| Lugus |
Articles about Lugus |
Information AboutLugus |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT LUGUS | |
| ancient gaulish and british gods | |
| celtic gods | |
| solar gods | |
| triune gods | |
|
Lugus was a , Galicia. An inscription from Peña Amaya, north of Burgos, that is dedicated to ''Dibus M(agnis?) Lucubo(s)'' testifies to the supreme nature of this god among Cantabrian people. Several Latin inscriptions containing dedications to the ''Lugoves'', a plural form again, have been found in Switzerland and Spain ). His importance in the Celtic pantheon can be deduced from a multitude of ancient placenames and from figures in later Celtic Mythology , such as the Irish Lugh and Welsh Lleu Llaw Gyffyes . GAULISH MERCURY
Iconography The assertion that Mercury was most revered in Gaul is supported by the number of Gaulish inscriptions to Mercury. His Iconography includes birds, particularly Raven s and the cock, now the emblem of France; horses; the Tree Of Life ; dogs or wolves; a pair of snakes (cf Hermes 's Caduceus ); Mistletoe ; shoes (one of the dedications to the ''Lugoves'' was made by a shoemakers' guild; Lugus's Welsh counterpart Lleu (or Llew) Llaw Gyffes is described in the Welsh Triads as one of the "three golden shoemakers of the island of Britain"); and bags of money. He is often armed with a Spear . He is frequently accompanied by his consort Rosmerta ("great provider"), who bears the ritual drink with which kingship was conferred (in Roman mythology, Mercury's consort is Maia , meaning in Latin "she who provides"). Unlike the Roman Mercury, who is always a youth, Gaulish Mercury is occasionally also represented as an old man. Triplism Gaulish 'Lughaidh of the Red Freckles' and Lugaid mac Trí Con 'Lughaidh Son of Three Hounds' both have three fathers. Rübekeil (2003:38) suggests that Lugus was a Triune god, comprising Esus , Toutatis and Taranis , the three chief deities mentioned by Lucanus (who, at the same time, makes no mention of Lugus), and that pre-Proto-Germanic tribes in contact with the Celts (possibly the Chatti ) moulded aspects of Lugus into the Germanic god '' Wodinaz ''. Sacred sites High places (''Mercurii Montes''), including Montmartre , the Puy-de-Dôme and the Mont De Sène , were dedicated to him. In Christian times he seems to have been assimilated into the Archangel Michael , and many of the former ''Mercurii Montes'' became "St Michael's Mounts". Continuity in later Celtic narratives In Ireland , Lugh was the victorious youth who defeats the monstrous Balor “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 Proto-Indo-European image of a noble sovereign expanding his power far and wide. His festival, called Lughnasadh (“Festival of Lugh”) in Ireland, was commemorated on 1 August . When the Emperor Augustus inaugurated Lugdunum ("fort of Lugus", now Lyon ) as the capital of Roman Gaul in 18 BC , he did so with a ceremony on 1 August. At least two of the ancient[Lughnasadh locations, Carmun and Tailtiu , 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 Llew Llaw Gyffes, but also the Legendary British King Lud and the Arthurian characters Lancelot and Lot . The relationship with the latter two characters is no longer widely accepted. Foreign parallels It has been suggested that the Germanic deity Wotan (English Woden) was influenced by Gaulish Mercury (see "triplism" above), and his name is possibly reflected in Germanic Loki . There is no one-to-one correspondence between Germanic and Celtic gods, however, and Lugh is also likely related to Frea and her brother Freyr . ETYMOLOGY
SURVIVAL OF THE NAME IN TOPONYMS
Other places which are likely named after him include: Loudun and Montluçon in France; Loudon in Scotland ; Dinlleu in Wales ; Leiden in The Netherlands ; REFERENCES
EXTERNAL LINKS |
|
|