The tragic story of Gelert and Prince Llywelyn the Great is one of the most popular and well known Welsh folk tales. You’d certainly be hard pressed to find a Welsh person who hasn’t at least heard of this story. This is how the tale of the unfortunate hound is told as seen on the famous slate tablets marking his supposed grave in the northern Welsh town of Beddgelert:
In the 13th century Llywelyn, prince of North Wales, had a palace at Beddgelert. One day he went hunting without Gelert, ‘The Faithful Hound,’ who was unaccountably absent. On Llywelyn’s return the truant, stained and smeared with blood, joyfully sprang to meet his master. The prince, alarmed, hastened to find his son, and saw the infant’s cot empty, the bedclothes and floor covered with blood. The frantic father plunged his sword into the hound’s side, thinking it had killed his heir. The dog’s dying yell was answered by a child’s cry. Llywelyn searched and discovered his boy unharmed, but nearby lay the body of a mighty wolf which Gelert had slain. The prince, filled with remorse, is said never to have smiled again. He buried Gelert here.
As seen on the slate tables marking Gelert’s grave.
In the most common telling I have heard Gelert was usually left behind on purpose the guard the young son. there are even some versions that say Gelert was a gift from the English Monarch King John! An interesting tale for sure! So is there any basis in truth for the legendary dog? Sadly no.
Firstly it is widely assumed that the name Beddgelert is a reference to the hound as it translates to “Gelert’s Grave”. This is actually not the case though. The town is named after an obscure Celtic Christian saint who went by the name of Celert or Killarth. Gelert is the cymricized version of Celert so the misunderstanding is certainly forgivable.
So who was Celert/Gelert exactly?
“Gelert was a hermit in the late 7th century who lived in a cave near what is now known as the Holy Well of St Celer near Llandysul. In the Dark Ages, pilgrims would travel to the well for healing by Gelert. Eventually a chapel dedicated to St Mary (called “Capel Mair”) was erected over the well, of which the ruins still remain. It is believed that Gelert was at some time a missionary, evangelising in Llangeler and Beddgelert. According to modern historical belief, he was martyred in Beddgelert, although this is a misconception simply based on the town name’s meaning (“Gelert’s grave”). It is believed, however, that Gelert was martyred.”
So we know where the towns name actually does come from now. So what about the hound in question? How did he become associated with the towns real life namesake? There have been various versions of the tale of the faithful servant being unjustly killed in folklore all over the world. In the 15th century versions of this tale the hounds name was had not yet become Gelert but was instead known as Cilhart. In this version of the tale the faithful Cilhart dies from exhaustion after a long and particularly arduous hunt. He is then buried with much ceremony. It wasn’t until the the 18 century that the tale took the shape it does today and captured the public’s imagination.
Many tourists visit Beddgelert and inevitably stop by at Gelert’s grave. What perhaps they don’t know is that this part of the story is relatively modern. This is thanks to a certain Mr David Prithard who certainly popularised the tale. It is believed Pritchard moved into the area 1793 or 1801, depending on the source. A innkeeper by trade, he owned the Goats Head found nearby and created the slate tablets and the location of Gelert’s grave to drum up tourism. He even raised a megalith named Gelert’s Bed!
The Welsh dog-hero/saint Gelert, associated with Prince Llywelyn the Great (1173-1240), is, however, a romantic fiction of the late 18th century derived from a 5th century Indian Buddhist work, the Pancha Tantra. The story gained wide currency in Europe [and] the Middle East. The heraldic Rous Roll of the 15th century, for example, depicted the arms of Wales as a helmet on which stand a dog and a cradle. But it was finally applied specifically by a hotelier to the village of Beddgelert, named after an obscure, early-medieval, local saint. To reinforce the story further, he erected a megalith, Gelert’s Bed. The ‘new’ story became the subject of a poem by W.R. Spencer which Joseph Haydn set to music. Such is the stuff of nationalist legend — and this is one of the more benign examples.
(Weir, Anthony 2011)
This particular trope of folklore is found all over the world. The Alpine ligurian poem R sacrifisi dr can, written in Ligurian, tells of how a shepherd shot his sheepdog after finding it covered in sheep blood, only to later find a dead wolf in the stable.In India, a black snake replaces the wolf and a mongoose replaces the dog. In Egypt, the story goes that a cook nearly killed a Wali for having smashed a pot of herbs, but later discovers that the pot contained a poisonous snake.
In Malaysian folklore, a similar story involves a tame bear, kept by a Malay hunter as the guardian of his young daughter. As in the story of Gelert, the hunter returns home from an expedition, and finds his daughter gone and the bear covered in blood. Hastily thinking the bear has devoured his daughter, the hunter kills it with his spear, but later finds the body of a tiger, killed by the bear in defence of the hunter’s daughter, who shortly emerges from the jungle, from where she took refuge.
What makes this particular example interesting is the conflation of a real life man and a legendary dog. Perhaps the reason Gelert the faithful hound is remembered so fondly today is that it is a lot more romantic than the tale of an obscure early Celtic saint. The association with one of Wales greatest ever leaders certainly does not hurt either. It’s a story I have enjoyed getting into the bones of and I’m sure it will delight local and tourist alike for many years to come.
As always, thanks for stopping by!
Sources:
Jenkins, D. E. (1899). “Chapter V. The Legend of Gelert”. Bedd Gelert: Its Facts, Fairies and Folklore. Portmadog: L. Jenkins. pp. 56–74.
D. L. Ashliman, Llewelyn and His Dog Gelert and other folktales of Aarne–Thompson type 178A
Spencer, William Robert (1921). “Beth Gêlert”. In Curry, Charles Madison; Clippinger, Erle Elsworth (eds.). Children’s Literature. Chicago: Rand McNally. pp. 436–437. Retrieved 29 October 2011.
Horne, Richard Henry (1846). “Beth Gelert”. Ballad Romances. London: Charles Ollier. pp. 187–202. Retrieved October 29, 2011.
Ticknor, Francis Orray (1911). “Gelert”. The poems of Francis Orray Ticknor. New York & Washington: The Neale Publishing Co. p. 85. Retrieved 29 October 2011.
Cassels, Walter Richard. “Llewellyn”. Archived from the original on 2011-12-02.
Prince, John Critchley (1880). “”North Wales””. The poetical works of John Critchley Prince. 1. Manchester: Abel Heywood & Son. p. 326. Retrieved 29 October 2011. poem
Cultura alpina in Liguria, by Realdo e Verdeggia, published by SAGEP EDITRICE, 1984, ISBN 88-7058-106-3, 254 pages
Childhood of Religions: Embracing a Simple Account of the Birth and Growth of Myths and Legends, by Edward Clodd, published by Kessinger Publishing, 1998, ISBN 0-7661-0502-4, ISBN 978-0-7661-0502-7, 300 pages
Community of St Celer, Plas Geler, Llandysul, West Wales
Jenkins, David Erwyd (1899). “The Village”. Bedd Gelert: It’s Facts, Fairies, & Folk-lore. Porthmadog, Wales: Llewelyn Jenkins. p. 23.
Rhŷs, John (2004). “Art and Archaeology”. Celtic Folklore: Welsh and Manx. Oxford, England: Adamant Media Corp. p. 567.
Joseph Jacobs BBC on “llan”
Dog Saves Baby: The Dog Soldier, Snopes.com, accessed March 9, 2011.
Weir, Anthony. Holy Dogs and Dog-Headed Saints, accessed March 9, 2011.
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