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| Celtic deity Lugus[1] |
My grannie once told me that if you were clever and quiet enough to sneak up and catch that little leprechaun who hides his pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, while he was busy at work, most likely he'd be smoking his pipe and cobbling a brogue, or a shoe.
Then, if you caught him, you got three wishes. But don't let go, don't take your eyes off him for one instant—or poof! He'll be gone in a blinding flash. And don't take any coinage he offers. It'll turn to stone at first light.
OK, so for years I thought little old Mr. Berini, the Italian cobbler who lived down the road, was a leprechaun. I'd sneak up on him but he was merely busy cobbling our shoes in his basement, nothing more.
But he only charged my grannie a quarter for resoling our shoes. In hindsight, she was probably just trying to get me to go away or be quiet. Mr. Berini must've thought I was a peculiarly "touched" child, I'm sure.
Some scholars think the origin of the diminutive Irish leprechaun was an offshoot of the bigger-than-life Celtic god of all crafts, the Irish Lugh Lámhfhada (Lew of the long arm), or his cognates, Welsh Ludd, or Lleu Llaw Gyffes, (Lew of the Skillful Hand), and the Gaulish triune god, Lugus. (The Romans equated Lugos/Lugus with Mercury).
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| Votive inscription to Lugus. Lugo,Galicia. |
The great god Lugh (whose –Proto-Celtic moniker,*Lug-" is embedded in dozens of European cities—from London, to Leiden, to Laon), was erroneously referred to as the shining one, or a sun god before the advancement of Proto Indo-European linguistics proved it to be a false cognate.
You're probably wondering why I've gone off the deep end writing about leprechauns during high summer. Other than it's nearly half way to St. Patrick's Day, I was responding to a Facebook post by Celtic Mythology, August, Lúghnasadh, is Lugh's month. The harvest month approacheth. Besides, our summer months, dubbed Junuary and now, apparently, Julyuary, have been socked in with thick fog and drizzle. What sun?
the burning man set aflame
Full moon marks the first harvest
The plain ripens, bellydeep in bright grain.
Though Lugh was the maker of shoes, and master of all crafts, his name is not related to the Proto Indo-European leuk, and the later Latinate cognate, luz, or light—besides there already is a minor Gaulish Celtic lightning god Leucetios‚ whose name does stem from leuk. And we don't want to invoke lightning and rain.
You're probably wondering why I've gone off the deep end writing about leprechauns during high summer. Other than it's nearly half way to St. Patrick's Day, I was responding to a Facebook post by Celtic Mythology, August, Lúghnasadh, is Lugh's month. The harvest month approacheth. Besides, our summer months, dubbed Junuary and now, apparently, Julyuary, have been socked in with thick fog and drizzle. What sun?
In Irish mythology, the Lughnasadh festival is said to have been begun by the god Lugh (modern spelling: Lú) as a funeral feast and sporting competition in commemoration of his foster-mother, Tailtiu, who died of exhaustion after clearing the plains of Ireland for agriculture. —WikiLughnasadh, the night of the wicker man,
the burning man set aflame
Full moon marks the first harvest
The plain ripens, bellydeep in bright grain.
Some scholars think that the leprechaun is not a vestige of the pre-Christian Celtic pantheon at all.
Others say he was an invention of the Irish Tourist Board. I think he was a hangover invention of the Saint Patrick's Day Parade.
Clearly when Lugh got snared in the web of medieval hagiography in Christian Ireland, he got the roughshod Cinderella treatment and was subsequently shrunk like a wool sock in the hot water laundry cycle.
The leprechaun is supposed to be a singular entity (no plural hoardes or tribelets—that too seems to be a Disney-meets-Bord Failte Eireann shenanighan—courtesy of Darby O'Gill and the Little People).
According to the Facebook site, Celtic Mythology, “The Lore of Ireland: An Encyclopedia of Myth legend and Romance”, renowned folklore collector and native Gaelic speaker and poet, the late professor, Dathi Ó hÓgáin, stated that "the designation luchorpán was only invented in Ireland when the lore of dwarf communities was adopted from abroad by Irish writers and that the solitary leprechaun of folklore is a post-medieval development from the literature." (Collins Press, Cork, 2006; pp. 308-9).
University College Dublin Professor Dathi Ó hÓgáin's post-medieval claim is interesting in that luchorpán is clearly not a native Goidelic Irish word. Not with that "p" in it. There is no "p" in Goidelic. The Irish were positively allergic to plosives. This is how you can spot loan words in Irish, like páiste (from the word, page, or child, not the cymbals!) Or Welsh—map; Irish cognate—mac (son).
But I don't think it's quite that simple, as the term is indeed used in Old Irish texts.
A quick internet search reveals that the earliest version of "luchorpán" (a water sprite) was used in the 8th century in "Echtra Fergusa maic Léti". But it's a far stretch of the imagination—let alone, linguistics, as luchorpán mixes Church Latin with Irish—to be a native irish word.The Old Irish, lúchorpán is a hybrid word— lú means “small” and corp means “body.”
But Lú, or Lugh, also means the really BIG baddass god dude. What's a neopagan to do to keep the Cailleachan ("Storm Hags") at bay? The leprechaun's abode seems to be a curious conspiracy of sunlight and rain.
Of course, the watery luchorpán might have been a different entity altogether that was later conflated with Lugh and the leprechaun. Still, there's that pesky "p" to contend with.... And we know that those sooty godlets, the leprechauns, who live in caves, or wood huts deep in the woods, are not particularly fond of water, other than their Swiss bank vaults at the ends of rainbows.
Another Lugh link from Celtic Mythology with some interesting Indo-European connections.
Others say he was an invention of the Irish Tourist Board. I think he was a hangover invention of the Saint Patrick's Day Parade.
Clearly when Lugh got snared in the web of medieval hagiography in Christian Ireland, he got the roughshod Cinderella treatment and was subsequently shrunk like a wool sock in the hot water laundry cycle.
The leprechaun is supposed to be a singular entity (no plural hoardes or tribelets—that too seems to be a Disney-meets-Bord Failte Eireann shenanighan—courtesy of Darby O'Gill and the Little People).
According to the Facebook site, Celtic Mythology, “The Lore of Ireland: An Encyclopedia of Myth legend and Romance”, renowned folklore collector and native Gaelic speaker and poet, the late professor, Dathi Ó hÓgáin, stated that "the designation luchorpán was only invented in Ireland when the lore of dwarf communities was adopted from abroad by Irish writers and that the solitary leprechaun of folklore is a post-medieval development from the literature." (Collins Press, Cork, 2006; pp. 308-9).
University College Dublin Professor Dathi Ó hÓgáin's post-medieval claim is interesting in that luchorpán is clearly not a native Goidelic Irish word. Not with that "p" in it. There is no "p" in Goidelic. The Irish were positively allergic to plosives. This is how you can spot loan words in Irish, like páiste (from the word, page, or child, not the cymbals!) Or Welsh—map; Irish cognate—mac (son).
But I don't think it's quite that simple, as the term is indeed used in Old Irish texts.
A quick internet search reveals that the earliest version of "luchorpán" (a water sprite) was used in the 8th century in "Echtra Fergusa maic Léti". But it's a far stretch of the imagination—let alone, linguistics, as luchorpán mixes Church Latin with Irish—to be a native irish word.The Old Irish, lúchorpán is a hybrid word— lú means “small” and corp means “body.”
But Lú, or Lugh, also means the really BIG baddass god dude. What's a neopagan to do to keep the Cailleachan ("Storm Hags") at bay? The leprechaun's abode seems to be a curious conspiracy of sunlight and rain.
Of course, the watery luchorpán might have been a different entity altogether that was later conflated with Lugh and the leprechaun. Still, there's that pesky "p" to contend with.... And we know that those sooty godlets, the leprechauns, who live in caves, or wood huts deep in the woods, are not particularly fond of water, other than their Swiss bank vaults at the ends of rainbows.
The page from the Free Dictionary has some interesting information that seems plausible.
Leprechaun n. One of a race of elves in Irish folklore who can reveal hidden treasure to those who catch them.
[Irish Gaelic luprachán, alteration of Middle Irish luchrupán, from Old Irish luchorpán : luchorp (lú-, small; see legwh-in Indo-European roots + corp, body from Latin corpus; seekwrep- in Indo-European roots) + -án, diminutive suff.]
lep
re·chaun
ish adj.
Word History: Nothing seems more Irish than the leprechaun; yet hiding within the word leprechaun is a word from another language entirely. If we look back beyond Modern Irish Gaelic luprachán and Middle Irish luchrupán to Old Irish luchorpán, we can see the connection. Luchorpán is a compound of Old Irish lú, meaning "small," and the Old Irish word corp, "body." Corp is borrowed from Latin corpus (which we know from habeas corpus). Here is a piece of evidence attesting to the deep influence of Church Latin on the Irish language. Although the word is old in Irish it is fairly new in English, being first recorded in 1604.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
and
leprechaun [ˈlɛprəˌkɔːn]
n (Myth & Legend / European Myth & Legend) (in Irish folklore) a mischievous elf, often believed to have a treasure hoard
[from Irish Gaelic leipreachān, from Middle Irish lūchorpān, fromlū small + corp body, from Latin corpus body]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003
See also: How Lleu Llaw Gyffes Got his Name
Leprechaun n. One of a race of elves in Irish folklore who can reveal hidden treasure to those who catch them.
[Irish Gaelic luprachán, alteration of Middle Irish luchrupán, from Old Irish luchorpán : luchorp (lú-, small; see legwh-in Indo-European roots + corp, body from Latin corpus; seekwrep- in Indo-European roots) + -án, diminutive suff.]
lep
re·chaunish adj.Word History: Nothing seems more Irish than the leprechaun; yet hiding within the word leprechaun is a word from another language entirely. If we look back beyond Modern Irish Gaelic luprachán and Middle Irish luchrupán to Old Irish luchorpán, we can see the connection. Luchorpán is a compound of Old Irish lú, meaning "small," and the Old Irish word corp, "body." Corp is borrowed from Latin corpus (which we know from habeas corpus). Here is a piece of evidence attesting to the deep influence of Church Latin on the Irish language. Although the word is old in Irish it is fairly new in English, being first recorded in 1604.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
and
leprechaun [ˈlɛprəˌkɔːn]
n (Myth & Legend / European Myth & Legend) (in Irish folklore) a mischievous elf, often believed to have a treasure hoard
[from Irish Gaelic leipreachān, from Middle Irish lūchorpān, fromlū small + corp body, from Latin corpus body]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003
See also: How Lleu Llaw Gyffes Got his Name
