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Using inline citations helps guard against copyright violations and factual inaccuracies. (June 2007) | | Brigid of Kildare |
| | Virgin, abbess, inspirer | | Born | 453 | | Died | 524 | | Venerated in | Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Anglicanism | | Feast | February 1 | | Patronage | babies; blacksmiths; boatmen; cattle; chicken farmers; children whose parents are not married; dairymaids; dairy workers; fugitives; infants; Ireland; Leinster, Ireland; mariners; midwives; milk maids; newborn babies; nuns; poets; poultry farmers; poultry raisers; printing presses; sailors; scholars; travellers; watermen[1] |
 Saints Portal | Saint Brigid of Kildare or Brigid of Ireland (Brigit, Bridget, Bridgit, Bríd or Bride) (Irish: Naomh Bhríde) (c. 451 – 525) was an Irish Christian nun, abbess, and founder of several convents who is venerated as a saint. She is considered one of Ireland's patron saints along with Saints Patrick and Columba. Her feast day is February 1, the traditional first day of spring in Ireland. Saint Birgitta, also known as Santa Brigida or St. ...
Image File history File links Emblem-important. ...
Saint Brigid of Ireland in stained glass. ...
Catholic Church redirects here. ...
Orthodox icon of Pentecost. ...
This box: Anglicanism most commonly refers to the beliefs and practices of the Anglican Communion, a world-wide affiliation of Christian Churches, most of which have historical connections with the Church of England. ...
The calendar of saints is a traditional Christian method of organising a liturgical year on the level of days by associating each day with one or more saints, and referring to the day as that saints day. ...
is the 32nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...
Saint Quentin is the patron saint of locksmiths and is also invoked against coughs and sneezes. ...
Image File history File links Gloriole. ...
For other uses, see Nun (disambiguation). ...
Saints redirects here. ...
Saint Quentin is the patron saint of locksmiths and is also invoked against coughs and sneezes. ...
St Patrick redirects here, for other uses, see St. ...
See Columba (disambiguation) and St Columb for other uses. ...
is the 32nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...
Hagiography
Early life As with many ancient saints the biography of Brigid of Kildare has been complicated by the passage of time. Much change has occurred within the corpus of information which now exists. Often the lines between oral tradition, written tradition and new revelation have become hard to distinguish. The earliest extensive life of Brigid is the Vita Brigitae of Cogitosus and is thought to have been written no later than AD 650.[2]
According to tradition, Brigid was born at Faughart near Dundalk, County Louth, Ireland. Because of the legendary quality of the earliest accounts of her life, there is much debate among many scholars and even faithful Christians as to the authenticity of her biographies. According to her biographers her parents were Dubhthach, a pagan chieftain of Leinster, and Brocca, a Christian Pict who had been baptized by Saint Patrick. Some accounts of her life suggested that Brigid's mother was in fact Portuguese, kidnapped by Irish pirates and brought to Ireland to work as a slave in much the same way as Patrick. Brigid was given the same name as one of the most powerful goddesses of the pagan religion which her father Dubhthach practised; Brigid was the goddess of fire, whose manifestations were song, craftsmanship, and poetry, which the Irish considered the flame of knowledge. Combatants Anglo-Irish Scots-Irish Commanders John of Birmingham Edward Bruce†Strength unknown unknown Casualties unknown unknown The Battle of Faughart, also known as the Battle of Dundalk, was fought on October 14, 1318 between an Anglo-Irish force led by John of Birmingham and Edmund Butler, and a Scots...
WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: 54. ...
Statistics Province: Leinster County Town: Dundalk Code: LH Area: 820 km² Population (2006) 110,894 Website: www. ...
Pagan and heathen redirect here. ...
Statistics Area: 19,774. ...
A replica of the Hilton of Cadboll Stone. ...
St Patrick redirects here, for other uses, see St. ...
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. ...
Sainthood Whether she was raised a Christian or converted in 468, as some accounts say, is unknown, but she was inspired by the preaching of Saint Patrick from an early age. Despite her father's opposition she was determined to enter religious life. Numerous stories testify to her piety. She had a generous heart and could never refuse the poor who came to her father's door. Her charity angered her father: he thought she was being overly generous to the poor and needy when she dispensed his milk, and flour to all and sundry. When she finally gave away his jewel-encrusted sword to a leper, Dubhthach realized that perhaps her disposition was best suited to the life of a nun. Brigid finally got her wish and she was sent to a convent. For the malady found in the Hebrew Bible, see the article Tzaraath. ...
For other uses, see Nun (disambiguation). ...
A Beguine convent in Amsterdam. ...
 "La chapelle Sainte-Brigide" in Fosses-la-Ville. Brigid received the veil from Saint Mel and professed vows dedicating her life to Christ. From this point biographers heap stories and legends on Brigid. She is believed to have founded a convent in Clara, County Offaly - her first: other foundations followed. But it was to be in Kildare that her major foundation would emerge. Around 470 she founded Kildare Abbey, a double monastery, for nuns and monks, on the plains of Cill-Dara, "the church of the oak", her cell being made under a large oak tree. As Abbess of this foundation she wielded considerable power. Legends surround her, even her blessing as Abbess by Saint Mel has a story attached to it. According to the legend, the elderly bishop, as he was blessing her during the ceremony, inadvertently read the rite of consecration of a bishop and that this could not be rescinded, under any circumstances. Brigid and her successor Abbesses at Kildare had an administrative authority equal to that of a Bishop until the Synod of Kells in 1152. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 450 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (480 × 640 pixel, file size: 128 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Fosses-la-Ville (Belgique/Belgium), la chapelle Sainte-Brigide (VIII-Xe siècle). ...
Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 450 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (480 × 640 pixel, file size: 128 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Fosses-la-Ville (Belgique/Belgium), la chapelle Sainte-Brigide (VIII-Xe siècle). ...
Fosses-la-Ville is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Namur. ...
Saint Mel died in 488. ...
This page is about the title, office or what is known in Christian theology as the Divine Person. ...
WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: 53. ...
Statistics Province: Leinster County Town: Tullamore Code: OY Area: 1,999 km² Population (2006) 70,604 Website: www. ...
WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: 53. ...
This article concerns the buildings occupied by monastics. ...
Saint Mel died in 488. ...
WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: 53. ...
The Synod of Kells-Mellifont took place in AD 1152, and continued the process begun at the Synod of Rathbreasail of reforming the Irish church. ...
Brigid was famous for her common-sense and most of all for her holiness: in her lifetime she was regarded as a saint. Kildare Abbey became one of the most prestigious monasteries in Ireland, famed throughout Christian Europe. In the scriptorium of the monastery, for example, the lost illuminated manuscript the Book of Kildare may have been created — if it was not the existing Book of Kells, as many suppose.[3] A Scriptorium was a room or building, usually within a Christian monastery where, during medieval times, manuscripts were written. ...
This page (folio 292r) contains the lavishly decorated text that opens the Gospel of John. ...
This page (folio 292r) contains the lavishly decorated text that opens the Gospel of John. ...
Death and impact She died at Kildare around 525 and was buried in a tomb before the high altar of her abbey church. After some time her remains were exhumed and transported to Downpatrick to rest with the two other patron saints of Ireland, Patrick and Columba (Columcille). Her skull was extracted and brought to Igreja de Sao Joao Baptista (Lumiar) Lisbon, Portugal by three Irish noblemen, where it remains. There is widespread devotion to her in Ireland where she is known as the "Mary of the Gael" and her cult was brought to Europe by Irish missionaries, such as Foillan, in the centuries after her death. In Belgium there is a chapel (7th-10th century) dedicated to Sainte-Brigide at Fosses-la-Ville. WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: 53. ...
WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: , Statistics Province: Ulster County: District: Down District UK Parliament: South Down European Parliament: Northern Ireland Dialling Code: 028, +44 28 Post Town: Downpatrick Postal District(s): BT30 Population (2001) 10,316 Downpatrick (from the Irish: Dún Pádraig meaning Patricks fort) is a town...
For other uses, see Lisbon (disambiguation). ...
For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ...
Saint Foillan (Faelan, Faolan, Foelan, Foalan; Feuillien) is an Irish saint of the seventh century. ...
Fosses-la-Ville is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Namur. ...
Saint Brigid's Cross -
Main article: Brigid's cross  Saint Brigid's Cross or Crosóg Bhríde. Legend has it she made the cross from rushes she found on the ground beside a dying man in order to convert him. It is interesting that this legend does not appear in any of the oldest sources and to this day its origin remains lost in the oral tradition.[2] It remains the custom in many houses in Ireland to have a Saint Brigid's Cross in honour of the saint. The cross takes many forms and is technically classed by folk crafts experts as a "'plaited corn dolly", although the technologies utilized can extend beyond plaiting to weaving and other forms. Many of these forms such as that of the "eye of God" appear in other cultural contexts.[2] According to tradition a new cross is made each Saint Brigid's Day (February 1), and the old one is burned to keep fire from the house, yet customs vary by locality, and family. Many homes have multiple crosses preserved in the ceiling the oldest blackened by many years of hearth fires. Some believe that keeping a cross in the ceiling or roof is a good way to preserve the home from fire which was always a major threat in houses with thatch and wood roofs.[2] Brigids cross, Brighids cross, or Brigits cross, or Crosóg Brigde(in gaelic) is an old Irish symbol, probably derivative of the pagan sunwheel. ...
Corn dollies are a form of straw work associated with harvest customs. ...
Infrared image of the Helix Nebula, taken by the Spitzer space telescope, 2007 The Helix Nebula (also known as NGC 7293) is a planetary nebula (PN) about 650 light-years away in the constellation Aquarius. ...
In common historic and modern usage, a hearth (Har-th) is a brick- or stone-lined fireplace or oven used for cooking and/or heating. ...
Connection with pagan Brigid That she shares both her name and her feast day with those of the earlier pagan goddess Brigid may indicate that Saint Brigid is partially or entirely a fictional creation based on the pagan figure in order to convert Celts to Christianity; the euhemerization of pagan figures and tradition was a common practice of Christian missionaries. However she may merely have been named after her. Given the struggle Christian missionaries faced in their efforts to preach the Gospel in Ireland, even though they Christianized some elements, the adoption of a pagan goddess into the Communion of Saints may have been an effort to Christianize one of the most enduring pagan goddesses. Most historians say that she was a real person whose life was embellished by imaginative hagiographers, and this seems the most likely scenario. Evidence for a political function of the stories comes from detailed political analysis which demonstrates that they have been created or at least manipulated to document the power of Kildare over surrounding regions..[2] 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. ...
Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Relation to other religions Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Christianity Portal This box: Christianity is a monotheistic[1] religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the New Testament. ...
Euhemerus (ΕυήμεÏος) (working late 4th century BCE) was a Greek mythographer at the court of Cassander, the king of Macedonia. ...
The Communion of Saints is the doctrine that the saints (i. ...
Hagiography is the study of saints. ...
Extended biography Differing biographies written by different authors, give conflicting accounts of her life, however three of those biographies agreed that she had a slave mother in the court of her father, Dubhthach, a king of Leinster. Perhaps the most ancient account of her life is by Saint Broccan Cloen: Ni bu Sanct Brigid suanach
Ni bu huarach im sheirc Dé,
Sech ni chiuir ni cossena
Ind nóeb dibad bethath che. Saint Brigid was not given to sleep,
Nor was she intermittent about God's love;
Not merely that she did not buy, she did not seek for
The wealth of this world below, the holy one. One, the "Life of Brigid" dates from the closing years of the eighth century, and is held in the Dominican friary at Eichstatt in Bavaria. It expounds the metrical life of Saint Brigid, and versified it in Latin. For the village in Brandenburg, see Eichstädt. ...
For other uses, see Bavaria (disambiguation). ...
In literature, meter or metre (sometimes known as prosody) is a term used in the scansion (analysis into metrical patterns) of poetry, usually indicated by the kind of feet and the number of them. ...
Although Saint Brigid was "veiled" or received by Saint Maughold (Macaille), at Croghan, it is far more possible that she took her vows from Saint Mel of Ardagh, who also granted her abbatial powers. She followed Saint Mel into the kingdom of Teathbha which is made up of sections of modern Meath, Westmeath and Longford. This occurred about the year 468. Brigid is known for being the first and only bishop of the early church. It is said that upon receiving her vows Saint Mel was inspired by God to make her a bishop.[2] Saint Maughold (Macaille, Maccaldus, Machalus, Machaoi, Machella, Maghor, Mawgan, Maccul, Macc Cuill) of Man (d. ...
Brigid's small oratory at Cill-Dara (Kildare) became a centre of religion and learning, and developed into a cathedral city. She founded two monastic institutions, one for men, and the other for women, and appointed Saint Conleth as spiritual pastor of them. It has been frequently stated that she gave canonical jurisdiction to Saint Conleth, Bishop of Kildare, but, as Archbishop Healy points out, she simply "selected the person to whom the Church gave this jurisdiction", and her biographer tells us distinctly that she chose Saint Conleth "to govern the church along with herself". Thus, for centuries, Kildare was ruled by a double line of abbot-bishops and of abbesses, the Abbess of Kildare being regarded as superioress general of the convents in Ireland. Saint Conleth (Conlaed in Irish) was an Irish hermit and metalworker, also said to have been a copyist and skilled illuminator of manuscripts. ...
Saint Conleth is believed to have come from the Wicklow area. ...
Bishop of Kildare may refer to: the Catholic Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin, or predecessors in the diocese of Kildare the Church of Ireland Bishop of Meath and Kildare (since 1976) or predecessors in the diocese of Kildare Category: ...
Brigid also founded a school of art, including metal work and illumination, over which Conleth presided. The Kildare scriptorium produced the Book of Kildare, which elicited high praise from Giraldus Cambrensis, but which has disappeared since the Reformation. According to Giraldus, nothing that he had ever seen was at all comparable to the book, every page of which was gorgeously illuminated, and he concludes by saying that the interlaced work and the harmony of the colours left the impression that "all this is the work of angelic, and not human skill". This page (folio 292r) contains the lavishly decorated text that opens the Gospel of John. ...
Giraldus Cambrensis (c. ...
Brigid is at times known as "the Patroness of Ireland" and "Queen of the South: the Mary of the Gael" by a writer in the "Leabhar Breac". Brigid died leaving a cathedral city and school that became famous all over Europe. In her honour Saint Ultan of Ardbraccan wrote a hymn commencing: St. ...
Christus in nostra insula
Que vocatur Hibernia
Ostensus est hominibus
Maximis mirabilibus
Que perfecit per felicem
Celestis vite virginem
Precellentem pro merito
Magno in numdi circulo. In our island of Hibernia Christ was made known to man by the very great miracles which he performed through the happy virgin of celestial life, famous for her merits through the whole world. The sixth life of the saint is attributed to Coelan, an Irish monk of the eighth century, and it derives a peculiar importance from the fact that it is prefaced by Saint Donatus, also an Irish monk, who became Bishop of Fiesole in 824. Donatus refers to previous lives by Ultan and Aileran. When dying, Brigid was attended by Saint Ninnidh, who was afterwards known as "Ninnidh of the Clean Hand" because he had his right hand encased with a metal covering to prevent it ever being defiled, after being the medium of administering the last rites to "Ireland's Patroness". Saint Donatus (Donat, Donagh) of Fiesole was an Irish teacher and poet, Bishop of Fiesole, about 829-876. ...
Florence as seen from Fiesole. ...
Saint Aileran (died 29 December 664), an Irish saint, was generally known as the Wise, and was one of the most distinguished professors at the School of Clonard in the seventh century. ...
The Anointing of the Sick is one of the sacraments of the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and some Protestant churches. ...
Brigid was interred at the right of the high altar of Kildare Cathedral, and a costly tomb was erected over her. Over the years her shrine became an object of veneration for pilgrims, especially on her feast day, February 1. About the year 878, owing to the Scandinavian raids, Brigid's relics were taken to Downpatrick, where they were interred in the tomb of Patrick and Columba. The relics of the three saints were discovered in 1185, and on June 9 of the following year were reinterred in Downpatrick Cathedral.
Various Continental breviaries of the pre-Reformation period commemorate Brigid, and her name is included in a litany in the Stowe Missal. In Ireland today, after 1500 years, "Mary of the Gael" remains a popular saint, and Brigid remains a common female Christian name. Moreover, hundreds of place-names in her honour are to be found all over both Scotland and Ireland, e.g. East Kilbride, Kilbride, Brideswell, Tubberbride, Templebride, etc. Places named Brideswell and Tupperbride commemorate in their names the presence of a sacred well ("Tobar" in Gaelic) dedicated to Brigid or her pre-Christian antecedent. Brigid's hand is preserved at Lumiar near Lisbon, Portugal, since 1587, and another relic is at St. Martin's Cologne. East Kilbride (Cille Bhrìghde an Ear in Scottish Gaelic) is a large town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. ...
This article is about the modern Goidelic language. ...
As to the historical Brigid, it seems that Faughart was the scene of her birth. Faughart Church was founded by Saint Moninne in honour of Brigid. The old well of Brigid's adjoining the ruined church still attracts pilgrims. There is evidence in the Trias Thaumaturga for Brigid's stay in Connacht, especially in County Roscommon and also in the many churches founded by her in the Diocese of Elphim. Her friendship with Saint Patrick is attested by the following paragraph from the Book of Armagh: "inter sanctum Patricium Brigitanque Hibernesium columpnas amicitia caritatis inerat tanta, ut unum cor consiliumque haberent unum. Christus per illum illamque virtutes multas peregit". (Between Patrick and Brigid, the columns of the Irish, 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 miracles.) At Armagh there was a "Templum Brigidis"; namely the little abbey church known as "Regles Brigid", which contained some relics of the saint, destroyed in 1179, by William Fitz Aldelm. Saint Moninne of Killeavy was one of Irelands early women saints. ...
Acta Triadis Thaumaturgae (English title: The Acts of a Wonder-Working Triad) concerns the lives of St. ...
A page of text from the Book of Armagh. ...
In addition, Brigid is highly venerated by many Orthodox Christians as one of the great Western saints prior to the schism between the Eastern and Western Churches. Her feastday, as in the West, is February 1, although churches following the Julian calendar (as in many Orthodox countries) celebrate her feast on February 14, the corresponding date on the Julian calendar. The troparion to her is in Tone 1: Troparion (also tropar, plural: troparia) in Byzantine music and in the religious music of Eastern Orthodoxy is a short hymn of one stanza, or one of a series of stanzas (this may carry the further connotation of a hymn interpolated between psalm verses). ...
O holy Brigid, thou didst become sublime through thy humility, and didst fly on the wings of thy longing for God. When thou didst arrive in the Eternal City and appear before thy Divine Spouse, wearing the crown of virginity, thou didst keep thy promise to remember those who have recourse to thee. Thou dost shower grace upon the world, and dost multiply miracles. Intercede with Christ our God that He may save our souls. The corresponding kontakion is in Tone 4: Kontakion is a form of hymn performed in the Eastern Orthodox Church. ...
The holy virgin Brigid full of divine wisdom, went with joy along the way of evangelical childhood, and with the grace of God attained in this way the summit of virtue. Wherefore she now bestows blessings upon those who come to her with faith. O holy Virgin, intercede with Christ our God that He may have mercy on our souls.
See also Usually known simply as Muirchu, he was a seventh century Irish historian. ...
References The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ...
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Encyclopædia Britannica, the eleventh edition The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911) is perhaps the most famous edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica. ...
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Saint Brigid's cross
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