Probably the most famous
legend of the region is that of
Prince Llewelyn and his
dog Gelert. Llewelyn is very fond of hunting and in the summer he lives in hunting lodge at the foot of Snowdon. Although he has many
dogs, his favourite is Gelert, because not only is he fearless in the hunt he’s also a loyal
friend and companion at home.
One day Llewelyn and his
wife go out hunting, leaving their baby son with a nurse and a servant to look after him. The nurse and the servant go for a walk in the mountains leaving the
baby alone and unprotected.
Gelert is absorbed in his hunting, but after a while, he notices that Gelert isn’t with the pack. The
Prince knows something is wrong as Gelert is always at the front of the pack. He reasons that the only place Gelert would
go is back to the lodge, so he calls off the hunt and heads back home.
As the party is dismounting, Gelert comes running out of the lodge towards his master, covered in blood and wagging his tail. The Princess, calling her child’s name, faints. Llewelyn rushes into the
baby’s room to find the cradle overturned, the bloodstained bedclothes thrown all over the
floor - and no sign of his son. Filled with anger and grief he draws his sword and runs Gelert through. As the
dog dies, he whimpers and his cries are answered by the sound of a baby
crying from behind the overturned cradle. When Llewelyn pulls aside the cradle he finds his son unharmed and the bloody body of a huge wolf next to him. Gelert had in fact killed the wolf as it tried to attack Llewelyn's son.
Filled with remorse, Llewelyn buries Gelert in a meadow nearby and marks his grave with a cairn of stones. The village of Beddgelert ('Gelert’s grave') owes its name to this site.
