sluagh

A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology | 2004 | 700+ words | Copyright

sluagh, sluagh-síthe [ScG sluagh, people, folk; multitude; host, army]. Also sluagh na marbh [host of the dead]. Hosts of the unforgiven dead in Scottish Gaelic folklore, the most formidable of Scottish fairy people. They may approach from any direction but the east, usually taking crescent form, like a flight of grey birds. They are said to be able to pick up a person bodily and transport him long distances through the air from one island to another. Although they can rescue a man from a dangerous rock cleft, they usually bode no good to mortals. They may be seen after dark and are said also to injure cattle. Their name appears in the Gaelic exclamation ‘O shluagh!’, a call for succour to the fairies.

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JAMES MacKILLOP. "sluagh." A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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JAMES MacKILLOP. "sluagh." A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. 2004. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O70-sluagh.html

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