Has Yr Wyddfa always been called Snowdon?

Argument against the troublemakers who repeatedly insist that Yr Wyddfa had always been called Snowdon

1. Writing is not the same as speaking

The fact that Snowdon appears earlier in written sources does not mean it’s the older name — it simply means it was the name used by the people who were writing (i.e., English chroniclers, clerics, and mapmakers).

English was the administrative and literary language of medieval Britain.

Welsh, for centuries, was mostly an oral tradition – names, myths, and stories were preserved by memory, poetry, and song rather than parchment.

So the written record reflects who had the pen, not who had the mountain.

2. Historical context of record-keeping

When Snowdon first appears in writing (Old English Snaw Dun), Wales was under growing English influence – monks, chroniclers, and later Norman mapmakers wrote in Latin or English, not Welsh.

Meanwhile, the local Welsh-speaking population had been calling the mountain Yr Wyddfa for generations – likely centuries – before any scribe ever wrote down Snowdon.

It’s like assuming the Americas didn’t exist before European maps showed them.

3. Linguistic evidence shows Yr Wyddfa is far older

The structure and vocabulary of Yr Wyddfa are Celtic Iron Age in character:

The definite article Yr and the noun Wyddfa come from Brythonic, the Celtic language spoken in Wales long before the Anglo-Saxons existed.

The English term Snowdon is Old English (snāw + dūn), which only emerged after the 5th century CE.

So even if Snowdon was written down in the 9th or 10th century, Yr Wyddfa is part of a much older linguistic layer – it simply went unwritten because Celtic Britain had no native writing tradition until Latinization.

4. Analogy: Names older than writing

We don’t say that rivers and hills didn’t have names before they appeared in books.

For example:

The river Thames has Celtic roots older than any Roman record.

The mountain Ben Nevis (from Gaelic Beinn Nibheis) existed long before the English wrote it down.

Likewise, Yr Wyddfa was an oral, native name – and the written appearance of Snowdon just shows that English scribes wrote what they called it.

5. Cultural continuity vs. documentary bias

The Welsh people never stopped calling it Yr Wyddfa – the name has continuous spoken use for well over a millennium.

Snowdon represents the colonial written layer – the name of the mountain as recorded by outsiders, not as known by its native speakers.

The written record thus reflects power and literacy, not authentic chronology.

Conclusion

The appearance of “Snowdon” in earlier documents doesn’t make it the older name – only the earlier recorded one.

Yr Wyddfa is older in origin, form, and continuous native use.

The written record shows which language held the quill, not which people named the mountain first.

This post comes from our regular contributor Padrig and explores the Yr Wyddfa/Snowdon debate (which shouldn’t even be a debate, but there we are). Diolch yn fawr iawn, Padrig!

If ever you want to contribute an article/blog/post to Welsh Histories, please get in touch on niklas@welshhistories.co.uk.

More from Welsh Histories

Welsh Histories is a Welsh history celebrating platform which looks to promote all aspects of Welsh history. Though we focus predominantly on native Welsh history, we do also share the non-native aspects from time to time. You can follow us on Facebook; Instagram or Twitter for more. You can also support us as a member of our Patreon community. A reader? We also have our very own Welsh Histories Shop where we sell our Welsh Histories Magazine. Diolch yn fawr iawn and keep enjoying Welsh Histories.

---