The flower of all his race
So true, so brave - a lamb at home,
A lion in the chase.
'Twas only at Llewellyn's board the faithful Gelert fed;
He watched, he served, he cheered his lord
And sentinelled his bed.
In sooth he was a peerless hound,
The gift of Royal John.
Llewellyn, prince of Wales, is said to have loved the chase above all else but always took with him his Irish wolf- dog, Gelert. The prince had many hounds, but Gelert was his favourite and was always there for the morning hunt. However, one day Gelert did not turn up and eventually Llewellyn went off with his followers and the hounds but could not enjoy his day and in the end hurried back home to find out what had happened to Gelert. He was met by Gelert, giving his usual greeting, but Llewellyn was horrified to find that Gelert was covered in blood. Hurrying into the castle, he went to see his infant son but found the cradle overturned and empty, with no sign of the child, but with blood everywhere.
Concluding that Gelert must have killed and eaten the baby, Llewellyn drew his sword and plunged it into the hound. The stricken Gelert gave a long-drawn out howl as he died and this cry was followed by a child's wail. Llewellyn searched for the source of this sound and found his child under a pile of bedding from the cradle, completely unharmed, and close by was the body of a gaunt wolf, which had obviously been slain by Gelert after a bloody battle.
Horrified at what he had done, and stricken by remorse, Llewellyn had the body of Gelert buried with due pomp and the place was afterwards known as Bedd Gelert. Legend has it that after that day Llywelyn never spoke again.
Is the pious loved by us because it is pious, or is it pious because it is loved by us? Would have the rock bleed, had if Moses struck with atheist intent?
Is it not the material object we desire, but rather, the fantasy of it?