Saint Gelert

Saint Gelert, also known as Celer,^[2] Celert,^[3] or Kellarth,^[4][5] 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"),^[6] where there is a church dedicated to him. Through the promotional efforts of an innkeeper in the early 1790s,^[7] St. Gelert, the human, has become much conflated with the legend of a saintly dog putatively from the same region, Gelert.^[8][9]

The name "Gelert" is a cymricized variant of Celert or Cilert^[3] (also written Cylart,^[5] Kelert,^[4][5] Kilart, or Kylart^[4]) and Kellarth (also written Kelarth^[4] or Kełłarth^[4]). It is also spelled Geler^[10] or Celer,^[10][11] although this probably represents a misunderstanding of Celtic alveolar plosives and dental fricatives,^[11] and is sometimes even teutonized to Killhart, Kilhart, or Gellert. It is of unknown meaning or origin.

Gelert was a hermit in the late 7th century^[1] who lived in a cave near what is now known as the Holy Well of St Celer^[1] 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.^[1] It is believed that Gelert was at some time a missionary, evangelizing in Llangeler and Beddgelert.^[10] 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").^[10] It is believed, however, that Gelert was martyred.^[1]

Local Welsh legend more often identifies Gelert as a dog rather than a human. Unlike the dog-saint St. Guinefort, who was possibly 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 martyred 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, when found with bloody maws near the empty cradle of Llywelyn's son. When the scene was investigated, the body of a wolf^[12][13] 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 (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 Wales 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 set to music.^[12] Such is the stuff of nationalist legend — and this is one of the more benign examples.^[8]

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.^[14][15] The poem by Spencer is widely available online.^[15][16] Haydn set the poem to the tune of the Welsh air Eryri Wen, which means "White Mountains", a reference to Snowdon.^[17][18] 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.^[13] Aesop included a dog-and-snake version.^[7] An early Welsh version of the tale appears in the Mabinogion.^[9] Other cultures provide other substitutions; even Disney added a non-fatal version of the legend to Lady and the Tramp.^[7]

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