Lugus was a deity of the

Celtic pantheon The gods and goddesses of the pre-Christian Celtic peoples are known from a variety of sources, including ancient places of worship, statues, engravings, cult objects and place or personal names. The ancient Celts appear to have had a pantheon ...

. His name is rarely directly attested in inscriptions, but his importance can be inferred from place names and

ethnonym An ethnonym () is a name applied to a given ethnic group. Ethnonyms can be divided into two categories: exonyms (whose name of the ethnic group has been created by another group of people) and autonyms, or endonyms (whose name is created and used ...

s, and his nature and attributes are deduced from the distinctive iconography of Gallo-Roman inscriptions to

Mercury Mercury commonly refers to: * Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun * Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg * Mercury (mythology), a Roman god Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to: Companies * Merc ...

, who is widely believed to have been identified with Lugus, and from the quasi-mythological narratives involving his later cognates, Welsh

Lleu Llaw Gyffes Lleu Llaw Gyffes (, sometimes spelled Llew Llaw Gyffes) is a hero of Welsh mythology. He appears most prominently in the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi, the tale of Math fab Mathonwy, which tells the tale of his birth, his marriage, his death, his r ...

(Lleu of the Skillful Hand) and Irish

Lugh Lámhfhada Lugh or Lug (; ga, label=Irish language, Modern Irish, Lú ) is a figure in Irish mythology. A member of the Tuatha Dé Danann, a group of supernatural beings, Lugh is portrayed as a warrior, a king, a master craftsman and a savior.Olmsted, Ga ...

(Lugh of the Long Arm).

Etymology

The etymology of the name is debated. Besides the Gaulish ''Lugos'' (plural ''Lugoues'', ''Lugouibus''), the deity is attested in

Old Irish Old Irish, also called Old Gaelic ( sga, Goídelc, Ogham script: ᚌᚑᚔᚇᚓᚂᚉ; ga, Sean-Ghaeilge; gd, Seann-Ghàidhlig; gv, Shenn Yernish or ), is the oldest form of the Goidelic/Gaelic language for which there are extensive writt ...

''Lug'' (

Ogham Ogham (Modern Irish: ; mga, ogum, ogom, later mga, ogam, label=none ) is an Early Medieval alphabet used primarily to write the early Irish language (in the "orthodox" inscriptions, 4th to 6th centuries AD), and later the Old Irish langua ...

: ''Lugu''-),

Middle Welsh Middle Welsh ( cy, Cymraeg Canol, wlm, Kymraec) is the label attached to the Welsh language of the 12th to 15th centuries, of which much more remains than for any earlier period. This form of Welsh developed directly from Old Welsh ( cy, Hen G ...

''Llew'', and Celtiberian ''Luguei'', which may point to a Common Celtic origin of the cult.' The

Proto-Celtic Proto-Celtic, or Common Celtic, is the ancestral proto-language of all known Celtic languages, and a descendant of Proto-Indo-European. It is not attested in writing but has been partly Linguistic reconstruction, reconstructed through the compar ...

compound Compound may refer to: Architecture and built environments * Compound (enclosure), a cluster of buildings having a shared purpose, usually inside a fence or wall ** Compound (fortification), a version of the above fortified with defensive struct ...

''*Lugu-deks'' ('serving the god Lug') can also be reconstructed from Gaulish ''Lugudeca'' and Old Irish ''Lugaid''.' The theonym can also be found in the place names ''Lugu-dunum'' ('Lug's fortress'), at the origin of ''

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

'', ''Loudon'', ''

Laudun Laudun-l'Ardoise (; oc, Laudun) is a commune in the Gard department in Occitanie (southern France). The commune name was ''Laudun'' until February 1, 2001. Population Wine Laudun is one of the communes producing Côtes du Rhône Village ...

'', ''

Laon Laon () is a city in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. History Early history The holy district of Laon, which rises a hundred metres above the otherwise flat Picardy plain, has always held strategic importance. In ...

'', and ''

Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wit ...

'', *''Lugu-ialon'' ('Lug's village'), at the origin of ''

Ligueil Ligueil () is a commune in the Indre-et-Loire department in central France. Geography Ligueil is close to the former border of Vichy France. Population International relations Ligueil is twinned with: * Hungerford, United Kingdom See also ...

'', and ''Lugu-uallo'' (modern Carlisle). The Proto-Celtic root ' has been tentatively derived from several different

Proto-Indo-European Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European language family. Its proposed features have been derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-European languages. No direct record of Proto-Indo-E ...

roots, including ' 'black', ' 'to break', and ' 'to swear an oath'. It was once thought that the root may be derived from Proto-Indo-European ' 'to shine', but there are difficulties with this etymology and few modern scholars accept it as being possible (notably because Proto-Indo-European ' never produced Proto-Celtic '). According to

Xavier Delamarre Xavier Delamarre (; born 5 June 1954) is a French linguist, lexicographer, and diplomat. He is regarded as one of the world's foremost authorities on the Gaulish language. Since 2019, he has been an associate researcher for the CNRS- PSL AOrOc l ...

, "it is not certain that there is an appellative behind this theonym; it is likely, given its presumed antiquity, that it is an unmotivated idionym (or that is has become so), possibly subject to various '

folk etymologies Folk etymology (also known as popular etymology, analogical reformation, reanalysis, morphological reanalysis or etymological reinterpretation) is a change in a word or phrase resulting from the replacement of an unfamiliar form by a more famili ...

', one of the best known being ''Lugdunum'' = 'desideratum montem' from the Vienna glossary."

Inscriptions

The god Lugus is mentioned in a Celtiberian inscription from Peñalba de Villastar in Spain, which reads: :''ENI OROSEI VTA TICINO TIATVNEI TRECAIAS TO LVGVEI ARAIANOM COMEIMV ENI OROSEI EQVEISVIQVE OGRIS OLOCAS TOGIAS SISTAT LVGVEI TIASO TOGIAS'' The exact interpretation of the inscription is debated, but the phrase "''to Luguei''" (where the theonym appears in the dative singular following the preposition ''to'' "to, for", thus "to/for Lugus") clearly indicates a dedication to the god Lugus. Additionally, the name is attested several times in the plural, for example: nominative plural ''Lugoues'' in a single-word (and potentially Gaulish) inscription from

Avenches Avenches () is a Swiss municipality in the canton of Vaud, located in the district of Broye-Vully. History The roots of Avenches go back to the Celts. A tribe of Helvetians had built a settlement on the hills of Bois de Châtel, south of th ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, on the capital of a Corinthian column, and dative plural in a well-known Latin inscription from Uxama (

Osma Burgo de Osma-Ciudad de Osma is the third-largest municipality in the province of Soria, in the autonomous community of Castile and León, Spain. It has a population of about 5,250. It is made up of two parts: *the smaller Ciudad de Osma (city ...

), Spain: :''Lugovibus sacrum L. L(icinius) Urcico collegio sutorum d(onum) d(at)'' :"Lucius Licinius Urcico dedicated this, sacred to the Lugoves, to the guild of shoemakers" cholars have long noted the interesting parallel between Lugus being worshiped by shoemakers in Spain and his Welsh counterpart Lleu being represented as a shoemaker in the 4th branch of the Mabinogi.Alexei Kondratiev
"Lugus: the Many-Gifted Lord"
''An Tríbhís Mhór: The IMBAS Journal of Celtic Reconstructionism #1'', 1997] The plural form of the

theonym A theonym (from Greek ''theos'' (Θεός), "god"'','' attached to ''onoma'' (ὄνομα), "name") is the proper name of a deity. Theonymy, the study of divine proper names, is a branch of onomastics (the study of the etymology, history, and u ...

is also found in the following Latin inscriptions:

Lugo Lugo (, ; la, Lucus Augusti) is a city in northwestern Spain in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia. It is the capital of the Lugo (province), province of Lugo. The municipality had a population ...

, Galicia, Spain: :''Luc(obo) Gudarovis Vale (ius)Cle. ens) v(otum) l(ibens) s(olvit'') Outeiro de Rei,

, Galicia, Spain: :''Lucoubu Arquieni(s) Silonius Silo ex voto''

Sober In cryptography, SOBER is a family of stream ciphers initially designed by Greg Rose of QUALCOMM Australia starting in 1997. The name is a contrived acronym for ''S''eventeen ''O''ctet ''B''yte ''E''nabled ''R''egister. Initially the cipher wa ...

, Galicia, Spain: :''Lucubo Arquienob(o) C(aius) Iulius Hispanus v(otum) l(ibens) s(olvit) m(erito'')

Proto-Indo-European_ Proto-Indo-European_(PIE)_is_the_reconstructed_common_ancestor_of_the_Indo-European_language_family._Its_proposed_features_have_been_derived_by_linguistic_reconstruction_from_documented_Indo-European_languages._No_direct_record_of_Proto-Indo-E_...

_root_''*h₂érkʷo''_'bow,_arrow'._Its_cognates_are_found_in_Latin_language.html" "title="oth epithets ''Arquieni'' and ''Arquienobo'' are considered to be related to a

root ''*h₂érkʷo'' 'bow, arrow'. Its cognates are found in Latin language">Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

Puy-de-Dôme Puy-de-Dôme (; oc, label=Auvergnat, lo Puèi de Doma or ''lo Puèi Domat'') is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in the centre of France. In 2019, it had a population of 662,152.Mont de Sène, were dedicated to him.

Continuity in later Celtic narratives

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

Lugh Lugh or Lug (; ga, label=Modern Irish, Lú ) is a figure in Irish mythology. A member of the Tuatha Dé Danann, a group of supernatural beings, Lugh is portrayed as a warrior, a king, a master craftsman and a savior.Olmsted, Garrett. ''The God ...

was the victorious youth who defeats the monstrous

Balor In Irish mythology, Balor or Balar was a leader of the Fomorians, a group of malevolent supernatural beings. He is often described as a giant with a large eye that wreaks destruction when opened. Balor takes part in the Battle of Mag Tuired, a ...

"of the venomous eye". He was the godly paradigm of priestly kingship, and another of his appellations, ''lámhfhada'' “of the long arm”, carries on an ancient

image of a noble sovereign expanding his power far and wide. His festival, called

Lughnasadh Lughnasadh or Lughnasa ( , ) is a Gaelic festival marking the beginning of the harvest season. Historically, it was widely observed throughout Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man. In Modern Irish it is called , in gd, Lùnastal, and in gv, ...

("Festival of Lugh") in Ireland, was commemorated on 1 August. His name survives in the village of

Louth Louth may refer to: Australia *Hundred of Louth, a cadastral unit in South Australia * Louth, New South Wales, a town * Louth Bay, a bay in South Australia **Louth Bay, South Australia, a town and locality Canada * Louth, Ontario Ireland * Cou ...

(anciently ''Lughmhagh'', "Lug's plain") and the

County Louth County Louth ( ; ga, An Lú) is a coastal county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. Louth is bordered by the counties of Meath to the south, Monaghan to the west, Armagh to the north and Down to the ...

in which it stands. When the

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pri ...

inaugurated

Lugdunum Lugdunum (also spelled Lugudunum, ; modern Lyon, France) was an important Roman city in Gaul, established on the current site of Lyon. The Roman city was founded in 43 BC by Lucius Munatius Plancus, but continued an existing Gallic settlem ...

("fort of Lugus", now

) as the capital of Roman Gaul in 18 BC, he did so with a ceremony on 1 August (this may be coincidental, however, as this date also commemorates Augustus' victory over

Cleopatra Cleopatra VII Philopator ( grc-gre, Κλεοπάτρα Φιλοπάτωρ}, "Cleopatra the father-beloved"; 69 BC10 August 30 BC) was Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt from 51 to 30 BC, and its last active ruler.She was also a ...

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

). At least two of the ancient Lughnasadh locations,

Carmun The Celtic deities are known from a variety of sources such as written Celtic mythology, ancient places of worship, statues, engravings, religious objects, as well as place and personal names. Celtic deities can belong to two categories: gener ...

and

Tailtiu Tailtiu or Tailltiu (; modern spelling: Tailte) (also known as Talti) is the name of a presumed goddess from Irish mythology. The goddess's name is linked to Teltown (< OI ''Óenach Tailten'') in Co. Meath, site of the

< ...

, were supposed to enclose the graves of goddesses linked with terrestrial fertility. Lugus has also been suggested as the origin not only of Lugh and Lleu Llaw Gyffes, but also the

Arthurian King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a Legend, legendary king of Great Britain, Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In the earliest tradition ...

characters

Lancelot Lancelot du Lac (French for Lancelot of the Lake), also written as Launcelot and other variants (such as early German ''Lanzelet'', early French ''Lanselos'', early Welsh ''Lanslod Lak'', Italian ''Lancillotto'', Spanish ''Lanzarote del Lago' ...

and

Lot Lot or LOT or The Lot or ''similar'' may refer to: Common meanings Areas * Land lot, an area of land * Parking lot, for automobiles *Backlot, in movie production Sets of items *Lot number, in batch production *Lot, a set of goods for sale togethe ...

(most famously championed by the Arthurian scholar

Roger Sherman Loomis Roger Sherman Loomis (1887–1966) was an American scholar and one of the foremost authorities on medieval and Arthurian literature. Loomis is perhaps best known for showing the roots of Arthurian legend, in particular the Holy Grail, in native Ce ...

), though more recent Arthurian scholarship has downplayed any such link between Lugus and Lancelot.

Notes

Bibliography

* *

External links

* {{Authority control Celtic gods Commerce gods Crafts gods Mercurian deities Triple gods

Etymology

Inscriptions

Toponyms and ethnonyms

Gaulish Mercury

Iconography

Triplism

Sacred sites

Continuity in later Celtic narratives

See also

Notes

Bibliography

Further reading

External links