Battle of Mynydd Hyddgen 1401
Marker: recorded battle location (no official boundary).
Key facts
| Date (year) | 1401 | Wikidata P585 point in time |
|---|---|---|
| Century | 15th century | derived |
| Period | Wars of the Roses & late medieval | derived |
| Country | Wales | derived |
| War / conflict | Glyndŵr Rebellion | Wikidata |
| Participants | Kingdom of England, Principality of Wales | Wikidata |
About the battle
The Battle of Mynydd Hyddgen took place between the Welsh and English in June 1401. It was the first major victory by Owain Glyndŵr of the Welsh Revolt of 1400–1409. Its location was on the western slopes of Plynlimon, near the Ceredigion/Powys boundary. Glyndŵr, defending with a much smaller force, routed an attack of English and Flemish settlers and soldiers at a site on or close to Mynydd Hyddgen, a peak in the Ceredigion uplands.
The battle was significant in giving new impetus to the nascent rebellion, and provoking a punitive response from the English King, Henry IV. It is likely that Glyndŵr utilised the local geography to his advantage, perhaps drawing the forces into a trap using the natural draw of the land where a spring rises, buttressed by natural rock ramparts, although no confirmatory accounts of the battle exist, and the exact location is uncertain.
Visiting the battlefield
The precise location of the battle is not known, and little is known of the course of the battle. Mynydd Hyddgen lies between the Hyddgen and Hengwm rivers in the Ceredigion uplands of Elenydd. The rivers meet at the southern end of the mountain (Mynydd means "mountain" in Welsh). One tradition places the battle close to the Hyddgen river, and associated with two white quartz blocks on the opposing bank, to the south of the summit, known as Glyndŵr's Covenant Stones. A battle at the summit is also possible, but across the Hyddgen river from the Covenant Stones lies an exposed knee of rock, Banc Lluestnewydd.
In 1977 a memorial was erected and unveiled at the Nant y Moch reservoir dam to commemorate the battle and to remember those killed. The memorial was unveiled by Gwynfor Evans, Member of Parliament for Carmarthenshire and then president of Plaid Cymru.
Location
- Recorded location (Wikidata; may be approximate): 52.5060, -3.7970
Battlefields are often on private farmland: please keep to public rights of way and respect landowners.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Mynydd Hyddgen (revision 1370450965), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section and section(s) “Location”, “Memorial”; condensed by selecting paragraphs; citations removed. No text added.
Battle location from Wikidata (CC0).
Nearby battlefields
- Battle of Maes Moydog 1295 · 36 km
- Relief of Montgomery Castle 1644 · 44 km
- Battle of Orewin Bridge 1282 · 45 km
- Battle of Mechain 1069 · 50 km
- Battle of Buttington 893 · 51 km
- Battle of Cefn Digoll 630 · 52 km
Other battles of the Glyndŵr Rebellion
- Battle of Tuthill 1401
- Battle of Bryn Glas 1402
- Battle of Shrewsbury 1403
- Battle of Stalling Down 1403
- Battle of Pwll Melyn 1405
All battles of the Glyndŵr Rebellion →
Browse more: battles in Wales · Wars of the Roses & late medieval · 15th century battles