Indo-Iranian Lullabies

ThefollowingpaperisconcernedwithacomparisonbetweentheVedichymnRV VII55and theVīdēvdādchapterXVIII 16. It is argued that little lullaby-themes, aimed at qui-eting men as well as animals, have come to be included into sacral and religious textsfrompopularsources(e.g.magicalcharmstobeperformedonsleeplessbabies),reveal-ing Proto-Indo-European formulae and stylistic patterns that can be reconstructed. AHittite text and some fragments of Greek poems by Simonides and Alcman are alsoincluded in the list of the passages to be compared.