Brigid
Brigid or Brigit (/ˈbrɪdʒɪd, ˈbriːɪd/ BRIJ-id, BREE-id, Irish: [ˈbʲɾʲiːdʲ]; meaning 'exalted one'), also Bríg, is a goddess of pre-Christian Ireland. She appears in Irish mythology as a member of the Tuatha Dé Danann, the daughter of the Dagda and wife of Bres, with whom she had a son named Ruadán.
| Brigid | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Tuatha Dé Danann | |
"The Coming of Bríde" by John Duncan (1917) | |
| Texts | Lebor Gabála Érenn, Cath Maige Tuired, Cormac's Glossary |
| Personal information | |
| Parents | Dagda |
| Siblings | Cermait, Aengus, Aed, Bodb Derg, Brigid the Healer, Brigid the Smith |
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 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 the goddess was transferred to her.