300 gnomic literature
Cynvyn and from LLEWELYN AP GRUFFYDD, the last
native prince of WALES. After inheriting estates in Meri-
oneth, Glendower probably studied LAWat one of the
INNS OFCOURTin LONDON. By 1385 he was a squire
with King RICHARDII in wars against the Scots. Possibly
knighted in 1387, he also served the earl of Arundel
under Henry of Lancaster, who became King Henry IV
(r. 1399–1413) in 1399. Glendower headed a Welsh
rebellion in 1399. After being captured at Flint Castle,
he was pardoned, but some of his lands were not
restored to him. After an unsuccessful appeal to PARLIA-
MENT, Glendower turned to rebellion in 1400 and took
on the title of prince of Wales. The main aims of Glen-
dower and his followers were to secure the political and
ecclesiastical independence and to preserve the native
language and culture of Wales.
CONQUESTSAs a rebel, Glendower gained considerable support
because of agrarian discontent. He and his followers
seized southern Wales and gained control of Conway,
Ruthin, and Hawarden. In 1402 Glendower was crowned
at Machynlleth, and while he negotiated with the English
for peace he sought help from IRELANDand SCOTLAND.
Glendower defeated the royal forces sent against him and
captured Edmund Mortimer (1376–1409). This action
paved the way for a treaty in 1402 with Mortimer and the
Percy families for an attack on the England Crown itself.
After his daughter married Mortimer, his new ally, Glen-
dower released him. During the next few months he
gained control of Carmarthen, Usk, Caerleon, and New-
port. The alliance with the Percys ended at the Battle of
Shrewsbury in 1403, in which Glendower betrayed them.
Glendower and his followers controlled Wales and rav-
aged the English border, regulated church appointments,
and sent the bishop of Saint Asaph as a ambassador to
FRANCE. Capturing Harlech and Cardiff, Glendower con-
trolled the area west of Worcester, and in 1405 he called
for a Welsh Parliament.
DESCENT FROM POWERFrom 1405 onward, Glendower was much less successful;
first, his sons were captured by Prince Henry (later
HENRY V). Glendower was then defeated in battle in
1406, was deserted by his powerful ally the earl of
Northumberland the following year, and then lost
Aberystwyth in 1408 and much of southern Wales. Glen-
dower’s wife and several of his relatives were captured by
the English in 1413. Although King Henry V made offers
of full pardon on the eve of his French campaign, Glen-
dower never completely submitted to the English. Glen-
dower perhaps died on September 20, 1415, at
Monnington in Herefordshire. His sons concluded negoti-
ations with the English the following spring, but on
terms less favorable than those that had been offered to
Glendower.
Further reading:R. R. Davies, The Revolt of Owain
Glyn Dwr(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995); Elissa
R. Henken, National Redeemer: Owain Glyndwr in Welsh
Tradition(Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1996).gnomic literature In the Middle Ages, the gnome was
commonly defined as “a proverbial and concise expres-
sion of a general thought.” It is difficult to distinguish
between the gnome and other types of pithy sayings,
such as proverbs, epigrams or maxims. Gnomic literature
comprises anthologies of poetry or prose in which the
gnome in itself is cultivated as a literary form.
The gnomic literature of medieval Europe divided
into “early” and “high” varieties. The early was created
from 600 to 1100, in the early VERNACULARliterature of
northwestern Europe: Irish, English, Welsh, and Norse.
They developed outside the cultural domain of the
Roman Empire basically free of classical and Christian
influence. On an individual basis, gnomic expressions
were commonly made in the great Anglo-Saxon poem
BEOWULF.
Besides gnomic collections in medieval LATINin the
11th century, the high medieval gnomic literature began
with the emergence in the 12th century of the vernacular
languages of Old French, Provencal, Middle English,
Middle High German, Portuguese, and Italian. They dif-
fered from the earlier gnomic literature in several ways.
Their new themes emphasized human actions, such as
love, and their structures were oriented toward a musical
intent. They were also completely dependent upon Chris-
tian ethics and classical literature.
Further reading:H. M. Chadwick and N. Kershaw
Chadwick, The Growth of Literature,3 vols. (Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 1986); Kenneth H. Jackson,
Early Welsh Gnomic Poems(Cardiff: University of Wales
Press Board, 1935).Gnosticism Gnosticism constituted a wide variety of
religious movements during the second century. The term
was derived from the Greek word gnosis,meaning “spiri-
tual insight or knowledge.” Contemporary with early
Christianity this in part initially pagan movement was
about a search for knowledge of God that was supposedly
rooted in a secret message found in the writings of the
apostles and was revealed only to true believers. The
early Christians regarded Gnostics as heretics, schismat-
ics, or non-Christians. The only real extant documenta-
tion of Gnostic thought was in a collection of papyrus
manuscripts discovered in Egypt at Nag Hammadi in
Upper Egypt in 1945. Since then it has been seen as pos-
sibly originating in Judaism. In fact the term Gnosticism
has come to be perceived as merely a label applied to a
very diverse set of ideas and beliefs that seemed never
to have coalesced in any kind of organization. Some
ideas associated with it seemed to have existed during the