Saint Gelert
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Saint Gelert, also known as Celer, Celert or KellarthJoseph Jacobs
/ref> (see below), was an early Celtic
saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...
. Several locations in
Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
are believed to bear his name. They include
Beddgelert Beddgelert () is a village and community (Wales), community in the Snowdonia area of Gwynedd, Wales. The population of the community taken at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census was 460 (rounded to the nearest 10). This includes Nan ...
("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.


Name

The name "Gelert" is a cymricized 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,BBC interview with historian Margaret Dunn
/ref>
although this probably represents a misunderstanding of Celtic alveolar plosives and dental fricatives, and is sometimes even teutonized to Killhart, Kilhart, or Gellert. It is of unknown meaning or origin.


Life

Gelert was a
hermit A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Chr ...
in the late 7th centuryCommunity of St Celer, Plas Geler, Llandysul, West Wales
/ref> 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 Beddgelert () is a village and community (Wales), community in the Snowdonia area of Gwynedd, Wales. The population of the community taken at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census was 460 (rounded to the nearest 10). This includes Nan ...
. 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 A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In ...
ed.


Conflation

Local Welsh legend more often identifies Gelert 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 hucksterism about a mythical
martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In ...
ed dog. According to folklore promoted by an innkeeper in Beddgelert, Gelert the dog was a wolfhound unjustly killed by his owner, Prince
Llywelyn the Great Llywelyn ab Iorwerth (, – 11 April 1240), also known as Llywelyn the Great (, ; ), was a medieval Welsh ruler. He succeeded his uncle, Dafydd ab Owain Gwynedd, as King of Gwynedd in 1195. By a combination of war and diplomacy, he dominate ...
, when found with bloody maws near the empty cradle of Llywelyn's son. When the scene was investigated, the body of a wolfThe 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 Great Llywelyn ab Iorwerth (, – 11 April 1240), also known as Llywelyn the Great (, ; ), was a medieval Welsh ruler. He succeeded his uncle, Dafydd ab Owain Gwynedd, as King of Gwynedd in 1195. By a combination of war and diplomacy, he dominate ...
(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 nd/nowiki> the Middle East. The heraldic '' Rous Roll'' of the 15th century, for example, depicted the arms of
Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
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. Spencer which
Joseph Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( ; ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...
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.

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.
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 Snowdon", a reference to Snowdon.''Eryri Wen''
/ref> In the ''
Panchatantra The ''Panchatantra'' ( IAST: Pañcatantra, ISO: Pañcatantra, , "Five Treatises") is an ancient Indian collection of interrelated animal fables in Sanskrit verse and prose, arranged within a frame story.
,'' 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 A mongoose is a small terrestrial carnivorous mammal belonging to the family Herpestidae. This family has two subfamilies, the Herpestinae and the Mungotinae. The Herpestinae comprises 23 living species that are native to southern Europe, A ...
.
Aesop Aesop ( ; , ; c. 620–564 BCE; formerly rendered as Æsop) was a Greeks, Greek wikt:fabulist, fabulist and Oral storytelling, storyteller credited with a number of fables now collectively known as ''Aesop's Fables''. Although his existence re ...
included a dog-and-snake version. An early Welsh version of the tale appears in the
Mabinogion The ''Mabinogion'' () is a collection of the earliest Welsh prose stories, compiled in Middle Welsh in the 12th–13th centuries from earlier oral traditions. There are two main source manuscripts, created –1410, as well as a few earlier frag ...
. Other cultures provide other substitutions; even
Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
added a non-fatal version of the legend to ''
Lady and the Tramp ''Lady and the Tramp'' is a 1955 American Animated film, animated Musical film, musical romantic comedy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by Buena Vista Film Distribution. Based on Ward Greene's 1945 ''Cosmopolitan (magazine) ...
''.Dog Saves Baby: The Dog Soldier
Snopes.com ''Snopes'' (), formerly known as the ''Urban Legends Reference Pages'', is a fact-checking website. It has been described as a "well-regarded reference for sorting out myths and rumors" on the Internet. The site has also been seen as a source ...
, accessed March 9, 2011.


See also

* List of Catholic saints


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gelert Medieval Welsh saints 7th-century births People from Ceredigion Year of death missing