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
Ellesmere Castle Ellesmere Castle Ellesmere Castle was in the town of Ellesmere, Shropshire. (). This was a motte and bailey castle which was probably founded by Roger de Montgomerie, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury on a prominent hill to the east of the town, overlooking the Mere, soon after the Norman conquest. It was given to the Peverel family by Henry I but taken back by Henry II who granted it to Dafydd ab Owain Gwynedd, Prince of Gwynedd, in about 1177. It alternated between the English and Welsh crowns until the 1240s when it passed to the le Strange family whose origins