The Afanc
A Welsh water monster was blamed for floods, until oxen dragged it from its pool and over the mountains.
What was reported
The afanc is a water monster of Welsh legend, described as a giant beaver, a crocodile or a dwarf-like creature that lived in deep pools and caused floods. One of its best-known homes was Llyn yr Afanc, a pool on the River Conwy near Betws-y-Coed.
In one tale, a young woman lured it out by singing, it was bound in chains, and a pair of mighty oxen dragged it over the mountains to a lake in Snowdonia, where it could do no more harm.
Explanations offered
Some think the legend preserves memories of real beavers, which lived in Wales until the Middle Ages; in modern Welsh, afanc means beaver. Like other water monsters, it explained floods and warned people about dangerous water.
- When
- Medieval legend
- Where
- River Conwy, near Betws-y-Coed, Wales
- Witnesses
- Welsh tradition
- Status
- Legend
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.