Is Beddgelert a true story?

  Dog lovers will be relieved to know that this story is a complete fabrication, put about in the nineteenth century. Some say that local traders were responsible, in an a…ttempt to lure Snowdon's visitors to their village. It is thought that the place name actually refers to Celert, a sixth century saint from the area. The "Legend of the dog" was "known to most people" by the time George Borrow visited Beddgelert in 1854 as part of the journey through the country he published in 1862 asWild Wales. "The tomb, or what is said to be the tomb, of Gelert stands in a beautiful meadow just below the precipitous side of Cerrig Llan: it consists of a slab lying on its side, and two upright stones. It is shaded by a weeping willow, and is surrounded by a hexagonal paling. Who is there acquainted with the legend, whether he believes that the dog lies beneath these stones or not, can visit them without exclaiming with a sigh "Poor Gelert!". (MORE)