Lén

What it is

Lén is a craftsman figure in Irish mythology, working for the sídhe of Bodb. The sídhe are the hidden dwellings of Irish story, and Síd Buidb is the one belonging to Bodb. He appears in the Dindsenchas, the body of Irish learning that accounts for how places received their names. His parentage is given as Ban Bolgach son of Bannach. He is said to live under a lake near Killarney that is called Loch Léin after him, and there to produce shining vessels for Fand the Long-Haired, daughter of Flidais. His anvil gives a second landmark its name.

Where it comes from

The account is a place-name story rather than a biography. Loch Léin, near Killarney, is explained as having been named for the craftsman who lived beneath it, and the neighbouring hill takes its title from his anvil. Nothing dates the tale. The name itself has been examined through language: Old Irish lén, glossed as 'defeat' or 'misfortune', and the verb lénaid, 'to injure, wound', have been set beside the Welsh llwyn, 'grove, bush, shrub', as possible comparisons, though the sense of the name is unsettled. A connection with Lenus, a god of Romano-Celtic religion, has been raised and is called disputable.

How it is done

The Dindsenchas sketch a working routine. At Loch Léin, Lén fashioned bright vessels for Fand, and when the night's labour was over he threw his anvil from him. It came down on a hill close by, known as Indeoin na nDési, the Anvil of the Dési. Showers falling from the far side of that hill were taken to be pearls scattered from the anvil as it flew. The story is told in outline, as an explanation of the landscape rather than as a ceremony.

Tools and materials

The implement named is the anvil, thrown each night and remembered in the name of the hill where it landed. The products of the workshop are described as bright vessels, made for Fand. The hill's own name, Indeoin na nDési, contains the Irish term for anvil, so the landscape carries the craft in its naming. Lake and hill together form the setting, one below which he works and one that receives the thrown tool.

What it is for

Within the tale, Lén's labour supplies Fand the Long-Haired, daughter of Flidais, with bright vessels. As a piece of Dindsenchas, the account does a second job: it explains why a lake near Killarney bears the name Loch Léin, and why a hill beside it is called the Anvil of the Dési. It also gives the rain on that hill a reading drawn from the forge, treating the showers as pearls from the anvil. The story ties craft, place and weather together.

Who does it

Lén is a craftsman of the sídhe, attached to Síd Buidb, the dwelling of Bodb, rather than a specialist serving ordinary people. His patrons belong to that hidden household, and the vessels he makes are for Fand, a figure of myth. He is named through his father and grandfather, Ban Bolgach son of Bannach, which places him in a lineage rather than in a guild or school. His standing comes from the craft he exercises underground and the landmarks his work leaves behind.

Peoples and places

The figure belongs to Irish tradition and to the place-name lore gathered in the Dindsenchas. His lake is set near Killarney in the south-west of Ireland, with the hill of the anvil close to it, so the story is anchored to one local landscape. Síd Buidb ties him to the household of Bodb, one of the sídhe dwellings of Irish story. The Welsh word llwyn enters only as a comparison for the name, not as a separate tradition of practice.

What people believe

The tale assumes a world in which the sídhe are inhabited places with named lords and households. Lén serves Bodb's people and works for Fand the Long-Haired, daughter of Flidais. Craft is treated as something these hidden beings possess and practise, carried on beneath water and inside hills. What happens above ground is read as the trace of that work: a lake carries a craftsman's name, a hill carries the name of his anvil, and rain is imagined as pearls struck loose in flight.

When it is done

His work is placed at night. The round described is a daily one: the vessels are finished, the anvil is thrown, and the same routine returns the next evening. The pattern follows the ordinary rhythm of a working smith rather than a cycle of feasts or seasons. No particular date or holy day is tied to the figure; the timing belongs to the craft itself, with the day's labour closing when the tool is cast away.

How scholars and sceptics see it

Scholarly attention has gone mostly to the name. Old Irish lén, given as 'defeat' or 'misfortune', and lénaid, 'to injure, wound', have been compared with the Welsh llwyn, 'grove, bush, shrub', while the meaning of the word remains uncertain. A relationship with Lenus, the Romano-Celtic god, has been suggested, and the question is described as disputable. The narrative itself is read as Dindsenchas, material whose business is to account for the names of places.

Compare and confuse

The obvious point of comparison is Lenus, the Romano-Celtic god, and whether the two names are related is a disputed question. Some of the vocabulary used for comparison is Welsh rather than Irish, which takes the discussion beyond a single language. Within Irish material, Lén stands among the craftsmen of the sídhe whose work is remembered in the landscape, and his hill and lake are named for his trade.

Questions people ask about Lén

Good reading and sources

• Lén on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• Wikidata recordOpen data