One day Prince Llweyln returned from a hunting trip to find his baby missing and blood on Gelert's muzzle. In a fit of anguish, believing that Gelert had harmed his child, Llweyln drew his sword and killed Gelert. But at that moment he heard a babies cry and found his son under the overturned cradle and the dead body of a wolf.
Gelert had not killed his child but saved him from a wolf attack and Llwelyn had killed his faithful hound.
Prince Llweyln buried Gelert with great sadness, legend has it that he is buried in a village named Beddgelert. Beddgelert is Welsh for Gelert's Grave. A memorial to Gelert can be found there which 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.
Images: Gelert by Charles Burton Barber (1845-1894),
Gelert's grave via Wikipedia Commons under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported
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