The Sluagh (, ; ; English: 'host, army, crowd'), or Sluagh na marbh ('host of the dead'), were the hosts of the unforgiven dead in Irish and Scottish folklore., s.v. ''Sluagh''. In the words of British folklorist Lewis Spence, "In the Western Isles of Scotland the Sluagh, or

fairy A fairy (also called fay, fae, fae folk, fey, fair folk, or faerie) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature, generally described as anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic, found in the folklore of multiple European cultures (including Cel ...

host, was regarded as composed of the

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

s of the dead flying through the air, and the feast of the dead at Hallowe'en was likewise the festival of the fairies." Usually taking a crescent form, similar to a flight of grey birds, they were said to be able to approach and pick up a person from any direction and then transport them far away through the air, from one island to another. Although they would sometimes rescue humans from dangerous rock clefts, they were generally portrayed as dangerous to mortals.

Etymology

The

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic (, ; Endonym and exonym, endonym: ), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic, is a Celtic language native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a member of the Goidelic language, Goidelic branch of Celtic, Scottish Gaelic, alongs ...

name stems from 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 ...

(≈ ), meaning 'host, army; crowd, assembly'. Variant forms include and . It derives from the

Proto-Celtic Proto-Celtic, or Common Celtic, is the hypothetical 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 throu ...

root * (cf. Gaul. 'troops of combat',

Middle Welsh Middle Welsh (, ) 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 (). Literature and history Middle Welsh is ...

'troop', Old Bret. - 'army'), whose original meaning may have been 'those serving the chief', by comparing with

Balto-Slavic The Balto-Slavic languages form a branch of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European family of languages, traditionally comprising the Baltic languages, Baltic and Slavic languages. Baltic and Slavic languages share several linguistic traits ...

words that probably emerged from early linguistic contacts with Celtic speakers in Central-Eastern Europe: e.g. Lithuanian ('service, servitude'), or

Old Church Slavonic Old Church Slavonic or Old Slavonic ( ) is the first Slavic languages, Slavic literary language and the oldest extant written Slavonic language attested in literary sources. It belongs to the South Slavic languages, South Slavic subgroup of the ...

('servant').

In popular culture

In the '' Legacy of Kain''

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

series, Sluagh are among the enemies that Raziel encounters in the Spectral Realm. They are scavenging, animalistic creatures that prey on souls and usually prefer to flee from Raziel unless cornered or in a group. Raziel can easily weaken them into a transparent state in which he can devour them to replenish his own health. Within the VR motion ride Battle for Eire at Busch Gardens Williamsburg, the Sluagh are the minions of the evil villain Balor in the ride's story. In the roleplay game ''Household'' by Two Little Mice the Slaughs are little peoples that lives in the Basement.

References

Bibliography

* * * {{Halloween Aos Sí Fairies Irish folklore Irish legendary creatures Irish words and phrases Mythological creatures Scottish mythology Scottish folklore Scottish legendary creatures Tuatha Dé Danann Undead Halloween Souls

Etymology

In popular culture

See also

References

Bibliography