Lugh - A Local God?


     There are those who see the god Lugh as only a rather local god; that is, as a god of the ancient Irish. If they were to do but a little research, they'd find that Lugh was most certainly what one could call "pan-celtic." When the Romans drew a map of the location of the celtic tribes of Britain, in the low-lands of Scotland was placed the name of a tribe that was called "the Lugi"--- the People of Lugh.

     Here is a quote from The Quest For Merlin by Nikolai Tolstoy, page 88: "Among the pagan Celts on the Continent and the British Isles the god most widely-worshipped and who approximated most nearly to a pre-eminent deity was Lug. He is found throughout the Celtic homelands, in place-names, inscriptions and legends. The city of Lyon in France was his, for its Roman name Lugudumum means simply 'fortress of Lug'. Laon is another French town whose name is similar derivation, as Leiden in Holland and, far to the east, Leignitz in Silesia. In Britain he is found in the North at Carlisle, Luguvalium, a name meaning 'strong in Lugus'." Numerous inscriptions in Spain testify to the strength of his cult in the most westerly of Celtic domains."

     Here is another quote from the same page: "The Romans, who appreciated order above all things, liked to equate foreign gods neatly with their own: a practice causing endless confusion to later students of comparative religion. But when Julius Caesar reported that the most widely-worshipped god in Gaul was Mercury, an identification with the native Lug seems certain enough. Memorials and inscriptions to a Gaulish Mercury survive in profusion, and when Caesar goes on to say that the Gauls 'declare him the inventor of all arts,' we find an exact parallel with the epithet of the Irish Lug: samildanach, 'skilled in the arts'." So, that should put to rest the notion that Lugh was only a local god.

     Also, for the same reason, there are those who see Lugnassad as being a ritual of Ireland and nowhere else in the Celtic area. In one episode in the Life of Saint Samson, as the saint was on his way returning to Gaul through the district called Tricuria (Cornwall), he heard men worshipping at a nearby temple. He rebuked them for their pagan practice. It was high summer when he did this, and the only ritual that would have been performed at that time of the year, was Lugnassad.

     Until the early part of the last century, there were several places in Britain where rituals were performed by villagers at the First Harvast. The First Harvast was on, or about, the first of August. These rituals were all that was left of the ancient pagan past: a remembrance of Lugnassad. Why Lugnassad? We know that Lugh was worshipped in all the Celtic areas, and where Lugh was, it only follows that there would be Lugnassad.

     I would point out, that even in the Middle Ages when most of the Welsh heroic poetry and stories written down, there were variations of Lugh's name that appeared in many of their writings. Examples of this are: Lleu, Ludd, and Lud. To this day, in London, there is a place called Ludgate.

     Lugh was truly a pan-celtic god, but he wasn't the only one who had such widespread honor. Bridget and Belenus were also widely worshipped. But then, we can look at that in later articles.