Carn Rhyddid 1400 Caerdrewyn Owain Glyndŵr Memorial.

OWAIN GLYNDŴR COMMUNICATES
A news &Information Service – please inform us of any Glyndwr interest news.
If using material from this document please quote source.http://owain-glyndwr-embassyllysgenhadaeth.blogspot.com Llysgenhadaeth Glyndŵr/Embassy Glyndŵr Tel: 07787926981: E-mail: llysgenhadaeth@ntlworld.com

Caerdrewyn 18 Medi 1400

''Rydym yn eich hysbysu ein bod
gyda chymorth Duw a chwithau,
yn gobeithio y gallwn ryddhau
pobl Cymru o gaethiwed ein
gelynion Seisnig, sydd am hir amser a aeth heibio, wedi ein
gorthymu ni a'n cyndeithiau''

On the inception of the National Commemoration Association in 1972/3, later to become COFIWN a name suggested by one of that movements Co - Founders Eurig ap Gwilym R.I.P, it was decided to hold an annual Owain Glyndŵr Mis Medi '16 'Dydd Glyndŵr' commemoration at Corwen. From the start, this commemoration included an annual visit to Llys Glyndyfrdwy and also a climb atop Caerdrewyn to raise baner Glyndŵr. In those days, only one ‘baner’ existed and that was one we had hand made ourselves.. Today, thanks to the initiative of Embassy Glyndŵr, this national flag of Cenedl Glyndŵr is seen all over Cymru and the world and hopefully over the years ahead we shall now see many more baneri Glyndŵr raised up atop Caerdrewyn.

The above photograph is of a cairn, 'Carn Rhyddid 1400', began by COFIWN in those early years, the idea being that not every Glyndŵr memorial had to be one that took years to organise and requiring a skilled crafts person to make and one that would cost £1000's but could, sometimes, be one made by patriots themselves so, COFIWN initiated the idea of the building up of this cairn, stone by stone, by available rocks that are scattered all over Caerdrewyn. The idea was that, over the years, patriots would add rocks and the Cairn would gain in size as would awareness of it's existence. An important feature of this imitative was that patriots were encouraged to bring stones from their own area to add to the Cairn, a symbolic way of building a national memorial by the patriots of Wales. This was an idea borrowed from Ireland by Gethin ap Gruffydd the founder of the National Commemoration Association and in those days (the 70's) there were no proper foot paths leading to the summit of Caerdrewyn and it was quite a hard climb - but well worth it for the great patriotic feeling of having made it and, of course, for the view. Eurig ap Gwilym would, annually, carry a massive flag pole from which to fly our solitary baner Glyndŵr, quite an achievement – all of which can be seen on ‘The History of the COFIWN Era’ which we hope to have available on DVD by next summer.

Today, there is a proper footpath up Caerdrewyn and, of course, baneri Glyndŵr are widely available making it a lot easier for patriots to annually make their patriotic pilgrimage to this cairn 'CARN RHYDDID 1400', that is, if it still exists? We shall see this Medi 16 - 'Dydd Glyndŵr' 2006 - when Embassy Glyndŵr staff relaunch the annual walk atop Caerdrewyn to rebuild the carn (if needs be) and re-initiate the idea of Pobl Glyndŵr themselves adding small stones, from their own areas, to this memorial to the most historic event that occurred there on 18 Medi 1400, that of the gathering of Owain Glyndŵr's first small army prior to their raid upon Ruthun and their assault upon the colonial Castle towns of the North East March. All are welcome to join in the re-launch of this great patriotic enterprise.

During the 70's of course, the web did not exist and it was not so easy to widely publicise this COFIWN initiative and in time, COFIWN demised and so to did the aforementioned annual COFIWN Commemoration at Corwen but, Embassy Glyndŵr this year will attempt to revive interest in the annual Caerdrewyn event but not, yet, as an organised gathering but more as the publicising of the patriotic purpose and the occasion of opportunity for Pobl Glyndŵr to annually gather at Corwen to, at their own time, visit Glyndŵr sites such as Llys Glyndyfrdwy, Caerdrewyn and Pen y Pigyn.

Pen y Pigyn, Corwen. It was from atop of Pen y Pigyn that Owain Glyndŵr threw down his dagger in anger because the men of Edeyrnion would not, at the beginning, join in the struggle for the liberation of their homeland but, of course, they eventually did. To commemorate this event, Llysgenhadaeth Glyndŵr presented Corwen council with a specially commissioned 'Dagr Glyndwr' on 16 Medi 2004.

Whilst the view from Pen y Pigyn, looking down on Corwen and across to Caerdrewyn, is wonderful - as our pictures show, there is a fantastic cairn but, Unfortunately, the wording on the plaque on this cairn will, at the very least, make ‘Pobl Glyndŵr’ want to throw their own ''angry daggers''. Unbelievably, the plaque, complete with a huge flag pole, is all part of a memorial to commemorate the 1911 Investiture of an English Prince of Wales at Caernarfon! Yes - and you wonder why we are not yet a free nation! If here, in the heartland of Owain Glyndŵr, the local population of that time thought it more worthy to put up such a memorial than one to their great local hero and our national hero Owain Glyndŵr, then its little wonder we are a long way from achieving Prince Owain's dream of Independence; however, next year Corwen will get a great new statue of Owain Glyndŵr which will greatly make up for the aforementioned memorial to English Monarchist Sovereignty over our homeland and hopefully, by 2011, the local population will have petitioned the council to take down this awful plaque and replace it with one that commemorates their own 'Tywysog Cymru'. After all, the Americans at the end of their successful War of independence tore down English Monarchist symbols and the Peoples of Nazi and communist occupied Europe have torn down the symbols of oppression those ideologies represented. Most controversially today is the removal of Confederate flags and symbols throughout the ''old South'' whilst in Spain, much is being made of the removal of civil war and Franco regime symbols - causing campaigns of removal to be met with resistance by present day Falange Fascists. Information of all such subjects are well informed of on the web so is it not about time we had the confidence to follow their example in Wales?

The 1911 Investiture Memorial atop Pen y Pigyn should serve to motivate some extra patriotic enthusiasm to establish 'Carn Rhyddid 1400' atop Caerdrewyn. 2011 is however, a long way off so we request both local and national Pobl Glyndŵr, as well as other patriots, to request Corwen Council to, at the very least, raise 'baner Glyndŵr' annually atop Pen y Pigyn on the existing available flag pole on 16 Medi 'Dydd Glyndŵr'. Other than this, we hope on and around 'Dydd Glyndŵr' annually Pobl Glyndŵr will make the pleasant woodland walk up to this location and, weather permitting, stick up your baneri Glyndŵr and have yourselves a Pobl Glyndŵr picnic. We concede, It is a bit much to ask Pobl Glyndŵr to climb up both Caerdrewyn and Pen y Pigyn if only in Corwen for one day so, we suggest you alternate your walks up these two mountains and if it's raining then move on to Ruthun where, following on the gathering of 'Byddin Glyndwr' at Caerdrewyn on 18 Medi 1400 this was first English Castle town to be attacked. In 2000, on the 600th anniversary of this attack, a ''plaque'' was placed on the wall of a bank in the town square and unveiled by Dafydd Iwan, don't blink though - you might miss it? Local patriots had wanted a major memorial placed at the site of the old gateway to the town through which 'Byddin Glyndŵr' rode in 1400 but this ‘small’ effort is all that has been achieved to date.?

If only Cymdeithas Owain Glyndŵr had placed their 1400 - 2000 Glyndŵr memorial in Ruthun and not like some ''Tardis'' in the grounds of the then 'Celtica', it would have served a greater purpose and of course it would have been the historically correct thing to do. At the time, not only did Embassy Glyndŵr question this placement but so too did the Owain Glyndŵr centre and Capel Royal at Pennal. Now, with Celtica closed, one wonders if the Owain Glyndŵr memorial there serves any real purpose at all? perhaps it could be moved to Ruthun?

Idea: How's about an annual Sialens Glyndŵr ''twin peaks'' run/walk between Pen y Pigyn and Caerdrewyn? But, of course, should such be organised it would have to be organised properly by the local council and perhaps a sports body. Whatever, lets at least see just how many Baneri Glyndŵr can be at raised at Pen y Pigyn and Caerdrewyn this year. C’mon, lets see those ‘Baneri Glyndŵr’ raised high over Corwen – Tref Glyndŵr.

PS: Embassy Glyndŵr fully credits COFIWN for it's pioneering work in promoting the celebration of 16 Medi annually for many years as 'Dydd Glyndŵr', it should also be noted that for a couple of years COFIWN also organised an annual Glyndŵr Conference with lectures at Neuadd Glyndŵr in Pentre Glyndyfrdwy. It's one thing to organise a major festival but are there not sufficient local ‘Pobl Glyndŵr’ with the interest and enthusiasm to re-launch this COFIWN initiative? Indeed, why not hold an annual Rhys Davies lecture there annually in memory of a great Welsh historian, a son of Glyndyfrdwy to whom we all owe so much, not least of course, with regards to Hanes Owain Glyndŵr. Maybe this is a matter for our academic establishment and Prof Rhys Davies’s peers to take care of?

Will Owain Glydwr and his Barefoot Doggis march on Hafod Quarry ? Maybe!

Afterthought: Embassy Glyndŵr has been considering how best we may actively support the anti - rubbish dump campaign at Hafod Quarry; our first thought was a great rally of 'Pobl Glyndŵr' at Caerdrewyn on the approaching 16 Medi 'Dydd Glyndŵr' followed by a march of ''Owain Glyndŵr'' and his ''Barefoot Doggis'' to the rubbish dump at Hafod quarry. However, that would take some major organisation so, instead, if visiting this 'Gwlad Glyndŵr' why not, after visiting Llys Glyndŵr and climbing atop Caerdrewyn, drive on to Hafod Quarry rubbish dump and pin yellow and red Glyndwr ribbons to the gate or fence with the message:

OWAIN GLYNDŴR DOES NOT WANT ENGLISH RUBBISH HERE OK!

Siân Ifan

Juratus Oweyn