Gelert was the mythical favourite hunting dog of Llewellyn the Great, the last King of a united, independent Wales in the 13th Century. The well-known Welsh legend tells a tra
…gic story of how the King went out hunting one day with his noblemen and pack of hounds, but for some reason Gelert was not among the pack and couldn't be found. When the King returned to his castle, Gelert was found in the nursery room of Llewellyn's baby son, with the baby nowhere to be seen, the crib overturned, and blood dripping from Gelert's jaws. The King thought that Gelert had turned savage and killed his son, so in a rage he drew his sword and slew the dog through the heart. As Gelert lay dying in agony, a cry was heard from beneath the overturned crib- beneath it, the baby Prince was found safe and well, and nearby was the body of a large wolf. Stricken with remorse, Llewellyn realised that it was the wolf's blood on Gelert's mouth, and that the dog had killed it in defending the child. Gelert died, but the heartbroken king had him buried with great honour beneath a cairn of stones near to where the current town of Beddgelert now stands ('Bedd' in Welsh means 'Grave', and is pronounced 'bairth', with the th as in 'the'). In reality, there is no truth to the story at all- variants of the same legend can be found in countries all over the world, and it's a popular sentimental tale of which there is no actual record in real Welsh history. The cairn of stones in Beddgelert that still stands today, was in fact built by the landlord of a local inn in Victorian times in an attempt to boost the local tourist trade! (MORE) 