72-555: (Redirected from Santa Brígida ) Santa Brigida or Santa Brígida (Portuguese and Spanish for Saint Brigit ) may refer to: People [ edit ] Saint Brigid of Kildare Saint Birgitta of Sweden Places [ edit ] Brazil Santa Brígida, Bahia Italy Santa Brigida , the Swedish National Church in Rome Santa Brigida, Lombardy
144-523: A comune in the Province of Bergamo Santa Brigida, Piacenza , a church in Piacenza Spain Santa Brígida, Las Palmas , a municipality in the Province of Las Palmas Ships [ edit ] Santa Brigida , Spanish treasure ship; see Action of 16 October 1799 Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with
216-495: A hermit from Connell , to help her; he became the first Bishop of Kildare . It has often been said that she gave canonical jurisdiction to Conleth, 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 abbess-bishops,
288-474: 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. The Roman goddess Vesta and the Greek goddess Hestia had perpetual fires tended by priestesses. According to Gerald, it was ringed by a hedge that no man was allowed to cross, lest he be cursed. The saint
360-479: 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 charity led her to donate his belongings to the poor. In both of the earliest biographies, Dubhthach is so annoyed with Brigid that he took her in a chariot to the King of Leinster to sell her. While Dubhthach
432-521: A people mainly based in Leinster . Three biographies name her mother as Broicsech, a slave who had been baptised by Saint Patrick . They name her father as Dubhthach, a chieftain of Leinster. The Vitae says that Dubhthach's wife forced him to sell Brigid's mother to a druid when she became pregnant. This might have been inspired by the Biblical story of Abraham and Hagar . An 8th-century account calls
504-630: A portion of the precious relic of St. Brigid preserved there for over a thousand years. It is venerated at present in the Parochial Church of St. Martin to which in olden times was attached a famous Irish monastery….. The relic is, if I remember aright, a tooth of the Saint. At Cologne, I found great difficulty in securing a portion of this relic. It was at first peremptorily refused. The Pastor of St. Martin's declared that his parishioners would be at once in revolt if they heard that their great parochial treasure
576-707: A relic of the saint's tooth from the parochial church of St. Martin of Tours in Cologne in the German Empire and gave it to the Brigidine Sisters in Melbourne . Cardinal Moran wrote about the circumstances in which he obtained the tooth in a letter to the Reverend Mother of this Convent dated 13 March 1906: I went all the way to Cologne on my return from Rome in 1884, on my appointment of Archbishop of Sydney to secure
648-601: 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
720-434: A young man and, hoping to meet him, snuck 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
792-562: 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 personal name Burgunt, and the Sanskrit word Bṛhatī (बृहती) "high", an epithet of the Hindu dawn goddess Ushas . The ultimate source is Proto-Indo-European *bʰr̥ǵʰéntih₂ (feminine form of *bʰérǵʰonts , "high"), derived from
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#1733086194091864-414: Is St. Brigid's RC parish. In Hebridean mythology and folklore , one of the most prominent figures featured in ethnomusicologist Margaret Fay Shaw 's iconic 1955 book Folksongs and Folklore of South Uist is St Brigid of Kildare, about whom many local stories, songs, and customs are recorded. In Fleet Street , City of London stands St Bride's Church , substantially rebuilt since its foundation in
936-562: Is a Christianisation of the Celtic goddess Brigid . The saint's feast day is 1 February, and traditionally it involves weaving Brigid's crosses and many other folk customs. It was originally a pre-Christian festival called Imbolc , marking the beginning of spring. From 2023 it is a public holiday in the Republic of Ireland . This feast day is shared by Dar Lugdach , who tradition says was her student, close companion, and successor. The saint has
1008-565: Is also referred to as "the Mary of the Gael ", "the Mary of Ireland" and the "Mother Saint of Ireland". A less common name is "Brigid of Faughart ", after her traditional birthplace. There is debate over whether Brigid was a real person. There are few historical facts about her, and early hagiographies "are mainly anecdotes and miracle stories, some of which are deeply rooted in Irish pagan folklore". She has
1080-466: Is associated with many holy wells and clootie wells in Ireland and Britain, where small strips of cloth or ribbons are left as part of a healing ritual. Celtic healing goddesses, such as Sirona and Coventina , were often associated with sacred springs. 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
1152-571: Is debate among many secular scholars and Christians as to the truthfulness of her biographies. Her year of birth is usually given as 451 or 452 AD. One tradition is that Brigid was born at Faughart (just north of Dundalk ), in Conaille Muirtheimne , part of the Kingdom of Ulaid . Another tradition is that she was born at Ummeras, near Kildare. All early sources say she was one of the Fothairt ,
1224-420: Is portrayed somewhat sympathetically in the stories. He can see that Brigid is special, he is concerned for Brigid's welfare, and he eventually frees her and her mother. Cogitosus said she spent her youth as a farm worker; churning butter, shepherding the flocks and tending the harvest. As she grew older, Brigid was said to have worked miracles, including healing and feeding the poor. According to one tale, as
1296-511: 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 , she was an abbess who founded the important abbey of Kildare ( Cill Dara ), as well as several other monasteries of nuns. There are few documented historical facts about her, and her hagiographies are mainly anecdotes and miracle tales, some of which are Christianisations of hero tales from Irish mythology . They say Brigid
1368-555: 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. The story says she began the custom of keening , 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 describes Brigit as "a woman of poetry, and poets worshipped her, for her sway
1440-532: 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 . A commemorative inscription on the northern façade of the church, in 16th-century characters, reads: "Here in these three tombs lie the three Irish knights who brought
1512-722: 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 : "inter sanctum Patricium Brigitanque Hibernesium columnas amicitia caritatis inerat tanta, ut unum cor consiliumque haberent unum. Christus per illum illamque virtutes multas peregit" ("Between St. Patrick and St. Brigid,
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#17330861940911584-501: The Anglican Church of Ireland , Church of England , and Episcopal Church . She is a patroness saint of Ireland (and one of its three national saints), as well as of healers, poets, blacksmiths, livestock and dairy workers, among others. Brigid is said to have been buried at the high altar of the original Kildare Cathedral , and a tomb raised over her "adorned with gems and precious stones and crowns of gold and silver". In
1656-469: The Book of Kildare , which drew high praise from Gerald of Wales (Giraldus Cambrensis), but disappeared during the Reformation . 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
1728-567: 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 birch , given some older Imbolc-related traditions. She is associated with wisdom, poetry, healing, protection, smithing and domesticated animals. 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
1800-1545: The Virgin Mary , and the Windflower Anemone coronaria , called the "Brigid anemone" since the early 19th century. Heleborus niger augustifolius is also known as the "St. Brigid's Christmas Rose". Kildare, the church of the oak Quercus petraea , is associated with a tree sacred to the druids . Kilbride ("Church of Brigid") is one of Ireland's most widely found placenames, there are 45 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 in Louth and Knockbride in Cavan. There are many traditions associating
1872-498: The early modern Irish period. Since the spelling reform of 1948, this has been spelled Bríd [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 and Finnish Piritta. The name comes from Proto-Celtic *Brigantī and means "the high one" or "the exalted one". It
1944-439: The feast day of both saints. Thomas Charles-Edwards wrote that Brigid's power is expressed in 'helping' miracles: healing, feeding the hungry, and rescuing the weak from violence. Unlike Saint Patrick, "most of her miracles were humble affairs for people of low rank" and she "never dictates the course of dynastic politics". Dáithí Ó hÓgáin wrote that the melding of a pagan goddess and Christian saint can be seen in some of
2016-540: The 600s (7th century). In the Isle of Man , where the first name "Breeshey", the Manx form of the name is common, the parish of Bride is named after the saint. 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 Haitian Vodou , Saint Brigid (along with
2088-452: 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
2160-462: The ancient figure of the mother goddess and grafted her name and functions onto her Christian counterpart". Dáithí Ó hÓgáin 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. Among the most ancient accounts of St Brigid are two Old Irish hymns;
2232-402: The area called "Brigid's Ward." The Old Saint Peter's Church, Strasbourg 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. In liturgical iconography and statuary, Saint Brigid is often depicted holding a Cross of Saint Brigid , a crozier of
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2304-608: 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 and Llansantffraed in Powys . In Scotland, East Kilbride and West Kilbride are called after Brigid. Lhanbryde , near Elgin , Scotland is thought to be Pictish for "Church of Brigid". In Toryglen, on Glasgow's southside, there
2376-416: The druid Maithghean. It says Broicsech gave birth to Brigid at dawn, on the threshold, while bringing milk into the druid's house. This liminality seems to be a vestige of druidic lore. Brigid was thus 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 arrives to sustain her instead. Brigid's druid stepfather
2448-458: The earlier Lives by St Ultan (see before for his hymn), St. Aleran (see "Vita I") and an Anonymus. A 34- hexameter Latin poem about St Brigid had previously been composed by the Irish Roman cleric Colman c. 800 . Discussion on dates for the annals and the accuracy of dates relating to St Brigid continues. Because of the legendary quality of the earliest accounts of her life, there
2520-533: The early modern era. Brigid's crosses are traditionally made on her feast day. These are three- or four-armed crosses woven from rushes . They are hung over doors and windows for protection against fire, lightning, illness and evil spirits. On St Brigid's Eve, Brigid was said to visit virtuous households and bless the inhabitants. People left items of clothing or strips of cloth outside overnight for Brigid to bless. These were believed to have powers of healing and protection. Brigid would be symbolically invited into
2592-539: 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. The name Darlugdach (also spelt Dar Lugdach or Dar Lughdacha) means "daughter of the god Lugh ". Brigid is said to have been given the last rites when she was dying by Saint Ninnidh of the Pure Hand. Afterwards, he reportedly had his right hand encased in metal so that it would never be defiled, and this
2664-416: The fire burning: "the nineteenth nun puts the logs beside the fire and says 'Brigid, guard your fire, this is your night'. And in this way the fire is left there, and in the morning the wood, as usual, has been burnt and the fire is still alight". It has been suggested that this perpetual fire was originally part of a temple of Brigit the goddess. Saint Brigid's feast day is 1 February. Cogitosus, writing in
2736-536: The first by St Ultan of Ardbraccan (died c. 657 ), Brigit Bé Bithmaith ('Brigid ever-excellent woman') also known as "Ultan's hymn", and the second is "Broccán's hymn", composed by St Broccán Clóen (died c. 650 ) at the request of Ultan who was his tutor. Two early Lives of St Brigid in Hiberno-Latin prose, the Vita Sanctae Brigitae I and II, were written in the 7th–8th centuries,
2808-525: The first one possibly by St Aleran (died in 665), lector of Clonard, the second by Cogitosus , a monk of Kildare. An Old Irish prose Life, Bethu Brigte , was composed in the 9th century. Several later 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 written by St Donatus , an Irish monk who became Bishop of Fiesole in 824. In Donatus' prologue, it refers to
2880-452: The goddess Brigid and Mary Magdalene ) is worshipped as the death loa Maman Brigitte , the consort of Baron Samedi . Brigid Brigid or Brigit ( / ˈ b r ɪ dʒ ɪ d , ˈ b r iː ɪ d / BRIJ -id, BREE -id , Irish: [ˈbʲɾʲiːdʲ] ; meaning 'exalted one'), also Bríd , is a goddess of pre-Christian Ireland . She appears in Irish mythology as a member of
2952-415: The goddess Brigid, the festival of Imbolc is commonly associated with the goddess. Saint Brigid's Day or Imbolc is traditionally a time for weather prognostication: 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
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3024-411: The goddess was transferred to her. 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 , who is also famous for her "protecting care". It says that Brigit has two sisters: Brigit the physician or "woman of healing", and Brigit
3096-651: The ground. A tholus on Venus was named after Brigit by the International Astronomical Union in 1985. 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. Brigid is an important figure for some modern pagans , who emphasize her triple aspect. She is sometimes worshipped in conjunction with Lugh or Cernunnos . Middle Irish Brigit [ˈbʲɾʲiʝidʲ] came to be spelled Briġid and Brighid [bʲɾʲiːdʲ] by
3168-540: 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
3240-464: The healer and Brigid the smith. This suggests she may have been a triple deity . 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 called Imbolc . It has thus been argued that the saint is a Christianization of the goddess, or that the lore of
3312-485: The home and a bed would often be made for her. In some places, a family member who represented Brigid would circle the house three times carrying rushes. They would then knock on the door three times before being welcomed in. In Ireland and parts of Scotland, a doll representing Brigid would be paraded around the community by girls and young women. Known as the Brídeóg ('little Brigid'), anglicized 'Breedhoge' or 'Biddy', it
3384-422: The late 12th century, Gerald of Wales wrote that nineteen nuns took turns keeping a perpetual fire burning at Kildare in honour of Brigid, and that this fire had been burning since Brigid's time. He said it was ringed by a hedge that no man was allowed to cross. According to Gerald, each of the nineteen nuns took their turns guarding the fire overnight, but every twentieth night Brigid was said to return to keep
3456-432: The late 7th century, is the first to mention a feast day of Saint Brigid being observed in Kildare on this date. It was also the date of Imbolc , a seasonal festival that is believed to have pre-Christian origins. Imbolc is one of four Gaelic seasonal festivals, along with Bealtaine (1 May), Lughnasa (1 August), and Samhain (1 November). The customs of Saint Brigid's Day did not begin to be recorded in detail until
3528-496: The miracles, where Brigid multiplies food, bestows cattle and sheep, controls the weather, and is associated with fire or thermal springs. According to Brian Wright, the miracles of Brigid outlined by Cogitosus mostly concern healing; charity; cows, sheep and dairy; the harvest; fire; fertility/pregnancy; and her virginity/holiness. Brigid is honoured on 1 February in the calendars of the Catholic Church in Ireland , as well as
3600-666: The old for a share of its sacred wealth. At all events our pleading was successful and, and I bore away with me a portion of the bone, duly authenticated, which is now the privilege of you good Sisters to guard and venerate…. In 1905, Sister Mary Agnes of the Dundalk Convent of Mercy took a purported fragment of the skull to St. Bridget's [ sic ] Church in Kilcurry. In 1928, Fathers Timothy Traynor and James McCarroll requested another fragment for St. Brigid's Church in Killester ,
3672-439: 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. The monk Ultan of Ardbraccan , who wrote the life of Brigid, recounts a story that Darlugdach , Brigid's favourite pupil, fell in love with
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#17330861940913744-420: The powers of an abbess . According to tradition, around 480 Brigid founded a monastery at Kildare ( Cill Dara , "church of the oak"). Brigid, with an initial group of seven companions, is credited with organising communal consecrated religious life for women in Ireland. She founded two monasteries; one for men, the other for women. Brigid became the first Abbess of Kildare and invited Conleth ( Conláed ),
3816-400: 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". In the late 12th century, Gerald of Wales wrote that nineteen nuns took turns in keeping
3888-602: 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 church and village of St. Brides Netherwent in Monmouthshire and
3960-401: The saint's miracles, where she multiplies food, bestows cattle and sheep, controls the weather, and is linked with fire or thermal springs. 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
4032-471: The same associations. Saint Brigid is considered a patroness of healers, poets, blacksmiths, livestock and dairy workers, as well as serpents (in Scotland) and the arrival of spring. The saint's hagiographies "are mainly anecdotes and miracle stories, some of which are deeply rooted in Irish pagan folklore". Dáithí Ó hÓgáin wrote that the melding of pagan goddess and Christian saint can be seen in some of
4104-492: The same name as the Celtic goddess Brigid , and there are many supernatural events and folk customs associated with her. Furthermore, the saint's feast day falls on the Gaelic traditional festival of Imbolc . Some scholars suggest that the saint is a Christianisation 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
4176-525: The same name as the goddess Brigid , derived from the Proto-Celtic * Brigantī "high, exalted" and ultimately originating with Proto-Indo-European * bʰerǵʰ- . In Old Irish her name was spelled Brigit and pronounced [ˈbʲrʲiɣʲidʲ] . In Modern Irish she is also called Bríd . In Welsh she is called Ffraid (sometimes mutated to Fraid ), such as in several places called Llansanffraid , "St. Brigit's church". She
4248-530: 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". 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
4320-426: The sort used by abbots , and a lamp. Early hagiographers portray Brigid's life and ministry as touched with fire. According to Patrick Weston Joyce , tradition holds that nuns at her monastery kept an eternal flame burning there. She is also often depicted with a cow, or sometimes geese. Leitmotifs, some of them borrowed from the apocrypha such as the story where she hangs her cloak on a sunbeam, are associated with
4392-666: The three saints were said to have been found in 1185 by John de Courcy , and on 9 June of the following year he had them solemnly reburied in Down Cathedral . They are said to have remained in Down Cathedral until 1538, when the relics were desecrated and destroyed during the deputyship of Lord Grey , excepting Brigid's head which was saved by some of the clergymen who took it to the Franciscan monastery of Neustadt , in Austria. In 1587 it
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#17330861940914464-629: The title Santa Brigida . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Santa_Brigida&oldid=1202618083 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Saint Brigit Saint Brigid of Kildare or Saint Brigid of Ireland ( Irish : Naomh Bríd ; Classical Irish : Brighid ; Latin : Brigida ; c. 451 – 525)
4536-421: The town of Killorglin , County Kerry, which holds a yearly "Biddy's Day Festival". Men and women wearing elaborate straw hats and masks visit public houses carrying a Brídeóg to ward off evil spirits and bring good luck for the coming year. About the year 878, owing to Viking raids, Brigid's relics were purportedly taken to Downpatrick and reburied in the tomb of St Patrick and St Columba . The relics of
4608-451: The two oxen of Dil, "radiant of beauty," which may have been 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 ", 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 , Bríd
4680-457: 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 popularly known since medieval times as the Madonna Lily for its association with
4752-466: Was being interfered with. I then had to invoke the aid of an influential Canon of the Cathedral of Cologne , whom I had assisted in some of his literary pursuits and he set his heart on procuring the coveted relic. One of his arguments was somewhat amusing: It was the first time that an Irish Archbishop of the remote See of Sydney had solicited a favour from Cologne. It was the new Christian world appealing to
4824-433: Was made from rushes or reeds and clad in bits of cloth, flowers, or shells. In some areas, a girl took on the role of Brigid. Escorted by other girls, she went house-to-house wearing 'Brigid's crown' and carrying 'Brigid's shield' and 'Brigid's cross', all of which were made from rushes. Holy wells are often visited on St Brigid's Day, especially those wells dedicated to her. St Brigid's Day parades have been revived in
4896-733: Was presented to the church of the Society of Jesus in Lisbon by Emperor Rudolph II , that is the Igreja de São Roque (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 (near Lisbon Airport ), where it
4968-458: Was talking to the king, Brigid gave away her father's 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. It is said that Brigid was "veiled" or became a consecrated virgin either through Saint Mac Caille, Bishop of Cruachán Brí Éile , or by St Mél of Ardagh at Mág Tulach (the present barony of Fartullagh, County Westmeath ), who gave her
5040-402: Was the daughter of an Irish clan chief and an enslaved Christian woman, and was fostered in a druid 's household before becoming a consecrated virgin . She is patroness of many things, including poetry, learning, healing, protection, blacksmithing, livestock and dairy production. In her honour, a perpetual fire was kept burning at Kildare for centuries. Some historians suggest that Brigid
5112-469: Was the origin of his epithet. Tradition says she died at Kildare on 1 February. Her year of death is usually placed around 524 or 525. Upon Brigid's death, Darlugdach became the second abbess of Kildare. Darlugdach was so devoted to her mentor that when Brigid lay dying Darlugdach expressed the wish to die with her, but Brigid replied that Darlugdach would die on the first anniversary of her (Brigid's) death. The Catholic Church has assigned 1 February as
5184-583: 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." Historians suggest 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," Brigid of Kildare . The goddess and saint have many of
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