Brigid, Abbess of Kildare

 


I know little about Irish saints. I've only recently discovered that the republic of Ireland now honours St Brigid along with St Patrick as the country's 2 patron saints. Today is St Brigid's feast day. Starting next year, in Brigid's honour there will be a public holiday on the Monday nearest to 1 February, giving her equal status (as far as public holidays go) with St Patrick whose feast day has been a public holiday there for a long time. In the Church of England she is commemorated today as Brigid, Abbess of Kildare, who died about 525 A.D.

I've chosen a cross of reed straw to illustrate this post. It's a cross associated with St Brigid because of the legend about her sitting with a dying pagan lord, possibly her father. As she sat in vigil by the bedside she picked up some rushes from the floor and wove them into a cross while explaining the meaning of the cross of Jesus Christ to the dying man. The story goes that the man died peacefully having converted to Christianity.

Brigid lived at a time of transition in Ireland between a pagan and a Christian culture, so it makes sense that her feast day coincides with the ancient Celtic Imbolc which was a day to honour a pagan goddess also known as Brigid and celebrated as a traditional 1st day of spring. There are very few facts about the Christian St Brigid. There is some evidence that she existed and was a friend of St Patrick. She may have founded a monastery in Kildare. There are numerous stories and legends about her, some of which seem to be a confusion between the Celtic goddess and the Christian St Brigid.

Many of the legends about St Brigid are about her generosity and concern for the poor. I like the story of when she rested by the path on a journey. While Brigid rested a rich woman gave her a basket of excellent apples. When some poor people came along and begged for food. Brigid gave them the apples. Her generosity was not appreciated by the the rich woman who complained she had brought the apples "for you, not for them." Brigid's answer was, "What is mine is theirs." According to legends of her childhood, her generosity included giving away not only her own possessions, but also those of others. There is a fun poem by Phyllis McGinley about this. You can find it quoted in my previous post about Brigid, 'St Brigid and a fun poem'.


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