![]() ![]() ![]() In the lore, the Cailleach is often portrayed as a supernatural figure, if not a witch. ![]() The word cailleach originally referred to a nun (because they took the veil as a sign of their office), and then by extension it came to be understood as an old woman, and then – eventually – a witch. What we do know is that she wasn't (or they weren't) originally known by that name, because the word 'cailleach' comes from a Latin word ( pallium) that was borrowed into Old Irish (where it became caille, because Irish didn't have a 'p,' so they adapted it to a 'c'). The evidence would suggest that the Cailleach is definitely a deity, or perhaps the name that came to be associated with a number of deities – we don't really know for sure. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |