The English, concerned about the potential for…

The English, concerned about the potential for disaffection in Cheshire and increasingly worried about the news from North Wales, see that if the revolt prospers it will inevitably attract disaffected supporters of the deposed King Richard.

Hotspur complains that he is not receiving sufficient support from the King and that the repressive policy of Henry is only encouraging revolt, which, he argues, could be ended by negotiation and compromise, but the core Lancastrian supporters will have none of this.

They retaliate with anti-Welsh legislation designed to establish English dominance in Wales, actually codifying common practices that have obtained in Wales and along the Welsh Marches for many years.

The laws include prohibiting any Welshman from buying land in England, from holding any senior public office in Wales, from bearing arms, and from holding any castle or defending any house.

No Welsh child is to be educated or apprenticed to any trade, no Englishman can be convicted in any suit brought by a Welshman, Welshmen are to be severely penalized when marrying an Englishwoman, any Englishman marrying a Welshwoman is to be disenfranchised and all public assembly is forbidden.

These laws send a message to any of those who are wavering that the English view all the Welsh with equal suspicion.

Many Welshmen who have tried to further their careers in English service now feel pushed into the rebellion as the middle ground between Owain and Henry disappears.