Medieval Creative Etymology: Lon craís

The long version of Aislinge meic Con Glinne ‘The Vision of MacConglinne’ in Leabhar Breac introduces itself as being composed to banish a beast/demon called lon craís from King Cathal mac Finguine. Lon craís is commonly rendered as ‘demon of gluttony’, and sometimes literally translated as ‘blackbird (or: black bird) of gluttony’. I argue for leaving lon craís untranslated, which gives us insight into the literary and conceptual depths of this Irish term/concept. I will discuss a threefold creative etymology at work in lon craís and conclude that we should treat the designation as the beast’s/demon’s name: the Lon Craís.