Dinas Emrys
Encyclopedia
Dinas Emrys is a rocky and wooded hillock
near Beddgelert
in Gwynedd
, north-west Wales
. Rising some 250 ft above the floor of the Glaslyn
river valley, it overlooks the southern end of Llyn Dinas
in Snowdonia
. Little remains of the castle structures that once stood here, save its stone ramparts and the base of a keep. Some believe the castle was erected by Llewelyn the Last to guard the road to the mountain pass of Snowdon
.
whose fortifications entirely postdate the Roman
period, this hill is also of interest to enthusiasts about the legends of King Arthur
. This is the setting of the famous exchange of the warlord Vortigern
and the youthful Merlin
, as told in the Historia Britonum
.
According to legend, when Vortigern fled into Wales to escape the Anglo-Saxon
invaders, he chose this lofty hillfort as the site for his royal retreat. Every day his men would work hard erecting the first of several proposed towers; but the next morning they would return to find the masonry collapsed in a heap. This continued for many weeks until Vortigern was advised to seek the help of a young boy born of a virgin mother. The King sent his soldiers out across the land to find such a lad. The boy they found was called Myrddin Emrys (Merlin Ambrosius). Vortigern, following the advice of his councillors, was planning to kill the boy in order to appease supernatural powers that prevented him from building a fortress here. Merlin scorned this advice, and instead explained that the hill fort could not stand due to a hidden pool containing two vermes (dragon
s). He explained how the White Dragon of the Saxons though winning the battle at present, would soon be defeated by the British
Red Dragon
. After Vortigern's downfall, the fort was given to alias Emrys Wledig (Ambrosius Aurelianus
), hence its name.
The earliest sources regard the two dragons as distinctly different, and in a metaphor of the Adventus Saxonum describes one as being native to the island of Britain (it had arrived first) which was then joined by another new and alien dragon that fought it for supremacy.
As to how the dragons became confined there, the story of Lludd and Llefelys
in the Mabinogion
gives details. According to the legend, when Lludd ruled Britain (c.100 BCE), a hideous scream, whose origin could not be determined, was heard each May Eve. This scream so perplexed the Britons that it caused infertility, panic and mayhem throughout the realm. In need of help Lludd sought counsel on this and other matters from his brother Llefelys
, a King of Gaul. Llefelys furnished the information that the scream was caused by battling dragons. The scream would be uttered by the dragon of the Britons
when it was fighting another alien dragon and was being defeated. Lludd heeded the advice given to him by Llefelys and captured both dragons in a cauldron
filled with beer when they had transformed themselves, as apparently dragons did, into pigs. The captured dragons were buried at the place later called Dinas Emrys, as it was regarded as the safest place to put them.
The main entrance to the fort is on the northern side of the hill and traces of a ruined medieval tower 36 feet by 24 feet have been found on the summit. Nearby is a circle of tumbled stones about 30 feet in diameter which is said to be where the dragons were hidden. Before Dinas Emrys was so-named the fort was known as Dinas Ffaraon Dandde.
It has long been known that there is a pool inside of the fort, but when the archaeologist Dr H. N. Savory excavated the hill fort between 1954-6, he was surprised to find that not only were the fortifications of about the right time frame for either Vortigern or Ambrosius, but that there was a platform above the pool as described in the Historia Britonum. However, he found the platform to date much later than the accepted floruit of either personage.
Savory described the fortifications as consisting of stone walls between 2.5 and 3 metres thick, which exploited every irregularity in the rocky hill-top, enclosing an irregular area of about a 10,000 m² in size. The original means of access was by a steep path on the western side of the hill fort. The present entrance from the north-east is a later addition. The walls had been "poorly built of stone two or three times ", possibly inspiring the legend's reference to the building collapsing several times during construction.
The most conspicuous object currently on the hill is the base of a rectangular tower. It is generally accepted that this is part of an undocumented castle built by the princes of Gwynedd
in the eleventh century.
Hillock
A hillock or knoll is a small hill, usually separated from a larger group of hills such as a range. Hillocks are similar in their distribution and size to small mesas or buttes. The term is largely a British one...
near Beddgelert
Beddgelert
Beddgelert, or in older English spelling often Bedgellert, is a village and community in the Snowdonia area of Gwynedd, Wales. It is reputed to be named after the legendary hound Gelert. Population 617.- History:...
in Gwynedd
Gwynedd
Gwynedd is a county in north-west Wales, named after the old Kingdom of Gwynedd. Although the second biggest in terms of geographical area, it is also one of the most sparsely populated...
, north-west Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. Rising some 250 ft above the floor of the Glaslyn
River Glaslyn
The Afon Glaslyn is a river in Gwynedd, north-west Wales. Whilst not of great significance in terms of its length , it is one of Gwynedd's primary rivers, and has greatly influenced the landscape in which it flows....
river valley, it overlooks the southern end of Llyn Dinas
Llyn Dinas
Llyn Dinas is a lake near Beddgelert, Gwynedd in north Wales. It is formed by the River Glaslyn.Llyn Dinas lies on the valley floor a few miles north of Beddgelert at an altitude of about 55 metres above sea level. It has an area of and is fairly shallow, with the maximum depth only 10 metres...
in Snowdonia
Snowdonia
Snowdonia is a region in north Wales and a national park of in area. It was the first to be designated of the three National Parks in Wales, in 1951.-Name and extent:...
. Little remains of the castle structures that once stood here, save its stone ramparts and the base of a keep. Some believe the castle was erected by Llewelyn the Last to guard the road to the mountain pass of Snowdon
Snowdon
Snowdon is the highest mountain in Wales, at an altitude of above sea level, and the highest point in the British Isles outside Scotland. It is located in Snowdonia National Park in Gwynedd, and has been described as "probably the busiest mountain in Britain"...
.
Arthurian associations
While it is of interest to archaeologists because it is an example of a hill fortHill fort
A hill fort is a type of earthworks used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze and Iron Ages. Some were used in the post-Roman period...
whose fortifications entirely postdate the Roman
Roman Britain
Roman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...
period, this hill is also of interest to enthusiasts about the legends of King Arthur
King Arthur
King Arthur is a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to Medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and...
. This is the setting of the famous exchange of the warlord Vortigern
Vortigern
Vortigern , also spelled Vortiger and Vortigen, was a 5th-century warlord in Britain, a leading ruler among the Britons. His existence is considered likely, though information about him is shrouded in legend. He is said to have invited the Saxons to settle in Kent as mercenaries to aid him in...
and the youthful Merlin
Merlin
Merlin is a legendary figure best known as the wizard featured in the Arthurian legend. The standard depiction of the character first appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae, written c. 1136, and is based on an amalgamation of previous historical and legendary figures...
, as told in the Historia Britonum
Historia Britonum
The Historia Brittonum, or The History of the Britons, is a historical work that was first composed around 830, and exists in several recensions of varying difference. It purports to relate the history of the Brittonic inhabitants of Britain from earliest times, and this text has been used to write...
.
According to legend, when Vortigern fled into Wales to escape the Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
invaders, he chose this lofty hillfort as the site for his royal retreat. Every day his men would work hard erecting the first of several proposed towers; but the next morning they would return to find the masonry collapsed in a heap. This continued for many weeks until Vortigern was advised to seek the help of a young boy born of a virgin mother. The King sent his soldiers out across the land to find such a lad. The boy they found was called Myrddin Emrys (Merlin Ambrosius). Vortigern, following the advice of his councillors, was planning to kill the boy in order to appease supernatural powers that prevented him from building a fortress here. Merlin scorned this advice, and instead explained that the hill fort could not stand due to a hidden pool containing two vermes (dragon
Dragon
A dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern...
s). He explained how the White Dragon of the Saxons though winning the battle at present, would soon be defeated by the British
Britons (historical)
The Britons were the Celtic people culturally dominating Great Britain from the Iron Age through the Early Middle Ages. They spoke the Insular Celtic language known as British or Brythonic...
Red Dragon
Y Ddraig Goch
The Welsh Dragon appears on the national flag of Wales . The oldest recorded use of the dragon to symbolise Wales is from the Historia Brittonum, written around 820, but it is popularly supposed to have been the battle standard of King Arthur and other ancient Celtic leaders...
. After Vortigern's downfall, the fort was given to alias Emrys Wledig (Ambrosius Aurelianus
Ambrosius Aurelianus
Ambrosius Aurelianus, ; called Aurelius Ambrosius in the Historia Regum Britanniae and elsewhere, was a war leader of the Romano-British who won an important battle against the Anglo-Saxons in the 5th century, according to Gildas...
), hence its name.
Origin and confinement of the dragons
As to how the dragons became confined there, the story of Lludd and Llefelys
Lludd and Llefelys
Lludd and Llefelys is a Middle Welsh prose tale written down in the 12th or 13th century. It has been associated with the Mabinogion since it was collected by Charlotte Guest in the mid-19th century...
in the Mabinogion
Mabinogion
The Mabinogion is the title given to a collection of eleven prose stories collated from medieval Welsh manuscripts. The tales draw on pre-Christian Celtic mythology, international folktale motifs, and early medieval historical traditions...
gives details. According to the legend, when Lludd ruled Britain (c.100 BCE), a hideous scream, whose origin could not be determined, was heard each May Eve. This scream so perplexed the Britons that it caused infertility, panic and mayhem throughout the realm. In need of help Lludd sought counsel on this and other matters from his brother Llefelys
Llefelys
Llefelys is a character in Welsh mythology appearing in the medieval Welsh tale Cyfranc Lludd a Llefelys. In the tale, Llefelys is king of France while his brother Lludd is king of Britain...
, a King of Gaul. Llefelys furnished the information that the scream was caused by battling dragons. The scream would be uttered by the dragon of the Britons
Britons (historical)
The Britons were the Celtic people culturally dominating Great Britain from the Iron Age through the Early Middle Ages. They spoke the Insular Celtic language known as British or Brythonic...
when it was fighting another alien dragon and was being defeated. Lludd heeded the advice given to him by Llefelys and captured both dragons in a cauldron
Cauldron
A cauldron or caldron is a large metal pot for cooking and/or boiling over an open fire, with a large mouth and frequently with an arc-shaped hanger.- Etymology :...
filled with beer when they had transformed themselves, as apparently dragons did, into pigs. The captured dragons were buried at the place later called Dinas Emrys, as it was regarded as the safest place to put them.
The main entrance to the fort is on the northern side of the hill and traces of a ruined medieval tower 36 feet by 24 feet have been found on the summit. Nearby is a circle of tumbled stones about 30 feet in diameter which is said to be where the dragons were hidden. Before Dinas Emrys was so-named the fort was known as Dinas Ffaraon Dandde.
Other local legends
According to local legend Myrddin hid treasure in a cave at Dinas Emrys. The discoverer of the treasure will be 'golden-haired and blue-eyed'. When that lucky person is near to Dinas Emrys a bell will ring to invite him or her into the cave, which will open of its own accord as soon as that person's foot touches it. A young man who lived near Beddgelert once searched for the treasure, hoping to give himself a good start in life. He took a pickaxe and climbed to the top of the hill. When he began to dig in earnest on the site of the tower, some terrible unearthly noises began to rumble under his feet. The Dinas began to rock like a cradle and the sun clouded over so it became pitch dark. Lightning flashed in the sky and thunder clapped over his head. He dropped the pickaxe and ran home. When he arrived, everything was calm again but he never returned to collect his pickaxe. Not far from Dinas Emrys is Cell-y-Dewiniaid - "The Grove of the Magicians". There is a field here that once had a thick grove of oak trees at its northern end. Local tradition holds that Vortigern's wise men used to meet here to discuss the great events of their times. An adjacent field is where they were buried and at one time a stone actually marked the site of each grave. A white thorn tree annually decorated each resting place with falling white blossoms.Actual archeological findings
Savory described the fortifications as consisting of stone walls between 2.5 and 3 metres thick, which exploited every irregularity in the rocky hill-top, enclosing an irregular area of about a 10,000 m² in size. The original means of access was by a steep path on the western side of the hill fort. The present entrance from the north-east is a later addition. The walls had been "poorly built of stone two or three times ", possibly inspiring the legend's reference to the building collapsing several times during construction.
The most conspicuous object currently on the hill is the base of a rectangular tower. It is generally accepted that this is part of an undocumented castle built by the princes of Gwynedd
Kingdom of Gwynedd
Gwynedd was one petty kingdom of several Welsh successor states which emerged in 5th-century post-Roman Britain in the Early Middle Ages, and later evolved into a principality during the High Middle Ages. It was based on the former Brythonic tribal lands of the Ordovices, Gangani, and the...
in the eleventh century.