Did you know that there exists a Welsh language lullaby which dates back well over a thousand years?

Pais Dinogad (English: Dinogad’s Smock) is a lullaby believed to have been first written down sometime in the 7th century, though it is very probable that it had already been verbal for centuries at this point.

The lullaby, sang from the perspective of a mother, is addressed to her young infant son named Dinogad. The story within the lullaby tells how Dinogad’s father was a great hunter, naming numerous animals that he had hunted successfully. Interestingly, it mentions animals – such as the lynx – which have been extinct for more than a thousand years on the island of Great Britain.

What’s perhaps more interesting is the setting of the song being in Yr Hen Ogledd – an Old Welsh/Brythonic speaking kingdom which covered the southernmost parts of Scotland and present-day Cumbria. The spoken language of the kingdom, Cumbric, is a now-extinct sister language of Welsh, Breton and Cornish.

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Niklas George

Niklas is the founder, owner, manager, editor, writer, video creator, voice over artist, and so forth, of Welsh Histories. He is passionate about the preservation of Welsh culture; the rejuvenation of the Welsh language and the promotion of Welsh history. Niklas currently resides in Pune, Maharashtra, with his beloved wife.