Llys Helig is a natural rock formation off the coast at

Penmaenmawr Penmaenmawr (, ) is a town and community in Conwy County Borough, Wales, which was formerly in the parish of Dwygyfylchi and the traditional county of Caernarfonshire. It is on the North Wales coast between Conwy and Llanfairfechan and was an ...

north Wales North Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, with Snowdon ...

. There may be a fish weir to the south which tradition dates to the beginning of the 6th century. The sea level was low enough around 1600 AD to make the claims of Sir John Wynne of Gwydir feasible. The earliest known use of the name Llys Helig for this rock formation is the Halliwell Manuscript which is believed to date to around the beginning of the 17th century, eleven centuries later. Legends developed about it suggesting that it was the palace of Prince Helig ap Glanawg (''also spelled'' Glannog) who lived in the 6th century, and whose sons established a number of churches in the area. He owned a large area of land between the Great Orme's Head near

Llandudno Llandudno (, ) is a seaside resort, town and community (Wales), community in Conwy County Borough, Wales, located on the Creuddyn peninsula, which protrudes into the Irish Sea. In the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 UK census, the community � ...

and the

Menai Strait The Menai Strait () is a strait which separates the island of Anglesey from Gwynedd, on the mainland of Wales. It is situated between Caernarfon Bay in the south-west and Conwy Bay in the north-east, which are both inlets of the Irish Sea. The s ...

off the north coast of Gwynedd. This area was inundated by the sea, which gave rise to the legend of the drowned kingdom. Llys Helig is mentioned in a number of old documents, some of which were published after expeditions to find the Palace. These include - :''An Ancient Survey of Pen Maen Mawr'', 1625 - 1649, by John Gwynn :''The Map of Wales'', 1788, by W.Owen :''Tours of Wales'', 1804, by Fenton :''Cambria Depicta'', 1812, by Pugh :''Baner ac Amserau Cymru'', 1864, Richard Parry & Charlton Halls, a Paper to the Liverpool Geological Society This last expedition reported finds of the remains of seaweed-covered walls, these walls indicating buildings some 100 yards long, and they concluded that this was indeed the palace.

Llys Helig and the tale of Cantre'r Gwaelod

Rachel Bromwich Rachel Bromwich (30 July 1915 – 15 December 2010), born Rachel Sheldon Amos, was a British scholar. Her focus was on medieval Welsh literature, and she taught Celtic Languages and Literature in the Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic ...

discusses what she refers to as the folk-tale of

Cantre'r Gwaelod , also known as or , is a legendary ancient sunken kingdom said to have occupied a tract of fertile land lying between Ramsey Island and Bardsey Island in what is now Cardigan Bay to the west of Wales. It has been described as a "Welsh Atla ...

, another alleged sunken kingdom but in

Cardiganshire Ceredigion (), historically Cardiganshire (, ), is a county in the west of Wales. It borders Gwynedd across the Dyfi estuary to the north, Powys to the east, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire to the south, and the Irish Sea to the west. Ab ...

. As with Llys Helig, there are tales of remains being seen of the sunken kingdom. Bromwich believes that the two stories influenced each other, and that "The widespread parallels to this inundation theme would suggest that the two stories are in fact one in origin, and were localized separately in Cardiganshire and in the Conwy estuary, around two traditional figures of the sixth century. She also notes that the Halliwell Manuscript gives Helig the title "Lord of Cantre'r Gwaelod". In the book ''New Directions In Celtic Studies'' Antone Minard wrote that "The Welsh legends of Cantre'r Gwaelod and Llys Helig (Helig's Court) contain the same details of audible bells beneath the waves and ruins which are visible at the equinoctial tides, which are the anchors of credulity in the story".

Notes

External links

The Welsh Atlantis
{{Coord missing, Gwynedd Penmaenmawr Underwater ruins