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Arthur earlier mentioned Owain Glyndwr as some sort of poster boy for the Welsh nationalist movement. however, Glyndwr was certainly no Welsh nationalist per se, not in the current sent of the word. Glyndwr's rebellion was no different in nature than Mortimer's or John of Gaunt and was not based on a desire for nationalism but a desire to seek redress from the king for a deal that Glyndwr felt he deserved better. Not all Welshmen followed Glyndwr, and in fact, many Welshmen were with Henry Bollingroke at Agincourt in 1415, a couple of years after Glyndwr's disappearance.
Welsh and English relations go back much further than this. In fact, the Anglo-Saxons were present on these islands prior to the Roman departure in the early 5th century. The Romans initially used the Anglo-Saxons as auxiliaries, and the likes of Vortigern (King of the Britons) invited them to settle in the south in the 5th century. modern thinking is that this was not an invasion, as per the Normans, and the lack of archaeological evidence for battles attests to this theory, but a slow migration to farm the very ample lands that were available. Current thinking is that the Anglo-Saxons become the elite, and therefore their language became the lingua franca much like Latin before it, and similarly how Norman French affected old English to became middle English
From the 5th century onwards petty kingdoms developed all across the islands, creating what was known in England as the heptarchy. Each kingdom would fight amongst themselves, and current DNA analysis indicates that the inhabitants were a mix of Britons and Anglo-Saxons, and not just the latter. The only battle of note between a Brythonic kingdom and an Anglo-Saxon kingdom took place near Chester in or around 615. this split the Brythonic lands in two, cutting off the north from the south. Incidentally, the Brythonic influence in the north is pretty obvious, with Strath(clyde) being cognate with Ystrad, and Cumberland/Cumbria have the same etymology as Cymru. In fact, Cumbric (a variety of Brythonic) was a language spoken in the north until the 13th century.
The general consensus amongst scholars and historians is that the Britons and Anglo-Saxons intermingled and traded with each other quite peacefully, and the only difference between the kingdoms was who the ruling elite were. Quite often Powys and Mercia would join forces and attack Northumberland or Wessex.
The notion that the Anglo-Saxons invaded these islands is false, based on current evidence.
however, 1066 changed everything. The Normans were the invaders, first conquering Saxon England, then Gaelic Ireland, then Scotland and lastly Wales. It was not the Anglo-Saxons that invaded Wales in the same way it was not the Belgians that invaded France or the Danes that invaded Norway in 1940.
One other point, the first invaders of Brythonic lands were the Irish in the 5th century, who invaded the Strathclyde region, setting up the Gaelic kingdom Dal Riata. Ironic that a thousand years later the Scots would go the other way creating the division in Northern Ireland we see today. Despite the Irish being the original aggressors and pretty much wiping out the Welsh of the north, no-one has a bad word to say about them.
The history of Wales and England has always been intertwined, and its only the rise of welsh nationalism in the 20th and 21st century that looks towards revisionism and painting a picture of us Welsh being under the English yoke. This is just not true.
Welsh and English relations go back much further than this. In fact, the Anglo-Saxons were present on these islands prior to the Roman departure in the early 5th century. The Romans initially used the Anglo-Saxons as auxiliaries, and the likes of Vortigern (King of the Britons) invited them to settle in the south in the 5th century. modern thinking is that this was not an invasion, as per the Normans, and the lack of archaeological evidence for battles attests to this theory, but a slow migration to farm the very ample lands that were available. Current thinking is that the Anglo-Saxons become the elite, and therefore their language became the lingua franca much like Latin before it, and similarly how Norman French affected old English to became middle English
From the 5th century onwards petty kingdoms developed all across the islands, creating what was known in England as the heptarchy. Each kingdom would fight amongst themselves, and current DNA analysis indicates that the inhabitants were a mix of Britons and Anglo-Saxons, and not just the latter. The only battle of note between a Brythonic kingdom and an Anglo-Saxon kingdom took place near Chester in or around 615. this split the Brythonic lands in two, cutting off the north from the south. Incidentally, the Brythonic influence in the north is pretty obvious, with Strath(clyde) being cognate with Ystrad, and Cumberland/Cumbria have the same etymology as Cymru. In fact, Cumbric (a variety of Brythonic) was a language spoken in the north until the 13th century.
The general consensus amongst scholars and historians is that the Britons and Anglo-Saxons intermingled and traded with each other quite peacefully, and the only difference between the kingdoms was who the ruling elite were. Quite often Powys and Mercia would join forces and attack Northumberland or Wessex.
The notion that the Anglo-Saxons invaded these islands is false, based on current evidence.
however, 1066 changed everything. The Normans were the invaders, first conquering Saxon England, then Gaelic Ireland, then Scotland and lastly Wales. It was not the Anglo-Saxons that invaded Wales in the same way it was not the Belgians that invaded France or the Danes that invaded Norway in 1940.
One other point, the first invaders of Brythonic lands were the Irish in the 5th century, who invaded the Strathclyde region, setting up the Gaelic kingdom Dal Riata. Ironic that a thousand years later the Scots would go the other way creating the division in Northern Ireland we see today. Despite the Irish being the original aggressors and pretty much wiping out the Welsh of the north, no-one has a bad word to say about them.
The history of Wales and England has always been intertwined, and its only the rise of welsh nationalism in the 20th and 21st century that looks towards revisionism and painting a picture of us Welsh being under the English yoke. This is just not true.