yherd of Owein Glyndor, that is, to wete, of letter under seel, the wheche were y sende to us by the capteyne of the towne of Kadewelly; and in the lettres wer y wrete wordes that ther was a day of batell ytake by twyxt the worthy Baron of Carewe and Owein Glyndor; and we do yow to understonde that thys day of batell schuld have be do the xij. day of Jule; and the nyzt be fore that thys batell schulde be do, Oweyne wes y purpos to have yvordede yon to the Hull azeenward; and for he wold y wete wher his wey wer clere y nowe to passe, zyf he hede nede, to the Hull, he sende vii. c. of his meine (many) to serche the weyes, and thes vii. c. menne went to serche thys weyes, and ther thys vii. c. menne were y mette with the barons menne of Carew, and I slay up everychone that ther was nozt on that sc....... alyve; and ther words buth (be) y y do us to understonde that it is sothe with owte lesying. And fforthmor we do understonde that Oweine the

yow to es in the

ton (of Kairm'then he sende after Hopkyn ap Thomas of Gower to come and speke with hym upon trewes; and when Hopkyn come to Owein, he piede (prayed) hym, in as meche as he huld hym Maister of Brut, that he schuld do him to understonde how and what maner hit schulde be falle of hym; and he told hym wittliche that he schold be take with inne a bref tyme; and the takyng schold be twene Kayrmerthen and Gower;

and the takyng schold be under a black baner: knowelichyd that thys blake baner schold dessesse hym, and nozt that he schold be take undir hym. No more con (can) we say to yow at thys tyme, but buth (be) glad and merry, and drede yow nozt for we hopethe to God that ze have no nede. And we do yow to understonde that al thys tydyngs buth sothe with oute doute.

"Per LE MAIRE and LES BURGEIS de

KAIRLYON."

When Sir Edward Mortimer announces to his tenantry his coalition with Glendowr, which is written in French*, he sets out, very curiously,

* Some of the letters of this period are a singular mixture of French and English. E. g.-Richard Kyngeston, Archdeacon of Hereford, to Henry IV. It begins, "Notre tres redoute et Soverein Seigneur le Roy, Je me recommande humblement a votre hauteire comme votre petit creature et centinuel oratour;" and ends, "Escr. grant haste en haste a Hereford le viije jour de Juyle.

Votre petite creature RICHARD Kyngeston,
Ercedeakne Hereford.

And the postscript is completely English, as a man in earnest might drop his best for his natural style: "And for Gode's love, my lyge Lord, thinketh en zour self and zour astat, or bemy (by my) trowthe all is lost elles; but and ze come zoure selfe with haste, all other wille folwine aftor. And at (qu note) on Fryday last, Kermerdyn town is taken and brent, and the castle zolden (yielded) be mo. Wygmor, and the castle Emelyn is y zoldin; and slayn of the toune of Kermerdyn mo than 7. persones. Writen in ryght great haste on Sunday; and y cry zow mercy, and putte me in zoure hye grace that y write so schortly; for by my trowthe that y owe to zow, it is needful."

by expressing a doubt whether Richard II. is dead or alive.

"Tres chier et bien amez vous salue mielx souvent, et vous face a entendre que Oweyn Glydor ad moeue une querelle la quelle est tielle, qe si le Roy Richard soit en vie de luy restorer a sa couronne, et senour qe mon honore neuewe q'est droit heir al dit coronne serroit Roy d'Engleterre, et qe le dit Oweyn avoieit son droit in Gales *."

When speaking of the division of the kingdom, in this letter, Mortimer makes no allusion to the portion which was to fall to the Percies. Opinion certainly wavered at this time, as to Richard's positive fate, which, though conjectured, was not known. There can be no doubt that the proclamation of Henry IV. against the inventors of false reports, dated at Westminster, June 5, in this very year, was intended to satisfy those who continued uncertain. It states, that rumour had been hinted to the ears of the foolish, that King Richard, his last predecessor, was still alive in Scotland, and that he was coming with the Scots to invade the realm; whereas, in truth, the said Richard was dead

* Transl.-" Very dear and well beloved, I greet you much, and make known to you, that Owen Glendowr has raised a quarrel, of which the object is, if King Richard be alive to restore him to his crown, and if not, that my honoured nephew, who is the right heir to the said crown, shall be King of England, and that the said Owen will assert his right in Wales."

and buried: " quod Dominus Ricardus nuper Rex Angliæ, ultimus prædecessor noster, adhue vivit in Scotia, quodque in manu forti, ac vexillo protenso, veniet una cum Scotis in dictum regnum nostrum, ipsum, et nos, ac ligneos nostros protimis invasurus, cum in rei veritate præfatus RICARDUS, sit mortuus et sepultus."

As regards the omission of the Percies, it need only be observed that Sir Edmund Mortimer's letter is dated December 14th, and that the tripartite indenture of partition was not finally agreed upon till the middle of the next year.

The negotiation for the partition of the kingdom seems to have originated with Mortimer and Glendowr only. The battle of Shrewsbury was fought on July 21st, 1403. The manuscript chronicle whence these accounts are extracted, compiled by one of the chaplains of Henry V., gives the particulars of the final treaty, signed at the house of the Archdeacon of Bangor, more amply than can be found elsewhere. The Severn, the Trent and the Mersey, were to shut in Owen's territory; while the Percies were to have not only all that was North of Trent, but Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Warwickshire, and even Norfolk. Sir Edmund Mortimer (not the nephew whom he speaks of in his letter) was to content himself with the remainder. The expectation declared in this treaty, that the contracting parties would turn out to be the persons

spoken of by Merlin, who were to divide the greater Britain, as it is called amongst them, corroborates the story told by Hall.

The genius of the extraordinary chieftain whose history is here illustrated, has been already mentioned as adapted more to rapine than to regular warfare. One instance only occurs, in these letters, in which he used military engines when besieging a fortress. The mischief which he did to Wales in the short period of fifteen years, was incalculable.

Previous to the revolt of the Percies, Henry the Fourth's own warfare against Owen Glyndower was remarkably unsuccessful; so much so, that his failure was ascribed to the art of witchcraft.

“The King had neuer but tempest foule and raine,
As long as he was ay in Wales grounde:
Rockes and mystes, windes and stormes, certaine,
All men trowed witches it made that stounde."

The Monk of Evesham, speaking of Henry's second expedition, says, that he could never find Glendowr; "Ipsum verum Glendowr nec videt, nec ubi esset aliquid audivit." The tactics, however, which suited the savage fastnesses of Wales, were no longer either profitable or expedient when Henry was really to be met by a powerful combination in the field. Glendowr missed the critical moment. Had he united his forces to