Brigid ( , ; meaning 'exalted one' from Old Irish),
[Campbell, Mik]
Behind the Name.
See also Xavier Delamarre, ''brigantion / brigant-'', in ''Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise'' (Éditions Errance, 2003) pp. 87–88: "Le nom de la sainte irlandaise ''Brigit'' est un adjectif de forme *''brigenti''... 'l'Eminente'." Delamarre cites E. Campanile, in '' Langues indo-européennes'' ("The name of the Irish Saint Brigid is an adjective of the form *''brigenti''... 'the Eminent'"), edited by Françoise Bader (Paris, 1994), pp. 34–40, that Brigid is a continuation of the Indo-European goddess of the dawn
Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the appearance of indirect sunlight being scattered in Earth's atmosphere, when the centre of the Sun's disc has reached 18° below the observer's hori ...
like Aurora
An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...
. Brigit or Bríg is a goddess of
pre-Christian Ireland. She appears in
Irish mythology
Irish mythology is the body of myths native to the island of Ireland. It was originally passed down orally in the prehistoric era, being part of ancient Celtic religion. Many myths were later written down in the early medieval era by Ch ...
as a member of the
Tuatha Dé Danann
The Tuath(a) Dé Danann (, meaning "the folk of the goddess Danu"), also known by the earlier name Tuath Dé ("tribe of the gods"), are a supernatural race in Irish mythology. Many of them are thought to represent deities of pre-Christian Gae ...
, the daughter of
the Dagda
The Dagda (Old Irish: ''In Dagda,'' ga, An Daghdha, ) is an important god in Irish mythology. One of the Tuatha Dé Danann, the Dagda is portrayed as a father-figure, king, and druid.Koch, John T. ''Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia ...
and wife of
Bres
In Irish mythology, Bres (or Bress) was a king of the Tuatha Dé Danann. He is often referred to by the name Eochaid / Eochu Bres. He was an unpopular king, and favoured his Fomorian kin.
Name
''Eochu Bres'' has been translated as "beautiful ho ...
, with whom she had a son named Ruadán.
She is associated with wisdom, poetry, healing, protection, blacksmithing and domesticated animals. ''
Cormac's Glossary
''Sanas Cormaic'' (or ''Sanas Chormaic'', Irish for "Cormac's narrative"), also known as ''Cormac's Glossary'', is an early Irish glossary containing etymologies and explanations of over 1,400 Irish words, many of which are difficult or outdated. ...
'', written in the 9th century by Christian monks, says that Brigid was "the goddess whom poets adored" and that she had two sisters: Brigid the healer and Brigid the smith.
[Ó hÓgáin, Dáithí. ''Myth, Legend & Romance: An encyclopaedia of the Irish folk tradition''. Prentice Hall Press, 1991. p.60][Wright, Brian. ''Brigid: Goddess, Druidess and Saint''. The History Press, 2011. pp.26-27] This suggests she may have been a
triple deity
A triple deity is a deity with three apparent forms that function as a singular whole. Such deities may sometimes be referred to as threefold, tripled, triplicate, tripartite, triune, triadic, or as a trinity. The number three has a long history ...
. She is also thought to have some relation to the
British Celtic goddess
Brigantia.
Saint Brigid shares many of the goddess's attributes and her feast day, 1 February, was originally a pagan festival (
Imbolc
Imbolc or Imbolg (), also called Saint Brigid's Day ( ga, Lá Fhéile Bríde; gd, Là Fhèill Brìghde; gv, Laa'l Breeshey), is a Gaelic traditional festival. It marks the beginning of spring, and for Christians it is the feast day of Saint B ...
) marking the beginning of spring. It has thus been argued that the saint is a Christianization of the goddess; a form of
syncretism.
In early Irish literature
''
Cormac's Glossary
''Sanas Cormaic'' (or ''Sanas Chormaic'', Irish for "Cormac's narrative"), also known as ''Cormac's Glossary'', is an early Irish glossary containing etymologies and explanations of over 1,400 Irish words, many of which are difficult or outdated. ...
'', written by Christian scribes in the 9th century and based on earlier sources, says that Brigit was a goddess and daughter of
the Dagda
The Dagda (Old Irish: ''In Dagda,'' ga, An Daghdha, ) is an important god in Irish mythology. One of the Tuatha Dé Danann, the Dagda is portrayed as a father-figure, king, and druid.Koch, John T. ''Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia ...
. It describes her as a "goddess of poets" and "woman of wisdom" or
sage
Sage or SAGE may refer to:
Plants
* ''Salvia officinalis'', common sage, a small evergreen subshrub used as a culinary herb
** Lamiaceae, a family of flowering plants commonly known as the mint or deadnettle or sage family
** ''Salvia'', a large ...
, who is also famous for her "protecting care". It says that Brigid has two sisters: Brigit the physician or "woman of healing", and Brigit the smith.
It explains that from these, all goddesses in Ireland are called ''Brigit''; suggesting that it "may have been more of a title than a personal name".
[Koch, John. ''Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia''. ABC-CLIO, 2006. pp.287-288]
The ''
Lebor Gabála Érenn
''Lebor Gabála Érenn'' (literally "The Book of the Taking of Ireland"), known in English as ''The Book of Invasions'', is a collection of poems and prose narratives in the Irish language intended to be a history of Ireland and the Irish fro ...
'' also calls Brigit a poetess and daughter of the Dagda. It says she has two oxen, Fea and Femen, from whom are named Mag Fea (the plain of the
River Barrow
The Barrow ( ga, An Bhearú) is a river in Ireland. It is one of The Three Sisters; the other two being the River Suir and the River Nore. The Barrow is the longest of the three rivers, and at 192 km (120 mi), the second-longest ri ...
) and Mag Femin (the plain of the
River Suir
The River Suir ( ; ga, an tSiúr or ''Abhainn na Siúire'' ) is a river in Ireland that flows into the Atlantic Ocean through Waterford after a distance of .
The catchment area of the Suir is 3,610 km2. ). Elsewhere, these are named as the two oxen of Dil, "radiant of beauty," which may be a byname for Brigid. It also says she possesses the "king of boars",
Torc Triath (from whom the plain of Treithirne is named), and the "king of
wethers Wethers is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
*Brian Wethers
Brian Augustus Wethers (born December 17, 1980) is an American former professional basketball player. Wethers primarily played the small forward or shooting guard posi ...
", Cirb (from whom the plain of Cirb is named). The animals were said to cry out whenever plundering was committed in Ireland. This suggests Brigid was a guardian goddess of domesticated animals.
In ''
Cath Maige Tuired
''Cath Maige Tuired'' (modern spelling: ''Cath Maighe Tuireadh''; ) is the name of two saga texts of the Mythological Cycle of Irish mythology. It refers to two separate battles in Connacht: the first in the territory of Conmhaícne Cúile Tui ...
'', Bríg is the wife of
Bres
In Irish mythology, Bres (or Bress) was a king of the Tuatha Dé Danann. He is often referred to by the name Eochaid / Eochu Bres. He was an unpopular king, and favoured his Fomorian kin.
Name
''Eochu Bres'' has been translated as "beautiful ho ...
and bears him a son, Ruadán. It says she began the custom of
keening
Keening (Irish: Caointeoireacht) is a traditional form of vocal lament for the dead in the Gaelic Celtic tradition, known to have taken place in Ireland and Scotland. Keening, which can be seen as a form of sean-nós singing, was performed in ...
, a combination of wailing and singing, while mourning the death of Ruadán.
She is credited in the same passage with inventing a whistle used for night travel.
In her English retellings of Irish myth,
Lady Augusta Gregory
Isabella Augusta, Lady Gregory (''née'' Persse; 15 March 1852 – 22 May 1932) was an Irish dramatist, folklorist and theatre manager. With William Butler Yeats and Edward Martyn, she co-founded the Irish Literary Theatre and the Abbey Theatre, ...
describes Brigit as "a woman of poetry, and poets worshipped her, for her sway was very great and very noble. And she was a woman of healing along with that, and a woman of smith's work, and it was she first made the whistle for calling one to another through the night."
Brigid and Saint Brigid
In the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
, some argue that the goddess Brigid was
syncretized with the Christian saint of the same name. According to medievalist Pamela Berger, Christian monks “took the ancient figure of the mother goddess and grafted her name and functions onto her Christian counterpart,"
St. Brigid of Kildare.
St. Brigid is associated with perpetual, sacred flames, such as the one maintained by 19 nuns at her sanctuary in
Kildare
Kildare () is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. , its population was 8,634 making it the 7th largest town in County Kildare. The town lies on the R445, some west of Dublin – near enough for it to have become, despite being a regional ce ...
, Ireland. The sacred flame at Kildare was said by
Giraldus Cambrensis
Gerald of Wales ( la, Giraldus Cambrensis; cy, Gerallt Gymro; french: Gerald de Barri; ) was a Cambro-Norman priest and historian. As a royal clerk to the king and two archbishops, he travelled widely and wrote extensively. He studied and taugh ...
and other chroniclers to have been surrounded by a hedge, which no man could cross. Men who attempted to cross the hedge were said to have been cursed to go insane, die or be crippled.
The tradition of female priestesses tending sacred, naturally occurring ''eternal flames'' is a feature of ancient Indo-European pre-Christian spirituality. Other examples include the Roman goddess
Vesta, and other hearth-goddesses, such as
Hestia
In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Hestia (; grc-gre, Ἑστία, meaning "hearth" or "fireside") is the virgin goddess of the hearth, the right ordering of domesticity, the family, the home, and the state. In myth, she is the firstborn ...
.
Both the goddess and saint are associated with holy wells, at Kildare and many other sites in the Celtic lands.
Well dressing
Well dressing, also known as well flowering, is a tradition practised in some parts of rural England in which wells, springs and other water sources are decorated with designs created from flower petals. The custom is most closely associated with ...
, the tying of rags, (called
clootie
A clootie (also cloutie; from the Scots word cloot or clout: "a piece of cloth or leather; a patch; a rag") is a strip or piece of cloth, a rag or item of clothing, traditionally used to make clootie dumplings. The term ''clootie'' can also refe ...
s in Scotland), to the trees next to
healing wells, and other methods of petitioning or honoring Brigid still take place in some of the British Isles and the diaspora.
[Healy, Elizabeth (2002) ''In Search of Ireland's Holy Wells''. Dublin, Wolfhound Press pp. 12–19, 27, 56–7, 66, 69, 81.][Logan, Patrick (1980) ''The Holy Wells of Ireland''. Buckinghamshire, Colin Smythe Limited. . pp. 22–3, 95.]
Brigid is considered the patroness of poetry, smithing, medicine, arts and crafts, cattle and other livestock, sacred wells, serpents (in Scotland) and the arrival of early spring.
[Carmichael, Alexander (1900) ''Carmina Gadelica: Hymns and Incantations, Ortha Nan Gaidheal, Volume I'', p. 16]
The Sacred Texts Archive
/ref> In the Christian era, nineteen nuns at Kildare tended a perpetual flame for the Saint, which is widely believed to be a continuation of a pre-Christian practice of women tending a flame in her honour. Her festival day, Imbolc
Imbolc or Imbolg (), also called Saint Brigid's Day ( ga, Lá Fhéile Bríde; gd, Là Fhèill Brìghde; gv, Laa'l Breeshey), is a Gaelic traditional festival. It marks the beginning of spring, and for Christians it is the feast day of Saint B ...
is traditionally a time for weather prognostication:
Festivals
Saint Brigid's feast day is on 1 February celebrated as St Brigid's Day in the Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, the Eastern Orthodox Church
The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops vi ...
and by the Anglican Communion
The Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion after the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Founded in 1867 in London, the communion has more than 85 million members within the Church of England and other ...
. The Gaelic festival coincides with Imbolc
Imbolc or Imbolg (), also called Saint Brigid's Day ( ga, Lá Fhéile Bríde; gd, Là Fhèill Brìghde; gv, Laa'l Breeshey), is a Gaelic traditional festival. It marks the beginning of spring, and for Christians it is the feast day of Saint B ...
the first day of Spring in Irish tradition, and because St Brigid has been theorised as linked to the goddess Brigid, some associate the festival of Imbolc with the goddess Brigid.
Neo-Pagan revival
Brigid is an important figure for some modern pagans, who emphasize her triple aspect. She is sometimes worshipped in conjunction with Lugh
Lugh or Lug (; ga, label= Modern Irish, Lú ) is a figure in Irish mythology. A member of the Tuatha Dé Danann, a group of supernatural beings, Lugh is portrayed as a warrior, a king, a master craftsman and a savior.Olmsted, Garrett. ''The Go ...
or Cernunnos
In ancient Celtic and Gallo-Roman religion, Cernunnos or Carnonos was a god depicted with antlers, seated cross-legged, and is associated with stags, horned serpents, dogs and bulls. He is usually shown holding or wearing a torc and somet ...
.
Name
Old Irish
Old Irish, also called Old Gaelic ( sga, Goídelc, Ogham script: ᚌᚑᚔᚇᚓᚂᚉ; ga, Sean-Ghaeilge; gd, Seann-Ghàidhlig; gv, Shenn Yernish or ), is the oldest form of the Goidelic/Gaelic language for which there are extensive writt ...
''Brigit'' came to be spelled ''Briġid'' and ''Brighid'' by the early modern Irish
Early Modern Irish ( ga, Gaeilge Chlasaiceach, , Classical Irish) represented a transition between Middle Irish and Modern Irish. Its literary form, Classical Gaelic, was used in Ireland and Scotland from the 13th to the 18th century.
External ...
period. Since the spelling reform of 1948, this has been spelled ''Bríd'' . The earlier form gave rise to various forms in the languages of Europe, starting from the Medieval Latin ''Brigit'' , and from there to English ''Bridget'', French ''Brigitte,'' Swedish ''Birgitta,'' Italian ''Brigida'' and Finnish ''Piritta.''
The name is derived from Proto-Celtic ''*Brigantī'' and means "the high one" or "the exalted one". It is cognate with the name of the ancient British goddess Brigantia, with whom Brigid is thought to have some relation. It is also cognate with the Old High German
Old High German (OHG; german: Althochdeutsch (Ahd.)) is the earliest stage of the German language, conventionally covering the period from around 750 to 1050.
There is no standardised or supra-regional form of German at this period, and Old High ...
personal name ''Burgunt,'' and the Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
word ''Bṛhatī'' (बृहती) "high", an epithet of the Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
dawn goddess Ushas
Ushas (Vedic Sanskrit: / ') is a Vedic goddess of dawn in Hinduism. She repeatedly appears in the Rigvedic hymns, states David Kinsley, where she is "consistently identified with dawn, revealing herself with the daily coming of light to the worl ...
. The ultimate source is Proto-Indo-European
Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European language family. Its proposed features have been derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-European languages. No direct record of Proto-Indo- ...
''*bʰr̥ǵʰéntih₂'' (feminine form of ''*bʰérǵʰonts'', "high"), derived from the root ''*bʰerǵʰ-'' ("to rise").[Mallory, J. P. and Adams, Douglas Q. (eds.), Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture, Taylor & Francis, 1997, p. 269] Xavier Delamarre
Xavier Delamarre (; born 5 June 1954) is a French linguist, lexicographer, and diplomat. He is regarded as one of the world's foremost authorities on the Gaulish language.
Since 2019, he has been an associate researcher for the CNRS- PSL AOrOc ...
, citing E. Campanile, suggests that Brigid could be a continuation of the Indo-European
The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the overwhelming majority of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and the northern Indian subcontinent. Some European languages of this family, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, Dutc ...
dawn goddess
A dawn god or goddess is a deity in a polytheistic religious tradition who is in some sense associated with the dawn. These deities show some relation with the morning, the beginning of the day, and, in some cases, become syncretized with similar ...
.
Possibly related names in Celtdom are:
* Brìghde/Brìde (Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
)
* Ffraid (Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
), also Braint, alt. Breint, the name of a river in Anglesey. Because of Welsh pronunciation mutations and accompanying devoicing after "t" in ''Sant,'' the original mutated form of her name, ''*Fraid'' (< *Braid), changes to ''Ffraid'' in some place names such as ''Llansanffraid'' = '' Saint Bride's Village'' and Llansantffraid-ym-Mechain
Llansantffraid-ym-Mechain is a large village (in the community of Llansantffraid) in Powys, Mid Wales, close to the border with Shropshire in England, about south west of Oswestry and north of Welshpool. It is on the A495 road and is at the co ...
.
* Breo Saighead - supposedly meaning ''the fiery arrow'', a folk etymology found in ''Sanas Cormaic
''Sanas Cormaic'' (or ''Sanas Chormaic'', Irish for "Cormac's narrative"), also known as ''Cormac's Glossary'', is an early Irish glossary containing etymologies and explanations of over 1,400 Irish words, many of which are difficult or outdated. ...
'', but considered very unlikely by etymologists.
See also
* Brigid's cross
Brigid's cross or Brigit's cross (Irish: ''Cros Bríde'', ''Crosóg Bríde'' or ''Bogha Bríde'') is a small variant of the Christian cross often woven from straw or rushes. It appears in many different shapes, but the most popular designs f ...
* List of Irish-language given names
This list of Irish-language given names shows Irish language (''Gaeilge'') given names and Anglicized or Latinized forms, with English equivalents. Some English-language names derive directly from the Irish: Kathleen = Caitlín, Shaun = Seán. S ...
* Saraswati
Saraswati ( sa, सरस्वती, ) is the Hindu goddess of knowledge, music, art, speech, wisdom, and learning. She is one of the Tridevi, along with the goddesses Lakshmi and Parvati.
The earliest known mention of Saraswati as a g ...
* Maman Brigitte
Maman Brigitte (English: ''Mother Brigitte'') sometimes also written as Manman Brigitte and also known by Gran Brigitte, Grann Brigitte, Manman, Manman Brigit, and Maman Brijit is a death loa (or ''lwa'') and the consort of Baron Samedi in Hait ...
* Perchta
*Athena
Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretism, syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded ...
Footnotes
Notes
References
*Bitel, Lisa M. 2001
''St. Brigit of Ireland: From Virgin Saint to Fertility Goddess''
*MacKillop, James. 1998. ''Dictionary of Celtic Mythology''. (Oxford: Oxford University Press)
*The Slaney Press. 1994. ''Lady Gregory's Complete Irish Mythology''. (London: The Slaney Press)
Further reading
* Catháin, Séamas Ó. “Hearth-Prayers and Other Traditions of Brigit: Celtic Goddess and Holy Woman.” The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, vol. 122, 1992, pp. 12–34. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/25509020. Accessed 7 May 2020.
External links
Brighid: What do we really know? by Francine Nicholson // broken link
Brighid Goddess and Saint
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brigid
Arts goddesses
Domestic and hearth deities
Fire goddesses
Health goddesses
Irish goddesses
Smithing goddesses
Triple goddesses
Tuatha Dé Danann
Water goddesses
Irish royal consorts
Wisdom goddesses
Women metalsmiths
Crafts goddesses
Ancient Celtic religion
Celtic goddesses
War goddesses
Dawn goddesses