Owain Glyndŵr were leaving their studies to join Owain, and Welsh labourers and craftsmen were abandoning their employers in England and returning to Wales. Owain could also draw on Welsh troops seasoned by the English campaigns in France and Scotland. Hundreds of Welsh archers and experienced men-at-arms left English service to join the rebellion. In 1404, Owain held court at Harlech and appointed Gruffydd Young as his Chancellor. Soon afterwards, he called his first Parliament (or or "gathering") of all Wales at Machynlleth, where he was crowned Prince of Wales and announced his national programme. He declared his vision of an independent
Owain ap Dafydd kept in a cage to ensure there was no means of escape. Order from King Edward I to the Constable of Bristol Castle, October 1305: "As the King wills that Owain son of Dafydd ap Gruffudd, who is in the Constable’s custody in the castle, should be kept more securely than he has been previously, he orders the Constable to cause a strong house within the castle to be repaired as soon as possible, and to make a wooden cage bound with iron in that house in which Owain might be enclosed at night." The exact date and circumstances of