Welsh legends retoldEin besonderes Englischprojekt der Klasse 7d mit Frau Vetter

My name is Saint Dwynwen. I am the patron Saint of Welsh lovers, and I would like to tell you my life story. In the fifth century, I fell in love with a man named Maelon Dafodrill. I found him very charming, and he was a prince, which made him even more amazing. I eagerly wanted to marry Maelon, but my father denied it because he had already arranged my marriage with someone else. When I found out, I was devastated and prayed to God to make me forget about Maelon. After falling asleep, an angel who carried a potion in its hand visited me. The potion had the power to make me forget about Maelon and turn him into a block of ice. I took the potion, and God then gave me three wishes. My first wish was that Maelon would be thawed, my second that I could make all Welsh lovers happy, and my last that I would never marry. All my wishes were fulfilled, and I decided to devote myself to God’s service. So, I founded a convent on Llanddwyn Island in North West Wales, where you can find a well in which a sacred fish swims that can predict the happiness of relationships.

Many people call me a hero, and I believe they are right. In the thirteenth century, I lived with a highly respected prince and his baby in the Eryri region of Gwynedd, North Wales. One day, the prince left me alone with his infant in the castle while he went hunting. I was sleeping by the fireplace but woke up to a loud cracking sound. I looked out the window and saw the shadow of a big, grey wolf with huge teeth. The fire was crackling, but I felt cold with fear. The baby was sleeping, and I didn’t know what to do. The wolf jumped through the window, which split into a thousand little splinters of glass. I stared at the wolf, and, at that moment, I knew my job was to protect the baby. We had a terrible fight. The wolf threw many vases off the table, and they broke. I knocked over the baby’s cradle, and the baby fell out and landed unhurt on the floor. After a while, the wolf became weak; it whimpered. This was my chance! It was time to end it. And I did it! I killed the wolf! There was blood everywhere, even on my paws and mouth. Then the prince returned and was horrified to see the chaos and the blood on me. Suddenly, he took out his sword and killed me. I didn’t understand why. Now I am among the stars, and the baby lives a peaceful life. I can feel it.

I am Merlin. You may know me from the legends about King Arthur or because you have heard about a place called Dinas Emrys, meaning the fortress of Emrys, which was named after my Welsh name, Myrddin Emrys. Long ago, King Vortigern was trying to build a tower there, but it kept falling down every night. The tower was rebuilt by the king’s people many times, but it didn’t last. Unfortunately, nobody knew the reason for it, so Vortigern ordered his men to search for me (by the way, at that point, I didn’t have any idea what the king needed me for). His men found me, and we returned to the king. After he had told me about his collapsing tower, it occurred to me that possibly someone or something under the tower is causing it to fall down. The king and his servants checked what was under the tower and they discovered…two dragons! They observed them for some time and soon understood they fought every night and slept during the day. The king realised I was right and began to apologise for wanting to kill me. To be honest, I didn’t even know that this had been his plan. Thank God everything worked out. Suddenly, the red dragon and the white one flew out. They fought and fought. It was such a gruesome fight. This event was remembered by everyone who saw it. In the end, the red dragon won and became a symbol of Wales. Now, the red dragon represents Wales and the white one England.

It was a dark night. The water was cold, and the waves crashed against me. So far, it had been a normal day in the life of an important wall that had to keep the sea away from Cantre’r Gwaelod. No one paid attention to me that night. In the distance, I saw the crowded castle of King Gwyddno, where people were singing and dancing. When I realised Seithennin, the keeper of the gates, had forgotten to close my gates, although high tide plus a storm were coming, I became very anxious. On top of this, a crack in me was getting bigger and bigger as the stormy wind pushed the waves against me harder and harder. I hoped someone would see me and save me. In the castle, they played loud music. I heard a conversation about the princess who celebrated her birthday at the castle. Then I noticed a little boy. ‘Maybe he can save me,’ I thought. The boy looked at me and I believe he saw the problem right away. He started running as fast as he could because the water was already running through my gates and the waves had damaged me heavily, so I was almost broken. With every wave, I felt the crack getting bigger. I didn’t see the boy anymore, but I hoped he would return quickly. ‘You can hold on for another minute,’ I told myself. Then I saw a crowd of people coming towards me. At that moment, a huge wave hit me, and I broke into a thousand pieces. Cantre’r Gwaelod disappeared underwater forever.

I'm lying on the green grass near the magic lake. I'm mortally wounded after a battle. Everything began when I forgot my brother’s sword, which he needed for his tournament. I searched everywhere to find one. After some time, I found a stone with a sword stuck in it. ‘Lucky me,’ I thought, and pulled it out easily. The people around me stared at me and started to whisper. A man clapped his hands and shouted: ”The new King of Britain.” A few days later, I was crowned. Everything happened so quickly. One day, Merlin, the wizard, asked me to come with him. He took me to a lake where he began to sing in a very old language I didn't understand. Then, a woman, the Lady of the Lake, came out of the water. As my original sword had broken during a battle, she gave me the legendary sword called Excalibur. A few years later, I married the beautiful princess Guinevere. As a wedding gift, I received a round table from her father, where I met with my bravest knights. That's why they are called the ‘Knights of the Round Table’. While I was away on a mission, I received a message that Mordred, one of my knights, had declared himself king. I returned with my army and killed Mordred in battle. Unfortunately, I was badly wounded myself, and now I am lying here on the green grass. But what happened to my sword, Excalibur? I remember giving it to Sir Bedwyr to return it to the Lady of the Lake. I hope I can die in peace now...

One day, I was walking along the coastline near Bosherston in Wales, where I had been living for some years. Suddenly, a group of blood-thirsty pirates turned up and began to chase me. Full of fear, I ran away quickly. As I was a monk, I prayed to God to save me, and He did! Miraculously, the cliffs opened for me at once, and I crept inside. Then the rocks closed around me and hid me until the pirates gave up their search. Hidden within the rocks, I decided to wait a little longer to make sure they were gone for sure. When I heard no noises anymore, I carefully left my hiding place. Out of gratitude, I decided never to leave this place and to devote my life to God. I survived by eating fish from the ocean and drinking water from a nearby spring. From then on, my task was to protect the people in this area. I made a magical golden bell, and every time the pirates returned, I rang it to warn everyone. Of course, the bandits were very angry about this, which is why they stole my bell. One day, their ship sank, and it seemed like the bell would be lost forever. However, by some miracle, angles brought my bell back to me. They encased it in stone so it would never be stolen again. And imagine, the bell sounded a thousand times louder than before.