TheTripartite Indenture was an agreement made betweenOwain Glyndŵr,Edmund Mortimer, andHenry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland in February 1405, agreeing to divideEngland andWales up among them at the expense of KingHenry IV. Glyndŵr was to receiveWales and a substantial part of western England, including the English portions of theWelsh Marches. Percy was to receiveNorthern England, as well asNorthamptonshire,Norfolk,Warwickshire, andLeicestershire. The Mortimers were to have received the rest ofSouthern England.[1]
The agreement defined Glyndŵr's borders as follows:
The whole ofCambria orWales divided fromLeogria now commonly calledEngland by the following borders, limits and bounds:From theSevern estuary as theRiver Severn flows from the sea as far as the northern gate of the city ofWorcester; From that gate directly to theash trees known in Cambrian orWelsh language asOnennau Meigion which grow on the high road fromBridgnorth toKinver; Then directly along the highway, popularly known as the old or ancient road, to the head or source of theRiver Trent; Thence to the head or source of the river commonly known as theMersey and so along that river to the sea.[2]
The three sections approximately met atOnennau Meigion ("The Ashes of Meigion"), a point between Bridgnorth and Kinver where ash trees grew.[citation needed] A modern village calledSix Ashes still exists at the approximate point on theShropshire/Staffordshire border.
The Tripartite Indenture was the product of an alliance between the Glyndŵr, Percy, and Mortimer to overthrow Henry for their mutual benefit. Glyndŵr, thePrince of Wales, sought to exploit the situation to enlarge thePrincipality of Wales and enforce Welsh independence from England. Glyndŵr and many Welsh people resented Henry for having overthrown KingRichard II, who was highly popular in Wales. Percy and Mortimer were high-ranking Englishnoblemen but were disillusioned with king due to personal gripes. Percy was upset that Henry forbade him from ransoming theScottish lords captured at theBattle of Homildon Hill. Mortimer's nephew,Edmund Mortimer, 5th Earl of March, was theheir presumptive of Richard II and held in the captivity of Henry at theTower of London. Glyndŵr and Mortimer formed an alliance with Percy, whorebelled in northern England, to fight against Henry. The partition was ultimately never realised because Percy was killed at theBattle of Bramham Moor in 1408, Mortimer died during thesiege ofHarlech Castle in 1409, and Glyndŵr was eventually defeated by Henry's sonHenry V in 1415.