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History of... Corgi

When I first looked into doing the history of a Corgi I thought it would involve research, which I expected, and writing an article. What I have since discovered is that a corgi, although small, are very interesting to research. This is what I discovered.

There are two breeds of Corgi, the Pembroke and the Cardigan and both are dogs from Wales, their names taken from the Counties they originated from. The Cardigan is the larger of the two breeds and the Pembroke has the natural bob or short tail.

The name Corgi has a number of names and thoughts about its origin.
It has been said that the Corgi started out as Curci, meaning cur (mixed breed) and ci (dog). Then another trail originated the name as Corci, meaning cor (dwarf) ci (dog) but when putting the two words together it was pronounced corgi, which is probably why the spelling changed.

The history of a corgi is another mix of thoughts and theories.
What is agreed is that the Pembroke is the oldest breed as its lineage has been traced back as far as the 10th Century where they herded cattle, horses, geese, ducks and sheep.
They are known as ‘heelers’ a name they gained because they would nip the heels of larger animals to keep them moving. Their short height made it harder for the animals to kick out at them.
They were once known to guard children.

I found three strong theories as to their history and as I don’t know which is correct I will give you all three.

History #1
The Vikings brought the dogs with them as they travelled to live in Wales.

History #2
The modern Corgi evolved from a shared ancestry from the German Dachshund.

History #3
This is my personal favourite.
Folk legend says that the Corgi was a gift from woodland fairies and the marks on its coat were from the saddles and harnesses of fairies.

So as you see although the Corgi is a small dog it is definitely a dog of mystery