Gelert and the Tramp

Gelert and the Tramp? It should be 'Lady and the Tramp', right?

Well, not today. This Wednesday's post focuses on the parallels between 'Lady and the Tramp', and an old Celtic legend involving a dog named Gelert.

So what brings Disney's scruffy mutt and a huge wolfhound together? Well, let's first explore a pivotal scene from the 1955 film. And for those of you who haven't seen it and don't want any spoilers, I suggest you abandon this reading immediately. You have been forewarned...

Towards the end of the film 'Lady and the Tramp', Lady is chained up to her doghouse, and begins barking at a rat. Unable to properly chase after it, she is unable to drive it off, and can only watch helplessly as it climbs up to the nursery and through the window. The Tramp, hearing her barking, comes to see what's the matter. Upon hearing what happened, he enters the house to fend off the rat. After a terrific fight, the Tramp succeeds in killing the rat, and all seems well.

Then Aunt Sarah comes into the room to see what all the commotion is. She finds the room a wreck, the bassinet overturned, and the baby crying. Thinking the Tramp tried to hurt the child, she locks him into a closet and calls the pound to take him away. It appears that the Tramp is to suffer an unfortunate fate, but then the body of the rat is found by Lady's owners, and they realize the dog was in fact protecting the infant. The Tramp is vindicated and seen as a hero.

Now let's consider the Welsh legend of Gelert. Prince Llewelyn of Gwynedd goes onto a hunting trip with his wife, leaving a servant and a nurse to look after their baby son. After a while, he notices that Gelert, his favorite hunting dog, isn't with the hunting pack. Figuring the only place the dog would go is back to their lodge, he calls off the hunt and they begin heading home.

Meanwhile, the nurse and the servant both had decided to go out for a walk. Upon returning home, the only one to greet them is Gelert, who comes bounding out of the house with tail wagging. To their alarm, he is covered in blood. The princess, terrified of what might have happened, faints. Llewelyn hurries inside the house, where he finds the baby's cradle overturned and bloodstained blankets strewn over the floor. There is no sign of his son anywhere.

Enraged, he turns on Gelert and slays the hound with his sword. The dog gives a final cry before lying still at Llewelyn's feet. At that moment, he hears the sound of a baby. He moves aside the cradle to discover his son unharmed, and the ravaged body of a huge wolf lying beside the child. At that moment, he realizes that the wolf had tried to kill his son, and Gelert had fought it off to protect the infant. Filled with remorse, he buries the faithful hound in a nearby meadow and marks it with stones.

'Gelert' by Charles Burton Barber

While the scene from 'The Lady and The Tramp' seems to be unrelated to the legend of Gelert, there's a great deal of similarities between the two tales. In both, a dog runs into a house to protect an infant from a dangerous wild animal, kills it, is accused of harming the child, and the dead body of the threat later found.

Granted, there are some differences in each tale. The Tramp is a medium-sized stray dog, and fends off a rat. The child is believed to be frightened and perhaps harmed, and the dog is only locked into a closet. In the legend of Gelert, the dog is owned by the baby's parents, and considerably larger. The infant is thought to have been killed, and the dog is dispatched for the supposed crime.

Of course, you can't deny a slight resemblance. Both of them gray and shaggy, and both of them undeniably strong and brave. And let's face it, everyone loves a good story about a dog. Right, Gelert? (pats head)