Myths and Legends

Myths and Legends

Our area has a long and proud storytelling tradition. Some of our myths and legends are below.

Sleeping Knights and Buried Treasure?

At Craig y ddinas, the great rock in the far western corner of Rhondda Cynon Taf, a great treasure lies hidden underground, guarded by a company of knights who have slept in the treasure chamber for many centuries. According to ancient stories, the knights are followers of either King Arthur or of the 14th century Welsh warrior Owain Lawgoch. They are destined to sleep until their country is in peril when they will rise again and lead their people to victory.

The Grave of a King

On the windy summit of Mynydd Maendy south of Tonyrefail is a burial chamber reputed to be the grave of the chieftain later known as King Arthur. The advance of the Anglo-Saxons across Britain was halted for a generation by this brave leader whose crowning victory was at Caerfaddon (Bath) in A.D 513. Many legends were attached to this nameless hero, and the King Arthur tradition was born, first of all in Wales, and then in the literature of nearly every country in Europe.

The Lady of the Lake

Llyn-y-forwyn, the "Maiden’s Lake" in Ferndale is the home of the enchantress Nelferch, who married a mortal man. When he broke a vow not to ask her about her past she left him penniless and aged far more than the years of their marriage. Her spirit haunts the lake to this day, palpable in the gloom where steep cliffs shut out the sun from the shore.

The fastest runner in Wales

In the mountain top churchyard of Llanwynno lies the grave of legendary runner Guto Nyth Brân. Guto could run from the family farm at Llwyncelyn, Porth, to Pontypridd and back before a kettle boiled for tea, and in real life won thousands of guineas in prize money racing against all comers. He died aged 37 in 1737 after beating a challenger called Prince by covering a distance of 13 miles in 53 minutes. Cause of death was being slapped on the back by his girlfriend Siân!

Nudism and Cremation

Dr William Price scandalised the people of Llantrisant by going for long walks completely naked. He married late and, even though he was over 80 years old, fathered a child whom he called Iesu Grist ("Jesus Christ"). When the child died, he cremated the body in public and then won the court case that followed, thereby establishing the legality of cremation in the United Kingdom.

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