Medieval scribes had a habit of writing things in the margins of manuscripts that they definitely shouldn’t have. Complaints about cold weather. Comments about difficult abbots. Poems about their cats. The margins of medieval manuscripts are, if you know where to look, a remarkably human archive.
And then there is Láithreirt.
The Word
Láithreirt is an Old Irish word. It means, roughly, “hangover” — the specific state of suffering that follows an evening of overindulgence. A 9th-century manuscript contains this word written in the margin, apparently by a scribe who had consumed rather more the previous evening than was strictly wise.
The note has survived over a thousand years. The scribe, presumably, recovered.
Why This Matters
It matters because it is funny, yes — but also because it reminds us that the people who used Ogham and Old Irish were not distant, incomprehensible figures from another world. They were people who stayed up too late, drank too much, and had to drag themselves to their writing desks the following morning with aching heads and a job still to finish.
The 9th century had hangovers. The 9th century had relatable hangovers. There is something unexpectedly moving about that.
The Láithreirt Collection
The cultural resonance of this margin note has inspired a small line of drinkware — the Láithreirt Drinkware Collection — featuring pint glasses and whisky glasses with the Ogham inscription. It is, perhaps, the most historically appropriate souvenir in the Ogham Lore shop: a reminder that the people who carved these letters were not so different from us.
Láithreirt. One word, carved into parchment by an unknown scribe on a bad morning twelve centuries ago. It has never been more relevant.
Browse the Ogham stone database or translate your name — maybe try writing láithreirt and see what it looks like.