Gelert
Gelert (Welsh pronunciation:
The story is a variation on the
Poems and other interpretations
This story formed the basis for several English poems, among which are "Beth Gêlert; or, the Grave of the Greyhound" by William Robert Spencer written around 1800;[3] "Beth Gelert" by Richard Henry Horne;[4] "Gelert" by Francis Orray Ticknor[5] and the dramatic poem "Llewellyn" by Walter Richard Cassels.[6] The tale is also alluded to by John Critchley Prince in lines 24 to 29 of his poem "North Wales:" "Thou hast not trod with pilgrim foot the ground / Where sleeps the canine martyr of distrust, / Poor Gelert, famed in song, as brave a hound / As ever guarded homestead, hut, or hall, / Or leapt exulting at the hunter’s call; / As ever grateful man consigned to dust."[7] Despite this, and despite the presence of a raised mound in the village called Gelert's Grave, historians do not believe that Gelert ever existed.
It is recorded in
The tale indeed appears in numerous cultures with minor variations. The
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.[9]
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.[10]
In the Disney movie Lady and the Tramp (1955), Tramp is carried off to the pound after Aunt Sarah finds him in a nursery with the cradle overturned. In this version of the tale, the "Gelert" figure is rescued: Lady manages to show "Jim Dear" the dead rat hidden behind a curtain, and the parents realize that Tramp actually saved their child from the rat.
In 2002 the Incredible Story Studios made a short film called "The Return of Gelert", written by a Welsh schoolchild, which depicts the ghost of Gelert returning to haunt early 21st century Beddgelert.[11]
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 to encourage tourism.[12]
On the supposed grave of Gelert there are two slate memorials, one in Welsh and the other in English. The latter reads:
GELERT'S GRAVE
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 THE 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 NEAR BY 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. THE SPOT IS CALLED BEDDGELERT.
See also
References
- ^ 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. Vol. 1. Manchester: Abel Heywood & Son. p. 326. Retrieved 29 October 2011. poem
- ISBN 88-7058-106-3, 254 pages
- ISBN 978-0-7661-0502-7, 300 pages
- ISBN 978-0-7146-2026-8, 685 pages
- ^ "Boy's story made into Disney film". BBC News. 10 January 2002. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
- ISBN 978-0-7083-1953-6.
- Borrow's Wild Wales Chapter XLVI: "The Valley of Gelert"
- Site about wolfhounds which asserts that Prichard created the grave
- John Fiske's Myths and Myth-makers: Old Tales and Superstitions Interpreted by Comparative Mythology Chapter 1: "The Origins of Folk-Lore."
Further reading
- Cassels, Walter Richard. "Llewellyn". Archived from the original on 2011-12-02. Dramatic poem
- Horne, Richard Henry (1846). "Beth Gelert". Ballad Romances. London: Charles Ollier. p. 187.
Richard Henry Horne Beth Gelert.
- Prince, John Critchley (1880). "North Wales". The Poetical Works of John Critchley Prince. Vol. 1. Manchester: Abel Heywood & Son. p. 326. Poem
- Spencer, William Robert (1921). "Beth Gêlert; or, the Grave of the Greyhound". In Curry, Charles Madison; Clippinger, Erle Ellsworth (eds.). Children's Literature. Chicago: Rand McNally. pp. 436–437.
william robert spencer beth-gelert.
Poem - Ticknor, Francis Orray (1911). "Gelert". The poems of Francis Orray Ticknor. New York & Washington: The Neale Publishing Co. p. 85.
Francis Orray Ticknor gelert.
Poem