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THE BATTLE OF GROSMONT, 1405: A REINTERPRETATION by Nick Thomas-Symonds (researched by Gareth McCann) Introduction Owain Glyndwr was declared Prince of Wales on 16 September 1400 at his own manor. The apparent pretext was a disagreement with his neighbour, Lord Grey of Ruthin, over either a deliberately delayed summons for Glyndwr to accompany the king on his expedition to Scotland or a local boundary dispute. For Rees Davies, 'this was a premeditated act based on long-festering grievances and an attachment to the ideology of an independent Wales governed by its own native, legitimate ruler.'2 Indeed, from this apparently minor event, Wales was to become a region in revolt. The Battle of Grosmont is one of the Anglo-Welsh battles of this time. It occurred almost exactly half-way through the 'revolt' period of 1400-1409, in March 1405. The significance of the Battle of Grosmont can be located in the context of the Glyndwr revolt, or in terms of providing a brief historical window into the early character of Prince Henry of Monmouth, later Henry V (r. 1413-22), who provides the only true primary source for the battle itself. It is the view of both author and researcher that there is a sorry lack of study of local history within the national curriculum: this article takes a specific local event from a significant period in Welsh history and provides a new interpretation of it. Grosmont The name 'Grosmont' derives from the French word for 'big hill'. For Grosmont itself lies on a hill above the River Monnow. It was an important medieval Marches town. Barber observes that, in 1405, 'Grosmont was one of the largest and most prosperous towns in Gwent and in South Wales, only Carmarthen and Abergavenny were greater in size." Barber further notes that Grosmont only ceased being a borough as late as 1860, when it lost the right to appoint a Mayor and an Ale Taster.4 Indeed, Grosmont's importance in the Middle Ages is well-captured by Hando, who even goes as far as to suggest that the red rose of the House of Lancaster may have originated there: Grosmont's association with the red rose goes back to the days of Aethan who occupied 'Grismont', Skenfrith and White Castle before and at the time of the Norman conquest. Tenants of Aethan held their land on the payment yearly of one red rose and the Grosmont land was called 'Rosllwyn (rose bush). To Rosllwyn came Queen Eleanor, 'the rose of Provence', and she it was who adopted the red rose as the badge of her house. Her eldest son, Henry de Grosmont had on his seal a bunch of roses, and it was his