the Mortimer and Percy dynasties. Rhisiart makes plans to elope with Catharine, but she refuses, choosing to obey her father's wishes.
A further two years go by, and the narrative passes over the Battle of Shrewsbury
and the death of Hotspur. Brut has married Alice, and the marriage of Catharine and Mortimer appears successful. Owen is tempted by prophecies he has heard about the crowning of a great king by a girl in armour, and toys with the idea of using Tegolin for this purpose. He continues to negotiate the Tripartite Indenture with Hotspur's father, the Earl of Northumberland, and receives ambassadors from King Charles VI of France
. One of these, Gilles de Pirogue, is interrupted by Rhisiart and Father Pascentius in the process of torturing a dog and an elderly Jew, with the encouragement of Lowri and Sibli. Rhisiart's intervention causes a diplomatic incident.
Owen signs the Tripartite Indenture, despite the news of a defeat for his forces in the north and the fatal injuries to his trusted "captain", Rhys Gethin (Lowri's current lover). He is obliged to punish Rhisiart for his offence to the French ambassador, and is about to banish him from the court at Harlech Castle
when the other ambassador intervenes, ensuring that Rhisiart can remain in service when Owen's parliament meets.
Rhisiart, Brut, Mad Huw and Father Rheinalt are scandalized when Owen forces Tegolin to appear before the assembled troops wearing golden armour, and they prepare to oppose the prince's scheme to take her into battle with him. Through their intervention, and that of his own son Meredith, Owen is persuaded to alter his plans, and gives Tegolin to Rhisiart in marriage. Following the ceremony, Rhisiart foils an assassination attempt by Dafydd Gam
at the chapel door.
Rhisiart and Tegolin are sent with an army to relieve the prince’s forces on the Usk
, and the focus of the action shifts to Owen himself. He banishes the interfering Father Pascentius from the castle, but decides to release Dafydd Gam, who in his superstition has concluded that Owen is protected by powerful spirits and now wishes to serve him. Owen’s other followers, initially suspicious of Gam, are horrified when, during a pilgrimage
to the shrine of Derfel, Crach Ffinnant is apparently killed by Gam in a mysterious “accident” arranged with Efa’s collusion.
On top of the news of Crach Ffinnant’s death comes word that Owen’s armies on the Usk have been defeated. Owen’s own brother has been killed, as has his loyal supporter, the Abbot of Caerleon. Rhisiart and Tegolin have been taken prisoner, along with Owen’s eldest son Griffith. The Arglwyddes rebukes her husband in front of his remaining followers. With Rhys Gethin on his deathbed, Lowri, driven mad by the turn of events, murders her ex-husband Simon. As Harlech Castle
fills with confusion and discontent, Denis Burnell and Sir John Oldcastle
arrive to visit Owen. As they stand on the shore conversing with Broch, they witness the approach of two ships: one from France and another from Anglesey, the latter carrying Efa’s fiancé, a member of the Tudor family with whom Owen is allied. An English pirate ship attacks the French vessel, and Owen and Broch plunge into the sea to rescue what they take to be a Frenchman. It turns out to be a chimpanzee, sent as a gift for Owen by the French king. While they are recovering from their ordeal, a messenger arrives to tell them that a French army has landed safely in Milford Haven
. Broch makes the decision to leave Owen and return to his family.
A few months later, Rhisiart and Brut are prisoners in the city of Worcester
when Owen arrives at the head of a large army, having recovered many of his losses with the aid of the French. Lacking reliable military advisors, he delays the decision to storm the city until it is too late, and is forced to retreat. This part of the narrative is seen partly through the eyes of the young herald, Elphin.
Owen has been allowed a visit from Tegolin, who tells him that, by sleeping with the custodian, she has been able to obtain a guarantee that Rhisiart's life will be spared. She gives Richard a phial containing a colourless liquid which she claims is "certain death". The two prisoners are interviewed by King Henry
and the Archbishop of Canterbury. Rhisiart is condemned to the Tower of London
and Brut to be burned at the stake. Rhisiart, in order to prevent his friend's suffering, tricks him into drinking the contents of the phial, and Brut dies instantly.
The action moves forward to 1416. Owen's rebellion is over, and Catharine's son Rhisiart Mortimer is being cared for by Elphin, now known as "Father Sulien". Henry V is now on the throne, young Rhisiart's parents are both dead, and his godfather Rhisiart is at liberty. The boy tells Elphin/Sulien of a hermit
who lives on a nearby mountain, and the two go to the hermit's cave to find that it is Broch. With him is Owen, now an old and sick man, and the prince is reunited with his grandson.
Rhisiart ab Owen arrives in the company of Lord Talbot
, sent by the new king to offer a pardon to Owen. Owen, using what seems to be magic, appears in a vision to both Rhisiart ab Owen and young Rhisiart Mortimer. By the time they reach his mountain retreat, he is dying, and passes away just at the moment the pardon is about to be bestowed, causing Rhisiart ab Owen to cast the document into the fire. The insult to the king's message prompts a formal but non-fatal duel between Rhisiart and Talbot, which Rhisiart wins. The book ends with Owen's son, Meredith, returning from his father's cremation. There is an atmosphere of optimism about the future of Wales.
The fates of the remaining major characters are made known in the course of the epilogue: Dafydd Gam is "ransomed" but remains Owen's servant; the ransom money is used to help construct Owen's last remaining hiding places, and Gam is later killed in the king's French wars. Mortimer dies before Harlech is taken, his wife Catharine is taken prisoner and dies of plague while in captivity, along with her daughters. Sibli leaps to her death from the battlements of the castle when it is taken by the English. Meredith is pardoned by the king and goes to live quietly with his wife, though they have no children. Elliw's father, Rhys Ddu, is killed during the taking of Aberystwyth
Castle, an event for which Elliw blames Owen. Lowri has returned to live with Denis Burnell at Dinas Bran. Mad Huw died at about the same time as Master Shore, the man with whom Tegolin was living. Tegolin and Rhisiart have a daughter, Catharine, and are due to be reunited at last, just as the book ends.
Historical novel
According to Encyclopædia Britannica, a historical novel is-Development:An early example of historical prose fiction is Luó Guànzhōng's 14th century Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which covers one of the most important periods of Chinese history and left a lasting impact on Chinese culture.The...
by John Cowper Powys
John Cowper Powys
-Biography:Powys was born in Shirley, Derbyshire, in 1872, the son of the Reverend Charles Francis Powys , who was vicar of Montacute, Somerset for thirty-two years, and Mary Cowper Johnson, a descendent of the poet William Cowper. He came from a family of eleven children, many of whom were also...
, first published in 1940.
Plot introduction
The book tells the story of the rebellion of Owain GlyndŵrOwain Glyndwr
Owain Glyndŵr , or Owain Glyn Dŵr, anglicised by William Shakespeare as Owen Glendower , was a Welsh ruler and the last native Welshman to hold the title Prince of Wales...
, as seen through the eyes of his young relation, Rhisiart ab Owen of Hereford
Hereford
Hereford is a cathedral city, civil parish and county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, southwest of Worcester, and northwest of Gloucester...
. In addition to Glyndŵr and his family, the cast of characters includes real historical figures such as Gruffydd Young
Gruffydd Young
Gruffydd Young was a cleric and a close supporter of Owain Glyndwr during his Welsh rebellion against the English King Henry IV between 1400 and 1412.- Winning favour :...
and the Lollard Walter Brut
Walter Brut
Walter Brut was a fourteenth century writer from the Welsh borders, whose trial in 1391 is a notable event in the history of Lollardy.Brut described himself as "a sinner, a layman, a farmer and a Christian" in his trial for heresy which took place before the Bishop of Hereford, John Trefnant...
.
Synopsis
Rhisiart arrives at Dinas Bran, in the company of fellow-travellers including Brut and a group of monkMonk
A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
s led by the Abbot
Abbot
The word abbot, meaning father, is a title given to the head of a monastery in various traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not actually the head of a monastery...
of Caerleon
Caerleon
Caerleon is a suburban village and community, situated on the River Usk in the northern outskirts of the city of Newport, South Wales. Caerleon is a site of archaeological importance, being the site of a notable Roman legionary fortress, Isca Augusta, and an Iron Age hill fort...
, to find himself embroiled in a struggle between the local authorities, who are about to burn "Mad Huw", a local friar
Friar
A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders.-Friars and monks:...
who preaches that King Richard II of England
Richard II of England
Richard II was King of England, a member of the House of Plantagenet and the last of its main-line kings. He ruled from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. Richard was a son of Edward, the Black Prince, and was born during the reign of his grandfather, Edward III...
is still alive, and those trying to prevent the burning. Mad Huw’s chief protector is a teenage girl, Tegolin, known as the "Maid of Edeyrnion", and Rhisiart immediately becomes infatuated with her. Having succeeded in preventing the burning, Rhisiart is approached by Meredith
Maredudd ab Owain Glyndwr
Maredudd ab Owain Glyndŵr was a son of Margaret Hanmer and Owain Glyndŵr. He is thought to have participated in revolt raised by Glyndŵr in Wales between 1400 and c.1416.-Early life:...
, the son of Owen Glendower, who invites him and his fellow-travellers to Owen’s stronghold at Glyndyfrdwy
Glyndyfrdwy
Glyndyfrdwy , or sometimes Glyn Dyfrdwy, is a village in the modern county of Denbighshire, Wales. It is situated on the A5 road half way between Corwen and Llangollen in the Dee Valley .-Owain Glyndwr:...
.
They arrive there, in the company of Father Rheinalt (Tegolin’s natural father) and Father Pascentius from the nearby abbey of Valle Crucis
Valle Crucis
-Places:United Kingdom*Valle Crucis Abbey, WalesUnited States*Valle Crucis, North Carolina, an unincorporated community*Valle Crucis Episcopal Mission, North Carolina...
, in time to save the life of Gruffydd Young
Gruffydd Young
Gruffydd Young was a cleric and a close supporter of Owain Glyndwr during his Welsh rebellion against the English King Henry IV between 1400 and 1412.- Winning favour :...
, who has been captured and mistaken for a spy by Owen’s men. At Glyndyfrdwy they meet Owen’s wife (the “Arglwyddes”) and his eldest son, Griffith (Gruffudd ab Owain Glyndŵr
Gruffudd ab Owain Glyndwr
Gruffudd ab Owain Glyndŵr Gruffudd ab Owain Glyndŵr Gruffudd ab Owain Glyndŵr (c.1375-c.1412 was the eldest son of Margaret Hanmer and Owain Glyndŵr the disinherited Prince of the old Royal house of Powys Fadog who led a major revolt in Wales between 1400 and c.1416.- Early life :...
), but Rhisiart is particularly taken with Owen’s young daughter, Catharine
Catrin ferch Owain Glyndwr
Catrin ferch Owain Glyndŵr was one of the daughters of Margaret Hanmer and Owain Glyndŵr.- Lineage :Glyndŵr, a prince of the old Welsh royal house of Powys Fadog of the Mathrafal line, led a major revolt in Wales between 1400 and c.1416, taking the title of "Prince of Wales".Little is known about...
. After feasting and entertainment, they witness the death of the bard Iolo Goch
Iolo Goch
Iolo Goch , , was a medieval Welsh poet or bard who composed poems addressed to Owain Glyndŵr, among others.- Lineage :...
. With his last breath, the bard predicts Owen’s rebellion. The monks, Rhisiart, Brut, Mad Huw, Master Young and a few other chosen individuals are summoned by Owen to give their opinions on the best course of action. During the meeting, a messenger arrives from the Pope in Rome.
The following day, Rhisiart learns that the papal messenger has taken word of the proposed rebellion to Owen’s enemies, and Owen must act quickly. He has agreed to the Church’s demand that he give up Tegolin, Mad Huw, and a young woman named Alice, a former servant at Ruthin
Ruthin
Ruthin is a community and the county town of Denbighshire in north Wales. Located around a hill in the southern part of the Vale of Clwyd - the older part of the town, the castle and Saint Peter's Square are located on top of the hill, while many newer parts of the town are on the floodplain of...
who has been captured by Owen’s men. Owen has refused to give up Walter Brut, but Brut insists on accompanying the others to Valle Crucis, and Rhisiart goes with them, gradually finding himself strangely attracted to Alice. The abbot of Valle Crucis, though sympathetic to their plight, allows the hostages to be taken into custody at Rhisiart’s ancestral castle of Dinas Bran, now the home of Tegolin’s mother, Lowri, and grandmother, the Lady Ffraid.
On arrival at the semi-ruined castle of Dinas Bran, Rhisiart is taken into the custody of Adda, the elderly seneschal, who shows him a famous relic, the so-called “sword of Eliseg”. He is introduced to more of the castle’s female residents, including the mysterious Luned, her friend Efa (a teenage girl who has volunteered to be sacrificed as the “bride of Derfel”), and the dwarf Sibli. All three wait on Lowri’s mother, Ffraid ferch Gloyw, in her tower room. Rhisiart comes close to being seduced by Lowri, but she departs shortly after his arrival, with her lover Denis Burnell, the constable of the castle.
Rhisiart and Brut are held hostage in the castle for three months, until Lowri and Denis return. Rhisiart makes an assignation with Lowri, but after he and Sibli eavesdrop on her and her ex-husband, Simon (now a prisoner at the castle), he realises that Lowri feels nothing for him and is making use of him in a perverted game she is playing with Simon. Soon afterwards the castle receives an unexpected visit from a party including Harry Hotspur and the young Prince of Wales, Henry of Monmouth (the future King Henry V of England
Henry V of England
Henry V was King of England from 1413 until his death at the age of 35 in 1422. He was the second monarch belonging to the House of Lancaster....
). With them are monks from Valle Crucis, one of whom turns out to be Owen Glendower in disguise. Owen reclaims the hostages and takes them to Glyndyfrdwy, where he is proclaimed Prince of Wales by his followers. Chief among these is Crach Ffinnant, “the Scab”, a self-proclaimed prophet who follows the rule of St Derfel. Owen is expected to take Efa as his ceremonial “bride”, but instead he takes her to the home of his friend, the miller, Broch o’Meifod. Rhisiart, newly appointed Owen’s secretary, accompanies them. The miller’s wife, upset by her husband’s decision to join Owen’s rebellion, puts a curse on him, saying that he will only be successful as long as he destroys and kills, but will fail when he tries to rebuild.
Almost two years pass, and Rhisiart continues to serve Owen as secretary, whilst beginning a romance with Owen's daughter Catharine. Owen, though aware of their relationship, has other plans for his daughter, as a potential pawn in the political game. After Adda is brutally murdered with the sword of Eliseg by the son of Lord Grey of Ruthin
Reginald Grey, 3rd Baron Grey de Ruthyn
Reginald Grey, 3rd Baron Grey de Ruthyn , a powerful Welsh marcher lord, succeeded to the title on his father Reginald's death in July 1388.- Lineage :...
, attitudes towards the English harden. At the Battle of Pilleth, Owen is wounded but the Welsh are victorious against an army led by Edmund Mortimer
Edmund Mortimer
-Members of the Marcher family of Mortimer:*Edmund Mortimer, 2nd Baron Wigmore*Edmund Mortimer, 3rd Earl of March, and his second son*Edmund Mortimer, son of the 3rd Earl*Edmund Mortimer, 5th Earl of March...
. Rhisiart is horrified by the desecration of dead English bodies by a group of women led by Lowri. Mortimer, left unransomed by the English king, agrees to a marriage with Catharine that will give Owen the assistance of both the Mortimer and Percy dynasties. Rhisiart makes plans to elope with Catharine, but she refuses, choosing to obey her father's wishes.
A further two years go by, and the narrative passes over the Battle of Shrewsbury
Battle of Shrewsbury
The Battle of Shrewsbury was a battle fought on 21 July 1403, waged between an army led by the Lancastrian King, Henry IV, and a rebel army led by Henry "Hotspur" Percy from Northumberland....
and the death of Hotspur. Brut has married Alice, and the marriage of Catharine and Mortimer appears successful. Owen is tempted by prophecies he has heard about the crowning of a great king by a girl in armour, and toys with the idea of using Tegolin for this purpose. He continues to negotiate the Tripartite Indenture with Hotspur's father, the Earl of Northumberland, and receives ambassadors from King Charles VI of France
Charles VI of France
Charles VI , called the Beloved and the Mad , was the King of France from 1380 to 1422, as a member of the House of Valois. His bouts with madness, which seem to have begun in 1392, led to quarrels among the French royal family, which were exploited by the neighbouring powers of England and Burgundy...
. One of these, Gilles de Pirogue, is interrupted by Rhisiart and Father Pascentius in the process of torturing a dog and an elderly Jew, with the encouragement of Lowri and Sibli. Rhisiart's intervention causes a diplomatic incident.
Owen signs the Tripartite Indenture, despite the news of a defeat for his forces in the north and the fatal injuries to his trusted "captain", Rhys Gethin (Lowri's current lover). He is obliged to punish Rhisiart for his offence to the French ambassador, and is about to banish him from the court at Harlech Castle
Harlech Castle
Harlech Castle, located in Harlech, Gwynedd, Wales, is a concentric castle, constructed atop a cliff close to the Irish Sea. Architecturally, it is particularly notable for its massive gatehouse....
when the other ambassador intervenes, ensuring that Rhisiart can remain in service when Owen's parliament meets.
Rhisiart, Brut, Mad Huw and Father Rheinalt are scandalized when Owen forces Tegolin to appear before the assembled troops wearing golden armour, and they prepare to oppose the prince's scheme to take her into battle with him. Through their intervention, and that of his own son Meredith, Owen is persuaded to alter his plans, and gives Tegolin to Rhisiart in marriage. Following the ceremony, Rhisiart foils an assassination attempt by Dafydd Gam
Dafydd Gam
Dafydd ap Llewelyn ap Hywel , better known as Dafydd Gam or Davy Gam, was a Welsh medieval nobleman, a prominent opponent of Owain Glyndŵr, who died at the Battle of Agincourt fighting for King Henry V, King of England in that victory against the French...
at the chapel door.
Rhisiart and Tegolin are sent with an army to relieve the prince’s forces on the Usk
Usk
Usk is a small town in Monmouthshire, Wales, situated 10 miles northeast of Newport.The River Usk flows through the town and is spanned by an ancient, arched stone bridge at the western entrance to the town. A castle above the town overlooks the ancient Anglo-Welsh border crossing - the river can...
, and the focus of the action shifts to Owen himself. He banishes the interfering Father Pascentius from the castle, but decides to release Dafydd Gam, who in his superstition has concluded that Owen is protected by powerful spirits and now wishes to serve him. Owen’s other followers, initially suspicious of Gam, are horrified when, during a pilgrimage
Pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey or search of great moral or spiritual significance. Typically, it is a journey to a shrine or other location of importance to a person's beliefs and faith...
to the shrine of Derfel, Crach Ffinnant is apparently killed by Gam in a mysterious “accident” arranged with Efa’s collusion.
On top of the news of Crach Ffinnant’s death comes word that Owen’s armies on the Usk have been defeated. Owen’s own brother has been killed, as has his loyal supporter, the Abbot of Caerleon. Rhisiart and Tegolin have been taken prisoner, along with Owen’s eldest son Griffith. The Arglwyddes rebukes her husband in front of his remaining followers. With Rhys Gethin on his deathbed, Lowri, driven mad by the turn of events, murders her ex-husband Simon. As Harlech Castle
Harlech Castle
Harlech Castle, located in Harlech, Gwynedd, Wales, is a concentric castle, constructed atop a cliff close to the Irish Sea. Architecturally, it is particularly notable for its massive gatehouse....
fills with confusion and discontent, Denis Burnell and Sir John Oldcastle
John Oldcastle
Sir John Oldcastle , English Lollard leader, was son of Sir Richard Oldcastle of Almeley in northwest Herefordshire and grandson of another Sir John Oldcastle....
arrive to visit Owen. As they stand on the shore conversing with Broch, they witness the approach of two ships: one from France and another from Anglesey, the latter carrying Efa’s fiancé, a member of the Tudor family with whom Owen is allied. An English pirate ship attacks the French vessel, and Owen and Broch plunge into the sea to rescue what they take to be a Frenchman. It turns out to be a chimpanzee, sent as a gift for Owen by the French king. While they are recovering from their ordeal, a messenger arrives to tell them that a French army has landed safely in Milford Haven
Milford Haven
Milford Haven is a town and community in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is situated on the north side of the Milford Haven Waterway, a natural harbour used as a port since the Middle Ages. The town was founded in 1790 on the north side of the Waterway, from which it takes its name...
. Broch makes the decision to leave Owen and return to his family.
A few months later, Rhisiart and Brut are prisoners in the city of Worcester
Worcester
The City of Worcester, commonly known as Worcester, , is a city and county town of Worcestershire in the West Midlands of England. Worcester is situated some southwest of Birmingham and north of Gloucester, and has an approximate population of 94,000 people. The River Severn runs through the...
when Owen arrives at the head of a large army, having recovered many of his losses with the aid of the French. Lacking reliable military advisors, he delays the decision to storm the city until it is too late, and is forced to retreat. This part of the narrative is seen partly through the eyes of the young herald, Elphin.
Owen has been allowed a visit from Tegolin, who tells him that, by sleeping with the custodian, she has been able to obtain a guarantee that Rhisiart's life will be spared. She gives Richard a phial containing a colourless liquid which she claims is "certain death". The two prisoners are interviewed by King Henry
Henry IV of England
Henry IV was King of England and Lord of Ireland . He was the ninth King of England of the House of Plantagenet and also asserted his grandfather's claim to the title King of France. He was born at Bolingbroke Castle in Lincolnshire, hence his other name, Henry Bolingbroke...
and the Archbishop of Canterbury. Rhisiart is condemned to the Tower of London
Tower of London
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...
and Brut to be burned at the stake. Rhisiart, in order to prevent his friend's suffering, tricks him into drinking the contents of the phial, and Brut dies instantly.
The action moves forward to 1416. Owen's rebellion is over, and Catharine's son Rhisiart Mortimer is being cared for by Elphin, now known as "Father Sulien". Henry V is now on the throne, young Rhisiart's parents are both dead, and his godfather Rhisiart is at liberty. The boy tells Elphin/Sulien of a hermit
Hermit
A hermit is a person who lives, to some degree, in seclusion from society.In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Christian who lives the eremitic life out of a religious conviction, namely the Desert Theology of the Old Testament .In the...
who lives on a nearby mountain, and the two go to the hermit's cave to find that it is Broch. With him is Owen, now an old and sick man, and the prince is reunited with his grandson.
Rhisiart ab Owen arrives in the company of Lord Talbot
John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury
John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury and 1st Earl of Waterford KG , known as "Old Talbot" was an important English military commander during the Hundred Years' War, as well as the only Lancastrian Constable of France.-Origins:He was descended from Richard Talbot, a tenant in 1086 of Walter Giffard...
, sent by the new king to offer a pardon to Owen. Owen, using what seems to be magic, appears in a vision to both Rhisiart ab Owen and young Rhisiart Mortimer. By the time they reach his mountain retreat, he is dying, and passes away just at the moment the pardon is about to be bestowed, causing Rhisiart ab Owen to cast the document into the fire. The insult to the king's message prompts a formal but non-fatal duel between Rhisiart and Talbot, which Rhisiart wins. The book ends with Owen's son, Meredith, returning from his father's cremation. There is an atmosphere of optimism about the future of Wales.
The fates of the remaining major characters are made known in the course of the epilogue: Dafydd Gam is "ransomed" but remains Owen's servant; the ransom money is used to help construct Owen's last remaining hiding places, and Gam is later killed in the king's French wars. Mortimer dies before Harlech is taken, his wife Catharine is taken prisoner and dies of plague while in captivity, along with her daughters. Sibli leaps to her death from the battlements of the castle when it is taken by the English. Meredith is pardoned by the king and goes to live quietly with his wife, though they have no children. Elliw's father, Rhys Ddu, is killed during the taking of Aberystwyth
Aberystwyth
Aberystwyth is a historic market town, administrative centre and holiday resort within Ceredigion, Wales. Often colloquially known as Aber, it is located at the confluence of the rivers Ystwyth and Rheidol....
Castle, an event for which Elliw blames Owen. Lowri has returned to live with Denis Burnell at Dinas Bran. Mad Huw died at about the same time as Master Shore, the man with whom Tegolin was living. Tegolin and Rhisiart have a daughter, Catharine, and are due to be reunited at last, just as the book ends.