Glossary in L (Celtic)

Here is a glossary of mythology Celtic : Labraid, Laegaire, Lebor Gabála Érenn (Book of the Conquests of Ireland), Leborcham, Lebanon, Lir (Llyr), Llew Llaw Gyffes (Llew), Llud, Llwyt, Loch, Luaine, Luchta, Lug (Lugh, Lugos), Lugaid Reo nDerg, Lugnasad (feast)

Celtic Glossary

Celtic Glossary

Léborcham, in Irish Celtic mythology, is the servant of the king of Ulster Conchobar Mac Nessa, her name means “Long Lame”. Daughter of Oa (“Ear”) and Adarc (“Horn”), she is so fast that in one day she can travel all over Ireland and report to her master everything that happens there.

She is also famous for her great ugliness and deformity: she is described with her knees and feet upside down, as well as her thighs and ankles. During the legendary battle of Dun Etair, she sided with the druid Aithirne Ailgesach to give victory to the Ulates (inhabitants of Ulster).


Lir, in Irish Celtic mythology, is the god of the sea, which is the meaning of his name, he is a supreme god of the Tuatha Dé Danann. He is the father of Manannan Mac Lir, Bran the Blessed and Branwen.

In Welsh tradition, he is Llyr, father of Manawyddan Fab Llyr and the twins Nisien and Evnissyen, from the union with Pernaddun. He also has a daughter, Fionnuala, whose mother's name is not mentioned.

This god is said to be the origin of the character King Lear by William Shakespeare.

In the Garden of Remembrance (Dublin, a garden which commemorates the victims of the struggle for Irish independence) a sculpture is entitled Children of Lir, the work of Oisín Kelly.


Llew Llaw Gyffes, in Welsh Celtic mythology, is a character who appears in the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi : Math son of Mathonwy. The meaning of his nickname “quick-handed” is similar to that of “lamfada” (“long-armed”) which is sometimes given to Lug in Ireland and of which it is an equivalent, without being the exact replica.

His birth, as well as that of his twin Dylan Eil Ton, results from a magical practice, when King Math wants to test Arianrhod's virginity. To take revenge for the outrage, his mother pronounces three geisa on the child: she deprives him of his name, she forbids him from carrying weapons and from having a human wife, which prevents him, in fact, from be a man. However, as the child grew up, his mother noted his address and nicknamed him, which had the effect of lifting the first geis. Then, his uncle and guardian Gwydyon forced him to take up arms by simulating an attack on his residence. For the third prohibition, King Math, who is also a magician, and his nephew Gwydyon make him a woman with flowers and plants (broom, primrose, meadowsweet, hawthorn, etc.); thanks to their magic, their “creature” is more beautiful than the most beautiful woman, she is named Blodeuwedd which means “face of flowers”. The union is celebrated and Llew is given a cantref (estate), but one day when Llew visits King Math at his residence at Caer Dathyl, Blodeuwedd welcomes Goronwy (sometimes called Gronw Pebyr), lord of Penllyn, who hunting in the country. She falls in love and the lovers plan to kill the bridegroom. But Llew is a god who can only be killed in certain ways: He cannot be killed inside, nor outside, while riding or walking. In fact, he can only be murdered in one position: when he takes his bath with one foot on a goat and the other on a cauldron, by a specially forged spear, for a year and a day. These conditions being met, the god is slaughtered and transformed into an eagle; in retaliation, Gwydyon transforms Blodeuwedd into an owl, revives Llew and restores him to human form, which allows him to take revenge and kill the lover.

In altered form, he is the Welsh representation of the pan-Celtic primordial god Lug.


A loch is a term of Gaelic origin used to designate bodies of water such as a lake, a fjord, an estuary, a bay or even a cove. This term is only found in the British Isles and more particularly in regions with Celtic culture such asScotland and Ireland. In the North of England and Northern Ireland, the term generally used is lough. A small loch is also called lochan (in Scotland) or lochán (in Ireland).

Lochs can take all shapes but are generally elongated because the waters occupy depressions formed by the passage of glaciers during the last glaciation.

The most famous loch is Loch Ness, but there are hundreds of them. In Scotland, there is only one place with the word lake: Lake Menteith coming from an anglicization of theScottish Laich o Menteith.


Luaine, in Irish Celtic mythology, appears in the story “Tochmarc Luaine” (Courtesy of Luaine), she is the daughter of Domanchenn. While she must unite with the king of Ulster Conchobar Mac Nessa, she is pursued by the druid Aithirne Ailgesach (the Demanding) and his two sons Cuingedach (the Envious) and Apartach (the Sarcastic). This misguided druid has a habit of demanding impossible demands, under penalty of suffering a glam dicinn, that is to say a deadly satire. Luaine dies of shame under this curse. Revolted by this infamous practice unworthy of a druid, the Ulates (inhabitants of Ulster), led by Conchobar, massacre Aithirne and his sons.


Luchta is the carpenter god of the Tuatha Dé Danann, he belongs to the artisan class and therefore falls under the third production function (see Indo-European tripartite functions by Georges Dumézil). In the story of the Cath Maighe Tuireadh which narrates the war between the gods and the Fomoires, he is responsible for working the wood of the spears; his brothers are Goibniu and Credne, sons of Brigid and Tuireann.


Lug is the supreme god of Celtic mythology, not only because he is at the top of the hierarchy but also because he is pan-Celtic: he is one of the rare deities to be found, according to our knowledge, among all peoples celts.

The importance of Lugos in Gaul is notably attested by a certain number of toponyms, the best known of which is Lugdunum (“dunon” in Gallic, which means fortress and hill – see article dun), the city of Lyon and also that of Laon.

Its equivalent to Wales is called Llew Llaw Gyffes (“dexterous hand”), he appears in literature in the stories of the “Mabinogion”.

It is most often mentioned in Irish sources, particularly in the "Cath Maighe Tuireadh" (the "Battle of Mag Tured"). Nowadays, Lug is present in the festival of August 1: Lugnasad (Lûnasa in modern writing).

According to Irish sources, divine society is structured in the same way as human society, and the organization of the Tuatha Dé Danann (the People of the Tribe of Dana) is hierarchical into three functional classes:

* the priestly function whose role covers the Sacred, embodied by Dagda the druid god
* the warrior function which is responsible in particular for sovereignty, represented by Ogme the warrior god and Nuada the god-king
* the artisanal function which must produce for the whole of the community, represented by Goibniu, Credne and Luchta

– out of class:

* Lug Samildanach (primordial god)

– priestly function:

* Dagda (druid god)

– warrior function:

* Ogme (god of war magic and knowledge)
* Nuada (royalty)

– craft function:

* Goibniu (blacksmith god)
* Credne (bronzier god)
* Luchta (carpenter god)

– participate in the three functions:

* Diancecht (doctor-god)
* Oengus or Mac Oc (youth)

– unique female divinity:

* Brigit (goddess of poets, blacksmiths and doctors)

This pattern corresponds to the tripartite ideology of the Indo-Europeans as studied by Georges Dumézil. Lug does not belong to any particular class, but he is above all of them because he can assume all functions. One of his nicknames is Samildanach, the “polytechnician” in the sense that he masters all the arts, all the sciences.

Lug is the son of Cian and Eithne, he is also related to the Fomoires through his maternal grandfather Balor, whom he kills with his slingshot, in accordance with a prophecy.
When he presents himself at the residence of King Nuada, on the occasion of a party, the Gatekeeper refuses him access. Lug affirms that he can be useful, he is answered in the negative; this is how he is successively a carpenter, blacksmith, cupbearer, warrior, magician. It is as a chess player that he is accepted, and plays a game with the king he beats. This part is purely symbolic since it is an intellectual contest at the end of which Lug takes power of the world.
We find him fighting with his son Cúchulainn, during Queen Medb's invasion of Ulster.


Lugaid Mac Con Roí, in Irish Celtic mythology, is a warrior of the Ulster Cycle, he is one of those who caused the death of the champion of the kingdom of Ulster, Cúchulainn. He is sometimes called Lugaid Mac Trí Con, meaning the “son of the three hunting dogs”. He is the son of Cú Roí Mac Dáire, king of Munster, killed by Cúchulainn for the love of Blathnat.

Manipulated by Medb, the Queen of Connaught, Lugaid Mac Con Roí is determined to avenge the death of his father. After a visit to his mother Deichtire, Cúchulainn, led by his coachman Lóeg, arrives at a ford whose guardian is washing the hero's bloody linen, which portends his imminent death. Crossing the ford, he arrives in the plain of Muirthemné, where his enemies await him. The battle begins and Cúchulainn makes a real massacre, killing many warriors. After seven hours of combat, Lugaid Mac Con Roí projects a magic spear which misses its mark, but kills Lóeg. A second spear hits the Ulster hero and a third pierces him. Retaining his entrails in his open belly, he goes to wash himself in the stream then leans against a menhir, in order to die standing. Morrigan, in the form of a raven, comes to rest on his shoulder as he dies. Lugaid Mac Con Roí then comes to cut off his head, according to the warrior ritual, but the dead man's sword falls and cuts his hand.

Conall Cernach pursues him and begins the fight to avenge the death of Cúchulainn. As his enemy had one hand less, he fights with one arm tucked into his belt, he manages to kill him and decapitates him. Conall places his head on a stone, but the blood melts it and the head sinks into the rock.


In the Irish tradition of Celtic mythology, Lugaid is the supreme king (Ard ri Érenn) of Ireland. His full name is Lugaid Reo nDerg, which means "with Red Stripes", in relation to his three biological fathers: his face resembles that of Nar, his bust is that of Bres and the rest of the body resembles Lothar; the limits of resemblances are drawn by red lines. His adoptive father is the great hero Cúchulainn, he is the father of Aidlinn.

Several different characters bear the name Lugaid in mythological literature.


In Irish Celtic mythology, Lugnasad (in Irish modern Lúnasa, which is the name of the month of August) is a religious festival whose name means "assembly of Lug", the god-king who represents Sovereignty and primordial Man. It takes place on August 1, symbolically during the harvest period.

It is the celebration of the king in his function as redistributor of wealth and equity, under the authority of the druids. It is a military truce that celebrates the peace, friendship, abundance and prosperity of the kingdom. It is obligatory and brings together the three classes (priestly, warrior and artisan) of Celtic society.

It is described as a trade fair, but also an opportunity to settle disputes, celebrate marriages, and hear poets and musicians. If there is no sacrifice or religious ceremony, games and races are held, similar to the Olympics. greek.

The Gaulish equivalent is the “Concilium Galliarum”: the assembly of the Gauls.