6th July 1403

6th July
Glyndwr takes Carmarthen on 6th July 1403
Owain Glyndwr, since being proclaimed Prince of Wales by his followers, had been a thorn in the flesh of Hen...ry IV of England. However, until 1403 Owain's success had been confined to North Wales, where, along with his Tudur cousins, he had captured or destroyed several Anglo-Norman strongholds such as Ruthin, Conway and Welshpool. Owain had thwarted Henry's counter-attacks, captured his son's baggage train and in 1401 had achieved a major victory at the battle of Mynydd Hyddgen.

During 1402, Glyndwr's forces had gone from strength to strength, capturing and ransoming his arch-rival Reginald de Grey in April and defeating and capturing Edmund Mortimer at the battle of Pilleth on Bryn Glas hill near Prestigne in June. This represented a significant advance into Mid Wales. An alliance with the Mortimer family, sealed by marriage to Owain's daughter, posed an increased threat to Henry IV's power. However, it was in July 1403 that Owain Glyndwr truly swept to power throughout Wales. His advance through his mother's homeland of Deheubarth, down the Tywi Valley secured the strongholds of Dryslwyn, Newcastle Emlyn and on 6th July, following a short siege, Carmarthen. With his army now 8000 strong, and with hundreds of Welsh archers and experienced men-at-arms defecting from Henry's army to swell Glyndwr's ranks, this could be said to represent the almost total collapse of English rule in Wales at that time.