Llywelyn The Great - Cultural Allusions

Cultural Allusions

A number of Welsh poems addressed to Llywelyn by contemporary poets such as Cynddelw Brydydd Mawr, Dafydd Benfras and Llywarch ap Llywelyn (better known under the nickname Prydydd y Moch) have survived. Very little of this poetry has been published in English translation.

Llywelyn has continued to figure in modern Welsh literature. The play Siwan (1956, English translation 1960) by Saunders Lewis deals with the finding of William de Braose in Joan's chamber and his execution by Llywelyn. Another well-known Welsh play about Llywelyn is Llywelyn Fawr by Thomas Parry.

Llywelyn is the main character or one of the main characters in several English-language novels:

• Raymond Foxall (1959) Song for a Prince: The Story of Llywelyn the Great covers the period from King John's invasion in 1211 to the execution of William de Braose.
• Sharon Kay Penman (1985) Here be Dragons is centred on the marriage of Llywelyn and Joan. Dragon's Lair (2004) by the same author features the young Llywelyn before he gained power in Gwynedd. Llywelyn further appears in Penman's later novel Falls the Shadow.
• Edith Pargeter (1960–63) "The Heaven Tree Trilogy" features Llywelyn, Joan, William de Braose, and several of Llywelyn's sons as major characters.
• Gaius Demetrius (2006) Ascent of an Eagle tells the story of the early part of Llywelyn's reign.

The story of the faithful hound Gelert, owned by Llywelyn and mistakenly killed by him, is also considered to be fiction. "Gelert's grave" is a popular tourist attraction in Beddgelert but is thought to have been created by an 18th-century innkeeper to boost the tourist trade. The tale itself is a variation on a common folktale motif.