Arthurian Location - Dinas Emrys
The legend
According to the Historia Britonum and embellished by Geoffrey of Monmouth in his Historia Regum Britanniae, after the Romans withdrew from Britain, King Vortigern ruled for many years. But with the Saxons causing problems, he was advised to set up his royal fortress on Dinas Emrys, a hill in the northern part of Wales. With steep slopes, it should have been easily defended and he was assured that it would be ever secure against barbarians. However, when the foundations were laid out, the earth swallowed them up in a single night. And it happened again and again. The wise men of his council insisted that they had to find a child born without a father, put him to death and sprinkle his blood on the ground before the citadel could be built.
Vortigern sent out messengers throughout Britain and found a boy without a father and the mother insisting that she'd never lain with a man. So they took the boy Myrddin Emrys (Merlin Ambrose or Merlin Ambrosius) back to Dinas Emrys but when Merlin realized what they were about to do, he confronted the wise men, and insisted that the walls were falling because of a pool under the foundation. And when they found the pool, Merlin ordered them to drain it and said that there would be two hollow stones and inside the stones, would two dragons be sleeping. When the pool was drained, the red dragon and the white rose up and fought bitterly and finally the red dragon won out. Merlin explained to Vortigern that this meant the Britons would eventually triumph over the Saxons.
Reality
It is said that the entrance to the fort is on the northern side of the hill, that there are traces of a ruined medieval tower there and that there is a pool inside the hill fort. When it was excavated in 1954, they found the fortifications were the right time frame for Vortigern. The platform above the pool was described in Historia Britonum but the dates for it were much later than an Arthurian time frame. Apparently, the walls there were poorly constructed and had been rebuilt more than once.
The place itself:
Dinas Emrys is a small steep-sided hillock near Beddgelert in Gwynedd, Wales. The only way to get to it is to park in the Craflwyn parking lot and hike to it. There is a trail map at the National Trust office. The trail is supposedly 1.5 km in length with some steep sections.
It was an easy enough walk to begin with. The trail was clearly marked as Dinas Emrys as we walked up and down a hill nearby, stepped over a brook, walked past a lovely waterfall and then things got confusing. The trail marker was gone and there were only other trails listed. It was getting late and since we didn't know where we were going, we finally gave up and headed back. Had I to do it over again, I'd have followed the other trail heading off to the right toward Dinas Emrys and hoped for the best.
Links and details:
Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae
Hiking trail map - Dinas Emrys trail is in black. Right where that triangular stop sign is on the map is where we got lost.
Wikipedia site - Dinas Emrys
Parking Lot Location on Google maps - View Larger Map
Rating:
I'd give it 2 hats just because it's so pretty and the history is awesome!
Have to go through the gate.
Past a lovely waterfall.
Over a bridge
Don't go up this trail. It is the wrong one.
We could see Dinas Emrys but getting there... not so much.
So near and yet so far.
According to the Historia Britonum and embellished by Geoffrey of Monmouth in his Historia Regum Britanniae, after the Romans withdrew from Britain, King Vortigern ruled for many years. But with the Saxons causing problems, he was advised to set up his royal fortress on Dinas Emrys, a hill in the northern part of Wales. With steep slopes, it should have been easily defended and he was assured that it would be ever secure against barbarians. However, when the foundations were laid out, the earth swallowed them up in a single night. And it happened again and again. The wise men of his council insisted that they had to find a child born without a father, put him to death and sprinkle his blood on the ground before the citadel could be built.
Vortigern sent out messengers throughout Britain and found a boy without a father and the mother insisting that she'd never lain with a man. So they took the boy Myrddin Emrys (Merlin Ambrose or Merlin Ambrosius) back to Dinas Emrys but when Merlin realized what they were about to do, he confronted the wise men, and insisted that the walls were falling because of a pool under the foundation. And when they found the pool, Merlin ordered them to drain it and said that there would be two hollow stones and inside the stones, would two dragons be sleeping. When the pool was drained, the red dragon and the white rose up and fought bitterly and finally the red dragon won out. Merlin explained to Vortigern that this meant the Britons would eventually triumph over the Saxons.
Reality
It is said that the entrance to the fort is on the northern side of the hill, that there are traces of a ruined medieval tower there and that there is a pool inside the hill fort. When it was excavated in 1954, they found the fortifications were the right time frame for Vortigern. The platform above the pool was described in Historia Britonum but the dates for it were much later than an Arthurian time frame. Apparently, the walls there were poorly constructed and had been rebuilt more than once.
The place itself:
Dinas Emrys is a small steep-sided hillock near Beddgelert in Gwynedd, Wales. The only way to get to it is to park in the Craflwyn parking lot and hike to it. There is a trail map at the National Trust office. The trail is supposedly 1.5 km in length with some steep sections.
It was an easy enough walk to begin with. The trail was clearly marked as Dinas Emrys as we walked up and down a hill nearby, stepped over a brook, walked past a lovely waterfall and then things got confusing. The trail marker was gone and there were only other trails listed. It was getting late and since we didn't know where we were going, we finally gave up and headed back. Had I to do it over again, I'd have followed the other trail heading off to the right toward Dinas Emrys and hoped for the best.
Links and details:
Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae
Hiking trail map - Dinas Emrys trail is in black. Right where that triangular stop sign is on the map is where we got lost.
Wikipedia site - Dinas Emrys
Parking Lot Location on Google maps - View Larger Map
Rating:
I'd give it 2 hats just because it's so pretty and the history is awesome!
Have to go through the gate.
Past a lovely waterfall.
Over a bridge
Don't go up this trail. It is the wrong one.
We could see Dinas Emrys but getting there... not so much.
So near and yet so far.