Folklore - Cath Palug the Monstrous Black Cat.
Cath Palug - Purrrfectly terrifying…
The Island of Anglesey is the setting for a most unusual tale, featuring a magic pig, a brave Arthurian knight, and a monstrous black cat called Cath Palug.
Anglesey – Welsh: Ynys Môn – lies off the north-west coast of Wales. At 275 square miles, it is by far the largest island in Wales. It has many old poetic names, including: Ynys Dywyll (Shady Isle), as it once contained many groves believed to be sacred; Ynys y Cedairn (Isle of the Brave), for its royal courts; and Y Fêl Ynys (Honey Isle). It is a place rich with prehistoric monuments and was believed to be the last stronghold of the British Druids.
The story goes that Hen Wen was raised by Coll, son of Collfrewy, a pigkeeper for Dallwyr Dallben, in a settlement supposedly located in Cornwall. Prophecy foretold that when this legendary porker gave birth, it would not bode well for the Isle of Britain. So, the pregnant sow was chased across the sea into Wales, where she gave birth to a black kitten. This was thrown into the sea, but was caught in a fisherman’s net and brought ashore on the Isle of Anglesey. There, it was raised by the sons of Lord Palug, and over time it grew to a tremendous size.
Cath Palug means Palug’s Cat, but it seems that the beast became too big to control and wandered the island, a danger to man and beast alike. According to an incomplete poem, Arthur’s knight Kay went to Anglesey and did battle with the beast, eventually killing it. In other legends, the giant cat appears in France and is fought by King Arthur himself.
Large black cats are not officially recognised as inhabiting the United Kingdom, yet every year newspapers report many sightings of these elusive beasts, often seen slinking through hedgerows or across fields. Farmers also report strange sheep killings. These creatures are referred to as phantom cats or British big cats and are described as being as large as a Labrador – sometimes even bigger. Sleek, muscular, and usually black, witnesses sometimes report seeing them stalking pets or livestock, or hearing eerie screams and growls coming from woodland at night.
Famous Encounters
There are many reports of big cat encounters – far too many to list in this small blog – but I have included three here. Many more can be found in books, newspaper reports, and by searching online.
An early historical sighting of a british big cat occurred in the 1760s, when William Cobbett, an English farmer and journalist, recalled how, as a boy, he had seen a cat “as big as a middle-sized Spaniel dog” climb into a hollow elm tree in the grounds of the ruined Waverley Abbey near Farnham in Surrey.
A notable sighting took place in 1995 on Bodmin Moor, when two off-duty police officers witnessed a large black cat-like creature crossing the road in front of their car. They estimated its length to be around five feet. The sighting was followed by a search involving police and a Royal Marines helicopter, but no concrete evidence was found.
In 2000, police received a report of a black, leopard-like animal attacking an 11-year-old boy in Monmouthshire. The boy was with his brother, searching for their pet cat near their home in Trellech, when he said the animal attacked him in long grass. He received medical treatment for scratch marks to his face. The police were never able to locate the beast said to be responsible.
Explanations for these sightings vary, from escaped zoo animals to exotic pets released into the wilds in the 1960s, after it was made illegal to keep such creatures. But could the legend of Cath Palug not hint at a folk memory of such beasts, suggesting the possibility that these creatures have always haunted the shores of this ancient island?
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