Brigid

2025-08-13T14:23:44Z

2001:BB6:B817:800:A567:568D:469D:EBEF: /* Name */Typo

{{Short description|Gaelic goddess}}
{{about|the pagan goddess|the saint|Brigid of Kildare|the given name|Brigid (given name)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
{{Infobox deity
| name = Brigit
| image = Thecomingofbrideduncan1917.jpg
| caption = "The Coming of Bríde" by [[John Duncan (painter)|John Duncan]] (1917)
| member_of = the [[Tuatha Dé Danann]]
| siblings = [[Cermait]], [[Aengus]], [[Aed (god)|Aed]], [[Bodb Derg]], Brigid the Healer, Brigid the Smith
| symbols = [[Brigid's cross]], flaming [[torch]]es, [[Cow]]s (particularly white cows), [[Serpent symbolism|Serpent]]s, [[Swan]]s, [[Bee]]s, [[Oak trees]], [[Dandelion]]s, [[Well]]s
| texts = ''[[Lebor Gabála Érenn]]'', ''[[Cath Maige Tuired]]'', ''[[Sanas Cormaic|Cormac's Glossary]]''
| parents = [[Dagda]]
| type = Irish
}}
'''Brigid''' or '''Brigit''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|b|r|ɪ|dʒ|ɪ|d|,_|ˈ|b|r|iː|ɪ|d}} {{respell|BRIJ|id|,_|BREE|id}}, {{IPA|ga|ˈbʲɾʲiːdʲ|lang}}; meaning 'exalted one'),<ref name="campbell-delamarre">Campbell, Mike [http://www.behindthename.com/name/bridget 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 ''[[Indo-European languages|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 religion|Indo-European goddess]] of the [[Hausos|dawn]] like [[Aurora (mythology)|Aurora]].</ref> also '''Bríd''', is a goddess of [[Gaelic Ireland|pre-Christian Ireland]]. She appears in [[Irish mythology]] as a member of the [[Tuatha Dé Danann]], the daughter of [[the Dagda]] and wife of [[Bres]], with whom she had a son named Ruadán. Her sacred tree appears to have been the [[Betula pendula|birch]], given some older Imbolc-related traditions.<ref>{{harvnb|Hutton|1996|p=}}</ref>

She is associated with wisdom, poetry, healing, protection, smithing and domesticated animals. ''[[Sanas Cormaic|Cormac's Glossary]]'', 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.<ref name="ohogain">{{harvnb|Ó hÓgáin|1991|p=60}}</ref><ref name="wright">{{harvnb|Wright|2011|pp=26–27}}</ref> This suggests she may have been a [[triple deity]].<ref>{{harvnb|Sjoestedt|2000|pp=21, 25}}</ref> She is also thought to have some relation to the [[Celtic Britons|British Celtic]] goddess [[Brigantia (goddess)|Brigantia]].

[[Brigit of Kildare|Saint Brigid]] shares many of the goddess's attributes and her [[feast day]], 1 February, was originally a pagan festival called [[Imbolc]]. It has thus been argued that the saint is a Christianization of the goddess, or that the lore of the goddess was transferred to her.<ref name="The Goddess Obscured" />

==In early Irish literature==
''[[Sanas Cormaic|Cormac's Glossary]]'', written by Christian scribes in the 9th century and based on earlier sources, says that Brigit was a goddess and daughter of [[the Dagda]]. It describes her as a "goddess of poets" and "woman of wisdom" or [[Sage (philosophy)|sage]], who is also famous for her "protecting care". It says that Brigit has two sisters: Brigit the physician or "woman of healing", and Brigit the smith.<ref name="wright" /> 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".<ref name="koch">{{harvnb|Koch|2006|pp=287–288}}</ref>

The ''[[Lebor Gabála Érenn]]'' 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]]) and Mag Femin (the plain of the [[River Suir]]). Elsewhere, these are named as the two oxen of Dil, "radiant of beauty," which may have been a byname for Brigid.<ref>{{cite book |last=Gwynn |first=Edward John |chapter=Poem 36: Mag Femin, Mag Fera, Mag Fea |chapter-url=https://celt.ucc.ie//published/T106500C/text036.html |title=The Metrical Dindshenchas |year=1905 |publisher=[[Hodges, Figgis & Co]] |lccn=06031290 |oclc=676746265 }}</ref> It also says she possesses the "king of boars", [[Twrch Trwyth|Torc Triath]] (from whom the plain of Treithirne is named), and the "king of [[Domestic sheep|wethers]]", Cirb (from whom the plain of Cirb is named).<ref>{{cite LGE|volume=4}} § VII, First Redaction, ¶ 317.</ref> The animals were said to cry out whenever plundering was committed in Ireland. This suggests Brigid was a guardian goddess of domesticated animals.<ref name="ohogain"/><ref>{{harvnb|Ellis|1995|p=28}}</ref>

In ''[[Cath Maige Tuired]]'', Bríd is the wife of [[Bres]] and bears him a son, Ruadán. His name is cognate to several words in [[Indo-European languages]] that mean "red, rust", etc.<ref>{{harvnb|Stifter|1998|p=}}</ref> The story says she began the custom of [[keening]], a combination of wailing and singing, while mourning the death of Ruadán.<ref name="ohogain"/> She is credited in the same passage with inventing a whistle used for night travel.<ref>[http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/cmt/cmteng.htm ''Cath Maige Tuired''] (The Second Battle of Mag Tuired), translated by Elizabeth A. Gray. ¶ 125</ref>

In her English retellings of Irish myth, [[Augusta, Lady Gregory|Lady Augusta Gregory]] 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."<ref>{{harvnb|Gregory|2015|p=24}}</ref>

==Brigid and Saint Brigid==
Historians suggest that the goddess Brigid was [[Syncretism|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," [[Brigid of Kildare]].<ref name="The Goddess Obscured">{{harvnb|Berger|1985|p=}}</ref>

The goddess and saint have many of the same associations. Saint Brigid is considered a patroness of healers, poets, blacksmiths, livestock and dairy workers,<ref name="Farmer"/> as well as serpents (in Scotland) and the arrival of spring.<ref name="Carmina1">{{harvnb|Carmichael|1900|p=169}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last=Jones |first=Mary |title=Brigit |url=http://www.maryjones.us/jce/brigit.html |encyclopedia=Jones' Celtic Encyclopedia |access-date=14 December 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090428023346/http://www.maryjones.us/jce/brigit.html |archive-date=28 April 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

The saint's [[Hagiography|hagiographies]] "are mainly anecdotes and miracle stories, some of which are deeply rooted in Irish pagan folklore".<ref name="Farmer">{{harvnb|Farmer|2011|pp=66–67, 467–470}}</ref> [[Dáithí Ó hÓgáin]] wrote that the melding of pagan goddess and Christian saint can be seen in some of the saint's miracles, where she multiplies food, bestows cattle and sheep, controls the weather, and is linked with fire or thermal springs.<ref name="ohogain"/>

This theory is contested, however, with many scholars including Elva Johnston arguing that the significance of the pagan goddess has been exaggerated at the historical figure's expense. Johnston has written "the argument for the priority of the goddess over the saint depends on three interrelated points: firstly, that Brigit is not real, secondly that her lives betray that they are an attempt to euhemerise a pagan deity and finally an underlying assumption that a goddess cult is more empowering for the women of ancient and, by analogy, contemporary Ireland".<ref>{{harvnb|Johnston|2024|p=}}</ref>

In the late 12th century, [[Gerald of Wales]] wrote that nineteen nuns took turns in keeping a [[perpetual fire]] burning at [[Kildare]] in honour of Saint Brigid, and that this fire was kept burning since Brigid's time. It has been suggested this fire originally belonged to a temple of Brigit the goddess.<ref name="Butler's Lives">{{harvnb|Burns|Farmer|1998|pp=1–4}}</ref> The Roman goddess [[Vesta (mythology)|Vesta]] and the Greek goddess [[Hestia]] had perpetual fires tended by priestesses.<ref>{{harvnb|Wright|2011|p=75}}</ref> According to Gerald, it was ringed by a hedge that no man was allowed to cross,<ref name="Farmer"/> lest he be cursed.<ref name="Cambrensis1">{{cite book|author=Giraldus Cambrensis|title=The Topography of Ireland|url=http://www.yorku.ca/inpar/topography_ireland.pdf|publisher=[[York University]]|pages=54, 59|access-date=28 December 2012}}</ref><ref name="CillDara">{{cite web|title=Saint Brigid: St Brigid's Fire|url=http://kildare.ie/local-history/kildare/saint-brigid.htm|publisher=Cill Dara Historical Society|access-date=28 December 2012}}</ref>

The saint is associated with many [[holy well]]s and [[clootie well]]s in Ireland and Britain, where small strips of cloth or ribbons are left as part of a healing ritual.<ref name="Healy">{{harvnb|Healy|2001|pp=12–19, 27, 56–7, 66, 69, 81}}</ref><ref name="Logan">{{harvnb|Logan|1980|pp=22–23, 95}}</ref> Celtic healing goddesses, such as [[Sirona (goddess)|Sirona]] and [[Coventina]], were often associated with sacred springs.<ref>{{harvnb|Koch|2006|pp=1488–1491}}</ref>

[[Imbolc|Saint Brigid's Day]] is 1 February. It was originally ''[[Imbolc]]'', the first day of spring in Irish tradition. Because Saint Brigid has been linked to the goddess Brigid, the festival of Imbolc is commonly associated with the goddess.<ref name="Koch2006">{{harvnb|Koch|2006|p=287}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=On the trail of a Celtic goddess: the Irish town celebrating St Brigid|url=
https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2024/jan/31/st-brigid-in-ireland-kildare-near-dublin|work=The Guardian|date=
31 January 2024|access-date=3 February 2024|last1=
Smith|first1=
Phoebe}}</ref>

Saint Brigid's Day or ''Imbolc'' is traditionally a time for weather prognostication:
{{verse translation|lang=gd|
Thig an nathair as an toll
Là donn Brìde,
Ged robh trì troighean dhen t-sneachd
Air leac an làir.
|
The serpent will come from the hole
On the brown Day of Bríde,
Though there should be three feet of snow
On the flat surface of the ground.<ref name="Carmina1"/>}}

A [[tholus]] on [[Venus]] was named after Brigit by the [[International Astronomical Union]] in 1985.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Séaghdha |first1=Darach Ó |title=The Irish For: Is Brigid the only saint in space? |url=https://www.thejournal.ie/readme/st-brigid-bank-holiday-6285792-Feb2024/ |work=[[TheJournal.ie]] |date=1 February 2024 }}</ref> As the [[planetary nomenclature]] rules prohibit the use of national figures and religious figures from contemporary religions, this is a reference to the goddess rather than the saint.

== Neo-Paganism ==
Brigid is an important figure for some [[Modern Paganism|modern pagans]], who emphasize her triple aspect. She is sometimes worshipped in conjunction with [[Lugh]] or [[Cernunnos]].<ref>{{harvnb|Magliocco|2001|p=30}}</ref>

==Name==
By the [[early modern Irish]] period, [[Middle Irish]] {{lang|mga|Brigit}} {{IPA|mga|ˈbʲɾʲiʝidʲ|}} evolved into ''Brighid'' {{IPA|ga|bʲɾʲiːdʲ|}} and, after [[An Caighdeán Oifigiúil|a spelling reform]] in 1948, the spelling was standardised as ''Bríd'' {{IPA|ga|bʲɾʲiːdʲ|}}. The earlier form gave rise to various forms in the languages of Europe, starting from the Medieval Latin ''Brigida'', and from there to English ''Bridget'', French ''Brigitte'', Swedish ''Birgitta'' or ‘Birgit’ and Finnish ''Piritta''.

The name comes from [[Proto-Celtic]] {{lang|cel-x-proto|Brigantī}} and means "the high one" or "the exalted one". It is [[cognate]] with the name of the [[Celtic Britons|ancient British]] goddess [[Brigantia (goddess)|Brigantia]], with whom Brigid is thought to have some relation.<ref name="koch"/> It is also cognate with the [[Old High German]] personal name {{lang|goh|Burgunt}}, and the [[Sanskrit]] word {{tlit|sa|Bṛhatī}} ({{lang|sa|बृहती}}) "high", an epithet of the [[Hindu]] dawn goddess [[Ushas]]. The ultimate source is [[Proto-Indo-European]] {{lang|ine-x-proto|*bʰr̥ǵʰéntih₂}} (feminine form of {{lang|ine-x-proto|*bʰérǵʰonts}}, "high"), derived from the root {{lang|ine-x-proto|*bʰerǵʰ-}} ("to rise").<ref>{{harvnb|Matasović|2009|pp=78–79}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Mallory|Adams|1997|p=269}}</ref> [[Xavier Delamarre]], citing E. Campanile, suggests that Brigid could be a continuation of the [[Proto-Indo-European religion|Indo-European]] [[dawn goddess]].<ref name="campbell-delamarre" />

==See also==
* [[Saint Bridget (disambiguation)|Saint Bridget]]
* [[Brigid's cross]]
* [[List of Irish-language given names]]
* [[Saraswati]]
* [[Maman Brigitte]]
* [[Perchta]]
* [[Athena]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

=== Bibliography ===
{{refbegin|30em|indent=yes}}
* {{cite book |title=The Goddess Obscured: Transformation of the Grain Protectress from Goddess to Saint |url=https://archive.org/details/goddessobscuredt00berg |url-access=registration |last=Berger |first=Pamela |year=1985 |publisher=[[Beacon Press]] |isbn=9780807067222 |oclc=12133863}}
* {{cite book |editor-last=Burns |editor-first=Paul |editor-last2=Farmer |editor-first2=David |title=[[Butler's Lives of the Saints]] |edition=New full |date=1998 |publisher=[[Burns & Oates]] |isbn=9780814623817 |oclc=1103542623}}
* {{cite book |last=Carmichael |first=Alexander |author-link=Alexander Carmichael |title=Carmina Gadelica: Hymns and Incantations with Illustrative Notes on Words, Rites, and Customs, Dying and Obsolete |title-link=Carmina Gadelica |volume=1 |year=1900 |location=Edinburgh |pages=164–177 |chapter=Genealogy of Bride |chapter-url=https://sacred-texts.com/neu/celt/cg1/cg1074.htm |oclc=705893406 |ol=14050293M |ol-access=free}}
* {{cite book |last=Ellis |first=Peter Berresford |author-link=Peter Berresford Ellis |title=Celtic Women: Women in Celtic Society and Literature |year=1995 |publisher=[[William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company|William B. Eerdmans]] |isbn=9780802838087 |oclc=1151802559}}
* {{Cite book |last=Farmer |first=David |title=[[Oxford Dictionary of Saints]] |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2011 |edition=5th |isbn=9780199596607 |oclc=726871260}}
* {{Cite book|title=Gods and Fighting Men: the Story of the Tuatha de Danann and the Fianna of Ireland |editor-last=Gregory |editor-first=Isabella Augusta |editor-link=Lady Gregory |year=2015 |orig-date=1904 |publisher=[[CreateSpace]] |isbn=9781495385148 |oclc=907958219}}
* {{cite book |last=Healy |first=Elizabeth |title=In Search of Ireland's Holy Wells |year=2001 |publisher=Wolfhound Press |isbn=9780863278655 |oclc=48362688 }}
* {{cite book |last=Hutton |first=Ronald |author-link=Ronald Hutton |title=The Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain |year=1996 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=9780198205708 |oclc=832535162}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Johnston |first1=Elva |title=Making St Brigit Real in the Early Middle Ages |journal=[[Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy]] |date=January 2024 |id={{Project MUSE|918428}} |doi=10.1353/ria.0.a918428 |doi-access=free }}
* {{cite book |title=Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia |year=2006 |editor-last=Koch |editor-first=John T. |editor-link=John T. Koch |publisher=[[ABC-Clio]] |isbn=9781851094400 |oclc=62381207}}
* {{cite book |last=Logan |first=Patrick |title=The Holy Wells of Ireland |year=1980 |publisher=[[Colin Smythe]] |url=https://archive.org/details/holywellsofirela00loga |oclc=562202397 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Magliocco |first1=Sabina |author-link=Sabina Magliocco |title=Neo-Pagan Sacred Art and Altars: Making Things Whole |date=2001 |publisher=[[University Press of Mississippi]] |isbn=9781578063918 |oclc=46573490}}
* {{cite book |editor1-last=Mallory |editor1-first=J. P. |editor-link=J. P. Mallory |editor2-last=Adams |editor2-first=Douglas Q. |editor-link2=Douglas Q. Adams |title=[[Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture]] |year=1997 |publisher=[[Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers|Fitzroy Dearborn]] |isbn=9781884964985 |oclc=37931209}}
* {{cite book |last1=Matasović |first1=Ranko |author-link=Ranko Matasović |title=Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic |series=Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series |volume=9 |year=2009 |publisher=[[Brill Publishers|Brill]] |isbn=9789004173361 |oclc=262430534}}
* {{cite book |last=Ó hÓgáin |first=Dáithí |author-link=Dáithí Ó hÓgáin |year=1991 |title=Myth, Legend & Romance: An Encyclopaedia of the Irish Folk Tradition |publisher=[[Prentice Hall]] |edition=1st |isbn=9780132759595 |oclc=22181514}}
* {{Cite book |last= Sjoestedt |first=Marie-Louise |author-link=Marie-Louise Sjoestedt |title=Celtic Gods and Heroes |year=2000 |orig-year=1949 |publisher=[[Dover Publications]] |isbn=9780486414416 |oclc=1313537341}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Stifter |first1=David |title=Study in Red |journal=Die Sprache |date=1998 |volume=40 |issue=2 |pages=202–223 |url=https://mural.maynoothuniversity.ie/13017/ |issn=0376-401X}}
* {{cite book |last=Wright |first=Brian |title=Brigid: Goddess, Druidess and Saint |year=2011 |publisher=[[The History Press (U.S.)|The History Press]] |isbn=9780752472027 |oclc=779141145 }}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite web |last=Bitel |first=Lisa M. |date=February 2001 |title=St. Brigit of Ireland: From Virgin Saint to Fertility Goddess |url=http://monasticmatrix.usc.edu/commentaria/article.php?textId=6|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060217084703/http://monasticmatrix.usc.edu/commentaria/article.php?textId=6 |archive-date=2006-02-17 |website=Monastic Matrix}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Catháin |first1=Séamas Ó |title=Hearth-Prayers and Other Traditions of Brigit: Celtic Goddess and Holy Woman |journal=The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland |date=1992 |volume=122 |pages=12–34 |jstor=25509020 }}
* McCarthy, Justin R. (May 25, 2020). [https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/53583943-saint-brigid-the-celts-and-the-early-irish-church "Saint Brigid, the Celts & the Early Irish Church"] {{ISBN|979-8648681187}}.

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*[http://www.brighid.org.uk/ Brighid Goddess and Saint]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20090428023346/http://www.maryjones.us/jce/brigit.html Mary Jones's entry on Brigid]
*[http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/celt/cg1/cg1074.htm ''Sloinntireachd Bhride'' (Genealogy of Bride) from the Carmina Gadelica]

{{Celtic mythology (Mythological)}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brigid}}
[[Category:Arts goddesses]]
[[Category:Domestic and hearth deities]]
[[Category:Fire goddesses]]
[[Category:Health goddesses]]
[[Category:Irish goddesses]]
[[Category:Smithing goddesses]]
[[Category:Triple goddesses]]
[[Category:Tuatha Dé Danann]]
[[Category:Water goddesses]]
[[Category:Irish royal consorts]]
[[Category:Wisdom goddesses]]
[[Category:Women metalsmiths]]
[[Category:Celtic goddesses]]
[[Category:Dawn goddesses]]
[[Category:Spring deities]]
[[Category:Supernatural beings identified with Christian saints]]
[[Category:Bees in religion]]

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Brigid