1. Beginnings of Legends

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

to:

• Understand what information goes at the beginnings of legends.

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.

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.

Yr AfancLong 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.

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 didn’t 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

What information would you expect to find at the beginning of a story?

Characters Setting

Problem

Read the beginning of this legend again. Try to answer these questions.

When did this story take place?

Where did it happen?

Who are the main characters?

What is the problem?

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

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?Answer.

Llyn-yr-Afanc River ConwyRiver ConwyLlyn-yr-Afanc

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.

Answer

Afanc.

The villagersThe villagers

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?Answer

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.

Read the legend of

LLys Helig

Can you answer:

When? Where? Who? And Why?

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 Tathal’s feet.

Tathal returned to the palace wearing the dead nobleman’s 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 nobleman’s 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.

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 Helig’s 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!

How to Write a Legend

Beginnings Settings

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