The Tragic Story of Gelert, the Loyal Hound

I was browsing online when I came across a post about a painting, which prompted me to look deeper into the story it is based on. It was a painting by Gourlay Steell, called "Llywelyn and His Brave Hound." It's based on a Welsh fairy tale.

There was a prince called Prince Llywelyn. He had a dog called Gelert. Gelert was very loyal to him. Llywelyn loved going hunting, and he and Gelert went hunting together. Llywelyn was married and lived with his wife and Gelert in a cabin in the forest. After some time, he and his wife had a baby. One day, Llywelyn and his wife went out for a stroll and a hunt, leaving the baby and Gelert at home. I think Llywelyn meant to bring Gelert along, but the dog couldn't be found in that moment, so they went without him.

When they came back home, the house was a total mess! All of the furniture had been toppled over, there were random items tossed all around, pots broken, everything was a mess. And out came Gelert, happily, to greet his owners. He was covered in blood, head to toe, but mostly going down his jaw. When Llywelyn saw him, he understood that Gelert had done something terrible: He had killed and eaten the baby. Llywelyn was furious. He immediately drew his sword and struck Gelert, killing him. Right after, the sound of a baby crying could be heard from the other room. Llywelyn ran to the room to check, and under some blankets, the baby laid safely and healthily. Llywelyn checked under some of the toppled furniture and found the enormouse, bloody carcass of a wolf, covered in bite marks. It was then that he realized: Gelert hadn't harmed the baby. Gelert had fought off an intruding wolf that was there to kill the baby. Llywelyn was filled with dread, regret, and guilt over what he had just done. But it was over, there was nothing he could do, it was hopeless.

←And this is the painting that I saw. When I had first seen it, I didn't pay much mind to it, though I must've made a mental note. Much later, I was reminded of the painting, and decided to look deeper into the tale. I was moved by it a lot. It made me extremely sad. I think it's a great painting, it does a great job of getting across that feeling of deep regret and that atmosphere of tragedy. It fills you with dread and sadness.

Now, the town that Gelert supposedly lived and eventually died in is a real place called Beddgelert. As a word, it literally means "the grave of Gelert". It was most likely named after a different, unrelated Gelert, but it's fun to imagine that it was after the dog! The town has a bunch of touristic spots that are based on the tale. Most notably, well, it has the grave of Gelert! With a tombstone and everything. But I found that to be less interesting. There actually is a "House of Llywelyn" installation, a little cottage made out of stone that houses a Gelert statue in it.

I looked up a video of the town, to see the cottage. It depicts the scene of Gelert, after having killed the wolf, looking out the door and waiting for his owners. This scene in itself paints a picture of dread. We know what awaits Gelert. He waits naively, not expecting what is to come. Sombrely looking into the distance, tired after his battle, looking forward to a comforting reunion. It's very evocative.

The installation reminded me of another painting that I had seen before. It's a painting called "Deimos" by the artist Dragan Bibin. It's actually a whole series of paintings, but this is the one that has left the biggest impression on me. It evokes a similar emotion. The naive anticipation, the dread, the sombreness.

When looking into all of this, I had put on some appropriate music. The song "I Bet On Losing Dogs" by Mitski. Which isn't directly related, but it's a song that is metaphorically about dogs, and it's sad, and the lyrics are fitting. I had long known about this song, and I like it a lot, and it just spoke to my emotions at that moment.

 

I didn't know about it at the time, but Mitski has another song that I find to be fitting for the tale. It's called "I'm Your Man." It opens with the lines, "You're an angel, I'm a dog./Or you're a dog and I'm your man." To a pet dog, their owner is this perfect being. They expect no hostility from them, they are loyal to them wholeheartedly and do not see their wrongdoings. They only expect to be treated well by them, with love and kindness. In the first line, you are posited as the owner, an angel; while I am your pet dog. But then we switch perspectives, you are the dog and I am your owner. "You believe me like a god," again, dogs put all of their trust in their owner. "I'll destroy you like I am," as how Llywelyn lost himself in his anger and destroyed his loyal companion.

I won't write about how every line relates to the tale. Not all of them do, anyway. But I think, even going forward and towards the end of the song, you still get that emotional tie between the two. The song ends with the narrator "meeting judgement by the hounds" as the sounds of dogs barking begin to rise. It speaks to a sense of guilt, and a need to pay penance.

Gelert by Charles Burton Barber