The statute created the counties of Anglesey, Caernarfon and Merioneth, to be governed by the Justice of North Wales; Flint, to be placed under the Justice of Chester; and the counties of Carmarthen and Cardigan were left under the Justice of South Wales. In the new counties the English pattern of courts was firmly set in place though some Welsh law was retained in a few civil actions, mainly concerning land disputes. The Welsh counties did not elect representatives to Parliament; they remained outside the jurisdiction of the central courts of Westminster.

Of the Statute, an anonymous scribe wrote, in 1284:  "The Divine Providence has now wholly and entirely transferred the land of Wales with its inhabitants and has annexed and united the same into the Crown as a member of the said body."

The situation seemed permanently confirmed when, in 1300, "King Edward of England made Lord Edward his son and heir (born at Caernarfon Castle; shown below, courtesy of the National Library of Wales), Prince of Wales and Count of Chester," and ever since that date these titles have been automatically conferred upon the first-born son of the English monarch. The Welsh people were not consulted in the matter although an entry in Historia Anglicana for the year 1300 reads:

"In this year King Edward of England made Lord Edward, his son and heir, Prince of Wales and Count of Chester. When the Welsh heard this, they were overjoyed, thinking him their lawful master, for he was born in their lands."

Following his successes in Wales, signified by the Statute of Rhuddlan, sometimes referred to as The Statute of Wales, Edward embarked on his massive castle-building program, creating such world-heritage sites of today as Caernarfon, Conwy, Harlech, and Beaumaris in addition to the not so-well known (or visited) structures at Flint and Rhuddlan. Below their huge, forbidding castle walls, English boroughs were created and English traders were invited to settle, often to the exclusion of the native Welsh, who must have looked on in awe and despair from their lonely hills. Their ancestors must have felt the same sense of dismay as they watched the Roman invaders build their heavily defended forts in strategic points on their lands. By rule of their new invaders, the Welsh were forbidden to inhabit such "boroughs" or to carry arms within their walls. With the help of the architect Master James of St. George, and with what must have seemed like limitless resources in manpower and materials, Edward showed his determination to place a stranglehold on the Welsh. Occasional rebellions were easily crushed; it was not until the death of Edward III and the arrival of Owain Glyndwr (Shakespeare's Owen Glendower), that the people of Wales felt confident enough to challenge their English overlords.

Throughout the 14th century, in spite of English rule (or because of it), Wales had seemed prosperous and content enough. An entry in the Calendar of Close Rolls of 1339 reads: "Englishmen were encouraged to intermingle with the Welsh so that the peace will be better assured and security improved by Englishmen so placed." Many native Welsh held positions of importance, especially on the Marches; many of the native aristocracy had thrown their lot in with their English overlords in return for certain privileges. It certainly seemed to their advantage to gain and keep the favour of Edward I (pictured at right) and his son Edward II. Many Welsh mercenaries found employment by serving in Edward's campaigns in France: their skill with the longbow is legendary. It is something of a shock for the student of Welsh literature with its long list of laments against the hated Saxon, and for the modern Welsh patriot to read the poetry of Iolo Goch that not only praises the military prowess of Welshmen fighting the French, but also lauds the achievements of the English king. Yet under the surface, all was not what it seemed: resistance to the English regime was too long-standing and too deep-seated to remain dormant forever. One scribe expressed the situation this way:

The Welsh habit of revolt against the English is a long-standing madness. . . and this is the reason. The Welsh, formerly called the Britons, were once noble, crowned with the whole realm of England; but they were expelled by the Saxons and lost both name and a kingdom

.  The "Brut y Tywysogion" in 682 had the following entry: "In that year Cadwaladr ap Cadwallon, the last king that ruled over the Britons, went to Rome and there he died and thenceforth the Britons lost the crown of the Kingship, and the Saxons obtained it, as Merlin (Myrddyn) had prophesied to Gwrtheyrn Wrthenau."

The feelings of Bede concerning the stubbornness of the Welsh in clinging to their own "bad" customs, is reinforced by the poets Taliesin and Aneirin who lamented the fate of the Celtic warriors against the cruel, Saxon invaders. In the seventh century, a scribe had referred to yet another prophecy of doom for the Welsh, that of Augustine, wherein he is reported to have said, "If the Welsh will not be at peace with us, they shall perish at the hand of the Saxons" (The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle).

In the early 10th century the poem "Armes Prydain" had predicted that the Welsh would rise and give battle; that "they must become united as one band, as sworn brothers through warfare." Another writer around 1060 had referred to a Welsh king, Bendigeidfran, son of Llyr, being crowned king "over this island and exalted with the crown of London." ("Pedair Cainc y Mabinogi"). A lament for Gruffydd ap Llywelyn, composed around 1063 had spoken of him as the "golden-torqued king of the Welsh and their defender, he who was sword and shield over the fate of all Wales." (Brenhinedd y Saeson). Of crucial importance to future Welsh aspirations, of course, is the work of Geoffrey of Monmouth, in the early part of the 12th century, which had done much to keep alive the great pride of the Welsh in their ancient traditions, not the least of which was that they were a special people, descended from Brutus, and that their language was descended from Trojan. As fanciful as it might be, Geoffrey's account of the founding of Britain is seen by Professor John Davies as central to the consciousness of the Welsh for many centuries. ("A History of Wales")