This romantic village is said to derive its name from a singular
occurrence. Tradition says, that Llewellyn the Great came to reside at
Beddgelert during the hunting season, with his wife and children, and one
day, the family being absent, a wolf had entered the house. On
returning, his greyhound, called Cilihart, met him, wagging his tail, but
covered with blood. The prince being alarmed, ran into the nursery, and
found the cradle in which the child had lain overturned, and the ground
covered with gore. Imagining the greyhound had killed the child, he
immediately drew his sword and slew him; but, on turning up the cradle,
he found under it the child alive, and the wolf dead. This so affected
the prince, that he erected a tomb over his faithful dog’s grave, where,
afterwards, the parish-church was built, and called from this accident,
Bedd-Cilihart, or The Grave of Cilihart. This incident gave rise to the
following pathetic verses: