Luis (ᚂ) is the second letter ( Irish "letter": sing.''fid'', pl.''feda'') of the

Ogham Ogham (also ogam and ogom, , Modern Irish: ; , later ) is an Early Medieval alphabet used primarily to write the early Irish language (in the "orthodox" inscriptions, 4th to 6th centuries AD), and later the Old Irish language ( scholastic ...

alphabet, derived either from ''luise'' "

flame A flame () is the visible, gaseous part of a fire. It is caused by a highly exothermic chemical reaction made in a thin zone. When flames are hot enough to have ionized gaseous components of sufficient density, they are then considered plasm ...

" or from ''lus'' "

herb Herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal purposes, or for fragrances. Culinary use typically distingu ...

". Its

Proto-Indo-European Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European language family. No direct record of Proto-Indo-European exists; its proposed features have been derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-Euro ...

root was either *''leuk-'' 'to shine' or *''leudh-'' 'to grow'. Its phonetic value is If the letter name follows the same pattern as ''ruise'' to '' ruis'', it is likely that the letter was originally named from ''luise'', though different kennings point to both meanings.

Interpretation

Although the non-arboreal primary meanings of this letter name are well established, one of the arboreal glosses for this name in the ''

Auraicept na n-Éces ''Auraicept na nÉces'' (; "The Scholars' Primer" ) is an Old Irish text on language and grammar. The core of the text may date to the early eighth century, but much material was added between that date and the production of the earliest surviv ...

'' is ''cairtheand'' "mountain-ash", i.e. "

rowan The rowans ( or ) or mountain-ashes are shrubs or trees in the genus ''Sorbus'' of the rose family, Rosaceae. They are native throughout the cool temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, with the highest species diversity in the Himalaya ...

" (Modern Irish ''caorthann''). The associated verse is : ''lí súla'' "lustre of eye" (from the ''Bríatharogam Morann mic Moín''). The Auraincept interprets this as "delightful to the eye is ''luis'', i.e. rowan, owing to the beauty of its berries". However, the other two primary ''Bríatharogaim'' do not easily fit this arboreal association. While this kenning may be based on the association with ''luise'' ("flame") due to the bright berries, the other kennings are likely based on the association with ''lus'' ("herb, plant"), hence food for cattle. In line with these kennings, the

elm tree Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the genus ''Ulmus'' in the family Ulmaceae. They are distributed over most of the Northern Hemisphere, inhabiting the temperate and tropical-montane regions of North America and Eurasia, p ...

(

Old Irish Old Irish, also called Old Gaelic (, Ogham, Ogham script: ᚌᚑᚔᚇᚓᚂᚉ; ; ; or ), is the oldest form of the Goidelic languages, Goidelic/Gaelic language for which there are extensive written texts. It was used from 600 to 900. The ...

''lem'') is another arboreal gloss for ''luis'' from the '' Auraicept'': "Cara ceathra, friend of cattle, to wit, elm. Cara, to wit, dear to the cattle is the elm for its bloom and for down".

Bríatharogaim

In the medieval

kenning A kenning ( Icelandic: ) is a figure of speech, a figuratively-phrased compound term that is used in place of a simple single-word noun. For instance, the Old English kenning () means , as does (). A kenning has two parts: a base-word (a ...

s, called '' Bríatharogaim'' (sing. ''Bríatharogam'') or ''Word Oghams'' the verses associated with ''Luis'' are: lí súla - "lustre of the eye" in the ''Bríatharogam Morann mic Moín'' carae cethrae - "friend of cattle" in the ''Bríatharogam Mac ind Óc'' lúth cethrae - "sustenance of cattle" in the ''Bríatharogam Con Culainn''.

Notes

While medieval and modern

neopagan Modern paganism, also known as contemporary paganism and neopaganism, spans a range of new religious movements variously influenced by the beliefs of pre-modern peoples across Europe, North Africa, and the Near East. Despite some common simila ...

arboreal glosses (i.e. tree names) for the Ogham have been widely popularised (even for fade whose names do not translate as trees), the Old Irish ''

In Lebor Ogaim ''In Lebor Ogaim'' ("The Book of Ogams"), also known as the Ogam Tract, is an Old Irish treatise on the ogham alphabet. It is preserved in R.I.A. MS 23 P 12 308–314 (AD 1390), T.C.D. H.3.18, 26.1–35.28 (AD 1511) and National Library of ...

'' (the ''Ogam Tract'') also lists many other word values classified by type (e.g. birds, occupations, companies) for each fid. The ''

filí The fili (or ''filè'') (), plural filid, filidh (or filès), was a member of an elite class of poets in Gaelic Ireland, Ireland, and later Scotland in the Middle Ages, Scotland, up until the English Renaissance, Renaissance. The filid were b ...

'' (

''filid'', sing. ''fili'') or poets of this period learned around one hundred and fifty variants of Ogham during their training, including these word-list forms. Some of the notable

values of these for ''Luis'' include: Enogam/Bird-ogam: ''lachu'' "duck" Dathogam/Colour-ogam: ''liath'' "grey" Ogam tirda/Agricultural ogam: ''loman'' "rope" Danogam/Art-ogam: ''luamnacht'' "pilotage" Ogam Cuidechtach/Company Ogam: ''Laichesa'' "Heroines"

References

Ogham letters {{alphabet-stub