Battle of Mynydd Hyddgen
Who Fought
History & Significance
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.
The Welsh Revolt began in 1400 when Owain Glyndŵr found himself in dispute with English earls, and the king refused to support him. He was proclaimed Prince of Wales by his followers in September that year, and various skirmishes ensued, orchestrated both by himself and by Rhys ap Tudur and Gwilym ap Tudur in North Wales. Henry IV, king of England, attempted to diffuse tensions by offering peace to all rebels except these three perpetrators, but by May of 1401 the King issued a royal commission owing to the real threat from Glyndŵr, who was assembling forces in Carmarthen and threatening the English realm in Pembrokeshire (a location known as Little England Beyond Wales). Initially Glyndŵr saw two set backs in North Wales, defeated at Mawddwy and Cader Idris, before he moved to a location on the slopes of Pumlumon in the Ceredigion uplands.
"The next summer after that, Owain rose up with six score wicked men and thieves, and he brought them as to war into the uplands of Ceredigion. And fifteen hundred men from the lowland of Ceredigion and Rhos and Pembroke assembled there and they came to the mountain to try to capture Owain. And on Hyddgant Mountain was the encounter between them, and as soon as the English host turned their backs to flee, two hundred of them were killed. And then great praise came to Owain, and there rose up with him a great part of the youth and the wicked men from every region of Wales until there was a great host with him."
Some historians have raised doubts as to whether this battle happened as per the above account, noting the lack of corroborative evidence in muster roles, records of payments or other accounts. Yet Historians agree that this battle explains a deterioration in the security situation in Wales, and the sudden change of posture from Henry IV towards the rebellion, lending credence to a significant victory for Glyndŵr.
The ground they fought on
The site of Battle of Mynydd Hyddgen lies on Ashgill Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Ashgill. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.
- Wales: <50
- England: 200 killed
Frequently Asked Questions
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- Battle of Mynydd Hyddgen · Wikidata
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