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, Brigit or Brighit ("exalted one") was the daughter of 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

Etymology

This theonym appears to be derived from Proto-Celtic *Brigantījā meaning "exalted feminine [spirit ]" (q.v. [1] [2] [3]). Some of her titles included:

  • "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

Familial relations

By Tuireann, she was the mother of Creidhne, Luchtaine and Goibniu.

Associations

Brigid possessed an apple orchard in the Otherworld; bees traveled there to obtain magical nectar. This orchard was associated with Avalon. The Lady of the Lake in Arthurian Legend may be based on Brigid.

Divine responsibilities

Brigid was the goddess of the Sacred Flame of Kildare and the patron goddess of the Druids. 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, healing ability, druidic knowledge and skill in warfare. She seems to have been the Celtic equivalent of the Roman Minerva and the Greek Athena (Encyclopedia Britannica: Celtic Religion), a goddesses with very similar functions and apparently embodying the same concept of 'elevated state', whether physical or psychological.

Was this goddess the Celtic Minerva?

According to Proinsias Mac Cana, Minerva‘s closest parallel is the goddess Brigantis or Brigantia, who survives in Irish literature as Brighid, daughter of the divine king, Dagda. Both Brigantis and Minerva (MIN-erva, pro-MIN-ent-, e-MIN-ent-) have names which in their respective languages connote ‘exalted state’ and are concerned with higher places, states and activities such as healing and craftsmanship. Brigantis was the tribal goddess of the Old British tribe the Brigantes. Some toponyms such as Bregenz and Briganza provide some onomastic indications that she was worshipped in Celtic Europe, perhaps where Brigantes tribe members had settled.


Festivals

On February 1, Brigid was celebrated at Imbolc, when she brought spring to the land. It is also the feast day of St Brigid (who is honored by Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, and some Anglicans).

Other names

Bibliography

  • Ellis, Peter Berresford, Dictionary of Celtic Mythology(Oxford Paperback Reference), Oxford University Press, (1994): ISBN: 0195089618
  • MacKillop, James. Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998. ISBN 0192801201.
  • Wood, Juliette, The Celts: Life, Myth, and Art, Thorsons Publishers (2002): ISBN: 0007640595

External links

Retrieved from "http://en.freepedia.org/Brigid.html"


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