"Pangur Ban"

"Pangur Ban"

From The Daily Poem by Goldberry Studios

April 8, 2026 · 5 min

About this episode

The episode features a reading of the Old Irish poem 'Pangur Ban' and discusses its historical context and translation.

Today’s poem, translated by Robin Flowers, was originally written in Old Irish inside an 8th-century scribe’s copy of St. Paul’s epistles. However, it reveals its anonymous author to be anything but a bored and disinterested grunt. Happy reading. N.B. Here is a wonderful reading of the poem in Old Irish. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribe

Topics covered

  • Old Irish poetry
  • translation
  • historical literature
  • anonymous authorship
  • scribing

Keywords

  • Pangur Ban
  • Old Irish
  • poem
  • Robin Flowers
  • 8th century
  • St. Paul’s epistles
  • translation

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Pangur Ban, St. Paul’s epistles

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