Saint Brigid of Kildare or Brigid of Ireland ( ga, Naomh Bríd; la, Brigida; 525) is the
patroness saint (or 'mother saint') of Ireland, and one of its three national saints along with
Patrick and
Columba. According to medieval Irish
hagiographies
A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian hagiographies might ...
, she was an
abbess
An abbess (Latin: ''abbatissa''), also known as a mother superior, is the female superior of a community of Catholic nuns in an abbey.
Description
In the Catholic Church (both the Latin Church and Eastern Catholic), Eastern Orthodox, Copt ...
who founded several
convent
A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglic ...
s of nuns, most notably that of
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 ...
, which was one of the most important in Ireland.
There are few historical facts about her, and early hagiographies are mainly anecdotes and miracle tales, some of which are rooted in
pagan folklore.
[Farmer, David. ''The Oxford Dictionary of Saints'' (Fifth Edition, Revised). Oxford University Press, 2011. p.66] She is patroness of many things, including poetry, learning, healing, protection, blacksmithing, livestock and dairy production. The saint shares her name with
a Celtic goddess.
Brigid's feast day is 1 February, which was originally a pre-Christian festival called
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. From 2023 it will be a
public holiday in the Republic of Ireland, the first named after a woman. This feast day is shared by
Dar Lugdach
Dar Lugdach (also Darlugdach died c. 525/527) was the immediate successor of Brigid of Kildare as abbess of Kildare, and is recognised as a saint. She is recorded as having died one year to the day after Brigid, and shares the same feast day as t ...
, who tradition says was her student, close companion, and successor.
Name
The saint has the same name as the goddess
Brigid
Brigid ( , ; meaning 'exalted one' from Old Irish),Campbell, MikBehind 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 irlandais ...
, derived from the
Proto-Celtic
Proto-Celtic, or Common Celtic, is the ancestral proto-language of all known Celtic languages, and a descendant of Proto-Indo-European. It is not attested in writing but has been partly reconstructed through the comparative method. Proto-Celti ...
"high, exalted" and ultimately originating with
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- ...
. In
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 ...
her name was spelled
and pronounced . In
Modern Irish
Irish ( Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was t ...
she is also called .
In
Welsh she is called (sometimes
mutated to ), such as in several places called
Llansanffraid, "St. Brigit's church". She is also referred to as "the Mary of the
Gael
The Gaels ( ; ga, Na Gaeil ; gd, Na Gàidheil ; gv, Ny Gaeil ) are an ethnolinguistic group native to Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man in the British Isles. They are associated with the Gaelic languages: a branch of the Celtic languag ...
" and the "Mother Saint of Ireland".
Historicity
There is debate over whether Brigid was a real person. There are few historical facts about her, and early
hagiographies
A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian hagiographies might ...
"are mainly anecdotes and miracle stories, some of which are deeply rooted in Irish pagan folklore".
She has the same name and many of the same attributes as the Celtic goddess
Brigid
Brigid ( , ; meaning 'exalted one' from Old Irish),Campbell, MikBehind 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 irlandais ...
, and there are many supernatural events and folk customs associated with her. Like the saint, the goddess in Irish myth is associated with poetry, healing, protection, smithcraft, and domestic animals, according to ''
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. ...
'' and ''
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 ...
''. Furthermore, the saint's feast day falls on the Gaelic traditional festival of
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 ...
.
[ Ó hÓgáin, Dáithí. ''Myth, Legend & Romance: An Encyclopaedia of the Irish Folk Tradition''. Prentice-Hall Press, 1991]
pp. 60–61
Some scholars suggest that the saint is a
Christianisation
Christianization ( or Christianisation) is to make Christian; to imbue with Christian principles; to become Christian. It can apply to the conversion of an individual, a practice, a place or a whole society. It began in the Roman Empire, conti ...
of the goddess; others that she was a real person whose mythos took on the goddess's attributes. Medieval art historian Pamela Berger argues that Christian monks "took the ancient figure of the
mother goddess and grafted her name and functions onto her Christian counterpart".
Dáithí Ó hÓgáin
Dáithí Ó hÓgáin (13 June 1949 – 11 December 2011), Irish folklorist, was professor of Irish folklore at University College Dublin. Born in Co. Limerick, he was a writer well-versed both in English and Irish, as well as being an academic ...
and others suggest that the saint had been chief
druid at the temple of the goddess Brigid, was responsible for converting it into a Christian monastery, and that after her death, the name and characteristics of the goddess became attached to the saint.
[Wright, Brian. ''Brigid: Goddess, Druidess and Saint''. The History Press, 2011. pp. 36–37.] Noel Kissane, in a piece in ''
The Catholic Historical Review
''The Catholic Historical Review'' (CHR) is the official organ of the American Catholic Historical Association. It was established at The Catholic University of America in 1915 by Thomas Joseph Shahan and Peter Guilday and is published quarterly b ...
'', argues she was a historical figure.
Life
Among the most ancient accounts of the life of St. Brigid are two Old-Irish hymns, the first by St.
Ultan of Ardbraccan (Ultán of Árd-mBreccáin, died c. 657), ''Brigit Bé Bithmaith'' (Brigid ever-excellent woman) also known as "Ultan's hymn", and the second, also known as "Broccán's hymn", composed by St.
Broccán Clóen (died c. 650) at the request of Ultan who was his tutor. Two early Lifes of St. Brigid in Hiberno-Latin prose, the ''Vita Sanctae Brigitae'' I and II, were also written in the 7th–8th centuries, the first one possibly authored by
St. Aleran (died in 665) or Aileranus Sapiens, lector of Clonard, the second one authored by
Cogitosus, a monk of Kildare. An Old-Irish prose Life, ''Bethu Brigte'', was composed in the 9th century. Several subsequent Latin and Irish Lives of the saint were composed. The ''Vita'' III, in hexameter verse, is sometimes attributed to St. Coelan of
Inishcaltra of the 7th–8th centuries, but appears more likely to have been authored by St.
Donatus, an Irish monk who became Bishop of
Fiesole
Fiesole () is a town and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Florence in the Italian region of Tuscany, on a scenic height above Florence, 5 km (3 miles) northeast of that city. It has structures dating to Etruscan and Roman times.
Sin ...
in 824; in Donatus' prologue, it is referred to the earlier Lives by St. Ultan (see before for his hymn), St. Aleran (see "Vita I") and an Anonymus. A 34-hexameter lyrical Latin poem about Saint Brigid had previously been composed by the Irish Roman cleric
Colman
Colmán or Colman is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include:
Medieval Irish people
* Colmán Bec (died ''c''. 585), Irish dynast
* Colmán mac Cobthaig (died ''c''. 622), Irish king
* Colmán mac Lénéni (died ''c'' ...
c. 800.
Discussion on dates for the annals and the accuracy of dates relating to St. Brigid continues.
Early life
According to tradition, Brigid was born and raised in the year 451 in
Faughart
Faughart (also written Fochart) is an early Christian ruins and shrine site just north of Dundalk, County Louth, Ireland. As a popular site for modern pilgrimages, it was the birthplace of St. Brigid in 451 AD, and one of her relics is held in a c ...
,
[ just north of ]Dundalk
Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...
in County Louth, Ireland. Because of the legendary quality of the earliest accounts of her life, there is debate among many secular scholars and Christians as to the authenticity of her biographies. Three biographies agree that her mother was Broicsech, a Christian Pict
The Picts were a group of peoples who lived in what is now northern and eastern Scotland (north of the Firth of Forth) during Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. Where they lived and what their culture was like can be inferred from ear ...
slave who had been baptised by Saint Patrick. They name her father as Dubhthach, a chieftain of Leinster
Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of ...
.
The ''vitae'' says that Dubhthach's wife forced him to sell Brigid's mother to a druid when she became pregnant. Brigid herself was born into slavery. Legends of her early holiness include her vomiting when the druid tried to feed her, due to his impurity; a white cow with red ears appeared to sustain her instead.
As she grew older, Brigid was said to have performed miracles, including healing and feeding the poor. According to one tale, as a child, she once gave away her mother's entire store of butter. The butter was then replenished in answer to Brigid's prayers. Around the age of ten, she was returned as a household servant to her father, where her habit of charity led her to donate his belongings to anyone who asked.
In both of the earliest biographies, Dubhthach is portrayed as having been so annoyed with Brigid that he took her in a chariot to the King of Leinster to sell her. While Dubhthach was talking to the king, Brigid gave away his bejewelled sword to a beggar to barter it for food to feed his family. The king recognised her holiness and convinced Dubhthach to grant his daughter freedom.
Religious life
It is said that Brigid was "veiled" or received either by St. Mac Caill, Bishop of Cruachu Brig Ele ( Croghan, County Offaly), or by St. Mél of Ardagh
Mél of Ardagh, also written Mel or Moel, was a 5th-century saint in Ireland who was a nephew of Saint Patrick. He was the son of Conis (or Chonis) and Patrick's sister, Darerca. Saint Darerca was known as the "mother of saints" because most o ...
at Mág Tulach (the present barony of Fartullagh, County Westmeath), who granted her abbatial powers. It is said that in about 468, she and a Bishop MacCaille followed St. Mél into the Kingdom of Tethbae
Tethbae (; also spelled ''Tethba'', often anglicised ''Teffia'') was a confederation of túatha in central Ireland in the Middle Ages. It was divided into two distinct kingdoms, north Tethba, ruled by the Cenél Coirpri, and south Tethba, ruled ...
, which was made up of parts of the modern counties Meath, Westmeath
"Noble above nobility"
, image_map = Island of Ireland location map Westmeath.svg
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Ireland
, subdivision_type1 = Province
, subdivision_name1 =
, subdivis ...
and Longford.
According to tradition, around 480 Brigid founded a monastery at 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 ...
(''Cill Dara'': "church of the oak"), on the site of a pagan shrine to the Celtic goddess Brigid, served by a group of young women who tended an eternal flame
An eternal flame is a flame, lamp or torch that burns for an indefinite time. Most eternal flames are ignited and tended intentionally, but some are natural phenomena caused by natural gas leaks, peat fires and coal seam fires, all of which can ...
. The site was under a large oak tree on the ridge of Drum Criadh.
Brigid, with an initial group of seven companions, is credited with organising communal consecrated religious life for women in Ireland. She founded two monastic institutions, one for men, and the other for women, and invited Conleth (Conláed), a hermit from Old Connell near Newbridge, to help her in Kildare as pastor of them. It has often been said that she gave canonical jurisdiction to Conleth, Bishop of Kildare
The Bishop of Kildare was an episcopal title which took its name after the town of Kildare in County Kildare, Ireland. The title is no longer in use by any of the main Christian churches having been united with other bishoprics. In the Roman Cath ...
, but Archbishop Healy says that she simply "selected the person to whom the Church gave this jurisdiction", and her biographer tells us that she chose Saint Conleth "to govern the church along with herself". For centuries, Kildare was ruled by a double line of abbot-bishops and of abbesses, the Abbess of Kildare being regarded as superior general of the monasteries in Ireland. Her successors have always been accorded episcopal honour. Brigid's oratory at Kildare became a centre of religion and learning, and developed into a cathedral city.[
Brigid is credited with founding a school of art, including metalwork and illumination, which Conleth oversaw. The Kildare scriptorium made the ]Book of Kildare
The Book of Kells ( la, Codex Cenannensis; ga, Leabhar Cheanannais; Dublin, Trinity College Library, MS A. I. 8 sometimes known as the Book of Columba) is an illuminated manuscript Gospel book in Latin, containing the four Gospels of the New ...
, which drew high praise from Gerald of Wales
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 ...
(Giraldus Cambrensis), but disappeared during the Reformation
The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
. According to Giraldus, nothing that he ever saw was at all comparable to the book, every page of which was gorgeously illuminated, and the interlaced work and the harmony of the colours left the impression that "all this is the work of angelic, and not human skill".[
According to the '' Trias Thaumaturga'' Brigid spent time in Connacht and founded many churches in the Diocese of Elphin. She is said to have visited Longford, Tipperary, Limerick, and South Leinster.][ Her friendship with Saint Patrick is noted in the following paragraph from the ]Book of Armagh
The ''Book of Armagh'' or Codex Ardmachanus (ar or 61) ( ga, Leabhar Ard Mhacha), also known as the ''Canon of Patrick'' and the ''Liber Ar(d)machanus'', is a 9th-century Irish illuminated manuscript written mainly in Latin. It is held by the L ...
: ''"inter sanctum Patricium Brigitanque Hibernesium columpnas amicitia caritatis inerat tanta, ut unum cor consiliumque haberent unum. Christus per illum illamque virtutes multas peregit"'' (''Between St. Patrick and St. Brigid, the pillars of the Irish people, there was so great a friendship of charity that they had but one heart and one mind. Through him and through her Christ performed many great works.'')[ However, given that the 'historical' Brigid was born in 451 and Saint Patrick died circa 461, this is unlikely.
]
Death
The monk Ultan of Ardbraccan, who wrote a life of Brigid, recounts a story that Darlugdach, Brigid's favourite pupil, fell in love with a young man and, hoping to meet him, sneaked out of the bed in which she and Brigid were sleeping. However, recognising her spiritual peril, she prayed for guidance, then placed burning embers in her shoes and put them on. "Thus, by fire", Ultan wrote, "she put out fire, and by pain extinguished pain." She then returned to bed. Brigid feigned sleep but was aware of Darlugdach's departure. The next day, Darlugdach revealed to Brigid the experience of the night before. Brigid reassured her that she was "now safe from the fire of passion and the fire of hell hereafter" and then healed her student's feet. So devoted was the student to her teacher that when Brigid lay dying Darlugdach expressed the wish to die with her, but Brigid replied that Darlugdach should die on the anniversary of her (Brigid's) death.
St. Brigid is said to have been given the last rites
The last rites, also known as the Commendation of the Dying, are the last prayers and ministrations given to an individual of Christian faith, when possible, shortly before death. They may be administered to those awaiting execution, mortall ...
by Saint Ninnidh of the Pure Hand when she was dying. Afterward, he reportedly had his right hand encased in metal so that it would never be defiled, and became known as "Ninnidh of the Clean Hand".[ Tradition says she died at Kildare on 1 February 525.]
Upon St. Brigid's death, Darlugdach became the second abbess of Kildare. Brigid's prediction has traditionally been considered to have been realised in as much as the 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 ...
records Darlugdach's date of death as 522 and Brigid's as 521 and has assigned 1 February as the feast day of both saints. (The name Darlugdach (also spelled Dar Lugdach, Dar Lugdacha, or Dar Lughdacha) means "daughter of the god 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 ...
".)
Miracles associated with Brigid
Brigid is celebrated for her generosity to the poor. In her case, most of the miracles associated with her relate to healing and household tasks usually attributed to women.
*After Brigid promised God a life of chastity, her brothers were annoyed at the loss of a bride price. When she was outside carrying a load past a group of poor people, some began to laugh at her. A man named Bacene said to her, "The beautiful eye which is in your head will be betrothed to a man though you like it or not." In response, Brigid thrust her finger in her eye and said, "Here is that beautiful eye for you. I deem it unlikely that anyone will ask you for a blind girl." Her brothers tried to save her and wash away the blood from her wound, but there was no water to be found. Brigid said to them, "Put my staff about this sod in front of you", and after they did, a stream came forth from the ground. Then she said to Bacene, "Soon your two eyes will burst in your head", and it happened as she said.
*Brigid, who had a reputation as an expert dairywoman and brewer, was reputed to turn water into beer.[
*In one story, Brigid protected a woman from a nobleman who had entrusted a silver brooch to the woman for safekeeping but then secretly had thrown it into the sea. He charged her with stealing it, knowing that he could take her as a slave if a judge ruled in his favour. The woman fled and sought refuge with Brigid's community. By chance, one of her fishermen hauled in a fish which, when cut open, proved to have swallowed the brooch. The nobleman freed the woman, confessed his sin, and bowed in submission to Brigid.][ A similar story is told of ]Saint Mungo
Kentigern ( cy, Cyndeyrn Garthwys; la, Kentigernus), known as Mungo, was a missionary in the Brittonic Kingdom of Strathclyde in the late sixth century, and the founder and patron saint of the city of Glasgow.
Name
In Wales and England, this ...
.
*On an occasion when Brigid was travelling to see a doctor for a headache, she stayed at the house of a Leinster couple who had two mute daughters. The daughters were travelling with Brigid when her horse startled, causing her to fall and graze her head on a stone. A touch of Brigid's blood healed the girls of their muteness.[
*One of the more commonly told stories is of Brigid asking the King of Leinster for land. She told the king that the place where she stood was the perfect spot for a convent. It was beside a forest where the members could collect firewood and berries, there was a lake nearby that would provide water and the land was fertile. The king laughed at her and refused to give her any land. Brigid prayed and asked God to soften the king's heart. Then she smiled at the king and said, "Will you give me as much land as my cloak will cover?" The king thought that she was joking and agreed. She told four of her sisters to take up the cloak, but instead of laying it flat on the turf, each sister, with face turned to a different point of the compass, began to run swiftly, the cloth growing in all directions. The cloak began to cover many acres of land. "Oh, Brigid!" said the frightened king, "what are you about?" "I am, or rather my cloak is about covering your whole province to punish you for your stinginess to the poor." "Call your maidens back. I will give you a decent plot of ground." The saint was persuaded, and if the king held his purse-strings tight in the future, she had only to allude to her cloak to bring him to reason. Soon afterward, the king became a Christian, began to help the poor, and commissioned the building of the convent. Legend has it, the convent was known for making jam from the local blueberries which were sought for all over Ireland. A new tradition is to eat jam on 1 February in honour of this miracle.
*She is associated with the preservation of a nun's chastity in unusual circumstances. Liam de Paor (1993)] and Connolly & Picard (1987), in their complete translations of Cogitosus, give substantially the same translation of the account of Brigid's ministry to a nun who had failed to keep her vow of chastity, and become pregnant. In the 1987 translation: "A certain woman who had taken the vow of chastity fell, through the youthful desire of pleasure and her womb swelled with child. Brigid, exercising the most potent strength of her ineffable faith, blessed her, causing the child to disappear, without coming to birth, and without pain. She faithfully returned the woman to health and to penance." The Brigid Alliance, an American NGO that assists people seeking abortions, was named after St. Brigid, in reference to this miracle.
*The prayers of Saint Brigid were said to still the wind and the rain.
*When Brigid was of marital age, a man by the name of Dubthach maccu Lugair came to woo her. Since Brigid had offered her virginity to God, she told the man that she could not accept him but that he should go to the woods behind his house where he would find a beautiful maiden to marry. Everything that he said to the maiden's parents would be pleasing to them. The man followed her instructions and it was as she said.
*When on the bank of the River Inny, Brigid was given a gift of apples and sweet sloes. She later entered a house where many lepers begged her for these apples, which she offered willingly. The woman who had given the gift to Brigid was angered by this, saying that she had not given the gift to the lepers. Brigid was angry at the nun for withholding from the lepers and cursed her trees so they would no longer bear fruit. Yet another woman also gave Brigid the same gift, and again Brigid gave them to begging lepers. This woman asked that she and her garden be blessed. Brigid then said that a large tree in the virgin's garden would have twofold fruit from its offshoots, and this was done.
Veneration
Brigid is said to have been buried at the right of the high altar of Kildare Cathedral
The Cathedral Church of St. Brigid, Kildare, in Kildare, County Kildare, is one of two cathedrals in the United Dioceses of Meath and Kildare of the Church of Ireland in Ireland. It is in the ecclesiastical province of Dublin.
History Early hi ...
, and a costly tomb raised over her[ "adorned with gems and precious stones and crowns of gold and silver". Over the years her shrine became an object of veneration for pilgrims, especially on her feast day, 1 February. About the year 878, owing to the Scandinavian raids, Brigid's purported relics were taken to ]Downpatrick
Downpatrick () is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is on the Lecale peninsula, about south of Belfast. In the Middle Ages, it was the capital of the Dál Fiatach, the main ruling dynasty of Ulaid. Its cathedral is said to be the b ...
and reburied in the tomb of St. Patrick and St. Columba. The relics of the three saints were discovered in 1185, and on 9 June of the following year John de Courcy
{{Infobox noble
, image = Sir John de Courcy (1150-1219).jpg
, caption =
, alt =
, more = no
, succession =
, reign =
, predecessor =
, successor =
, ...
had their remains solemnly transferred and reburied in Down Cathedral
Down Cathedral, the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, is a Church of Ireland cathedral located in the town of Downpatrick in Northern Ireland. It stands on Cathedral Hill overlooking the town. It is one of two cathedrals in th ...
.
Relics
St. Brigid's relics, together with the ones of St. Patrick and St. Columba, remained in Downpatrick Cathedral until 1538, when the relics of the saints were desecrated and destroyed during the deputyship of Lord Grey, excepting Brigid's head which was saved by some of the clergies who took it to the Franciscan monastery of Neustadt, in Austria. In 1587 it was presented to the church of the Society of Jesus
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders ...
in Lisbon by Emperor Rudolph II
Rudolf II (18 July 1552 – 20 January 1612) was Holy Roman Emperor (1576–1612), King of Hungary and Croatia (as Rudolf I, 1572–1608), King of Bohemia (1575–1608/1611) and Archduke of Austria (1576–1608). He was a member of the Hous ...
, that is the Igreja de São Roque
The Igreja de São Roque (; Church of Saint Roch) is a Roman Catholic church in Lisbon, Portugal. It was the earliest Jesuit church in the Portuguese world, and one of the first Jesuit churches anywhere. The edifice served as the Society's home ch ...
(Church of St Roch), where a frontal part of her skull is still venerated. However, an occipital part of the skull could already have reached Portugal in the 13th century, preserved in the Igreja São João Batista (Church of St. John the Baptist), on the Lumiar
Lumiar () is a ''freguesia'' (civil parish) and district of Lisbon, the capital of Portugal. Located in northern Lisbon, Lumiar is east of Carnide, north of Alvalade, west of Olivais, and south of Santa Clara and partially of Lisbon's border w ...
(near Lisbon Airport
Humberto Delgado Airport , informally Lisbon Airport and formally Portela Airport, is an international airport located northeast of the city centre of Lisbon, the capital of Portugal. The airport is the main international gateway to Portuga ...
), where it is venerated on 2 February (not 1 February, as in Ireland). According to the local tradition of the latter church, St. Brigid's head would have been carried to King Dinis of Portugal in 1283 by three Irish knights travelling to the Aragonese Crusade
The Aragonese Crusade or Crusade of Aragon, a part of the larger War of the Sicilian Vespers, was declared by Pope Martin IV against King Peter III of Aragon in 1284 and 1285. Because of the recent conquest of Sicily by Peter, Martin declared ...
. A commemorative inscription on the northern facade of the church, in 16th-century characters, reads: "Here in these three tombs lie the three Irish knights who brought the head of St. Brigid, Virgin, a native of Ireland, whose relic is preserved in this chapel. In memory of which, the officials of the Altar of the same Saint caused this to be done in January AD 1283." It is in fact only from the mid-16th century onwards that this church assumed the invocation of Saint Brígida, when a new side chapel was built and dedicated to her.
In 1884, Francis Cardinal Moran, Archbishop of Sydney, obtained a relic of the saint's tooth from
the parochial church of St. Martin of Tours in Cologne
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...
in the German Empire and gave it to the Brigidine Sisters in Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
. Cardinal Moran wrote about the circumstances in which he obtained the tooth in a letter to the Rev. Mother of this Convent dated 13 March 1906:
In 1905, Sister Mary Agnes of the Dundalk
Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...
Convent of Mercy took a purported fragment of the skull to St. Bridget's Church in Kilcurry. In 1928, Fathers Timothy Traynor and James McCarroll requested another fragment for St. Brigid's Church in Killester
Killester () is a small residential largely affluent suburb of Dublin, Ireland on the Northside of the city in the Dublin 3 and Dublin 5 postal districts. It was the site of a church and convent or monastery centuries ago, and later a small vill ...
, a request granted by the Bishop of Lisbon, António Mendes Belo.
The city of Armagh had several associations with St. Brigid. In the twelfth century, the city had two crosses dedicated to Brigid, though, according to the ''Monasticon Hibernicum'', purported relics of the saint reposing in Armagh were lost in an accidental fire in 1179. In the seventeenth century, Armagh also had a street named Brigid located near Brigid's church in the area called "Brigid's Ward."
The Old Saint Peter's Church, Strasbourg
The Church of Old Saint Peters (french: Église Saint-Pierre le Vieux) is a by simultaneum Catholic and Lutheran church building in Strasbourg, Alsace is first mentioned in 1130.
In the Middle Ages it was one of Diocese of Strasbourg's nine par ...
contains also (unspecified) relics of St. Brigid, brought by the canons of St. Michael in 1398 when they were forced to leave their submerged abbey of Honau-Rheinau, itself founded by Irish monks.
Iconography
In liturgical iconography and statuary Saint Brigid is often depicted holding a reed cross, a crozier of the sort used by abbots
Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The fe ...
, and a lamp. Early hagiographers portray Brigid's life and ministry as touched with fire. According to Patrick Weston Joyce
Patrick Weston Joyce, commonly known as P. W. Joyce (1827 – 7 January 1914) was an Irish historian, writer and music collector, known particularly for his research in Irish etymology and local place names of Ireland.
Biography
He was born i ...
, tradition holds that nuns at her monastery kept an eternal flame burning there. Leitmotifs, some of them borrowed from the apocrypha
Apocrypha are works, usually written, of unknown authorship or of doubtful origin. The word ''apocryphal'' (ἀπόκρυφος) was first applied to writings which were kept secret because they were the vehicles of esoteric knowledge considered ...
such as the story where she hangs her cloak on a sunbeam, are associated with the wonder tales of her hagiography and folklore. Cogitosus' circa 650 ''Vita Sanctae Brigidae'' portrays Brigid as having the power to multiply such things as butter, bacon, and milk, to bestow sheep and cattle, and to control the weather.
Plant motifs associated with St. Brigid include the white ''Lilium candidum
''Lilium candidum'', the Madonna lily or white lily, is a plant in the true lily family. It is native to the Balkans and Middle East, and naturalized in other parts of Europe, including France, Italy, and Ukraine, and in North Africa, the Canary ...
'' popularly known since medieval times as the Madonna Lily for its association with the Virgin Mary
Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...
, and the Windflower ''Anemone coronaria
''Anemone coronaria'', the poppy anemone, Spanish marigold, or windflower, is a species of flowering plant in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae, native to the Mediterranean region.
Description
''Anemone coronaria'' is a herbaceous perenn ...
'', called the "Brigid anemone" since the early 19th century. Kildare, the church of the oak ''Quercus petraea
''Quercus petraea'', commonly known as the sessile oak, Cornish oak, Irish Oak or durmast oak, is a species of oak tree native to most of Europe and into Anatolia and Iran. The sessile oak is the national tree of Ireland, and an unofficial embl ...
'', is associated with a tree sacred to the druids
A druid was a member of the high-ranking class in ancient Celtic cultures. Druids were religious leaders as well as legal authorities, adjudicators, lorekeepers, medical professionals and political advisors. Druids left no written accounts. Whi ...
. The colour associated with Brigid is white, worn not only by the Kildare United Irishmen
The Society of United Irishmen was a sworn association in the Kingdom of Ireland formed in the wake of the French Revolution to secure "an equal representation of all the people" in a national government. Despairing of constitutional refor ...
during the 1798 rebellion
The Irish Rebellion of 1798 ( ga, Éirí Amach 1798; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ''The Hurries'') was a major uprising against British rule in Ireland. The main organising force was the Society of United Irishmen, a Irish republicanism, ...
but also by Kildare sports teams in more recent times.
Placenames
Ireland
Kilbride ("Church of Brigid") is one of Ireland's most widely found placenames, there are 43 Kilbrides located in 19 of Ireland's 32 counties: Antrim (2), Carlow, Cavan, Down, Dublin, Galway, Kildare, Kilkenny (3), Laois, Longford, Louth, Mayo (5), Meath (4), Offaly (4), Roscommon (2), Waterford, Westmeath (2), Wexford (4), and Wicklow (8) as well as two Kilbreedys in Tipperary, Kilbreedia and Toberbreeda in Clare, Toberbreedia in Kilkenny, Brideswell Commons in Dublin, Bridestown and Templebreedy in Cork and Rathbride and Brideschurch in Kildare. A number of placenames are derived from ''Cnoic Bhríde'' ("Brigid's Hill"), such as Knockbridge
Knockbridge () is a village in County Louth, Ireland. It is located in the townland of Ballinlough (''Baile an Locha'') in the historical barony of Dundalk Upper. As of the 2016 census, the village had a population of 667 people. Knockbridge ...
in Louth and Knockbride
Knockbride is a parish in County Cavan, Ireland located outside the town of Bailieborough. There are two Roman Catholic churches namely West Knockbride and East Knockbride. There is also a Church of Ireland church and parish and a Presbyterian ...
in Cavan.
Wales
There are many traditions associating the saint with Wales, with dedications and folklore found across the country. As such, villages are often named for either a church or " Llan" associated with Bridget. These include the village, castle and parish of St Brides in Pembrokeshire (near St Brides Bay), the churches and villages of St. Brides-super-Ely and St Brides Major in the Vale of Glamorgan
The Vale of Glamorgan ( cy, Bro Morgannwg ), often referred to as The Vale, is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. It borders Bridgend County Borough to the west, Cardiff to the east, Rhondda Cynon Taf to the north, and the Bristol ...
, the church and village of St. Brides Netherwent in Monmouthshire and the church of St Brides, in Newport, the village of Llansanffraid Glan Conwy in Conwy, Llansantffraid in Ceredigion, and the villages of 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 ...
and Llansantffraed
Llansantffraed (Llansantffraed-juxta-Usk) is a parish in the community of Talybont-on-Usk in Powys, Wales, near Brecon. The benefice of Llansantffraed with Llanrhystud and Llanddeiniol falls within the Diocese of St Davids in the Church in Wale ...
in Powys
Powys (; ) is a county and preserved county in Wales. It is named after the Kingdom of Powys which was a Welsh successor state, petty kingdom and principality that emerged during the Middle Ages following the end of Roman rule in Britain.
Geog ...
.
Scotland
In Scotland, East Kilbride
East Kilbride (; gd, Cille Bhrìghde an Ear ) is the largest town in South Lanarkshire in Scotland and the country's sixth-largest locality by population. It was also designated Scotland's first new town on 6 May 1947. The area lies on a rais ...
and West Kilbride
West Kilbride ( gd, Cille Bhrìghde an Iar) is a village and historic parish in North Ayrshire, Scotland, on the west coast by the Firth of Clyde, looking across the Firth of Clyde to Goat Fell and the Isle of Arran. West Kilbride and adjoinin ...
are called after Brigid. Lhanbryde, near Elgin, 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 ...
is thought to be Pictish for "Church of Brigid". In Toryglen, on Glasgow's southside, there is a Chapel and a Primary School named for St. Brigid; the stained glass windows of the chapel depict St. Brigid's cross.
England
In Fleet Street, City of London
The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...
stands St Bride's Church, substantially rebuilt since its foundation in the 600s (7th century).
Isle of Man
In the Isle of Man
)
, anthem = "O Land of Our Birth"
, image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg
, image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg
, mapsize =
, map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe
, map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green)
in Europe ...
, where the first name Breeshey, the Manx form of the name is common, the parish of Bride
A bride is a woman who is about to be married or who is newlywed.
When marrying, the bride's future spouse, (if male) is usually referred to as the '' bridegroom'' or just ''groom''. In Western culture, a bride may be attended by a maid, bri ...
is named after the saint.
Outside the Islands of the North Alantic
* In the United States, in Marshall County, Kansas
Marshall County (standard abbreviation: MS) is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 10,038. The largest city and county seat is Marysville.
History
The Oregon Trail crosses Marshall C ...
, is the unincorporated community (or township) St. Bridget, described by some accounts as an extinct town.
* St. Bride's, Newfoundland and Labrador, at the southwest tip of the Avalon Peninsula, is named for St. Brigid, reflecting historical ties to southeastern Ireland
* St. Brigid Island in Antarctica
Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest cont ...
is named after Brigid of Kildare.
Biddy's Day Festival, Killorglin
The Biddy is honoured every year at the weekend closest to the feast day of St. Brigid, 1 February in the mid-Kerry region, with Biddy groups visiting rural and public houses. They carry a hay-stuffed ''Brídeóg'' doll with them to ensure evil spirits are kept away from humans and animals for the coming year. The Biddy heritage is a mixture of Christianity (St. Bridgid) and ancient Celtic traditions (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 ...
). Imbolc is one of the four Celtic festivals, along with Lá Bealtaine (Mayday), Lughnasa (1 August), and Samhain (1 November).
Traditionally, a visit from the Biddy guaranteed good luck, fertility, prosperity and to not receive a visit was considered a slight. In 2017 a festival was created in Killorglin, Co.Kerry to celebrate the age-old Biddy tradition. The highlights of the festival are the Torchlight Parade of the Biddys, Traditional Irish music sessions, and the King of the Biddies competition.
Other
St. Brigid's popularity made the name Brigid (or its variants such as Brigitte, Bridie, and Bree) popular in Ireland over the centuries. One writer noted that at one time in history "every Irish family had a Patrick and a Brigid". In the nineteenth century as many Irish women emigrated to England seeking jobs as housemaids, the name Brigid became virtually synonymous with the word "woman".
Judy Chicago
Judy Chicago (born Judith Sylvia Cohen; July 20, 1939) is an American feminist artist, art educator, and writer known for her large collaborative art installation pieces about birth and creation images, which examine the role of women in history ...
's epic feminist artwork ''The Dinner Party
''The Dinner Party'' is an installation artwork by feminist artist Judy Chicago. Widely regarded as the first epic feminist artwork, it functions as a symbolic history of women in civilization. There are 39 elaborate place settings on a triang ...
'' features a place setting for Saint Brigid on the triangular table's second wing, designated for iconographic women from the beginnings of Christianity to the Reformation.
In Haitian Vodou, Saint Brigid (along with the goddess Brigid and Mary Magdalene) is worshipped as the death loa 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 ...
, the consort of Baron Samedi
Baron Samedi ( en, Baron Saturday), also written Baron Samdi, Bawon Samedi or Bawon Sanmdi, is one of the lwa of Haitian Vodou. He is a lwa of the dead, along with Baron's numerous other incarnations Baron Cimetière, Baron La Croix and Ba ...
.
Brigid is honored on the calendars of the Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...
and Episcopal Church on 1 February.
Links with Glastonbury
St. Brigid has long been linked to Glastonbury
Glastonbury (, ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbur ...
. Sites that depict her include Glastonbury Tor
Glastonbury Tor is a hill near Glastonbury in the English county of Somerset, topped by the roofless St Michael's Tower, a Grade I listed building. The entire site is managed by the National Trust and has been designated a scheduled monument. T ...
, where a stone carving of her milking a cow can be seen above one side of the entrance. She also appears in a fresco painting that adorns the interior of St. Patrick's Chapel on the grounds of Glastonbury Abbey
Glastonbury Abbey was a monastery in Glastonbury, Somerset, England. Its ruins, a grade I listed building and scheduled ancient monument, are open as a visitor attraction.
The abbey was founded in the 8th century and enlarged in the 10th. It w ...
depicting the saint with a spindle, a bowl of fire, and a cow in the background.
It is also documented by William of Malmesbury
William of Malmesbury ( la, Willelmus Malmesbiriensis; ) was the foremost English historian of the 12th century. He has been ranked among the most talented English historians since Bede. Modern historian C. Warren Hollister described him as " ...
that ‘Wherefore the report is extremely prevalent that both Saint Indract and Saint Brigid, no mean inhabitants of Ireland, formerly came over to this spot. Whether Brigid returned home or died at Glastonbury is not sufficiently ascertained, though she left here some of her ornaments; that is to say, her necklace, bag, and implements for embroidering, which are yet shown in memory of her sanctity, and are efficacious in curing divers diseases.’
The Benedictine Monk John of Glastonbury wrote in the mid-fourteenth century that the chapel which was excavated in Beckery was named after her; 'Saint Brigid made a stay of several years on an island near Glastonbury, called Bekery or Little Ireland, where there was an oratory consecrated in honour of Saint Mary Magdalene. She left there certain signs of her presence—her wallet, collar, bell, and weaving implements, which are exhibited and honoured there because of her holy memory—and she returned to Ireland, where, not much later, she rested in the Lord and was buried in the city of Down. The chapel on that island is now dedicated in honour of Saint Brigid; on its south side there is an opening through which, according to the belief of the common folk, anyone who passes will receive forgiveness of all his sins.’
Brides Mound in Beckery is also linked to St. Bridgid and in 2004 'Brigadine sisters, Mary and Rita Minehan, bring the perpetual Brigid flame (restored in 1993) from Solas Bhrde, in Kildare, during a Glastonbury Goddess Conference ceremony on Bride's Mound.'
See also
* Catholic Church in Ireland
, native_name_lang = ga
, image = Armagh, St Patricks RC cathedral.jpg
, imagewidth = 200px
, alt =
, caption = St Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh.
, abbreviation =
, type ...
* St. Bride's Church
* St. Brides Bay
Notes
Further reading
*
De Blacam, Hugh. "Saint Brigid: The Mary Of The Gael", ''The Saints of Ireland: The Life-Stories of SS. Brigid and Columcille'', The Bruce Publishing Company, Milwaukee
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brigid Of Kildare
451 births
525 deaths
5th-century Irish nuns
5th-century Christian saints
5th-century Irish abbots
6th-century Irish nuns
6th-century Irish abbots
Female saints of medieval Ireland
Irish Roman Catholic abbesses
Late Ancient Christian female saints
Medieval saints of Leinster
People whose existence is disputed
Anglican saints