Saint Gelert
Encyclopedia
Saint Gelert, also known as Celer, Celert or Kellarth (see below), was an early Celtic
saint
. Several locations in Wales
are believed to bear his name. They include Beddgelert
("Gelert's grave") and the surrounding Gelert Valley and Llangeler
("Gelert's church") where there is a church dedicated to him. Through the promotional efforts of an innkeeper in the early 1790s, St. Gelert, the human, has become much conflated with the legend of a saintly dog putatively from the same region, Gelert
.The Story of Beddgelert: real tragedy or urban myth?, accessed March 9, 2011.
d variant of Celert or Cilert (also written Cylart, Kelert, Kilart, or Kylart) and Kellarth (also written Kelarth or Kełłarth). It is also spelled Geler or Celer, although this probably represents a misunderstanding of Celtic alveolar plosive
s and dental fricative
s, and is sometimes even teutonize
d to Killhart, Kilhart, or Gellert
. It is of unknown meaning or origin.
in the late 7th century who lived in a cave near what is now known as the Holy Well of St Celer near Llandysul
. In the Dark Ages, pilgrims would travel to the well for healing by Gelert. Eventually a chapel dedicated to St Mary
(called "Capel Mair") was erected over the well, of which the ruins still remain. It is believed that Gelert was at some time a missionary, evangelizing in Llangeler
and Beddgelert
. According to modern historical belief, he was martyred in Beddgelert, although this is a misconception simply based on the town name's meaning ("Gelert's grave"). It is believed, however, that Gelert was martyr
ed.
as a dog rather than a human. Unlike the dog-saint St. Guinefort, who was in fact an actual dog 'sainted' via folk belief for his reputed protection of children, St. Gelert was a man whose human identity has been overshadowed by huckster
ism about a mythical martyr
ed dog. According to folklore promoted by an innkeeper in Beddgelert, Gelert the dog was an wolfhound
unjustly killed by his owner, Prince Llywelyn the Great
, when found with bloody maws near the empty cradle of Llywelyn's son. When the scene was investigated, the body of a wolf The Grave of Gelert, accessed March 9, 2011. was found, which the dog Gelert had killed to save the baby's life.
One modern writer offers this concise explanation of Beddgelert's connection to the "obscure, early-medieval, local saint":
The innkeeper who popularized the dog's story was David Pritchard, who came to the area either around 1793 or 1801, depending on the source. The poem by Spencer is widely available online.Beth-Gelert, by W.R. Spencer, broadside circa 1800, published in collection 1811. Accessed March 9, 2011."Llewellyn And His Dog", Hon. W. R. Spencer, accessed March 9, 2011. Haydn set the poem to the tune of the Welsh air Eryri Wen, which means "White Snowden," a reference to Mt. Snowdon. In the Panchatantra
, which dates back to oral traditions prior to 300 B.C.E., the villain is a snake, and the role of the dog is filled by a mongoose
. Aesop
included a dog-and-snake version. An early Welsh version of the tale appears in the Mabinogion
. Other cultures provide other substitutions; even Disney added a non-fatal version of the legend to Lady and the Tramp
.Dog Saves Baby: The Dog Soldier, Snopes.com, accessed March 9, 2011.
Celtic Christianity
Celtic Christianity or Insular Christianity refers broadly to certain features of Christianity that were common, or held to be common, across the Celtic-speaking world during the Early Middle Ages...
saint
Saint
A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...
. Several locations in Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
are believed to bear his name. They include Beddgelert
Beddgelert
Beddgelert, or in older English spelling often Bedgellert, is a village and community in the Snowdonia area of Gwynedd, Wales. It is reputed to be named after the legendary hound Gelert. Population 617.- History:...
("Gelert's grave") and the surrounding Gelert Valley and Llangeler
Llangeler
Llangeler is a hamlet located in north Carmarthenshire, Wales. The name is believed to refer to St. Gelert. Llangeler parish covers a wide area including to the west, the textile village of Dre-fach Felindre and to the east, Pontyweli which adjoins Llandysul on the Carmarthenshire side of the River...
("Gelert's church") where there is a church dedicated to him. Through the promotional efforts of an innkeeper in the early 1790s, St. Gelert, the human, has become much conflated with the legend of a saintly dog putatively from the same region, Gelert
Gelert
Gelert is the name of a legendary dog associated with the village of Beddgelert in Gwynedd, northwest Wales. The story of Gelert is a variation on the well-worn "Faithful Hound" folk-tale motif, which lives on as an urban legend...
.The Story of Beddgelert: real tragedy or urban myth?, accessed March 9, 2011.
Name
The name "Gelert" is a cymricizeWelsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
d variant of Celert or Cilert (also written Cylart, Kelert, Kilart, or Kylart) and Kellarth (also written Kelarth or Kełłarth). It is also spelled Geler or Celer, although this probably represents a misunderstanding of Celtic alveolar plosive
Alveolar plosive
In phonetics and phonology, an alveolar stop is a type of consonantal sound, made with the tongue in contact with the alveolar ridge located just behind the teeth , held tightly enough to block the passage of air . The most common sounds are the plosives and , as in English toe and doe...
s and dental fricative
Dental fricative
The dental fricative or interdental fricative is a fricative consonant pronounced with the tip of the tongue against the teeth. There are two types, both written as th in English:*Voiced dental fricative *Voiceless dental fricative...
s, and is sometimes even teutonize
Germanic languages
The Germanic languages constitute a sub-branch of the Indo-European language family. The common ancestor of all of the languages in this branch is called Proto-Germanic , which was spoken in approximately the mid-1st millennium BC in Iron Age northern Europe...
d to Killhart, Kilhart, or Gellert
Gellert
Gellért represents three unrelated but interchangeable first names shared by several people and places:-Hungarian:The Hungarian first name "Gellért" is a variant of the English name Gerard, from the elements ger-, "spear", and -ard, "strong".* Hugo Gellert ,...
. It is of unknown meaning or origin.
Life
Gelert was a hermitHermit
A hermit is a person who lives, to some degree, in seclusion from society.In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Christian who lives the eremitic life out of a religious conviction, namely the Desert Theology of the Old Testament .In the...
in the late 7th century who lived in a cave near what is now known as the Holy Well of St Celer near Llandysul
Llandysul
Llandysul is a small town in the county of Ceredigion, Wales. The community of Pont Tyweli lies directly across the Teifi River in Carmarthenshire. It is in the valley of the River Teifi and is visited for its fishing and canoeing....
. In the Dark Ages, pilgrims would travel to the well for healing by Gelert. Eventually a chapel dedicated to St Mary
Mary (mother of Jesus)
Mary , commonly referred to as "Saint Mary", "Mother Mary", the "Virgin Mary", the "Blessed Virgin Mary", or "Mary, Mother of God", was a Jewish woman of Nazareth in Galilee...
(called "Capel Mair") was erected over the well, of which the ruins still remain. It is believed that Gelert was at some time a missionary, evangelizing in Llangeler
Llangeler
Llangeler is a hamlet located in north Carmarthenshire, Wales. The name is believed to refer to St. Gelert. Llangeler parish covers a wide area including to the west, the textile village of Dre-fach Felindre and to the east, Pontyweli which adjoins Llandysul on the Carmarthenshire side of the River...
and Beddgelert
Beddgelert
Beddgelert, or in older English spelling often Bedgellert, is a village and community in the Snowdonia area of Gwynedd, Wales. It is reputed to be named after the legendary hound Gelert. Population 617.- History:...
. According to modern historical belief, he was martyred in Beddgelert, although this is a misconception simply based on the town name's meaning ("Gelert's grave"). It is believed, however, that Gelert was martyr
Martyr
A martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce, or accept, a belief or cause, usually religious.-Meaning:...
ed.
Conflation
Local Welsh legend more often identifies GelertGelert
Gelert is the name of a legendary dog associated with the village of Beddgelert in Gwynedd, northwest Wales. The story of Gelert is a variation on the well-worn "Faithful Hound" folk-tale motif, which lives on as an urban legend...
as a dog rather than a human. Unlike the dog-saint St. Guinefort, who was in fact an actual dog 'sainted' via folk belief for his reputed protection of children, St. Gelert was a man whose human identity has been overshadowed by huckster
Huckster
A huckster is a seller of small articles, who tricks others into buying cheap imitation products and then bargains them as if they were the real thing...
ism about a mythical martyr
Martyr
A martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce, or accept, a belief or cause, usually religious.-Meaning:...
ed dog. According to folklore promoted by an innkeeper in Beddgelert, Gelert the dog was an wolfhound
Irish Wolfhound
The Irish wolfhound is a breed of domestic dog , specifically a sighthound. The name originates from its purpose rather than from its appearance...
unjustly killed by his owner, Prince Llywelyn the Great
Llywelyn the Great
Llywelyn the Great , full name Llywelyn ab Iorwerth, was a Prince of Gwynedd in north Wales and eventually de facto ruler over most of Wales...
, when found with bloody maws near the empty cradle of Llywelyn's son. When the scene was investigated, the body of a wolf The Grave of Gelert, accessed March 9, 2011. was found, which the dog Gelert had killed to save the baby's life.
One modern writer offers this concise explanation of Beddgelert's connection to the "obscure, early-medieval, local saint":
The Welsh dog-hero/saint Gelert, associated with Prince Llywelyn the GreatLlywelyn the GreatLlywelyn the Great , full name Llywelyn ab Iorwerth, was a Prince of Gwynedd in north Wales and eventually de facto ruler over most of Wales...
(1173-1240), is, however, a romantic fiction of the late 18th century derived from a 5th century Indian Buddhist work, the Pancha Tantra. The story gained wide currency in Europe[and] the Middle East. The heraldic Rous Roll of the 15th century, for example, depicted the arms of WalesWalesWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
as a helmet on which stand a dog and a cradle. But it was finally applied specifically by a hotelier to the village of Beddgelert, named after an obscure, early-mediæval, local saint. To reinforce the story further, he erected a megalith, Gelert's Bed. The 'new' story became the subject of a poem by W.R. SpencerWilliam Robert SpencerWilliam Robert Spencer , English poet and wit, was the younger son of Lord Charles Spencer and his wife Mary Beauclerk. He was the grandson of Charles Spencer, 3rd Duke of Marlborough on his father's side and Vere Beauclerk, 1st Baron Vere on his mother's...
which Joseph HaydnJoseph HaydnFranz Joseph Haydn , known as Joseph Haydn , was an Austrian composer, one of the most prolific and prominent composers of the Classical period. He is often called the "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet" because of his important contributions to these forms...
set to music.Gelert the Greyhound: Sidebar, accessed March 9, 2011. Such is the stuff of nationalist legend — and this is one of the more benign examples.Weir, Anthony. Holy Dogs and Dog-Headed Saints, accessed March 9, 2011.
The innkeeper who popularized the dog's story was David Pritchard, who came to the area either around 1793 or 1801, depending on the source. The poem by Spencer is widely available online.Beth-Gelert, by W.R. Spencer, broadside circa 1800, published in collection 1811. Accessed March 9, 2011."Llewellyn And His Dog", Hon. W. R. Spencer, accessed March 9, 2011. Haydn set the poem to the tune of the Welsh air Eryri Wen, which means "White Snowden," a reference to Mt. Snowdon. In the Panchatantra
Panchatantra
The Panchatantra is an ancient Indian inter-related collection of animal fables in verse and prose, in a frame story format. The original Sanskrit work, which some scholars believe was composed in the 3rd century BCE, is attributed to Vishnu Sharma...
, which dates back to oral traditions prior to 300 B.C.E., the villain is a snake, and the role of the dog is filled by a mongoose
Mongoose
Mongoose are a family of 33 living species of small carnivorans from southern Eurasia and mainland Africa. Four additional species from Madagascar in the subfamily Galidiinae, which were previously classified in this family, are also referred to as "mongooses" or "mongoose-like"...
. Aesop
Aesop
Aesop was a Greek writer credited with a number of popular fables. Older spellings of his name have included Esop and Isope. Although his existence remains uncertain and no writings by him survive, numerous tales credited to him were gathered across the centuries and in many languages in a...
included a dog-and-snake version. An early Welsh version of the tale appears in the Mabinogion
Mabinogion
The Mabinogion is the title given to a collection of eleven prose stories collated from medieval Welsh manuscripts. The tales draw on pre-Christian Celtic mythology, international folktale motifs, and early medieval historical traditions...
. Other cultures provide other substitutions; even Disney added a non-fatal version of the legend to Lady and the Tramp
Lady and the Tramp
Lady and the Tramp is a 1955 American animated film produced by Walt Disney and released to theaters on June 22, 1955, by Buena Vista Distribution. The fifteenth animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, it was the first animated feature filmed in the CinemaScope widescreen...
.Dog Saves Baby: The Dog Soldier, Snopes.com, accessed March 9, 2011.