Irish mythology Irish mythology is the body of myths indigenous to the island of Ireland. It was originally Oral tradition, passed down orally in the Prehistoric Ireland, prehistoric era. In the History of Ireland (795–1169), early medieval era, myths were ...

, Lén was the craftsman of Síd Buidb, the ' sídhe of Bodb'.Section 18
of the Bodleian ''Dindshenchas''. The son of Ban Bolgach son of Bannach, he was said to reside under a lake near

Killarney Killarney ( ; , meaning 'church of sloes') is a town in County Kerry, southwestern Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town is on the northeastern shore of Lough Leane, part of Killarney National Park, and is home to St Mary's Cathedral, Killar ...

named Loch Léin after him. The ''

Dindsenchas ''Dindsenchas'' or ''Dindshenchas'' (modern spellings: ''Dinnseanchas'' or ''Dinnsheanchas'' or ''Dınnṡeanċas''), meaning "lore of places" (the modern Irish word ''dinnseanchas'' means "topography"), is a class of onomastic text in early Irish ...

'' relate that Loch Léin was where he would make bright vessels for Fand the Long-Haired, the daughter of

Flidais Flidas or Flidais (modern spelling: Fliodhas, Fliodhais) is a female figure in Irish Mythology, known by the epithet ''Foltchaín'' ("beautiful hair"). She is believed to have been a goddess of cattle and fertility. Mythology Flidas is mentioned ...

. Every night, after finishing his work, it is written that he used to fling his anvil away to a nearby hill called the ''Indeoin na nDési'' or 'Anvil of the Dési' and the showers that came from the back of the hill were said to be pearls off his anvil as it was flung. Whether the name ''Lén'' can be philologically related to the Romano-Celtic god

Lenus Lenus (; E. Courtney (1995) reads the original dative form as in ''Musa Lapidaria: A Selection of Latin Verses'' 160, p. 152. agrees with dative in the following line.) was a Celtic god of healing, good fortune, and protection in battle, ...

is disputable. While the meaning of the name is uncertain, the

Old Irish Old Irish, also called Old Gaelic (, Ogham, Ogham script: ᚌᚑᚔᚇᚓᚂᚉ; ; ; or ), is the oldest form of the Goidelic languages, Goidelic/Gaelic language for which there are extensive written texts. It was used from 600 to 900. The ...

words ''lén'' 'defeat, misfortune' and ''lénaid'' 'injure, wound' and the Welsh ''llwyn'' 'grove, bush, shrub'Entry for ''llwyn''
in the

University of Wales The University of Wales () is a confederal university based in Cardiff, Wales. Founded by royal charter in 1893 as a federal university with three constituent colleges – Aberystwyth, Bangor and Cardiff – the university was the first universit ...

' online Welsh dictionary. may offer some basis for comparison.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Len Tuatha Dé Danann