1' Beginnings of Legends

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• 1. Beginnings of Legends

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Aim of Lessonby the end of this lesson you
should be able to

• Understand what information goes at the
  beginnings of legends.

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Legends are stories which have been told for
hundreds of years. Over the years storytellers
may have altered or added parts to the story.
Eventually these stories were written
down. Legends give us an insight into the lives,
cultures and landscapes of a time long ago.
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The following Legend is from Wales, it gives us
an insight into the lives and beliefs of Welsh
people who lived hundreds of years ago. It is
set in the North of Wales in the Conwy Valley
close to a village called Betws-y-Coed, at the
foot of what is now known as The Snowdonia
Country Park.
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Yr Afanc

Long long ago there lived a gigantic water
monster called the Afanc. The Afanc lived in
Llyn-yr-Afanc in the River Conwy. He was
extremely strong and particularly bad tempered.
His eyes were green black and his hide was a
tough as armour. When in a bad mood he would
break the banks of the river causing the water to
flow over and flood parts of the Vale of Conwy.
Homes would be destroyed, crops were ruined and
the people were miserable. The villagers decided
that something must be done to stop the Afanc.
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The village men got together and plotted to kill
the Afanc. They gathered all of their weapons
swords, spears, bows and arrows. Every man was
armed. In the dead of night they crept through
the wood towards the lake. The villagers could
hear the Afanc resting, his breath coming in
long, slow pants. Their hearts began to pound,
they didnt want the Afanc to hear them coming.
The wood was dark and the path criss-crossed by
trees. Trees which, in the darkness, looked like
strange creatures. Shrivelled, dead leaves
crunched underfoot. Strange sounds drifted
towards them carried by the wind.
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At last they arrived at the lake and began
hurling the weapons at the Afanc. The men were
keen marksmen and each weapon hit its target.
However, none of the weapons seemed able to
pierce the skin of the Afanc. His hide seemed
impenetrable, no man-made weapon could puncture
it. The Afanc awoke, he looked at the villagers
and roared. The ground shook, trees bent, the
men ran and ran back to their village.
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The village leaders resolved to entice the Afanc
from his home and move him to a lake far away
beyond the mountains, where he could cause no
further trouble. The best blacksmith in all of
Wales was called upon to forge strong iron
chains. Hu Gardan and his two long-horned oxen,
the strongest oxen in all of Wales, were summoned
to the village of Betws-y-Coed. There was one
problem left.
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How could the villagers tempt the Afanc from his
lake in order to bind him with the chains and
hitch him to the oxen? One wise old man
remembered how the Afanc adored beautiful young
women. All the maidens in the village were
gathered together and told of the plan. The
daughter of a local farmer was willing and brave
enough to aid the men with their plan.
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The girl approached the lake. Hu Gardan, his oxen
and the village men hid in the wood near to the
lake. Standing on the shore she softly called
the Afanc, the waters began to heave and churn,
and through it appeared the huge head of the
monster. The girl stood bravely and as the Afanc
slowly crawled nearer and nearer she began to
sing a gentle Welsh lullaby. The song calmed the
monster and he lay down beside the maiden and
slept.
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In a flash the village men appeared and bound the
monster using the forged iron chains. The
monster began to stir, the men quickly hitched
the monster to the oxen. The Afanc awoke and was
furious to discover that he had been tricked. He
gave out an almighty roar and slid back into the
lake. The oxen stood firm and began to pull the
Afanc from the waters.
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Hu Gardan, the village men and the oxen used all
of their strength to drag the creature up the
Lledr Valley to Llyn Ffynnon Las, close to the
summit of Snowdon. There the chains on the
Afanc were loosened, and with a roar, the monster
leapt straight in to the deep blue water that was
to become his new home. Encased within the
sturdy rock banks of the lake he remains trapped
forever.
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What information would you expect to find at the
beginning of a story?
Setting
Characters
Problem
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Read the beginning of this legend again. Try to
answer these questions.
When did this story take place?
What is the problem?
Where did it happen?
Who are the main characters?
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Yr Afanc
Long long ago there lived a gigantic water
monster called the Afanc. The Afanc lived in
Llyn-yr-Afanc in the River Conwy. He was
extremely strong and particularly bad tempered.
His eyes were green black and his hide was a
tough as armour. When in a bad mood he would
break the banks of the river causing the water to
flow over and flood parts of the Vale of Conwy.
Homes would be destroyed, crops were ruined and
the people were miserable. The villagers decided
that something must be done to stop the
Afanc. When did this story take place?
Long long ago
Answer
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Yr Afanc
Long long ago there lived a gigantic water
monster called the Afanc. The Afanc lived in
in the .
He was extremely strong and particularly bad
tempered. His eyes were green black and his hide
was a tough as armour. When in a bad mood he
would break the banks of the river causing the
water to flow over and flood parts of the Vale of
Conwy. Homes would be destroyed, crops were
ruined and the people were miserable. The
villagers decided that something must be done to
stop the Afanc. Where did it happen?
Llyn-yr-Afanc
River Conwy
River Conwy
Llyn-yr-Afanc
Answer.
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Yr Afanc
Long long ago there lived a gigantic water
monster called the . The Afanc
lived in Llyn-yr-Afanc in the River Conwy. He
was extremely strong and particularly bad
tempered. His eyes were green black and his hide
was a tough as armour. When in a bad mood he
would break the banks of the river causing the
water to flow over and flood parts of the Vale of
Conwy. Homes would be destroyed, crops were
ruined and the people were miserable.
decided that something must be done
to stop the Afanc. Who are the main characters?
Afanc.
Afanc.
The villagers
The villagers
Answer
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Yr Afanc
Long long ago there lived a gigantic water
monster called the Afanc. The Afanc lived in
Llyn-yr-Afanc in the River Conwy. He was
extremely strong and particularly bad tempered.
His eyes were green black and his hide was a
tough as armour.
The
villagers decided that something must be done to
stop the Afanc. What is the problem?
When in a bad mood he would break the banks of
the river causing the water to flow over and
flood parts of the Vale of Conwy. Homes would be
destroyed, crops were ruined and the people were
miserable.
When in a bad mood he would break the banks of
the river causing the water to flow over and
flood parts of the Vale of Conwy. Homes would be
destroyed, crops were ruined and the people were
miserable.
Answer
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Read the legend of LLys Helig Can you answer
When? Where? Who? And Why?
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LLys Helig Long long ago, during the 6th
Century, Gwendud the pretty daughter of the
prince of Tyno Helig, Helig Ap Glannog, had
reached the age for marriage. She had fallen in
love with Tathal, a young man who was a commoner
and therefore unable to marry her. Now, Helig Ap
Glannog knew that Gwendud, would only ever be
happy in life if she married Tathal, instead of
the other suitors she had chasing her. Helig told
Tathal that if he was to go away and return
wearing a gold Torque around his neck the same
as a nobleman would wear Helig would allow such
a marriage to take place. Tathal left the palace
and went to find his fortune in the vast kingdom
of Helig Ap Glannog. Tathal knew he had to be
quick otherwise Helig may change his mind over
the deal that they had made. Not long afterwards,
Tathal came across a nobleman passing through the
countryside. They began to fight and soon the
nobleman lay dead at Tathals feet.
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Tathal returned to the palace wearing the dead
noblemans gold torque around his neck and the
wedding day was set, just like Helig had
promised. Tathal was madly in love and knew
that he must confess to Gwendud how he had come
by the gold torque. She told him to go back and
bury the noblemans body so that no one would
find out about this terrible deed. Tathal went
back, but as he dug the grave he heard a voice
calling out, Dial a ddaw, dial a ddaw! (Which
means revenge will come, revenge will come).
Tathal was frightened but determined to complete
the task of burying the dead nobleman, until
again he heard the voice say Dial a ddaw, dial a
ddaw! When will it come? replied the young
man to the voice and the voice answered, In the
time of your children, grandchildren and great
grandchildren. On returning Tathal told the
princess about the voice and what it had said.
She replied, Oh, by then we shall be dead
anyway. The two of them were married and lived
happily ever after.
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Well nearly happily ever after, for many years
later when a feast was being held at LLys Helig
to celebrate the birth of their great-grandchild,
the sea rushed in over the lower lands of the
kingdom. With water lapping at their heels a
maid and her lover, ran until at last they
reached the safety of the land. Breathless and
exhausted they waited for the morning. When the
sun rose it disclosed and expanse of rippling
water where Heligs Palace had once stood. It
is said that at very low tides the ruins of the
old palace can still be seen under the
water. Legend or fact? Recent archaeological
discoveries in the area suggest that until
relatively recently, trees once stood in an area
that is now submerged beneath the waves!
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How to Write a Legend

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