Brigid

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This article refers to the Pagan Goddess Brigid. For the Catholic/Orthodox Saint of that name, see Saint Brigid.

In Irish mythology as it is presently constituted, Brigit or Brighit ("exalted one") was the daughter of The Dagda (and therefore one of the Tuatha Dé Danann) and wife of Bres of the Fomorians. She had two sisters, also named Brighid, and is considered a classic Celtic Triple Goddess.

Contents 1 Familial relations 2 Associations 3 Divine responsibilities 4 Festivals 5 Other names and etymology 6 See also 7 Notes 8 References 9 External links

Familial relations

By Tuireann, she was the mother of Creidhne, Luchtaine and Goibniu.^{[citation needed]}

She is identified in Lebor Gabála Érenn as a daughter of the Dagda and a poet. The same passage mentions that she has two oxen, Fe and Men, that graze on a plain named for them, Femen; the Torc Triath, king of boars; and Cirb, king of wethers, from whom Mag Cirb is named.^[1] As the daughter of Dagda, she is also the half sister of Cermait, Aengus, Midir, and Bodb Derg.

Associations

In Cath Maige Tuireadh, Bríg (sic) invents keening while mourning for Ruadán (her son by Bres), slain while fighting for the Fomorians. She is credited in the same passage with inventing a whistle used for night travel.^[2]

Divine responsibilities

Brighid was associated with perpetual, sacred flames, such as the one maintained by 19 nuns at her sanctuary in Kildare, Ireland. It is widely believed, though not conclusively proven, that the tradition of women tending her sacred flame is far older than Christianity, and that before the nuns the flame was maintained by priestesses. Her sacred flame at Kildare was said by Giraldus Cambrensis 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 gone insane, died, and/or to have had their "lower leg" wither.

Brighid was also connected to holy wells, at Kildare and many other sites in the Celtic lands. Well dressing, the tying of clooties to the trees next to healing wells, and other methods of petitioning or honoring Brighid still take place in some of the Celtic lands and the diaspora.

As one one of the most popular goddesses worshipped by the Celtic peoples, including the druids, many of her stories and symbology survived in the persona of Saint Brigid. She was the goddess of all things perceived to be of relatively high dimensions such as high-rising flames, highlands, hill-forts and upland areas; and of activities and states conceived as psychologically lofty and elevated, such as wisdom, excellence, perfection, high intelligence, poetic eloquence, craftsmanship (especially blacksmithing), healing ability, druidic knowledge and skill in warfare. In the living traditions, whether seen as goddess or saint, she is largely associated with the home and hearth and is a favorite of both Pagans and Christians. A number of these associations are attested in Cormac's Glossary.

Her British and continental counterpart Brigantia seems to have been the Celtic equivalent of the Roman Minerva and the Greek Athena (Encyclopedia Britannica: Celtic Religion), goddesses with very similar functions and apparently embodying the same concept of 'elevated state', whether physical or psychological.

Festivals

On February 1, Brigid is celebrated at the Gaelic festival of Imbolc, when she brings the first stirrings of spring to the land. Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox Christians, and some Anglicans mark the day as the Feast of Saint Brigid; the festival is also known as Candlemas and Purification of the Virgin.

Other names and etymology

Old Irish Brigit ['brɪʝɪdʲ] came to be spelled Brighid by the modern Irish period. Since the spelling reform of 1948, this has been spelled Bríd ['briːdʲ]. The earlier form gave rise to the Anglicization Bridget, now commonly seen as Brigid.

• Brìghde/Brìde (Scotland)
• Ffraid (Wales)
• Breo Saighead ("the fiery arrow" – a folk etymology found in Sanas Cormaic, but considered very unlikely by etymologists)
• Berecyntia (Gaul)^{[citation needed]}
• Brigan
• Brigandu (Gaul)
• Brigantia (Great Britain)
• Brigantis (Great Britain)
• Brigindo (Switzerland)
• Brigida (The Netherlands)^{[citation needed]}

The theonym Brigit appears to be derived from Proto-Celtic *Brigantījā meaning "high" or "exalted".[1] Some of her titles included:^{[citation needed]}

• "Brigantia, Exaltedness of Inspiration" - patroness of poets
• "Brigantia, Exaltedness of the Hearth" - patroness of healers, goddess of fertility
• "Brigantia, Exaltedness of the Forge" - patroness of smiths, craftsmen and warriors

See also

• Brigid of Ireland
• Brigid's cross

Notes

1. ^ Macalister, R. A. Stewart. Lebor Gabála Érenn. Part IV. Irish Texts Society, Dublin, 1941. § VII, First Redaction, ¶ 317.
2. ^ Cath Maige Tuired (The Second Battle of Mag Tuired), translated by Elizabeth A. Gray. ¶ 125.

References

• Bitel, Lisa M. 2001. "St. Brigit of Ireland: From Virgin Saint to Fertility Goddess" on-line)
• MacKillop, James. 1998.Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. (Oxford: Oxford University Press) ISBN 0-19-280120-1.

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