Lugus (sometimes Lugos or Lug) is a Celtic god whose worship is attested in the epigraphic record. No depictions of the god are known. Lugus perhaps also appears in Roman sources and medieval Insular mythology.
Various dedications, concentrated in Iberia and dated to between the 1st century BCE and the 3rd century CE, attest to the worship of the god Lugus. However, these predominately describe the god in the plural, as the Lugoves. The nature of these deities, and their relationship to Lugus, has been much debated. Only one, early inscription from Peñalba de Villastar, Spain is widely agreed to attest to Lugus as a singular entity. The god Lugus has also been cited in the etymologies of several Celtic personal and place-names incorporating the element "Lug(u)-" (for example, that of the prominent Roman settlement Lugdunum).
Julius Caesar's description in his Commentaries on the Gallic War of an important pre-Roman Gaulish god (whom Caesar identified with the Roman god Mercury) has been interpreted as a reference to the god Lugus. Caesar's description of Gaulish Mercury has been examined against Insular sources, as well as the prominence of "Lug(u)-" elements in Gaulish place-names. A prominent cult to Mercury in Roman Gaul provides limited evidence for this identification.
Lugus has also been connected with two figures from medieval Insular mythology. In Irish mythology, Lugh is an important and supernatural figure. His description as a skilled artisan and founder of a harvest festival has been compared with Gaulish Mercury. In Welsh mythology, Lleu Llaw Gyffes, a protagonist of the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi, is a more minor figure, but is linked etymologically with Irish Lugh. He perhaps shares with the Lugoves an association with shoemaking.
The reconstruction of a pan-Celtic god Lugus from these details, first proposed in the 19th century by Henri d'Arbois de Jubainville, has proven controversial. Criticism of this theory by Celticists such as Bernhard Maier has caused aspects of the reconstruction (such as a pan-Celtic festival of Lugus on 1 August) to be abandoned, however others still defend the existence of the pan-Celtic Lugus.
Etymology The etymology of Lugus's name has been the subject of repeated conjecture, but no single etymology has gained wide acceptance.
The most commonly repeated etymology derives the name from proto-Indo-European * ("to shine"). This etymology is closely tied to proposals to identify Lugus as a solar god. However, Garrett Olmsted has pointed out that this derivation poses phonological difficulties. Proto-Celtic cannot develop from proto-Indo-European , according to the known sound changes between the two languages. has noted that this root would result in Irish **, rather than the attested Irish .
and Erich Hamp have proposed that the name derives from a proto-Celtic word meaning "oath" (either or ). John T. Koch has taken this hypothesis up, and proposed that the early Irish oath tongu do dia toinges mo thúath is a suppressed oath to Lugus. A. G. van Hamel and Maier proposed a derivation from supposed proto-Celtic ("lynx"), perhaps used allusively to mean "warrior", but an article by John Carey found the evidence for the existence of such a word in proto-Celtic lacking. Minority etymologies derive "Lugus" from the name of the Norse god Loki, proto-Celtic ("mouse" or "rat"), and supposed Gaulish ("raven").
Linguistic evidence Epigraphy Text ImageContextLanguageCitationCommentsInscribed on an altar. Found in the Roman city of Uxama Argaela, near Osma, Soria, Spain.LatinTranslated, the inscription reads "Consecrated to the Lugoves. Lucius L(icinius?), of the Urcici donated it on behalf of the College of Shoemakers". Connected to a trait of Welsh Lleu, discussed below.(or Inscribed on a stele. Found in , Burgos, Spain.LatinCIL II, 6338vThis poorly preserved inscription has been interpreted by Jürgen Untermann as a dedication to the Lugoves made, as a result of a vision, by a person with the cognomen Avita. Above the inscription is an ithyphallic figure with his arms outstretched (in orant position).Inscribed on an altar. Found in the church of San Martín de Liñarán in Sober, Lugo, Spain.Latin 67Translated, the inscription reads "To the Luguves Arquieni, with all merit. Caius Iulius Hispanus in fulfilment of a vow".Inscribed on an altar. From the town of Sinoga in Rábade, Lugo, Spain.Latin 68Translated, the inscription reads "Dedicated to the Lucouves Arquieni. Silonius Silo in fulfilment of a vow".Inscribed on an altar. Found in a 2nd-century CE religious building in the city of Lugo, Spain.LatinTranslated, the inscription reads "To the Lucoves Arousae, with all merit, Rutilia Antiania, in willing fulfilment of her vow".Inscribed on an altar. Found in a 2nd-century CE religious building in the city of Lugo, Spain.LatinTranslated, the inscription reads "To the Lucoves Gudarovi(?), Valerius (?) Clemens (?) in willing fulfilment of his vow".Inscribed on an altar. Found in , Lugo, Spain.LatinBRAH 1971 185.Translated, the inscription reads "To the Lucuves Arquieni(...) Iulius (...) in fulfilment of a vow".Inscribed on a stele. Found in Nemausus (Roman Nîmes), Gard, France.LatinInscribed on a Corinthian capital. Found in the Roman city of Aventicum, near Avenches, Vaud, Switzerland.LatinKarl Zangemeister suggested that the inscription referred to the figure originally set on the capital. (translit.: )Inscribed on a ceramic dish. Found in the , in Alès, Gard, France.RIG I G-159 via Recueil informatisé des inscriptions gauloises.GaulishRIG I G-159The inscription is probably an ownership mark, so at most records a theophoric personal name.Inscribed on a lead tablet. Found in Chamalières, Puy-de-Dome, France.GaulishRIG II.2 L-100At the end of the Chamalières tablet inscription, is repeated three times. This feature is very difficult to interpret, but has interpreted it as an incantation of Lugus (in the singular). This interpretation has not been widely accepted.RIG II.2 L-100 in Lambert, Pierre-Yves (2002). Recueil des inscriptions gauloises. II, fasc. 2, Textes gallo-latins sur instrumentum. Paris: Éd. du CNRS. pp. 269-280.Inscribed on a rock. Found at the site of Peñalba de Villastar, in Villastar, Aragon, Spain.CeltiberianMLH IV K.3.3This inscription, which dates to the 1st century BCE and is among the longest found in the Celtic sanctuary of Peñalba de Villastar, is very obscure in its meaning. No definite translation of this text has been established, but the majority of scholars hold that is to be interpreted as a dedication to Lugus (in the dative singular).Inscribed on a stele. Found in the , in Bensafrim, Lagos, Portugal.TartessianMLH IV J.1.1The beginning of this inscription has been interpreted by José A. Correa as referring to Lugus in the dative plural (). has expressed scepticism about this reading.
A number of dedications to Lugus, dating between the 1st century BCE and 3rd century CE, have been found in Continental Europe. This epigraphic data is concentrated in Iberia; only a small number of inscriptions are known from Gaul, and none are known from Britain or Ireland. A peculiarity of this data is that the singular of Lugus's name is rarely recorded. There is consensus that a Celtiberian inscription from Peñalba de Villastar features the singular. A minority interpret the Gaulish-language Chamalières tablet as invoking singular Lugus. The singular is inscribed on a ceramic sherd from , but this is probably a theophoric name and not a reference to the god Lugus. Many Celtic gods are referenced both in the plural and the singular, but in dedications to Lugus the plural form ("Lugoves" or "Lucoves") predominates.
The nature of the Lugoves, and their relationship to Lugus, has been much debated. The epigraphic record is equivocal as to the gender of these deities. The epithet (attested at San Martín de Liñarán) has masculine gender, whereas the epithets (attested on an altar from Lugo) and possibly indicate the feminine. Henri Gaidoz contended that plural deities were minor in the Celtic pantheon, and that therefore Lugus could not have been the chief god of the Celts. Arbois de Jubainville and Joseph Vendryes argued that the Celts invoked even major gods (such as Mars) in the plural. Some scholars have tried to explain the multiplicity of the Lugoves through traits of Irish Lugh or Welsh Lleu. Marie-Louise Sjoestedt, for example, pointed out that Lugh was one of triplets. Maier has argued that the obscurity of the nature of the Lugoves limits the value of the epigraphic record as evidence for pan-Celtic Lugus. Krista Ovist argues against this point.
Proper names The element "lug(u)-" appears frequently in Celtic proper names. In many of these cases, an etymology involving the deity-name Lugus has been proposed. Celtic personal names with this element include Lug, Lugaunus, Lugugenicus, Lugotorix, Luguadicos, Luguselva, and Lougous. A number of cognate names are known from Irish Ogham inscriptions, for example, Luga, Lugudecca (perhaps, "serving the god Lugus"), Luguqritt (perhaps, "poet like Lugus"), and Luguvvecca. Some ethnic names have been connected with Lugus, for example the Lugi in Scotland and the in Asturias. Place-names connected with Lugus include Lugii, Lougoi, Lougionon, Lugisonis, and Lugnesses. Lucus Augusti (1st century BC, modern-day Lugo) is the site of a Roman sanctuary with dedications to the Lugoves; its name may be derived from "Lugus", or may simply derive from the Latin for "sacred grove of Augustus". The name of Luguvalium (modern-day Carlisle) is sometimes glossed as "wall of Lugus", but may instead derive from a personal name.
Since Arbois de Jubainville argued for the connection, the place-name "Lugdunum" has frequently been connected etymologically with Lugus. The most famous known by this name is Lugdunum (modern-day Lyon) in the region of Gallia Lugdunensis, a Roman colony and among the most important cities of Roman Gaul. The etymology of this place-name has been the subject of much conjecture. Following Arbois de Jubainville, the most widely held hypothesis analyses the name as + ("fort"), that is, "the fortress of Lugus". Many other etymologies have been given. One ancient etymology derives it from a supposed Gaulish word , meaning raven. Attempts have been made to analyse the name as ("luminous" or "clear") + ("hill"), bolstered by a medieval etymology which gives the gloss ("shining mountain").
The place-name Lugdunum is attested, in its cognate forms, as the name of as many as twenty-seven locations. Apart from Lyon, there is Lugdunum Convenarum (modern-day Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges), Lugdunum Batavorum (near Leyden), Lugdunum Remorum (modern-day Laon), two Welsh places named Din Lleu (the order of the elements reversed), and two cities of unclear location in North East England and Germania Magna. The wide range and abundance of these place-names has been used to argue for the importance of Lugus. However, Maier argues that even if the etymology for "Lugdunum" invoking Lugus is correct, not all of these place-names must owe themselves to the Celtic god. Lugdunum/Lyon was a major city, and other locations may have borrowed the name. Some two-thirds of the cognate place-names are attested only from the 10th century on; we know that Lugdunum Remorum had an older, native name ("Bibrax") which was displaced in the 6th century.
Caesar and Gaulish Mercury
Commentaries on the Gallic War is Julius Caesar's first-hand account of the Gallic Wars (58 to 50 BCE). In giving an account of the customs of the Gauls, Caesar wrote the following: