Top o’ the Mornin to you Youtube.
And happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Let’s celebrate it by wearing green, and talking about one of the most famous creatures
in Irish mythology.
He makes shoes, has a pot of gold, and convinces children its healthy to eat marshmallows for
breakfast.
Let’s learn about the Leprechaun!
Hi, I’m Tristan Johnson, and this is Step Back History.
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Leprechauns are, probably of no surprise to you Irish.
While the first reference to an actual leprechaun can only be found as far back as the 8th century,
aspects of the leprechaun go way farther back to a supernatural race in Irish creatures
called the Tuatha Dé Danann.
They’re thought to represent the deities from pre-Christian Gaelic times.
This pantheon has roots all over the Celtic world.
The first references to what would become leprechauns come from legends about water
spirits called the luchorpán, which means small body.
That portrayal as a water spirit, or water sprite coupled with other spellings from different
regions of Ireland to give a substantial suggestion that leprechauns have an origin as an aquatic
creature.
These spirits eventually merged with the stories of a small household fairy who would haunt
people’s cellars and drink heavily.
Which I gotta say sounds like maybe the best fairy ever.
Some also suspect there was influence from the Brownie, from Scottish settlers in Ulster.
Now let's talk about the word leprechaun.
By the way, sorry Gaelic speakers in advance.
The world Leprechaun comes from the Irish word Leipreachan, defined by Patrick Dinneen
as a pigmy or a sprite.
Other researchers think it might come from the Irish phrase leath bhrogan, which means
shoemaker.
We’ll explore a bit more about why later.
Other explanations range from the corruption of the Middle Irish Luchrupan being a compound
of the words small and body, the word corp borrowed from Latin.
The earliest reference to a leprechaun comes from a medieval tale called…
oh jayus… the Echtra Fergus mac Leti.
Its the story of a man named Fergus mac Leti, the king of Ulster.
He fell asleep on a beach, and when he awoke found himself being dragged into the sea by
two leprechauns.
He captured them, and the leprechauns offered Fergus three wishes for their release.
It was during the 19th century most of the world became aware of the leprechaun outside
of old Irish folk tales.
Though it seems leprechaun, myths were widespread on the emerald isle.
Near Lismore in Waterford county, there’s the Knocknaloorican, or the hill of the leprechauns,
or Poulaluppercadaun in Killorglin in Kerry county.
Once the English started to document Irish mythology, they blended the leprechaun with
a few other Irish mythological creatures.
They took aspects from the cluricaune, that awesome drinking smoking basement fairy, and
the far darrig which is an Irish trickster creature.
Tricksters are a common type of mythological creature who appears all over the world.
More on them in this episode of Crash Course mythology.
Despite how iconic the Leprechaun has become, they rarely appear in Irish mythology and
are more of a recent folklore creature.
This means they showed up in folk tales but rarely did anyone believe in them.
The leprechaun is supposed to be the son of an evil spirit or a degenerate fairy, but
is usually considered neither good nor evil.
Think more chaotic neutral.
They’re considered a type of fairy, but not like Tinkerbell fairies.
In Irish myth, fairies are horny little mean-spirited creatures, equally as likely to dazzle as
to kill you.
The leprechaun is distinct in the fairy myth by its solitary nature.
Leprechauns are always alone in their folk tales, living in remote areas and making shoes.
Not sure where this part went, but yeah, the leprechaun is a fairy shoemaker.
And apparently good ones at that, because as we all probably know, the leprechaun usually
is in possession of a pot of gold.
Of course at the end of a rainbow.
If you can catch one and threaten to hurt it, it will show you where the gold is, but
only if you can keep your eyes on it.
The leprechaun will try to make you look away and make its escape.
Another distinctive thing about leprechauns and Irish mythological creatures is they become
known mostly for the way they sound.
Leprechauns were known for the tap tap tapping of their tiny cobbler hammer, but another
example you might know is the Banshee, an Irish fairy known for its horrible screech.
Ultimately though, the leprechaun represented a morality tale.
Specifically the folly of getting rich quick.
Taking gold from the leprechaun spoke of how the gaining of wealth came from interfering
with the world.
Oh, how egalitarian that would be in a non-feudal society.
In the stories, the leprechaun looks like a tiny old man, with a cocked hat and a leather
apron, like a little cobbler.
Today, he’s thought to wear green, but in the past the leprechaun wore red.
He smoked a pipe and had a long beard.
Descriptions of the leprechaun show that for the longest time, different regions of Ireland
had their own regional looks for the little guys.
Today, the leprechaun is a lil’ Lisa slurry of changes from its Gaelic roots as it moulded
for different literary and commercial purposes.
What we think of when we think of the leprechaun is of little actual resemblance to the leprechauns
of old folklore.
It’s been sanitised for modern audiences, and we’re now at the point where we have…
Lucky the leprechaun.
You know, the one who peddles sugar to children with marshmallow cereal.
Some might remember Lubdan, the murder leprechaun from the movie leprechaun played by Warwick
Davis.
Some images are wholly borrowed from other cultures.
A modern leprechaun is depicted as sitting on toadstools, with a red beard and a green
hat, but this better describes the German household spirit the kobold than the leprechaun
of Irish folklore.
Lastly, there’s, of course, the issue that modern-day leprechauns are mostly just 19th-century
racist caricatures of Irish people.
This is to the point where some people have taken up issue with the University of Notre
Dame’s leprechaun sports mascot for the ‘fighting Irish’.
Leprechauns show up rather often around St Patrick’s day, and they are iconic of Irish
culture, pushing those stereotypes.
Sooo… that’s the leprechaun.
A neat little iconic creature of Irish folklore, and a small part of a deep mythology which
doesn’t get talked about all that much.
Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!
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