Reading Notes: Welsh Folktales, Part A

 (Found on Pixabay, represents Gelert in the story)

For this part of my reading notes, I will be primarily focusing on "The Story of Gelert" from Welsh Fairy-Tales and Other Stories by Peter H. Emerson (1894).

This story focuses on a prince and his beloved dog, Gelert. The prince loved that dog immensely, and Gelert would always return to him when the prince called. The castle at which they lived was surrounded by wolf packs, so the prince was always careful to make sure Gelert wouldn't get himself into trouble.

One day, the prince had company over to go hunting for these wolves, and after being out for a few hours they realized they hadn't seen Gelert in a while. They returned to the house to look for Gelert, only for the prince to see a dead wolf from the pack laying in front of his child's cradle. He ran to the scene, and saw this his child was safe but Gelert had been injured.

Gelert protected the prince's son from the wolf, but hurt himself very extremely in the process. Gelert died licking the prince's hand, showing that he protected the child out of love. The prince threw a funeral for Gelert, much as like one would have for a human. He did this to show his dedication and love for his beloved Gelert.

I really liked reading this story because it told the story of "man's best friend." While this story is quite old, the theme remains modern, and many people can relate to the love between the prince and his dog.