Gelert - the faithful hound

John Liston Byam Shaw (1872–1919):
'Who Knoweth the Spirit of Man...', 1901

Gelert is the name of a legendary dog associated with the village
of Beddgelert (whose name means 'Gelert's Grave') in Gwynedd,
northwest Wales. The dog is alleged to have belonged to Llywelyn the Great,
Prince of Gwynedd, and to have been a gift from King John of England. In
this legend, Llywelyn returns from hunting to find his baby's cradle overturned,
the baby missing and the dog with blood around its mouth. Imagining that it has
savaged the child, Llywelyn draws his sword and kills the dog, which lets out a
final dying yelp. He then hears the cries of the baby and finds it unharmed
under the cradle, along with a dead wolf which had attacked the child
and been killed by Gelert. Llywelyn is then overcome with remorse
and he buries the dog with great ceremony, yet can still hear the
dying yelp. After that day Llywelyn never smiles again.
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An illustration of the fairy tale Beth Gellert
created by John D. Batten for Joseph Jacob's
collection Celtic Fairy Tales, 1892
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'Prince Llewelyn had a favourite greyhound named Gellert
that had been given to him by his father-in-law, King John.
He was as gentle as a lamb at home but a lion in the chase...'

Read the rest of the story here


'Gelert' by Charles Burton Barber (1845–1894)

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Richard Ansdell (1815-85): 'The Tale Of Gelert'
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Gelert's grave
It is now accepted that the village of Beddgelert took its name
from an early saint named Kilart or Celert, rather than from the dog.
The 'grave' mound is ascribed to David Prichard, landlord of the Goat
Hotel in Beddgelert in the late eighteenth century, who connected the
legend to the village in order to encourage tourism
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by Cecil Aldin, Vernon Stokes, and Edwin Noble
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Richard Ansdell (1815-85): 'Head of a Dog'

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