Welsh Dragon Story

There are many stories about the red dragon that show how the
dragon is important to the Welsh nation.

In the 4th century, the Romans carried the dragon (draco)

when they went into battle.

The family of Aberffraw, the Kings of Gwynedd, used the

dragon on their coat of arms. It was apparently a symbol of
their power and authority during the time after the Romans
had left Britain.

Later, in the 7th century, the dragon was called Cadwaladr ap Cadwallon’s Red
Dragon. Cadwaladr ap Cadwallon was the King of Gwynedd at the time.

Both Nennius in his Historia Brittonum in the 9th century and Geoffrey of
Monmouth writing his Prophecy of Merlin in the 12th century, tell a tale about
a terrible battle between the red dragon of Britain and the white dragon of the
Anglo-Saxons, in a place known as Dinas Emrys, in Snowdonia. The dragons
fought fiercely and their noise and fire filled the people’s hearts with dread.
The land became barren and no crops could grow there.

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 Welsh Dragon Story
Did You Know?

• Henry VII used a flag with the red dragon on

it at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485.

• Cadwaladr ap Cadwallon also used the flag with the

red dragon.

• The flag with the red dragon on a background of white and green
was adopted as the official national flag of Wales in 1959.

The Story of Lludd and Llefelys

Lludd ruled as the King of Britain and his brother Llefelys as the King
of France. Lludd had a big problem to overcome as invaders had arrived
to steal his land. They had the following powerful weapons:

• Their keen hearing, they could hear any plans that were made
against them.

• A terrible white dragon who then started to fight against the red
dragon of Britain.

• An evil wizard who came each night to steal the people’s food.

Lludd decided that he would go to ask his brother for advice. His
brother was very wise and would surely know what needed to be done.

After speaking with Llefelys through a magic horn so that the enemy
couldn’t hear, they hatched a cunning plan to deceive the invaders.

When King Lludd arrived home he said that they would not be able to
win the fight against the invaders. He therefore invited them to court in
order to pay homage to them. The invaders were obviously delighted.

Kind Llyfelys gave his men poisonous oil to throw over the invaders and
kill them, although this did not harm anybody else in the court.

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The Story of Lludd and Llefelys (Continued)

To deal with his second problem, Lludd sent his men to build a big
pool which they filled with mead as the two dragons continued to
fight. The fighting frightened the people. The land had become barren
and rocky as a result of the fighting and no food could now be grown
there.

In the middle of the dragons’ fight they fell exhausted into the pool
and drank the mead. They soon fell fast asleep. The King’s men came
and bound the dragons with ropes. They took the dragons and put
them in a stone chest and buried them deep in a place called Dinas
Emrys in Snowdonia.

Finally, there was still the problem of the stolen food. So Lludd lay in
wait one night keeping himself awake by placing his feet in a bowl of
icy cold water.

When the wizard came that night to steal their food, King Lludd was
very angry. The wizard became afraid and said that the enemy had
tricked him and made him steal the food. The wizard was extremely
sad and vowed that he would never do such a thing again.

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Questions
1. How did the Romans use the dragon?

2. Why did the family of Aberffraw love the dragon so much?

3. What did they call the dragon in the 7th century?

4. Where was the red dragon story written?

5. What did the people think about the dragons? Choose a sentence from the text to support
your answer.

6. Look for two adjectives in the text that describe the dragons’ noise.

7. Who has used the red dragon as a symbol? Choose three answers from the list:
King Lludd
The Romans
Merlin (Myrddin ap Emrys)
Cadwaladr son of Cadwallon
King Llefelys
Henry VII

8. Since when has the Welsh flag been used?

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Questions
9. What were the mighty weapons of the enemy in the The Legend of Lludd and Llefelys?

10. How did Lludd and Llefelys plan to deceive the invaders?


11. What was Lludd’s plan to stop the dragons fighting?





12. Look for a sentence in the text that describes what happened to the land when the dragons
were fighting.




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