__NOTOC__ Briganti is the Proto-Celtic term for Brighid, or Brigid. The name ''*Brigantī'' means "The High One", cognate with the name of the ancient British goddess

Brigantia (goddess) Brigantia or Brigindo was a goddess in Celtic (Gallo-Roman and Romano-British) religion of Late Antiquity. Through ''interpretatio Romana'', she was identified with the goddesses Minerva, Tyche/Fortuna, and Victoria. The tales connected to the ch ...

, 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 Vedas, 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 t ...

. 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-E ...

''*bʰr̥ǵʰéntih₂'' (feminine form of ''*bʰérǵʰonts'', “high”), derived from the root ''*bʰerǵʰ-'' (“to rise”). * Brìghde/Brìde (

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

) * Ffraid (

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

) (also Braint, alt. Breint, the name of a river in Anglesey. Because of

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

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 (Wales), 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 roa ...

. * Breo Saighead (''the fiery arrow'' – a

folk etymology Folk etymology (also known as popular etymology, analogical reformation, reanalysis, morphological reanalysis or etymological reinterpretation) is a change in a word or phrase resulting from the replacement of an unfamiliar form by a more famili ...

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) 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 ...

is traditionally a time for weather prognostication:

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)

External links

Brighid: What do we really know? by Francine Nicholson // broken linkBrighid Goddess and Saint
{{DEFAULTSORT:Briganti Arts goddesses Domestic and hearth deities Fire goddesses Health goddesses Irish goddesses Smithing goddesses Tuatha Dé Danann Water goddesses Irish royal consorts Wisdom goddesses Sky and weather goddesses Women metalsmiths Crafts goddesses

See also

Notes

References

External links