Owain Glyndwr: Sources and Significance

How we know, and why it matters

This part of the course is not only about what happened in the Owain Glyndwr revolt, but about how we know and why it matters. Historians build their picture from sources: chronicles, letters and official records left from the time, each written by someone with a viewpoint. And they judge the significance of the revolt: how far it changed things then, and why Owain Glyndwr is still remembered today. This module teaches how to weigh a historical source and how to argue for the significance of an event, using the revolt as the example.

Words for sources and significance

Learn these before you study any source. They name the tools a historian uses to judge evidence and importance.

Match the source term

A chronicle against a letter

Different kinds of source are useful for different things. Compare a chronicle written to record events with a letter written to persuade.

How useful is the source?

A letter was written by Owain Glyndwr himself to win support for his cause. What is this source most useful for showing?

• What Glyndwr wanted and believed
• A neutral account of every battle
• The private thoughts of the English king
• The exact number of his soldiers

Weigh a source, do not just quote it

A strong answer does not just repeat what a source says; it weighs it. Ask three things: who made it and why, which is its provenance; how far it can be trusted, which is its reliability; and what it is useful for. A letter written to persuade is very useful for aims but weak for neutral facts. Provenance, reliability, usefulness: judge all three and you are analysing a source, not just describing it.

Pick the marks of significance

Historians judge how significant an event was. Select every question that helps decide significance.

• How much did it change things at the time?
• How many people did it affect?
• Is it still remembered and studied today?
• How neatly was the source written?
• What colour was the parchment?

Order judging a source

Put the steps of judging a historical source in a sensible order.

• Read the source carefully
• Work out who made it and when
• Work out why it was made
• Judge how far it can be trusted
• Decide what it is useful for
• Compare it with other sources

Complete the source facts

Who made a source, when and why is its _____. How far a source can be trusted is its _____. A source made at the time of the events is a _____ source. How important an event was, then and since, is its _____.

Reading two views of the revolt

Imagine two sources about the revolt. An English chronicle of the time calls Glyndwr a rebel and a troublemaker; it shows how his enemies saw him, useful for the English view but far from neutral. A later Welsh interpretation calls him a national hero and a symbol of Welsh identity; it shows how later generations came to remember him, useful for significance but shaped by hindsight. Neither is simply true or false. A historian uses both, weighs who made each and why, and builds a balanced judgement. That balanced use of sources is the skill this unit rewards.

Spot the reliable use

Tap the TWO statements that show a source being used well by a historian.

• This letter shows what Glyndwr wanted, because he wrote it to win support
• This English chronicle shows the enemy view, so it is weighed against Welsh sources
• This source must be true because it is very old
• This source can be trusted completely because it is long

Work like a historian

You are studying sources about the revolt. Choose the best move each time.

• You find a letter Glyndwr wrote to gain allies. How should you treat it?
• Two sources from different sides disagree with each other. What should you do?
• You must argue that the revolt was significant. What is the best evidence?

Build a source judgement

Choose the word for each gap to complete one strong source judgement.

Quick-fire source check

Answer each question. You have three lives, and losing them all restarts the run.

Explain sources and significance

A friend thinks history is just a list of dates. Explain how historians use sources to work out what happened, and how they judge why the Owain Glyndwr revolt was significant.

• Explain what a source is and what provenance means
• Explain how to judge the reliability of a source
• Explain why a source written to persuade is useful but not neutral
• Explain what makes an event significant
• Use the Owain Glyndwr revolt as your example