0:00:05 > 0:00:07It is 700 AD.
0:00:10 > 0:00:13This rugged western peninsula of Britain
0:00:13 > 0:00:15is home to tribes and warlords.
0:00:18 > 0:00:22Any idea of Wales as we know it doesn't exist.
0:00:25 > 0:00:29But over the next centuries, a nation emerges.
0:00:35 > 0:00:38This is a story of tribal warfare,
0:00:38 > 0:00:40of princes and power struggles
0:00:40 > 0:00:42and foreign invaders.
0:00:42 > 0:00:44So how does all that create one country
0:00:44 > 0:00:47with its own distinct culture and identity?
0:01:18 > 0:01:20In this Story Of Wales,
0:01:20 > 0:01:23we cover seven centuries
0:01:23 > 0:01:27from the building of a great frontier
0:01:27 > 0:01:31to Owain Glyndwr and his bitter struggle for independence.
0:01:33 > 0:01:36We'll see how battles against invaders
0:01:36 > 0:01:38bring a flourishing of Welsh culture.
0:01:42 > 0:01:45And the emergence of our first parliament.
0:01:45 > 0:01:49We'll meet the medieval kings who shaped the destiny of Wales.
0:01:49 > 0:01:53And discover how a nation emerges from their hunger for power
0:01:53 > 0:01:55and their lust for land.
0:02:03 > 0:02:07The struggle for Wales begins here on the modern border with England.
0:02:12 > 0:02:16Britain in the eighth century is a patchwork
0:02:16 > 0:02:20of independent kingdoms run by warlords,
0:02:20 > 0:02:21all of them scrambling
0:02:21 > 0:02:25and jostling for power and for land.
0:02:25 > 0:02:28Wales doesn't exist.
0:02:28 > 0:02:32But the land we call Wales today is also a group of kingdoms.
0:02:32 > 0:02:35And the Britons who live in them are under pressure,
0:02:35 > 0:02:40under threat from the east, from the Anglo-Saxons.
0:02:42 > 0:02:47Anglo-Saxon warriors are busy expanding the Kingdom of Mercia.
0:02:47 > 0:02:52Their settlements encroach on the farmland of the Welsh tribes.
0:02:55 > 0:02:59In 750 AD, this is Wales.
0:02:59 > 0:03:02Gwynedd in the north is protected by
0:03:02 > 0:03:05the impenetrable mountains of Snowdonia.
0:03:05 > 0:03:11But the lowlands of Powys and South East Wales are exposed to Mercia.
0:03:11 > 0:03:15It is the warriors of Powys that retaliate most violently.
0:03:15 > 0:03:19They mount brutal raids to reclaim what used to be theirs.
0:03:19 > 0:03:22They're destroying crops and settlements.
0:03:22 > 0:03:27The locals are fleeing in terror and what is left isn't resettled.
0:03:27 > 0:03:30It just lies empty and barren.
0:03:30 > 0:03:32Because in the middle of the eighth century,
0:03:32 > 0:03:34this place is full of danger.
0:03:38 > 0:03:43The border between the Welsh tribes and Mercia is no man's land.
0:03:45 > 0:03:47The situation is out of control.
0:03:47 > 0:03:52It is so bad that the King of Mercia decides to take drastic action.
0:03:52 > 0:03:57He commissions the biggest engineering project of the age.
0:03:57 > 0:03:59And this is it.
0:03:59 > 0:04:02He decides to build a massive defensive wall
0:04:02 > 0:04:05to keep those troublesome neighbours under control.
0:04:07 > 0:04:09We know it as Offa's Dyke.
0:04:14 > 0:04:17An earthwork over 80 miles long,
0:04:17 > 0:04:22it runs along much of the modern English-Welsh border.
0:04:22 > 0:04:25Because it was added to over time by other rulers,
0:04:25 > 0:04:28it now extends from near Wrexham in the north
0:04:28 > 0:04:32all the way down to Chepstow in the south.
0:04:32 > 0:04:35It is Britain's longest ancient monument.
0:04:35 > 0:04:38Nothing of this size was built for a thousand years
0:04:38 > 0:04:41until the canals of the 18th century.
0:04:44 > 0:04:48It's the sheer scale of this work that's difficult to take in.
0:04:48 > 0:04:50When you think of the manpower involved,
0:04:50 > 0:04:53the money involved and all the effort,
0:04:53 > 0:04:58it does tell you that King Offa must have been a very determined man.
0:04:58 > 0:05:01And just think about the equivalent today, in the 21st century,
0:05:01 > 0:05:03a colossal work like this.
0:05:03 > 0:05:07Well, you're talking tens of billions of pounds.
0:05:07 > 0:05:10But the essence of the dyke is its aspect.
0:05:10 > 0:05:13It faces west and it gives the Mercians
0:05:13 > 0:05:16the perfect vantage point to keep an eye on the Welsh.
0:05:21 > 0:05:26In the eighth century, Wales has never known a boundary on this scale.
0:05:26 > 0:05:31The marking out of large territorial borders is a whole new concept.
0:05:31 > 0:05:34For the many kingdoms of Wales,
0:05:34 > 0:05:37Offa's Dyke will influence the way they see themselves.
0:05:37 > 0:05:39There's a psychological impact.
0:05:39 > 0:05:43And from the early middle ages onwards, the people over there,
0:05:43 > 0:05:45the Mercians, future invaders...
0:05:45 > 0:05:48Well, they're the people beyond the dyke.
0:05:48 > 0:05:51And on this side, the Welsh see themselves
0:05:51 > 0:05:54as the people behind the dyke.
0:05:54 > 0:06:01And I suppose this could give us our first possible notion of Welsh unity.
0:06:08 > 0:06:12But who are the people behind the dyke?
0:06:12 > 0:06:17In 800 AD, Wales is home to fewer than a 100,000 souls.
0:06:20 > 0:06:25This small population shares a common language, they speak Old Welsh,
0:06:25 > 0:06:29and call themselves Cymry, or fellow countrymen.
0:06:29 > 0:06:35Most families are poor, living with their livestock in isolated farms.
0:06:35 > 0:06:39There are no stone buildings and no towns.
0:06:39 > 0:06:44The Cymry are defenceless against the ravages of war,
0:06:44 > 0:06:48disease and the whims of their wealthier masters -
0:06:48 > 0:06:52the warlords or local kings, who will shape the future of Wales.
0:06:52 > 0:06:55They'll do it by betrayal,
0:06:55 > 0:06:57or bribery
0:06:57 > 0:06:58or by the sword.
0:07:05 > 0:07:10But what do we know about these kings and how they lived?
0:07:10 > 0:07:15This is Llangorse Lake, near the Brecon Beacons in South Wales.
0:07:18 > 0:07:21These days, this lake is all about leisure,
0:07:21 > 0:07:25campsites and boats for hire.
0:07:25 > 0:07:30Well, 1,100 years ago, this is the heart of a small kingdom,
0:07:30 > 0:07:34the Kingdom of Brycheiniog.
0:07:34 > 0:07:38This small island here is home to the Royal family.
0:07:38 > 0:07:42And the treasures they leave behind lie hidden
0:07:42 > 0:07:45until they're discovered just 20 years ago.
0:07:49 > 0:07:53What archaeologists find in the 1990s gives us a surprising insight
0:07:53 > 0:07:55into this early Welsh kingdom.
0:07:55 > 0:07:59It reveals a Royal Palace with international connections.
0:07:59 > 0:08:04The first clues were investigated by Dr Alan Lane.
0:08:04 > 0:08:08The timbers are visible in the water around the island
0:08:08 > 0:08:11and people have noticed them for centuries.
0:08:11 > 0:08:13And when we visited the site initially
0:08:13 > 0:08:14it was quite clear
0:08:14 > 0:08:16that they were artificial.
0:08:16 > 0:08:19They had been deliberately constructed.
0:08:19 > 0:08:22And so, we realised that what we were looking at
0:08:22 > 0:08:23was what's called a crannog,
0:08:23 > 0:08:26that's an artificial island.
0:08:26 > 0:08:29Alan and his team discovered that the crannog
0:08:29 > 0:08:34was built of brushwood and rubble piled up to reach above water level.
0:08:34 > 0:08:38On top, they found the remains of a medieval settlement.
0:08:38 > 0:08:41It was once home to the Royal family.
0:08:43 > 0:08:46Reconstructed, this is what it may have looked like.
0:08:48 > 0:08:52A wooden fortification encloses a village,
0:08:52 > 0:08:56a village for the king, his family and their entourage.
0:09:03 > 0:09:06This is where he administers his kingdom
0:09:06 > 0:09:08and entertains his guests.
0:09:10 > 0:09:12But most remarkable is the fact that
0:09:12 > 0:09:16this is the only crannog ever found in Wales or England.
0:09:16 > 0:09:20Now, these are very well-known in both Scotland and Ireland,
0:09:20 > 0:09:22where there are hundreds of examples.
0:09:22 > 0:09:25But the likelihood is this is an Irish master builder
0:09:25 > 0:09:30who's been brought in by the local king to construct the site.
0:09:33 > 0:09:37By building a crannog, the king is showing off his Irish ancestry
0:09:37 > 0:09:40and his connections beyond his borders.
0:09:40 > 0:09:43The crannog is a status symbol.
0:09:45 > 0:09:48But there's one particular treasure at Llangorse
0:09:48 > 0:09:50that reveals the Royal family have links
0:09:50 > 0:09:52even further afield than Ireland.
0:09:52 > 0:09:55The archaeologists discovered a fragment of linen
0:09:55 > 0:09:56embroidered in silk,
0:09:56 > 0:09:59believed to have been part of the Queen's tunic.
0:09:59 > 0:10:01It's the design that's intriguing.
0:10:01 > 0:10:05This is a reconstruction of part of the pattern,
0:10:05 > 0:10:08computer enhanced, and the colours obviously are partly speculative.
0:10:08 > 0:10:11We know they're lions, because we can compare them
0:10:11 > 0:10:15with much clearer examples found in Eastern Mediterranean,
0:10:15 > 0:10:18and from Persia and Central Asia.
0:10:18 > 0:10:22This is an extremely fine textile, high-class workmanship.
0:10:22 > 0:10:26And the decorative pattern, the embroidery is in silk,
0:10:26 > 0:10:29which has to be imported from Eastern Mediterranean at closest,
0:10:29 > 0:10:33and possibly from somewhere on the silk route back to China.
0:10:39 > 0:10:42We tend to think of this early medieval time
0:10:42 > 0:10:44as a dark age,
0:10:44 > 0:10:46when life isn't civilised at all.
0:10:46 > 0:10:48Well, forget all of that.
0:10:48 > 0:10:50Because what Llangorse tells us
0:10:50 > 0:10:54is that these Welsh aristocrats are sophisticated people.
0:10:54 > 0:10:56They hire Irish architects,
0:10:56 > 0:11:01they import luxury goods from the other side of the world!
0:11:01 > 0:11:06These rulers behind the dyke are living in a connected world,
0:11:06 > 0:11:08that's the important thing.
0:11:08 > 0:11:11They have power, they have wealth,
0:11:11 > 0:11:14and let's face it - some rather nice real estate too.
0:11:18 > 0:11:21Despite the protection that the lake provides,
0:11:21 > 0:11:26royal life at Llangorse is cut short.
0:11:26 > 0:11:29Within 20 years of being built,
0:11:29 > 0:11:32Anglo-Saxons attack and the settlement is destroyed.
0:11:37 > 0:11:41By 916 AD, this Royal Palace is no more.
0:11:45 > 0:11:49The discoveries at Llangorse are a tantalising glimpse
0:11:49 > 0:11:53into a Welsh kingdom from an almost lost medieval world.
0:11:56 > 0:12:01Life in medieval Wales can be very dangerous and brutally short.
0:12:01 > 0:12:05It's a constant battle for survival.
0:12:05 > 0:12:09A battle against foreign enemies and an endless round of internal warfare,
0:12:09 > 0:12:12bitter feuding and broken alliances.
0:12:12 > 0:12:16The land behind the dyke is very fragmented,
0:12:16 > 0:12:21but it's a very attractive prospect to any determined opportunist.
0:12:28 > 0:12:29The first opportunist to emerge
0:12:29 > 0:12:32from the wild frontiers of early medieval Wales
0:12:32 > 0:12:34is the king of Gwynedd -
0:12:34 > 0:12:36Rhodri ap Merfyn.
0:12:38 > 0:12:39What little we know of him
0:12:39 > 0:12:43comes from a few sentences written by an Irish scholar.
0:12:43 > 0:12:46In the ninth century, Rhodri becomes
0:12:46 > 0:12:48the biggest figure behind the dyke.
0:12:48 > 0:12:53But not without a bit of scheming.
0:12:53 > 0:12:55First his uncle, the ruler of Powys,
0:12:55 > 0:12:58goes on a pilgrimage to Rome and drops dead on the way.
0:12:59 > 0:13:03So in 855, Rhodri takes Powys for himself.
0:13:03 > 0:13:07And then 20 years later, the ruler of Seisyllwg,
0:13:07 > 0:13:08that's the region of Ceredigion,
0:13:08 > 0:13:11suffers an accidental death by drowning.
0:13:11 > 0:13:13So what does Rhodri do?
0:13:13 > 0:13:15He swiftly marries into that family
0:13:15 > 0:13:18and expands his kingdom once again.
0:13:20 > 0:13:25Plotting and playing dirty make him ruler of most of Wales.
0:13:25 > 0:13:31For the first time, lands from north to south are united under one leader.
0:13:33 > 0:13:36And this makes Rhodri a new breed of king.
0:13:39 > 0:13:41He gets a new title.
0:13:41 > 0:13:45He is known as Rhodri Mawr - Rhodri the Great.
0:13:47 > 0:13:49All thanks to his military prowess
0:13:49 > 0:13:52in his dealings with a brutal new enemy.
0:13:58 > 0:13:59The Vikings.
0:14:01 > 0:14:06From their base in Dublin, they arrive from across the Irish Sea.
0:14:06 > 0:14:09They terrorise the locals and plunder the coastline.
0:14:09 > 0:14:13In 856, Rhodri stands up to them in battle.
0:14:13 > 0:14:14When he encounters Ormr,
0:14:14 > 0:14:19the leader of a band of Viking raiders in Anglesey,
0:14:19 > 0:14:22he kills him.
0:14:22 > 0:14:25Rhodri is keeping the Vikings at bay.
0:14:27 > 0:14:32But the story of the Vikings in Wales isn't only one of raids and battles.
0:14:38 > 0:14:42On the Anglesey Coast, near the village of Llanbedrgoch,
0:14:42 > 0:14:45archaeological remains reveal a more complex relationship
0:14:45 > 0:14:49between the Welsh and these settlers from Scandinavia.
0:14:51 > 0:14:54What Doctor Mark Redknap and his team discovered
0:14:54 > 0:14:56lies beneath this field.
0:14:56 > 0:14:58We're standing on the perimeter
0:14:58 > 0:15:00of a remarkable early medieval settlement.
0:15:00 > 0:15:02The archaeology conducted here has really changed
0:15:02 > 0:15:05our perception of early medieval Wales in the Viking age.
0:15:05 > 0:15:07You can imagine it starts off
0:15:07 > 0:15:10as a farm with an enclosure ditch around it.
0:15:10 > 0:15:13What is significant though is that
0:15:13 > 0:15:15in the second half of tenth century,
0:15:15 > 0:15:19this earth defensive work is replaced with a massive stone wall.
0:15:24 > 0:15:28Mark and his team unearthed an impenetrable wall,
0:15:28 > 0:15:31two metres thick and over three metres high.
0:15:33 > 0:15:36It's all designed to defend the farm inside.
0:15:39 > 0:15:44This medieval settlement had something valuable to protect.
0:15:44 > 0:15:48When the archaeologists excavated inside the walls,
0:15:48 > 0:15:50they uncovered coins,
0:15:50 > 0:15:52and weights
0:15:52 > 0:15:54and pieces of silver.
0:15:54 > 0:15:56Llanbedrgoch is more than just a farm.
0:15:56 > 0:16:00It is medieval market full of wheeling and dealing.
0:16:00 > 0:16:03The fact that we found these fragments of silver on the site
0:16:03 > 0:16:06indicates that some of the trading was taking place
0:16:06 > 0:16:08within the defended enclosure.
0:16:08 > 0:16:12And one can imagine various commodities being haggled over,
0:16:12 > 0:16:14it may have been hides, it may have been oxen.
0:16:14 > 0:16:17We don't quite know what was being traded.
0:16:19 > 0:16:24But who exactly was trading here over a thousand years ago?
0:16:24 > 0:16:28Silver arm bands found nearby have Viking designs,
0:16:28 > 0:16:31like those found all around the Viking world.
0:16:31 > 0:16:33All together, the discoveries at Llanbedrgoch
0:16:33 > 0:16:36are proof that Wales and people from Scandinavia
0:16:36 > 0:16:39are trading with each other.
0:16:39 > 0:16:42For many years, it was assumed that Scandinavians
0:16:42 > 0:16:45or, at least, raiding Vikings
0:16:45 > 0:16:48were unsuccessful at establishing a foothold in Wales.
0:16:48 > 0:16:51But with Llanbedrgoch, this has transformed our knowledge,
0:16:51 > 0:16:56cos we can now link it culturally to this trading social network
0:16:56 > 0:17:00operating around the Irish Sea in a much broader sense.
0:17:02 > 0:17:06In the tenth century, Anglesey is part of a vibrant trading network
0:17:06 > 0:17:10linked to Viking settlements around the Irish Sea.
0:17:10 > 0:17:14But there is one grisly discovery at Llanbedrgoch
0:17:14 > 0:17:17that still puzzles archaeologists.
0:17:20 > 0:17:25Mark's team uncovered five skeletons - three adults and two children.
0:17:25 > 0:17:29All seem to have been dumped into a pit outside the perimeter wall.
0:17:37 > 0:17:40Were they the victims of a raid?
0:17:40 > 0:17:43Were they friend or foe?
0:17:43 > 0:17:44How did they die?
0:17:46 > 0:17:48What we do know is that analysis of their bones
0:17:48 > 0:17:52indicates that they are not native to Wales.
0:17:52 > 0:17:55Four of them grew up in Scandinavia.
0:17:57 > 0:18:00Whatever the reason they died here in Anglesey,
0:18:00 > 0:18:05it's clear that tenth-century Wales is connected to the Viking world,
0:18:05 > 0:18:09both in combat AND in business.
0:18:09 > 0:18:12But the lesson in this world is that if you want to survive,
0:18:12 > 0:18:14you will strike a deal with the enemy.
0:18:14 > 0:18:17Politics is ruled by economics.
0:18:17 > 0:18:21And in the chaos of survival, what we see is the Welsh kings
0:18:21 > 0:18:23changing loyalties from time to time.
0:18:23 > 0:18:26And one of those kings does that to great effect.
0:18:33 > 0:18:35His name is Hywel Dda -
0:18:35 > 0:18:38Hywel the Good.
0:18:38 > 0:18:40Like his grandfather, Rhodri Mawr,
0:18:40 > 0:18:44he is both lucky and ambitious during his reign.
0:18:44 > 0:18:48First, he marries the daughter of the King of Dyfed.
0:18:48 > 0:18:50And when the king dies,
0:18:50 > 0:18:52he inherits his land.
0:18:52 > 0:18:56With the demise of other Welsh kings, Hywel seizes the moment
0:18:56 > 0:19:00and takes Powys and Gwynedd too.
0:19:00 > 0:19:05By 942 AD, Hywel rules three-quarters of Wales.
0:19:05 > 0:19:08But Hywel's kingdom is under threat.
0:19:08 > 0:19:12There are Vikings to the west and Anglo-Saxons to the east.
0:19:12 > 0:19:16So to stay in power, he does a deal with the enemy.
0:19:18 > 0:19:23What Hywel does is certainly clever and strategic,
0:19:23 > 0:19:24but in some eyes,
0:19:24 > 0:19:29it is also a betrayal of his fellow Cymry or Welshmen.
0:19:29 > 0:19:32Because he forms an alliance with an enemy -
0:19:32 > 0:19:34the King of Wessex, Aethelstan.
0:19:34 > 0:19:39And he wants all the kings of Briton to pay homage to him
0:19:39 > 0:19:41and to pay taxes to him.
0:19:41 > 0:19:43And that is what Hywel agrees to do.
0:19:43 > 0:19:4520 pounds of gold,
0:19:45 > 0:19:47300 pounds of silver,
0:19:47 > 0:19:4925,000 cattle.
0:19:49 > 0:19:51It's a huge gamble by Hywel.
0:19:51 > 0:19:56And he's hoping that this will help to protect his status.
0:19:58 > 0:19:59And he gambles further.
0:19:59 > 0:20:03When the Vikings, Scots and Celts join forces
0:20:03 > 0:20:06to drive out the Anglo-Saxons from Britain once and for all,
0:20:06 > 0:20:10Hywel is the only leader who stands aside.
0:20:10 > 0:20:13The gamble pays off.
0:20:13 > 0:20:17The Anglo-Saxons win, so Hywel and his kingdom are secure.
0:20:23 > 0:20:25So what do we make of Hywel's actions?
0:20:25 > 0:20:28Is he motivated purely by blatant self interest
0:20:28 > 0:20:31and nothing more redeeming?
0:20:31 > 0:20:35It's not clear. What is clear is that this is a significant moment
0:20:35 > 0:20:37for those people who live behind the dyke,
0:20:37 > 0:20:42and they find themselves increasingly cut off from their Celtic cousins
0:20:42 > 0:20:44in the rest of Britain, especially the north.
0:20:44 > 0:20:48So Hywel's reputation is still open to question,
0:20:48 > 0:20:50but that's about to change.
0:20:56 > 0:21:01It isn't for military prowess that he is known as Hywel the Good.
0:21:01 > 0:21:05He earns that title for giving Wales its first written laws.
0:21:05 > 0:21:08Devised more than a thousand years ago,
0:21:08 > 0:21:12they are kept here at the National Library in Aberystwyth.
0:21:12 > 0:21:15Historian Sara Elin Roberts has spent her career
0:21:15 > 0:21:18studying 13th century copies of the laws,
0:21:18 > 0:21:21written in Latin and in medieval Welsh.
0:21:21 > 0:21:24The Welsh law is preserved in around 40 manuscripts.
0:21:24 > 0:21:27They're dealing with every aspect that the law wants to cover,
0:21:27 > 0:21:29so they're dealing with the king,
0:21:29 > 0:21:30they are dealing with peasants
0:21:30 > 0:21:31and their rights, peoples rights,
0:21:31 > 0:21:34injury, compensation for injury,
0:21:34 > 0:21:35homicide, theft,
0:21:35 > 0:21:38arson, you name it.
0:21:38 > 0:21:39If there's a law for it,
0:21:39 > 0:21:41the aim was to include it in the book,
0:21:41 > 0:21:45which is why the books are quite lengthy.
0:21:45 > 0:21:48It's thought that before Hywel's law,
0:21:48 > 0:21:50each kingdom had its own customs.
0:21:50 > 0:21:54But Hywel's is the first official set of laws for all of Wales.
0:21:54 > 0:21:57The problem is we can't even be sure
0:21:57 > 0:22:00that the story of how these laws came to be is true.
0:22:02 > 0:22:07What the Welsh law books tell us is that Hywel gathers a group of experts
0:22:07 > 0:22:11from all over Wales and brings them to his palace at Whitland,
0:22:11 > 0:22:15where they spend all of Lent constructing this new body of law.
0:22:15 > 0:22:21Trouble is, there is no official record of this legal summit
0:22:21 > 0:22:22in any of the chronicles.
0:22:22 > 0:22:25But of all the early Welsh kings,
0:22:25 > 0:22:27Hywel is the one with the stature
0:22:27 > 0:22:30and the benefit of a peaceful reign
0:22:30 > 0:22:32to put Welsh law in order.
0:22:35 > 0:22:38These first Welsh laws are comprehensive
0:22:38 > 0:22:40and full of common sense.
0:22:40 > 0:22:43Most remarkable is the emphasis on reconciliation
0:22:43 > 0:22:46when it comes to matters of crime.
0:22:46 > 0:22:48The Welsh laws are very modern
0:22:48 > 0:22:50in their attitude to crime and punishment.
0:22:50 > 0:22:53You often these days hear the term compensation culture.
0:22:53 > 0:22:55Well, this is what you have in medieval Wales.
0:22:55 > 0:22:57Rather than physical punishments,
0:22:57 > 0:23:00whipping, hanging, eye for an eye and all of that,
0:23:00 > 0:23:03what you have is compensation.
0:23:03 > 0:23:06Instead of suffering capital punishment,
0:23:06 > 0:23:09a murderer and his family for the next seven generations
0:23:09 > 0:23:12have to pay a murder price to the kin of the deceased.
0:23:12 > 0:23:15A sense of fairness runs through much of Hywel's law,
0:23:15 > 0:23:19including how it deals with the rights of women.
0:23:19 > 0:23:22Women did appear to have more independence
0:23:22 > 0:23:24than they would in other countries.
0:23:24 > 0:23:27In medieval Wales, marriage was split into two periods.
0:23:27 > 0:23:29The first seven years was a sort of trial period,
0:23:29 > 0:23:32and after seven years if the couple wanted to separate,
0:23:32 > 0:23:34they could do so quite freely
0:23:34 > 0:23:36and the goods would be split half and half.
0:23:36 > 0:23:39And there are lists in the law books saying who gets what,
0:23:39 > 0:23:41which gives women some independence.
0:23:41 > 0:23:44They wouldn't be left destitute,
0:23:44 > 0:23:47they would get something if the marriage didn't work out.
0:23:49 > 0:23:53Even today, these first laws of Wales seem advanced
0:23:53 > 0:23:57and different to other European laws of that time.
0:23:57 > 0:24:00They are a sign of a distinct culture.
0:24:00 > 0:24:03These laws are central to the story of Wales.
0:24:03 > 0:24:06They show that, from a very early period,
0:24:06 > 0:24:09Wales wasn't a primitive society, it was a sophisticated society.
0:24:09 > 0:24:14They're also very important as a unifying factor in Wales,
0:24:14 > 0:24:17because what you have is a collection of kingdoms,
0:24:17 > 0:24:19each with their own king doing their own thing,
0:24:19 > 0:24:22but it seems that they were all subject to one law,
0:24:22 > 0:24:23the Law Of Hywel.
0:24:24 > 0:24:27And it could be argued that the laws were the one unifying factor
0:24:27 > 0:24:30in early medieval Wales.
0:24:33 > 0:24:37For centuries to come, living under the Law Of Hywel
0:24:37 > 0:24:41would be one of the defining features of the Welsh people.
0:24:45 > 0:24:48But, despite sharing the same law,
0:24:48 > 0:24:52the tenth-century kingdoms of Wales are still at odds with each other,
0:24:52 > 0:24:55and at war with their Anglo-Saxon neighbours.
0:24:57 > 0:25:02But a new European Wales will emerge from its next great struggle.
0:25:12 > 0:25:16Anglo-Saxons and their way of life are swiftly and coldly
0:25:16 > 0:25:19being swept aside by the Normans.
0:25:19 > 0:25:22William the Conqueror, from France,
0:25:22 > 0:25:25and his unstoppable military machine have arrived.
0:25:25 > 0:25:27And he has Wales in his sights.
0:25:29 > 0:25:34Building castles is the Norman way of taking control.
0:25:34 > 0:25:37Within 24 years of arriving in the British Isles,
0:25:37 > 0:25:40they've completed the Great Tower of Chepstow Castle
0:25:40 > 0:25:42overlooking the River Wye.
0:25:46 > 0:25:49They have taken command of the gateway to South Wales.
0:25:49 > 0:25:53The Norman world that descends on the doorstep of the Welsh
0:25:53 > 0:25:56is alien and threatening.
0:25:56 > 0:26:00We know what it's like to be crushed by Norman power,
0:26:00 > 0:26:02because we have accounts from that time.
0:26:02 > 0:26:06The writer Rhygyfarch talks about free necks
0:26:06 > 0:26:07submitting to the yoke,
0:26:07 > 0:26:11righteous hands branded with hot iron,
0:26:11 > 0:26:13men and women being mutilated.
0:26:13 > 0:26:15We've not known anything like this
0:26:15 > 0:26:18since the days of the Roman invasion.
0:26:22 > 0:26:28But Wales proves difficult to invade and tricky to control.
0:26:28 > 0:26:32It's a very different prospect from the Anglo-Saxon lands
0:26:32 > 0:26:34the Normans have just conquered.
0:26:36 > 0:26:40It's wild and it's mountainous.
0:26:40 > 0:26:44It doesn't have one leader to overthrow but many.
0:26:44 > 0:26:49This time, the Welsh lack of unity is an advantage.
0:26:50 > 0:26:54So the Norman attempt to conquer is rather piecemeal.
0:26:54 > 0:26:57It will take 200 years.
0:27:00 > 0:27:03The strongholds the Normans set up in Wales
0:27:03 > 0:27:05are known as the Welsh marches
0:27:05 > 0:27:07or Marchia Wallia.
0:27:08 > 0:27:12Run by Norman lords, these are bastions for raiding land
0:27:12 > 0:27:14and for suppressing the locals.
0:27:14 > 0:27:18While territory in the west is considered Wales Proper
0:27:18 > 0:27:20or Pura Wallia.
0:27:22 > 0:27:26After the Normans came, Wales is divided into two different areas.
0:27:26 > 0:27:27There was the areas
0:27:27 > 0:27:30of the Marcher Lordships, where Welsh people would have lost
0:27:30 > 0:27:32all their rights and privileges
0:27:32 > 0:27:33and some of their lands.
0:27:33 > 0:27:37The laws of Hywel Dda would have been superseded by Norman laws,
0:27:37 > 0:27:41they'd have had to pay taxes and respect different authority.
0:27:41 > 0:27:45Much of Wales remained in the possession of the Welsh princes
0:27:45 > 0:27:48and the systems would have remained the same there.
0:27:48 > 0:27:51But they would have constantly been under threat
0:27:51 > 0:27:54from Norman expansion trying to take their lands away from them.
0:27:54 > 0:27:58So life changed significantly in both parts of Wales.
0:27:58 > 0:28:01But the Welsh retained their identity in some areas
0:28:01 > 0:28:04and had their identity taken away in others.
0:28:06 > 0:28:08These are very hard times,
0:28:08 > 0:28:10no doubt about that,
0:28:10 > 0:28:12but it's not all negative.
0:28:12 > 0:28:16A big world has come to Wales with new ideas,
0:28:16 > 0:28:20new ways of building, new ways of creating wealth.
0:28:20 > 0:28:23And here we have a key theme in our story.
0:28:23 > 0:28:26The big influence from outside is crucial to us.
0:28:30 > 0:28:34The population grows as the Welsh marches are colonised
0:28:34 > 0:28:38by the Normans and their English subjects.
0:28:38 > 0:28:43And the Normans encourage other foreigners to settle in the south.
0:28:44 > 0:28:48Wales is becoming cosmopolitan.
0:28:49 > 0:28:52I think before the Normans came,
0:28:52 > 0:28:56Wales was still part of a Celtic world focused around the Irish Sea
0:28:56 > 0:28:59in terms of its religion, its family connections,
0:28:59 > 0:29:00its economy.
0:29:00 > 0:29:02But after the Normans came and started to settle Wales,
0:29:02 > 0:29:05those horizons changed.
0:29:05 > 0:29:07They were looking much further afield.
0:29:07 > 0:29:11And Welsh princes started to wish to be European princes.
0:29:11 > 0:29:15And in the 12th century, that is exactly what they become.
0:29:22 > 0:29:25There is one young leader in the Kingdom of Deheubarth,
0:29:25 > 0:29:28here in South West Wales in 12th century,
0:29:28 > 0:29:30who knows full well that
0:29:30 > 0:29:34the only way to survive in the battle with the Normans is to be cunning,
0:29:34 > 0:29:36to adopt new ways.
0:29:39 > 0:29:41The Lord Rhys is a young nobleman.
0:29:41 > 0:29:43A teenager who wants to play the Normans
0:29:43 > 0:29:46at their own game by using armour...
0:29:49 > 0:29:50..and cavalry
0:29:50 > 0:29:56and building seven stone castles right across South Wales.
0:29:56 > 0:30:01Dinefwr Castle will become the nerve centre for his powerful dynasty.
0:30:05 > 0:30:06The Lord Rhys starts young.
0:30:06 > 0:30:08Orphaned at 14,
0:30:08 > 0:30:13he creates havoc for the Anglo Norman king, Henry II.
0:30:15 > 0:30:17Henry is a busy king.
0:30:17 > 0:30:21He has his hands full, wresting back control from barons
0:30:21 > 0:30:23who threaten his position in Ireland.
0:30:26 > 0:30:28In Wales, over a period of 26 years,
0:30:28 > 0:30:34Lord Rhys stirs up rebellions, raids land, burns enemy castles
0:30:34 > 0:30:37and claws back power from the Marcher lords.
0:30:39 > 0:30:43Hostages are continually taken on both sides.
0:30:46 > 0:30:50I suppose we can say that here's a leader who makes Henry II
0:30:50 > 0:30:53and the Norman barons sit up and take notice of Wales.
0:30:55 > 0:30:59Lord Rhys' years of onslaught prove too much for Henry,
0:30:59 > 0:31:01who's busy dealing with Ireland.
0:31:01 > 0:31:06He hasn't time to deal with this troublesome Welsh leader.
0:31:06 > 0:31:08So he decides to give ground.
0:31:10 > 0:31:13Henry decides to let Rhys keep some of those conquered lands
0:31:13 > 0:31:16and he frees his hostage son.
0:31:16 > 0:31:19In return, this is the crucial part,
0:31:19 > 0:31:22Rhys acknowledges Henry as his overlord.
0:31:22 > 0:31:26And the result is that the Lord Rhys transforms himself
0:31:26 > 0:31:29from troublesome rebel to honourable ally.
0:31:29 > 0:31:32He's even appointed Justice of South Wales.
0:31:32 > 0:31:35That really is a position of responsibility.
0:31:35 > 0:31:41And by 1171, the Lord Rhys is acknowledged as Supreme Ruler
0:31:41 > 0:31:42of South and West Wales.
0:31:45 > 0:31:47While much of Wales is still divided,
0:31:47 > 0:31:50Lord Rhys is its most successful leader.
0:31:50 > 0:31:54His power recognised by Welsh and English alike.
0:31:54 > 0:31:58Now he takes command of castles that will secure his borders.
0:31:58 > 0:32:02They stretch across his kingdom from Dinefwr to Cardigan.
0:32:03 > 0:32:0913th century Deheubarth glitters with Lord Rhys' lime-washed castles.
0:32:10 > 0:32:12Aside from his success with the Normans,
0:32:12 > 0:32:16Lord Rhys is known for two other reasons.
0:32:16 > 0:32:19Firstly as a philanderer.
0:32:19 > 0:32:21He has nine sons and eight daughters
0:32:21 > 0:32:24even fathering illegitimate children by his own niece.
0:32:24 > 0:32:28And secondly for starting a revival of Welsh culture.
0:32:28 > 0:32:33In 1176 at Cardigan, he hosts a major festival
0:32:33 > 0:32:36based on French traditions.
0:32:36 > 0:32:40It's considered to be Wales' first Eisteddfod.
0:32:40 > 0:32:44Well, with an impressive network of castles
0:32:44 > 0:32:48and generous sponsorship of poetry and music,
0:32:48 > 0:32:53Lord Rhys is responsible for a real blossoming of Welsh culture.
0:32:53 > 0:32:56It stands proudly in that European tradition.
0:32:56 > 0:32:59But the most enduring legacy of that revival
0:32:59 > 0:33:04is to put Wales into the greatest European club of all.
0:33:10 > 0:33:13These are the remains of Strata Florida,
0:33:13 > 0:33:16One of the most important abbeys in Wales'.
0:33:18 > 0:33:22It lies in a rural and isolated spot in the heart of Ceredigion.
0:33:25 > 0:33:30In the 12th century it is run by monks, from Burgundy in France.
0:33:30 > 0:33:33They're known as the Cistercians.
0:33:33 > 0:33:36Famed for their white robes, hard work and simple life,
0:33:36 > 0:33:40they are the latest must-have for any medieval king.
0:33:41 > 0:33:43Janet Burton is a historian
0:33:43 > 0:33:48who can tell me why the Lord Rhys became the abbey's main patron.
0:33:48 > 0:33:51First and foremost, rulers like the Lord Rhys
0:33:51 > 0:33:55wanted to have their own community of monks to pray for them.
0:33:55 > 0:33:57It was a violent age.
0:33:57 > 0:34:00They were aware that they might need that bit of help.
0:34:00 > 0:34:01On the straight to salvation.
0:34:01 > 0:34:06And that was what he wanted from a community of monks.
0:34:06 > 0:34:09But there are other benefits for Welsh leaders.
0:34:09 > 0:34:13The Cistercians are Wales' first international order of monks,
0:34:13 > 0:34:16well-connected across the Continent,
0:34:16 > 0:34:19from France and Spain to Eastern Europe.
0:34:19 > 0:34:22Strata Florida is taken over by Rhys
0:34:22 > 0:34:24at a time when his power is on the increase.
0:34:24 > 0:34:28He's very much trying to fulfil territorial ambitions.
0:34:28 > 0:34:31This is about his prestige, his power his authority.
0:34:31 > 0:34:34And in backing the Cistercian monks
0:34:34 > 0:34:40he's putting himself on an equal footing with other European rulers.
0:34:42 > 0:34:43Over the next century,
0:34:43 > 0:34:47Welsh rulers establish 14 Cistercian monasteries.
0:34:47 > 0:34:51And because Cistercian abbots visit France each year
0:34:51 > 0:34:53there's a constant exchange of ideas
0:34:53 > 0:34:56with this well-connected, European club.
0:34:57 > 0:35:02And this place itself, not just a centre of prayer
0:35:02 > 0:35:05but an industrial centre too.
0:35:05 > 0:35:09Yes, everything that would have surrounded the monastery within the precinct
0:35:09 > 0:35:12would have been geared up towards economic activities.
0:35:12 > 0:35:17Workshops, wool sheds, keeping of horses, cows,
0:35:17 > 0:35:21arable farming, fishing - a huge range of economic activity.
0:35:21 > 0:35:23- It was big business. - It was big business, yes.
0:35:23 > 0:35:27In fact, the writer Gerald of Wales, in the late 12th Century,
0:35:27 > 0:35:29remarked of the Cistercians
0:35:29 > 0:35:33that if you give them a wilderness and go away for a year and come back,
0:35:33 > 0:35:35they will have transformed it.
0:35:35 > 0:35:39Transformed the wilderness into what he called a smiling plenty.
0:35:39 > 0:35:41So, economic transformation of the area.
0:35:43 > 0:35:47The Welsh Cistercians have ready cash, they're farmers,
0:35:47 > 0:35:52traders and merchants and they make the land prosper.
0:35:52 > 0:35:54Strata Florida grows to 80,000 acres,
0:35:54 > 0:36:00Wales' largest monastic estate and the jewel in its medieval crown.
0:36:04 > 0:36:08What we have at Strata Florida is a vibrant community.
0:36:08 > 0:36:12Yes, it's a house of prayer but it's much more than that.
0:36:12 > 0:36:16It's a major centre of Welsh learning and culture.
0:36:16 > 0:36:20And we have to see Strata Florida in a much a wider context,
0:36:20 > 0:36:24not Welsh, not British, but European.
0:36:24 > 0:36:27And when you see this glorious archway
0:36:27 > 0:36:30you have the clearest evidence of the European influence
0:36:30 > 0:36:31in medieval Wales.
0:36:46 > 0:36:51The Cistercians aren't just a boon to the status and economy of Wales.
0:36:51 > 0:36:55They also help cement the growing sense of a Welsh identity.
0:36:55 > 0:36:58Because the monks are literate.
0:36:58 > 0:37:01On animal skins they write down Welsh poems,
0:37:01 > 0:37:04document daily life and record our history.
0:37:04 > 0:37:06The work rate is astonishing.
0:37:06 > 0:37:10The monks fill entire libraries with their books.
0:37:10 > 0:37:13This is the site of the library at Strata Florida.
0:37:13 > 0:37:16It was packed with volumes made of goat skin,
0:37:16 > 0:37:18priceless records of Welsh life.
0:37:22 > 0:37:26Their most important achievement is Brut y Tywysogion.
0:37:26 > 0:37:28The chronicle of the princes.
0:37:30 > 0:37:34This is a tale of Welsh history that starts in 682
0:37:34 > 0:37:37and spans six centuries.
0:37:38 > 0:37:44It tells of eclipses of the sun, plagues and earthquakes
0:37:44 > 0:37:48and records royal births and deaths.
0:37:49 > 0:37:52Before all this much of the story of our past
0:37:52 > 0:37:57is preserved in popular memory or in some decaying documents.
0:37:57 > 0:38:00But now for the first time, thanks to the Cistercians,
0:38:00 > 0:38:04we have a proper written history preserved for the people.
0:38:04 > 0:38:07In effect, it's our first national archive.
0:38:11 > 0:38:15The Cistercians are part of the fabric of Welsh life
0:38:15 > 0:38:18and they consolidate Welsh culture and history,
0:38:18 > 0:38:21making it real and tangible.
0:38:21 > 0:38:24Medieval Wales has its own language, its own laws
0:38:24 > 0:38:26and now a preserved history
0:38:26 > 0:38:29with a growing sense of its cultural heritage.
0:38:34 > 0:38:38But any sense of a Welsh nation doesn't exist.
0:38:41 > 0:38:42And by the 12th century,
0:38:42 > 0:38:48the Welsh have witnessed the violent reigns of over 100 kings.
0:38:48 > 0:38:53As time passes, the title of king, or Rex in Latin,
0:38:53 > 0:38:55becomes a little devalued.
0:38:55 > 0:38:57There had been so many kings!
0:38:57 > 0:39:00Leaders prefer the title of Prince,
0:39:00 > 0:39:02based on the Latin for principle ruler.
0:39:02 > 0:39:07And it's in the 13th century that this notion of uniting Wales
0:39:07 > 0:39:10under one leader starts to gather force.
0:39:10 > 0:39:13That leader will be called Prince of Wales.
0:39:25 > 0:39:28One ruler from Gwynedd is the only Welshman
0:39:28 > 0:39:33who is ever recognised by England, as Prince of Wales.
0:39:33 > 0:39:38He is Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, better known as Llywelyn the Last.
0:39:40 > 0:39:44This story of Wales is all about discovery.
0:39:44 > 0:39:48I'm on a country lane above the village of Abergwyngregyn,
0:39:48 > 0:39:50overlooking the Menai Straits.
0:39:50 > 0:39:54I'm in search of a place that in all likelihood
0:39:54 > 0:39:57is one of the most significant sites in the history of Wales.
0:39:57 > 0:40:00And yet it is relatively unknown.
0:40:05 > 0:40:07And here it is.
0:40:07 > 0:40:11This is Pen y Bryn, it's now privately owned.
0:40:11 > 0:40:17Archaeologists tell us that parts of this building date back to 1200.
0:40:17 > 0:40:21And there is a growing body of evidence now to suggest,
0:40:21 > 0:40:26at one stage, this was the home of Llywelyn Fawr, Llywelyn the Great,
0:40:26 > 0:40:31who ruled for 46 years, and of his grandson, Llywelyn ap Gruffydd.
0:40:31 > 0:40:36Llywelyn ap Gruffydd is a bold man, taking command of much of Wales
0:40:36 > 0:40:39and capturing land from English lords.
0:40:39 > 0:40:45His opponent, the English King Henry III is a weak and unpopular monarch.
0:40:45 > 0:40:47After struggling with years of civil war in England
0:40:47 > 0:40:50he is willing to listen to Llywelyn.
0:40:50 > 0:40:55It's late in the summer of 1267 when Henry's men
0:40:55 > 0:40:59and Llywelyn's men hold a summit meeting in Shrewsbury.
0:40:59 > 0:41:01It lasts for four days,
0:41:01 > 0:41:04and some of the most notable people of the time are present,
0:41:04 > 0:41:07including the Pope's envoy, and what they're after is a deal
0:41:07 > 0:41:11which defines Llywelyn's power in Wales.
0:41:11 > 0:41:14And it turns out to be a very significant moment.
0:41:16 > 0:41:19On the 29th September 1267,
0:41:19 > 0:41:24King Henry and Llywelyn meet at a ford on the Welsh-English border.
0:41:24 > 0:41:28A formal meeting place, to ratify the treaty of Montgomery.
0:41:31 > 0:41:36King Henry recognises Llywelyn as the official Prince of Wales,
0:41:36 > 0:41:40so long as Llywelyn swears allegiance to the English Crown.
0:41:41 > 0:41:46Llywelyn becomes the first Welsh ruler to be formally acknowledged
0:41:46 > 0:41:49as Prince of Wales by an English king,
0:41:49 > 0:41:53so it is a very significant moment. But this treaty isn't really
0:41:53 > 0:41:56about Llywelyn's relationship with Henry,
0:41:56 > 0:41:59it is more to do with Llywelyn's determination to legitimise
0:41:59 > 0:42:03his power over other Welsh princes and lords.
0:42:03 > 0:42:07And it helps, of course, that he's now backed by a powerful military machine.
0:42:11 > 0:42:15It is Llywelyn's hunger for power that creates the principality of Wales.
0:42:16 > 0:42:22Llywelyn is ruler of 200,000 subjects from Gwynedd to Brecon.
0:42:23 > 0:42:26It is a new start for Wales.
0:42:26 > 0:42:30A time of peace to begin the business of building its own state.
0:42:34 > 0:42:38But this promising age would last only ten years.
0:42:38 > 0:42:42The treaty Llwellyn has signed comes at a heavy price.
0:42:42 > 0:42:46The price demanded of Llywelyn is painfully high
0:42:46 > 0:42:48but he does agree to it.
0:42:48 > 0:42:51Not only does he pay homage to the king he pays a lot of money too.
0:42:51 > 0:42:56And the first instalment is 5,000 marks, that's around £3,000.
0:42:56 > 0:42:59It's probably as much as the prince's entire annual income.
0:43:02 > 0:43:04As well as Llywelyn's financial pressures,
0:43:04 > 0:43:08he loses his deal with the English when Henry dies.
0:43:11 > 0:43:13The new king, Edward I,
0:43:13 > 0:43:18is an imposing figure, fierce of temper and violent.
0:43:18 > 0:43:20He wants to crush this new Prince of Wales
0:43:20 > 0:43:24and win back power over all of Britain, for himself.
0:43:29 > 0:43:32Llywelyn's problems start to multiply.
0:43:32 > 0:43:36He can't bring himself to pay homage to King Edward
0:43:36 > 0:43:41and he stops the system of regular payments that he's agreed to make.
0:43:41 > 0:43:44The response to that is entirely predictable.
0:43:44 > 0:43:49The king judges him to be untrustworthy, unreliable
0:43:49 > 0:43:51and he declares him a rebel.
0:43:52 > 0:43:57In 1277, Edward gathers the biggest army seen in Britain
0:43:57 > 0:43:59since the Norman invasion.
0:43:59 > 0:44:02They force their way into Anglesey, the breadbasket of Wales
0:44:02 > 0:44:05and confiscate the harvest.
0:44:05 > 0:44:07Then Edward redistributes Llywelyn's land.
0:44:11 > 0:44:14Llywelyn is cut off from most of his lands
0:44:14 > 0:44:18and he has very few allies so he's forced to surrender
0:44:18 > 0:44:22and in fact he retreats here to the heart of Snowdonia.
0:44:22 > 0:44:25And there's more bad news for him, because a new treaty is signed
0:44:25 > 0:44:27where most of the Welsh lords
0:44:27 > 0:44:31declare their loyalty to the king and not to Llywelyn, so all
0:44:31 > 0:44:36the power that he's built up over the past decade just fades away.
0:44:39 > 0:44:43For the next five years, Llywelyn tries to patch up
0:44:43 > 0:44:45his relationship with King Edward.
0:44:45 > 0:44:48He even resumes payments.
0:44:48 > 0:44:52But on Palm Sunday in 1282, things go badly wrong.
0:44:52 > 0:44:55Llywelyn's brother decides to take his own initiative
0:44:55 > 0:44:59and attack an English castle without Llywelyn's permission.
0:44:59 > 0:45:03It sparks a rebellion and other Welsh lords join in.
0:45:03 > 0:45:06That gives Llywelyn an impossible dilemma.
0:45:06 > 0:45:10Does he stand aside or does he join in too?
0:45:10 > 0:45:12What happens is that fate intervenes.
0:45:16 > 0:45:19For several months Llywelyn hesitates.
0:45:19 > 0:45:23He's desperate to keep the vengeful English king at bay.
0:45:25 > 0:45:31But on 12 June 1282, his wife Eleanor dies,
0:45:31 > 0:45:34while giving birth to their daughter.
0:45:36 > 0:45:40In mourning and with no male heir he has nothing to lose.
0:45:42 > 0:45:46He joins his brother to attack the King of England.
0:45:46 > 0:45:50But Edward retaliates, attacking Llwellyn from all sides
0:45:50 > 0:45:52including from the sea.
0:45:52 > 0:45:55Edward's forces are closing in on Gwynedd
0:45:55 > 0:45:58and the king has one principle demand.
0:45:58 > 0:46:02He wants Llywelyn to surrender Wales.
0:46:02 > 0:46:07Well, Llywelyn's advisors, the main figures here in Snowdonia send an urgent appeal
0:46:07 > 0:46:11to the Archbishop of Canterbury and they declare the prince
0:46:11 > 0:46:14should not throw aside his inheritance
0:46:14 > 0:46:16"and that of his ancestors in Wales.
0:46:16 > 0:46:22"And accept land in England, a country with whose language,
0:46:22 > 0:46:25"way of life, laws and customs he is unfamiliar."
0:46:26 > 0:46:30The view of Llywelyn's council is uncompromising.
0:46:30 > 0:46:34They declare that Wales is an ancient inheritance.
0:46:34 > 0:46:37It owes nothing to the King of England.
0:46:37 > 0:46:39And Llywelyn himself writes to the king,
0:46:39 > 0:46:41and he says he will never abandon the people
0:46:41 > 0:46:46who have been protected by his ancestors since the days of Brutus.
0:46:46 > 0:46:50It really is a cry of defiance at a desperate time.
0:46:53 > 0:46:55By summoning the legend of Brutus,
0:46:55 > 0:47:00the mythical ancestor of the Celts, Llywelyn lays claim to a much
0:47:00 > 0:47:03older connection to this land, than the English ever can.
0:47:06 > 0:47:08But just a month later,
0:47:08 > 0:47:12Llywelyn, the last native Prince of Wales will be dead.
0:47:19 > 0:47:25One story says that late in 1282, after battle near Builth Wells,
0:47:25 > 0:47:27Llywelyn encounters an English knight.
0:47:32 > 0:47:35Llywelyn isn't wearing any armour.
0:47:47 > 0:47:49The knight runs him through with his lance.
0:47:52 > 0:47:54The Prince of Wales is dead.
0:47:55 > 0:47:58Llywelyn's head is paraded around London -
0:47:58 > 0:48:01a gruesome display of English conquest.
0:48:04 > 0:48:07How Llywelyn dies is a bit of a mystery.
0:48:07 > 0:48:09He is the most wanted man in Britain.
0:48:09 > 0:48:11Is he betrayed by one of his own?
0:48:11 > 0:48:13Is he enticed into a trap?
0:48:13 > 0:48:18Is he struck down by an English knight who doesn't even recognise the Prince of Wales?
0:48:18 > 0:48:20We'll never know for sure.
0:48:20 > 0:48:23What we do know, is for those who believe in Wales,
0:48:23 > 0:48:27in the Land of the Cymru, in the building of a Welsh nation
0:48:27 > 0:48:31the death of Llywelyn is the end of the world.
0:48:40 > 0:48:43Wales loses hope of independence.
0:48:43 > 0:48:46Worse still, Edward suppresses everything Welsh.
0:48:47 > 0:48:51Land and castles are taken, treasures stolen.
0:48:52 > 0:48:55Churches and abbeys are destroyed,
0:48:55 > 0:48:59and the child heirs of Llywelyn's dynasty are imprisoned.
0:49:04 > 0:49:08Edward takes a stranglehold on Wales' last refuge of power
0:49:08 > 0:49:12in the mountainous north, by building imposing castles across Gwynedd.
0:49:14 > 0:49:18His final symbolic touch is to bestow the title Prince of Wales
0:49:18 > 0:49:22on his own heir, a tradition that continues to this day.
0:49:26 > 0:49:29Wales is totally excluded from power.
0:49:31 > 0:49:33It is no longer a place of kings and princes.
0:49:36 > 0:49:38This is a land of political defeat.
0:49:45 > 0:49:47But there is worse to come.
0:49:48 > 0:49:53In 1349, an apocalypse engulfs the medieval world.
0:49:55 > 0:49:58It takes the form of the Bubonic Plague, or Black Death.
0:50:00 > 0:50:01Spread by the fleas of rats,
0:50:01 > 0:50:05it kills 25 million people across Europe.
0:50:05 > 0:50:08A third of England's population die.
0:50:08 > 0:50:10Wales can't escape it.
0:50:10 > 0:50:13Even its mountains and rural isolation
0:50:13 > 0:50:16only hinder the spread of the disease.
0:50:18 > 0:50:22In just two years, a quarter of the Welsh are wiped out.
0:50:25 > 0:50:29After the Black Death, the economy can barely function.
0:50:29 > 0:50:32Survivors are traumatised having witnessed
0:50:32 > 0:50:34suffering on a biblical scale.
0:50:36 > 0:50:38And more trouble is on the way.
0:50:45 > 0:50:49Into this turbulent world steps the son of destiny,
0:50:49 > 0:50:53the man who emerges as the standard bearer for Welsh nationhood.
0:50:53 > 0:50:56His name - Owain Glyndwr.
0:50:56 > 0:50:59And this mighty fortress of Harlech Castle,
0:50:59 > 0:51:01a prime symbol of English power,
0:51:01 > 0:51:04becomes, for several years, a Welsh fortress,
0:51:04 > 0:51:07a Welsh seat of government under a Welsh leader.
0:51:11 > 0:51:16Owain Glyndwr is an unlikely figure to inspire a fight for Welsh independence.
0:51:16 > 0:51:21A nobleman from North Wales, he's also part of the English upper crust.
0:51:21 > 0:51:24He studies law in London and joins the English army,
0:51:24 > 0:51:27even taking part in an invasion of Scotland.
0:51:30 > 0:51:35Not until his late 40s does Glyndwr turn into a rebel with a cause.
0:51:38 > 0:51:43So what is it that sparks Owain Glyndwr's anger and resentment?
0:51:43 > 0:51:46It seems to be a local dispute over land.
0:51:46 > 0:51:49An English squire called Reginald Gray takes possession
0:51:49 > 0:51:52of some of Glyndwr's territory.
0:51:52 > 0:51:58It's a situation that spirals out of control and leads, eventually, to all-out rebellion.
0:51:58 > 0:52:03In the first instance, Glyndwr takes his complaint to parliament.
0:52:03 > 0:52:05He does want to play things by the book
0:52:05 > 0:52:10but his case is rejected there in rather insulting terms,
0:52:10 > 0:52:14with one member referring to the Welsh as "those barefoot rascals".
0:52:14 > 0:52:18Now, if we add all that to the catalogue of injustice
0:52:18 > 0:52:23being suffered by so many Welsh people under English rule, we begin
0:52:23 > 0:52:28to realise why we now have the makings of an explosive situation.
0:52:31 > 0:52:35Glyndwr's sense of Welsh identity comes to the fore.
0:52:35 > 0:52:40Supporters rally round and, on the 16th of September, 1400,
0:52:40 > 0:52:43they declare him Prince of Wales.
0:52:44 > 0:52:48As a direct descendant of the Welsh princes, it is a title
0:52:48 > 0:52:51to which he can lay good claim.
0:52:51 > 0:52:55The self-proclaimed Prince of Wales Owain Glyndwr
0:52:55 > 0:52:59makes the town of Ruthin the first target for his attack.
0:52:59 > 0:53:02He's got new status, a new power. He wants to make a big impact.
0:53:05 > 0:53:07And that's exactly what he does.
0:53:07 > 0:53:12Before dawn, Glyndwr and 200 men raid the town.
0:53:14 > 0:53:17They steal gold, silver and livestock,
0:53:17 > 0:53:20and then burn Ruthin to the ground.
0:53:20 > 0:53:25Glyndwr doesn't stop there. He attacks more English strongholds,
0:53:25 > 0:53:29leaving a trail of burnt towns across North Wales.
0:53:29 > 0:53:35As he gathers momentum, his support across Wales grows.
0:53:36 > 0:53:41Reports tell of Welsh students at Oxford abandoning their books,
0:53:41 > 0:53:44Welsh labourers leaving their English employers,
0:53:44 > 0:53:49all of them returning home to join the rebellion.
0:53:49 > 0:53:53Glyndwr and his men become famous for their guerilla-style warfare.
0:53:53 > 0:53:57They ambush the enemy, and then melt away into the landscape,
0:53:57 > 0:53:59as quickly as they appeared.
0:54:02 > 0:54:05Glyndwr is outwitting the English.
0:54:05 > 0:54:10By 1403, the scale of Glyndwr's revolt is truly national,
0:54:10 > 0:54:14and the English are desperately trying to hang on
0:54:14 > 0:54:17to four power bases, including this one at Harlech.
0:54:17 > 0:54:22So Glyndwr decides to lay siege to the castle and starve them out.
0:54:22 > 0:54:24And the tactic works.
0:54:24 > 0:54:32A few months later, Glyndwr and his family are able to move in here and make Harlech Castle their home.
0:54:32 > 0:54:36He's consolidating his hold on all of central Wales and he's moving
0:54:36 > 0:54:41a step closer to uniting all of the Welsh against the great enemy.
0:54:45 > 0:54:49And, for nearly two years, Glyndwr has the help of French troops
0:54:49 > 0:54:52lent to him by the King of France, Charles the Sixth.
0:54:55 > 0:54:59At the height of his power, Glyndwr comes here to Machynlleth
0:54:59 > 0:55:04and assembles a parliament with representatives from all over Wales,
0:55:04 > 0:55:06and, to add the prestige,
0:55:06 > 0:55:10there are envoys from Spain and Scotland and France.
0:55:10 > 0:55:14This is no small-time rebel leader. This is the Prince of Wales.
0:55:18 > 0:55:21It's significant that Wales' first parliament
0:55:21 > 0:55:24is held in Mid-Wales at Machynlleth,
0:55:24 > 0:55:26a town that has no English castle.
0:55:28 > 0:55:31Glyndwr's plans for his country are described in a letter
0:55:31 > 0:55:33he writes to the French king.
0:55:33 > 0:55:37It paints a vivid picture of a free and independent nation.
0:55:39 > 0:55:45Glyndwr's vision of a vibrant Welsh state is dazzling in its ambition.
0:55:45 > 0:55:48A powerful parliament, an independent church,
0:55:48 > 0:55:51a university in the north and in the south.
0:55:51 > 0:55:55It is sophisticated, it's forward-looking and it fails.
0:56:00 > 0:56:03Glyndwr is still a rebel in the eyes of many
0:56:03 > 0:56:08and his support in Wales is far from universal,
0:56:08 > 0:56:11and, in 1406, France withdraws her troops.
0:56:13 > 0:56:17Weakened by these set backs, Wales is quickly taken by England.
0:56:21 > 0:56:26Glyndwr fights on until he is cornered in Harlech in 1409.
0:56:26 > 0:56:30Glyndwr escapes but his wife, two daughters and a grandchild
0:56:30 > 0:56:34are captured and imprisoned in London for the rest of their days.
0:56:43 > 0:56:46Owain Glyndwr becomes a wanted man,
0:56:46 > 0:56:49hunted by the forces of King Henry,
0:56:49 > 0:56:53until he and his small band of supporters are no longer a threat,
0:56:53 > 0:56:56and the flames of Glyndwr's revolt,
0:56:56 > 0:57:00which once burned so brightly, are just embers and ashes.
0:57:04 > 0:57:08In the aftermath, the Welsh are punished by the English.
0:57:08 > 0:57:13Cut off from trade, they face poverty and starvation.
0:57:16 > 0:57:20While Owain Glyndwr seems to vanish from history.
0:57:22 > 0:57:26It is said that Owain, like King Arthur, is asleep somewhere
0:57:26 > 0:57:31in these hills awaiting the call to return to save his country.
0:57:31 > 0:57:36But 600 years after the revolt of Glyndwr,
0:57:36 > 0:57:40his vision of a Senedd on Welsh soil has been fulfilled.
0:57:43 > 0:57:48We have a Welsh government today, but it was the power-hungry kings
0:57:48 > 0:57:55of medieval Wales who were the first to forge a sense of one nation.
0:57:55 > 0:57:58The great struggles of Llywelyn the Last
0:57:58 > 0:58:02and Owain Glyndwr are powerful emblems of our nationhood,
0:58:02 > 0:58:05part of our identity and that will never change
0:58:05 > 0:58:08but in the next chapter of our story of Wales,
0:58:08 > 0:58:12we will see the crowning of a man with Welsh blood in his veins,
0:58:12 > 0:58:16not a prince of Wales, but the King of England.
0:58:23 > 0:58:27The Open University has produced a free booklet for you to learn
0:58:27 > 0:58:30more about the history of the people of Wales.
0:58:33 > 0:58:40Call or visit the website and follow the links to the Open University.
0:58:47 > 0:58:52Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd