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by Dafydd Meirion
Recently unveiled in north-west Wales is a plaque in four languages - Welsh, Breton, English and French. The plaque commemorates attacks by the Welsh hero Owain Glyndwr in 1401, 1403 and 1404 on the English-garrisoned town of Caernarfon in north-west Wales. The reason that the Breton and French languages appear on the plaque is that there were Breton and French soldiers with the Welsh forces attacking Caernarfon town and castle.
"This plaque is unique," says acclaimed poet Twm Morys, who played the part of Crach Ffinnant, Glyndwr’s poet and soothsayer, in the recreation of Glyndwr raising his Golden Dragon flag. This event was organised above the town exactly 600 years to the day that the first attack took place. "This is probably the only plaque in the world with these four languages on it," added Mr Morys, who speaks both Welsh and Breton and lived in Brittany for ten years and where he and his folk-rock band Bob Delyn a’r Ebillion toured for many years.
"There are numerous references that there were Bretons in the French army that was sent to help Glyndwr," added Mr Morys. "And it is quite probable that the Welsh and Bretons could understand each other. It is also said that the Normans when conquering Wales brought Bretons with them so that they could communicate with the Welsh. There is also reference that the Welsh, as part of an English army, and Bretons as part of French army during the Napoleonic wars refused to fight each other."
Owain Glyndwr, a direct descendant of the Welsh princes who had lost their independence when Llywelyn Ein Llyw Olaf (The Last) was killed in 1282, rebelled against English rule in 1400 and was proclaimed the Prince of Wales by his followers. During his reign he established Wales’ first and only parliament - until the establishing of the Welsh Assembly in 1999 - and had plans to found a Welsh University.
In 1404 Glyndwr signed a treaty with the French king Charles II and in 1405 a French army - consisting of many Bretons - landed in Wales to support their actions against the English. One of these actions was the attack on Caernarfon in 1404. Although the combined forces had been successful in capturing many Welsh towns, they failed to capture Caernarfon castle.
Glyndwr’s Golden Dragon banner had been raised above the town, but could not be raised within the castle walls as it was still in English hands. But during the celebrations 600 years later, the body in charge of Welsh monuments, Cadw, allowed a replica of the flag to be raised.
Glyndwr ruled most of Wales for a period of about 10 years, but gradually the English recaptured the country and Glyndwr faded into obscurity - it is said sleeping in a cave with his men until he is awoken to come to rescue Wales. And the Welsh nationalists who burnt English holiday homes in the 1970s and 1980s in order to try and protect the Welsh language and communities called themselves Meibion Glyndwr (The Sons of Glyndwr).
But according to some academics, the Welsh language could have been lost amongst its leaders if Wales had succeeded in being independent of England for a few centuries. The language of the court would have been French as largely happened in Scotland at the time.
"Glyndwr raised his banner as a a challenge to the English in the castle," said Richard Evans, a member of Embassy Glyndwr, a society which has been campaigning for a number of years to recognise Glyndwr’s achievements. "The Golden Dragon was important to Glyndwr as it signified that he was a descendant of Uther Pendragon, King of Britain and father of King Arthur, which legitimised his claim to be Prince of Wales."
These days Caernarfon is called the capital of Welsh-speaking Wales as a large proportion of its inhabitants and of the hinterland have Welsh as their first language. The plaque to Glyndwr is not the only link that Caernarfon has with Brittany as it is twinned with the Breton town of Landernau and there have been a number of cultural exchanges between the two towns over the years. (Eurolang ©)
Cofio arwr Cymreig mewn pedair iaith
Yn ddiweddar codwyd cofeb yng ngogledd-orllewin Cymru mewn pedair iaith - Cymraeg, Llydaweg, Saesneg a Ffrangeg. Mae’r gofeb yn cofnodi ymosodiadau gan Owain Glyndwr yn 1401, 1403 a 1404 ar dref Caernarfon oedd yn nwylo’r Saeson. Y rheswm bod yna Lydaweg a Ffrangeg ar y gofeb yw fod yna filwyr Llydewig a Ffrengig yn rhan o’r ymosodiadau ar y castell.
"Mae’r gofeb yn unigryw." meddai’r Prifardd Twm Morys, oedd yn chwarae rhan Crach Ffinnant, bardd a phrofwyd Glyndwr, wrth ail greu’r hyn ddigwyddodd ger Caernarfon 600 mlynedd yn ôl. Yr adeg honno, cododd Glyndwr ei Ddraig Aur uwchben y dref. "Hwn fwyaf tebyg yw’r unig gofeb yn y byd yn y bedair iaith yma," ychwanegodd Mr Morys, sy’n siarad Cymraeg a Llydaweg yn rhugl. Bu’n byw yn Llydaw am ddeng mlynedd gan deithio yno gyda’i fand gwerin-roc Bob Delyn a’r Ebillion.
"Mae yna sawl cyfeiriad fod yna Lydawyr yn y fyddin Ffrengig ddaeth i gynorthwyo Glyndwr," ychwanegodd Twm Morys. "Ac mae’n bur debyg fod y Cymry a’r Llydawyr yn deall ei gilydd. Dywedir hefyd fod y Normaniaid wrth goncro Cymru wedi dod â Llydawyr efo nhw er mwyn gallu cyfathrebu â’r Cymry. Mae yna hefyd gyfeiriad fod Cymry oedd yn rhan o fyddin Seisnig a Llydawyr oedd yn rhan o fyddin Ffrengig wedi gwrthod ymladd â’i gilydd yn ystod y rhyfeloedd Napoleonaidd."
Cafodd Owain Glyndwr, oedd yn ddisgynnydd i’r tywysogion Cymreig oedd wedi colli eu hanibyniaeth wedi lladd Llywelyn Ein Llyw Olaf yn 1282, wedi gwrthryfela’n erbyn y Saeson a chafodd ei wneud yn Dywysog Cymru gan ei ddilynwyr. Yn ystod ei deyrnasiad sefydlodd senedd gyntaf Cymru a’r unig un nes sefydlu’r Cynulliad yn 1999 ac roedd ganddo gynlluniau i sefydlu prifysgol Gymreig.
Yn 1404 arwyddodd Glyndwr gytundeb â Charless II, brenin Ffrainc, ac yn 1405 daeth byddin Ffrengig - oedd yn cynnwys nifer o Lydawyr - i Gymru i ymladd yn erbyn y Saeson gan gynnwys ymosodiad ar gastell Caernarfon. Er i’r lluoedd Cymreig a Ffrengig gipio sawl tref, methwyd â chipio castell Caernarfon.
Roedd Draig Aur Glyndwr wedi cael ei chodi uwchben y dref, ond methwyd â’i chodi o fewn muriau’r castell gan ei fod ym meddiant y Saeson. Ond yn ystod y dathliadau 600 mlynedd yn ddiweddarach, rhoddodd Cadw, y corff sy’n gyfrifol am henebion Cymru, ganiatad i godi copi o’r faner yn y castell.
Roedd Glyndwr wedi rheoli’r rhan fwyaf o Gymru am ddeng mlynedd ond yn raddol ailfeddiannodd y Saeson y wlad a diflannodd Glyndwr - dywed rhai ei fod o a’i ddynion yn cysgu mewn ogof yn disgwyl am yr alwad i ddod i achub Cymru. A bu i genedlaetholwyr oedd yn llosgi tai haf yn yr 1970au a’r 1980au er mwyn ceisio gwarchod yr iaith a’r cymunedau Cymraeg alw eu hunain yn Feibion Glyndwr.
Ond yn ôl rhai academyddion, mi ellid fod wedi colli’r Gymraeg mewn rhai haenau o’r gymdeithas pe byddai Cymru wedi bod yn annibynnol o Loegr am rai canrifoedd. Iaith y llys fyddai Ffrangeg fel a ddigwyddodd yn yr Alban.
"Cododd Glyndwr ei faner fel her i’r Saeson yn y castell," meddai Richard Evans, aelod o Lysgenhadaeth Glyndwr, corff fu’n ymgyrchu dros nifer o flynyddoedd i dynnu sylw at yr hyn a gyflawnodd Owain Glyndwr. "Roedd y Ddraig Aur yn bwysig i Glyndwr oherwydd fod hyn yn dangos ei fod yn ddisgynnydd i Uther Pendragon, Brenin Prydain a thad y Brenin Arthur, ac roedd hyn yn nodi ei fod yn haeddu bod yn Dywysog Cymru."
Y dyddiau hyn, Caernarfon yw prifddinas y Gymru Gymraeg gyda chyfran uchel o’i thrigolion a’r ardaloedd cyfangos gyda’r Gymraeg yn iaith gyntaf iddyn nhw. Ond nid y gofeb yw’r unig gyswllt rhwng Caernarfon a Llydaw gan fod y dref wedi ei gefellio â Landernau yn Llydaw a chafwyd sawl ymweliad diwyllianol dros y blynyddoedd rhwng y ddwy dref.
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