"' As
translated
by Dr.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v2
Lanigan calculates, that the Irish Apostle did not live nearly so late as a.
d.
493,^°^ when St.
Brigid's reputation was spread far and wide.
^°9 At the time of his decease, the holy virgin is thought to have been a mere child.
Besides the earlier writers of St.
Patrick's Acts have no mention of St.
Brigid having woven the shroud.
With special minuteness, Fiach's hymn, the Scholiast, Probus, the Tripartite, and the third Life give an account of the last days of St.
Patrick, his death and obsequies.
They specify the name of that bishop who attended him, although otherwise he was scarcely known.
Strange, indeed, would be their omitting to mention so celebrated a saint as Brigid had she attended with the shroud at his exit.
If those circumstances, reported by later writers concerning her transactions with St.
Patrick, had really occurred, it is impossible they could have been overlooked by those authors, who lived nearer to their occurrence.
Perhaps Brigid wove a pall or some sepulchral ornament to be spread over his grave, and hence might have arisen the idea, that she had done so during his lifetime.
"^ Such a circum- stance might easily give origin to the rumour of her having assisted at St.
Patrick's obsequies.
People about Dundalk, however, have a tradition, that
'°3 See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga,"
Jocelyn's or Sexta Vita S. Patricii, cap.
Xciv. , xcv. , pp. 86, 87.
chap, iii. , p. 31.
*°9 In her exertions for forming congrega*
tions —of holy virgins and establishments for
ded so well with the them which coinci—
views of our Apostle she would and should
have acted under his guidance, were he
alive. there must have been Accordingly
frequent communications between them, concerning which the ancient writers could
"
not have been totally silent. See
siastical History of Ireland," vol. i. , chap* viii. j sec. ii*, n. 29, pp. 384, 385.
"°See Dr. Lanigan's "Ecclesiastical
History of Ireland," vol* i. , cap. viii. , sec, ii. , n. 29, p. 384.
^°'*
See
Septima Vita S. Patricii, lib. iii. , cap. iv. , pp. 149, 150, and n. 11, p. 184.
"Trias
Colgan's Thaumaturga,"
'°s See "The Life of St.
Irish Priest, chap, iii. , pp. 31 to 33.
'"*
an
See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Quarta Vita S. Patricii, xciii. , p. 47.
^°7 StQ Ibid. Sexta Vita S. Patricii, cap.
clxxxviii. , clxxxix. , p. 107.
108 jn "The Life of St. - Brigid," by an
Irish Priest, the author seems inclined to adopt this date for St. Patrick's death. See
Eccle-
Brigid," by
46 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [February i.
St. Brigid lived in the year 432, when St. Patrick first preached in Ireland, and that she survived him thirty years. "' As St. Brigid approached the
years of puberty, her parents thought of procuring her a partner for life; and they wished to espouse her to a husband of their own selection. But, this
holy virgin had long before resolved, on consecrating herself to the service of God, to whom she had already devoted herself, by those chaste disposi-
tions of soul, and by those ardent inspirations of piety, which so much distinguished her childhood. To her declarations thus made, it would appear, that her parents interposed no serious objections. She was in the bloom of maidenhood, when she resolved on entering the religious state. An opinion has been advanced, that she was only fourteen years of age, at the time of making her vows ;"^ but one better weighed may be more deserving our regard, that she was not a consecrated virgin, during the life-time of St. Patrick, and that she must at least have attained the sixteenth year of her age, to have been canonically eligible for this state. "3
Before we arrive at this event in her life, there are other circumstances
mentioned, regarding the holy virgin, in what are considered to be among the most questionable of her recorded acts. It may not be irrelevant, how- ever,tointroducethem. Whileatherfather'shouse,andbeforeshereturned to see her captive mother, it is related, that a certain religious widow,"'^ who lived in an adjoining village, asked our Saint's father to allow her Brigid's companionship to a Synod,"5 then held in the plain of the Liffy. ""^ To this request her father assented ; and while both proceeded on their way, a cer- tain holy man,"7 who was present at the Synod,"^ slept. He had a vision,
" I have beheld
the Synod, St. Brigid and her companion arrived. Then the same holy man
criedout "ThisistheMary,whomIhaveseen,forIknowwithcertainty ;
her appearance. " All, who were present, rendered their acknowledgment
at the same time. On from he said awaking sleep, ;
Mary,
with her, who said to whodwellsamongstyou. '""9 Whenthevenerablemanhadmentionedthisin
and a certain man
standing
me,
* This is
holy Mary,
to St.
"°
beholding
in her a
type
"^
of the Blessed
Virgin Mary. "'
Brigid,
XII "
See Louth Letters containing Infor-
mation relative to the Antiquities of the County, collected during the Progress of the
Ordnance Survey in 1835-1836," vol. i. , p. 287. Letter of Messrs. P. O'Keefe and T.
O'Conor, dated Dundalk, February iSth, 1836.
*" Such is Ussher's statement, founded on
the questionable authority of Hector Boece.
In an Irish Life, it is called a Synod of the Leinster Seniors.
"» See "The Life of St. Brigid," by an Irish Priest, chap, ii. , p. 16.
"° This is somewhat differently related in
an Irish Life of St. Brigid, cap. xii. , as
quoted by Colgan. See "Trias Thauma-
"3 This is Dr.
'" See " Trias Colgan's
conclusion. The Life of St. Brigid," by an Irish Priest, states, that about her sixteenth or
**
Thaumaturga. " Vita Tertia S. Brigidse, cap. xiv. , p. 528. In n. 9, p. 543, ibid, with the usual typo- graphical errors of his works, we are referred by Colgan to the sixteenth chapter of St. Brigid's Irish Life, where the holy man alluded to is St. Iber, bishop ; and for the eulogy pronounced on her, whereby she re- ceives as a title "the other Mary of the Irish," we are to examine, not the Third, "5 An Irish Life, quoted by Colgan, but the Twelfth chapter, in his Fourth Appendix to our Saint's Acts. There we have a different version of the story, related in the text, and regarding the consideration in which our Saint had been held by the ancient Irish, These called her another
Lanigan's
seventeenth year was that of her profession, the date being «mV<? r 469. See chap, iii. , p. 28.
"* In an Irish Life of St. Brigid, this woman is called a Virgin. In Professor O'Looney's Irish Life she is simply desig- nated "a religious woman," pp. ii, 12.
states, at cap. xii. , that this Synod was held at the spot, afterwards known as Kildare.
"^ Called Magh Liphe in Professor
O'Looney's Irish Life, pp. 11, 12.
"7 The Irish Life calls him Hibar or Ibar. In Professor O'Looney's Irish Life his name
Mother of God, or another Mary,
is written ibAip, pp. 1 1, 12.
"
ad Acta S. Bri-
Appendix Quarta
turga.
gidae, cap. xii. , p. 622.
February i. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 47
Thenceforth, this holy virgin was called " the Mary of the Gaedhels. """ The
learned Dr. Todd observes, commenting on this title : Here when it is said "
thatBrigidwas inthetypeofMary,"themeaning,perhaps,maybe,that sheresembledinformandfigurethepersonoftheBlessedVirgin; notthat
she was actually the Blessed Virgin, reappearing upon earth, but that, from the close resemblance of her features to those of Mary, and from her having been seen in the vision as Mary, and called by the Angel as " Holy Mary, that dwells amongst you," she was saluted by the assembled Synod as Mary,
"
and was thenceforth regarded as
gyrists call St. Brigid, the Mother of Christ," The Mother of my Lord," &c. , thus bestowing upon her attributes, belonging especially to the Blessed Virgin Mary. "* St. Columkille, it is stated, composed a certain Hymn in praise of St. Brigid. "5 This was a short metrical Irish composition, which has been rendered in a Latin version by Colgan,"^ and there St. Brigid is called "The Mother of Christ. ""^ In the panegyrical poem of St. Brogan Cloen,"^ which Colgan has printed, the same exalted praise is bestowed upon St. Brigid. Dr. Todd takes quotations from the original Irish, as Colgan's printed text is full of typographical errors. Omitting the Irish extracts, these following passages are submitted :"9
the Mary of the Irish/'"3 Other pane- ""
"
Of heaven, a sovereign the best bom. "
Brigit, mother of my Lord,
On these passages, the learned commentator remarks, that Brigid is strangely
spoken of, not as resembling the Virgin Mary in feature, or even in purity and sanctity, but as partaking wiih her, in some mystical sense, of the prero-
" Mother of Lord of heaven. " Never- my
of Mother of gative being
Jesus,
theless, it is certain, that the idea of a reappearance of Mary, in the person
of St. Brigid, which should make them one and the same person, was not in the minds of those writers, notwithstanding the extravagance of their lan- guage. ^3° Yet, it is clear, that Mary and Brigid are spoken of as two distinct
have been the author. The SchoHast also adds, " or it was Ultan of Ardbreecan who made this Hymn. "
"^ In one o—f these lines, St. Brigid is alluded to thus
" Haec Christi mater. " — "7 There is still some undefined beUef
— the discre- notwithstanding chronological
**'
According
to Professor Irish Life of St. Brigid, pp. 1 1, 12.
^"3 Seethe "Liber Hymnorum," Fasciculus I. Edited with notes, by Dr. James Hen- thorn Todd. Note B, pp. 65, 66, and nn. (f. g. ) ibid. There we find a like account, under the
Brigid,
of
heading, the Irish. "
** St.
the
Mary
"'^ In the Third Life the language is :
the Irish that St. people,
"Hsec est Maria (without the explanatory altera) quae habitat inter vos ;" and these are there given, as the words, not of the saint who saw the vision, but of the Angel seen in the vision, who stood with the Vir-
pancy among BrigidwasasisterofourBlessedLady. A
gin Mary, and said, not of St. Brigid, but "
legend prevails, that St. Brigid advanced
before the Mother of our Lord to the tem-
pie, and by an ostentatious exhibition, or
"praisga," of herself, carrying lighted can- dies on her head, she wished to divert at-
tention from the modest Mother-Virgin, Although the day was stormy, none of the candles were extinguished. Hence, our Blessed Lady enjoined St. Brigid's feast to be celebrated before that of the Purification, This account was furnished to the writer by
Rev. David B. Mulcahy, C. C. , Loughguile,
Co. Antrim, in a letter, dated April 26th,
1875.
^^^ His is also foimd in the composition
"Liber Hymnorum," p. 33.
"' As translated by Dr. Todd, —
of the B. V. Mary herself, Hsec est Maria quse habitat inter vos," thus strangely con-
founding the person of Mary and Brigid. It will be observed, however, that this ex- travagance is avoided in the Office printed
"
Liber Hymnorum," Note B, n, (n. ), pp. 68, 69.
"5 A portion of the original Irish of this
Hymn, with an English translation, is given
in 1622. See
by
Dr. Todd, in the work
already quoted :
and it is taken from the MS. "Liber
Hymnorum," p. 32. In the preface, it is
said, that St. Columkille is supposed to
*3o gt. Brogan Cloen afterwards says
O'Looney's
4S LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [February i.
beings, and the notion of reappearance of the former in the person of the latter is exckided. '^i Our Lord has said, that whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is his brother, and sister and mother,''^'' and this perhaps may be all that is meant by St. Brigid's pledging herself to be the Mother of Christ, and making herself so by words and deeds. According to another explanation, she who by continual elevation of mind, and fixed intention, keeps her thoughts ever upon Christ, may be said to travail with Christ, and figuratively to be the mother of Christ, and so to be, as it were, another Mary. ^33 Colgan has interpreted this prerogative of St. Brigid to be "the Mary of the Irish," because of the honour and veneration our people enter- tained for her over every other Saint—the Blessed Virgin only excepted— and because of her having had some similar kind of religious deference in comparison with the Holy Mother of God. '34 —
found with full musical notation, in the Antiphonary of Clondalkin, a MS. of the fourteenth century. '3^ It has also been reprinted by Colgan, and has
•'
The veiled Virgin who drives over the Currech
Is a shield against sharp weapons ;
None was found her equal, except Mary, Let us put our trust in my strength. "
promised or pledged herself to be Christ's
mother,' and made herself so by words or
deeds, Brigid, who is esteemed the Queen
of the true God. " The Hymn itself, how-
ever (v. 8), is content with the statement
that she was a virgin like to Holy Mary,
"
*'
Be upon them that recite it together.
There are two Virgins in heaven,
"Who will not give me a forgetful protec-
tion,
Mary and St. Brigid,
Under the protection of them both may
we remain. "
*3* To passages taken from this Irish
certainly softening the matter as much as possible, seeing that the ancient authorities place her on an equality with the Blessed Virgin, giving to her also the seemingly in- communicable title of Dei Genetrix, and the
' stillmoreunusualoneof Queenofthetrue
God. ' And,moreover,theystateexpressly that she was called the Mary of the Irish, and was recognised as such by an assembled Synod, in consequence of her personal resemblance to the B. Virgin Mary, whilst
Hymn
of St.
Dr. Todd — still a child, and therefore before she was Brogan Cloen, ap-
The accou—
nt of that
at Kildare but in a somewhat modifiedform isretainedinanOfficeofSt. Brigid,whichhasbeenprinted in Paris. '35 This Office, containing some minor variations, is also to be
In the last line there is a play upon the name of St. Brigid, and the I—rish word Btigiy "strength. " And again:
**
Marise SanctK similem. " ^32 St. Matt. xii. 50.
^33 This seems to be the
Every one that hears ;
peats [this poem],
The of blessing Brigid
every one that re-
idea, presented to the mind of the author, supposed to have been St. Ultan : "Christi matrem se spo-
be on him The blessing of Brigid and of God
^34 Dr. Todd here remarks
:
* * This is
pends the following notes. The Currech
i. e. , the Curragh of Kildare. The Scholiast
in a on this word " a
Irish
known to the people, or could have
received any honour or veneration from
them. " We are then referred Dr. Todd by
words of the supposed stanza of the Hymn in the text (taking the corrected reading of autumata for aut amata) are also remark-
'36 This latter is preserved in the Library of Trinity College, Dublin. It is classed in
a Catalogue of "MSS. there preserved, B, L3.
able : Christi matretn se spopondit ;
'
She
supposed Synod,
;
gloss says, cup|\ech
cursu equorum dictus est j" a curious proof
of the antiquity of its use as a race-course :
to which, perhaps, some allusion may be
intended in the description of St. Brigid, as
"the Nun (or veiled Virgin) who drives
oyer —the Currech. " And again : Two Vir-
gins. The word cAiLlech, here used, sig-
nifies a veiled or consecrated virgin, a nun,
derived probably from the Latin cucullus. ''^
The learned editor of the "Liber Hymno-
rum" thus continues his remarks: "The " Trias Thaumaturga," p. 600.
pondit, dictis atque factis fecit. "
to some learned and curious remarks on this
subject in Mr. Herbert's Cyclops Christianus,
p. 113, seq,, p. 137, p. 141-2. See the
"
Liber Hymnorum," Note B, pp. 65 to 68, and nn. (f,g,h,i,j,k,l,) ibid. Also Colgan's " Trias Thaumaturga," Appendix Secunda ad Acta S. Brigidoe, sec. xxiii. , p. 606, and Appendix Quarta ad Acta S. Brigidse, cap. xii. , p. 622, ibid.
'35 A. D. 1622. Noct. ii. , Lect. v. , Colgan's
February i. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 49
been republished by him, in common with various lessons and prayers, relating to our Saint, as found in other Breviaries. '37 In the same Office, there is a Hymn at Lauds, the two first stanzas of which evidently paraphrase the verses commencing with " Christus in nostra insula. "'38 The Irish Life of Brigid'39 relates, that after returning from the Synod, she went to visit her mother who was in bondage.
Some great characteristics of our holy virgin are thus alluded to in an
"
It was her anxious care to comfort the poor, to banish all distress, to relieve all wretchedness : there was no one more modest, more righteous, more humble, or more chaste ; she never looked in the face of man \ she was abstinent, she was spotless, she was prayerful, she was patient, shewasjoyfulinthecommandmentsofGod. Shewasaconsecratedshrine to receive the Body and Blood of Christ : she was the temple of God : her heart and her mind were an abiding throne for the Holy Ghost. She was bright in miracles ; her type among creatures is the dove among birds, the vine among trees, the sun amidst the stars. It is she that reHeves all who are in distress and danger ; it is she that subdues disease. It is she that restrains the angry fury of the sea. She is the Mary of Ireland. ^'^o This is not the sole highly-coloured panegyric found in our ancient literature. A
very old book of vellum, in which is found the Martyrology of Maelruain of Tallagh, and also the saints bearing the same name,'^^ with the names of
many mothers of the saints, states, that Brighit was following the manners and the life, which the holy Mary, Mother of Jesus, had practised. '^^ Such was her aptitude for devotional feeling, that she possessed every virtue which could adorn a child of Mary, or which could endear her to those who were around her. '43
CHAPTER III.
STATEMENT REGARDING ST. BRIGID's PARENTS—HER PERSONAL AND MENTAL ATTRAC- TIONS DURING HER EARLY YOUTH—ALLEGED TREATMENT BY HER PARENTS—HER GREAT CHARITY TOWARDS THE POOR—BROUGHT BEFORE DUNLAING, KING OF LEINSTER—HIS ADMIRATION OF HER VIRTUES—HER RESOLUTION TO EMBRACE A RELIGIOUS LIFE—A SUITOR PROPOSES MARRIAGE WITH ASSENT OF HER FAMILY— SHE REJECTS THIS OFFER—HER RELIGIOUS PROFESSION, AND OPINIONS ADVANCED RELATIVE TO IT—PROBABLE TIME AND PLACE—ESTABLISHMENT OF ST. BRIGID's FIRST RELIGIOUS HOUSE—SHE SELECTS THE BEATITUDE OF MERCY FOR HER SPECIAL PRACTICE—HER MIRACLES.
A SINGULAR Statement has been made,^ that the parents of Brigid ruled over
ancient biography.
'37 See " Trias Thaumaturga," Appendix Prima ad Acta S. Brigidse, pp. 599 to 602. In this Office, the following is a portion of
Qui per beatam Brigidam Decoravit Hiberniam, Vitam dans ejus lucidam.
the Fifth Lesson :
plaudit. "—/fo'^/, p. 600.
'38 These stanzas are as follows :—
mina a postulavit
"
Vol. II.
"
Religiosa qusedam fae-
" Haec
Quae mundo late clamit,
Hsec rosa temperantise
Cujus virtus non languit. "
'39 professor O'Looney's Copy, pp. ii, 12. ^o prom "Life of St. Brigid," in the
" Leabhar Breac," and " Book of Lismore. "
'^i By some called Homonymi.
^^^a See "The Martyrology of Donegal," edited by Rev. Dr. Todd and Rev. Dr.
Reeves, pp. 34, 35.
M3 See " The Life of St. Brigid," by an
Irish —
Priest, chap, i. , p. 13.
ut S.
secum exiret ad synodum quae collecta erat in Carnpo Liffaei, et a pater permittitur. Tunc vir quidem sanctus in synodo dormiens vidit visionem et surgens ait. Haec altera Maria, quae habitat inter nos. Respons. Virgo deportatur, honor ei amplius cumula- tur : Synodus instabat, nova Brigida Stella micabat. Sacra cohors plaudit, quia signum caelitus audit. Vers. Presbyter banc aliam denunciat esse Mariam. Sacra cohors
patre suo,
Brigidce
speculum munditise,
Christo canamus gloriam.
Chapter hi.
'
By Camerarius.
E
50 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [February i.
the Orkney islands,^ and had their residence in the province Cathensia3 in
Scotia. Under King Congall/ they helped to prevent Hengist and the Saxonss taking possession of those islands, according to the same ill-instructed ecclesiastical historian. ^ Several particulars, regarding our Saint's early youth, are supplied by Laurence of Durham, but, these are wanting in her other Acts. It is not easy to pronounce, whether some of those accounts are furnished by his own fertile imagination, or from authors, who ^vrote before his time. In various instances, however, they present a pleasing picture of virtues, that early adorned our Saint. We are told, as Brigid grew in age, she increased also in grace. Her natural endowments were likewise remarkable. She received an excellent education. To her, the Almighty granted personal gifts, which to others are often the occasion of
danger, in a spiritual sense. Whilst a mere child, her countenance was radiant with smiles, but her looks were truly angelic. These even betokened her future exalted sanctity. Her figure was moulded with a peculiar grace- fulness, while her natural intelligence caused the pagan master of her mother —for we are still left in the mirage of legend—to furnish his bond-woman's daughter opportunities for acquiring some special culture. Each day added
effulgence of beauty to Brigid's mental faculties, and to her natural bodily endowments; while,owingtoherindividualmerits,ablessingseemedtofall
on the Magus himself, who began to grow rich in possession of this world's
goods. From the very period of our Saint's infancy, it was surprising to find, that she exhibited little youthful levity. Her thoughts and actions were characterized by sound discretion, and while her lovely features beamed with a matronly reserve, she abhorred the follies of old dotards, as much as she did the amusements of young persons. All admired her justly-regulated mind, her propriety of speech, her dislike of merely terrestrial and transitory things, and her perseverance in holy practices. Worldly-minded men wondered, that she avoided all companionship with them, and women of light
character could not but feel mortified, when the holy virgin regarded them withhorror; whilethosepiousfemales,whodevotedthemselvessincerelyto God's service, felt rejoiced, when our Saint sought their company and con-
^
These are twenty-eight in number, and
they lie directly north from Caithness.
They are partly in the Northern and partly
in the German Ocean. In the old Pictish
language, they are said to have been i. , chap, ii. , p. 63. This happened, while called Ar Cath, or the Tail of Caithness.
Hence, classic writers have their denomina-
tion, Orcades. These are divided into the
North and South groups of Islands. Some
of these are called Skirrachs—corresponding
with the Irish word Skerries
chiefly barren rocks, often covered by the salt-water. Others, which abound in pas- turage, are designated Holms.
3 Now Caithness, a district in the extreme north-east of the mainland of Scotland. See an interesting account of it in Fullarton's "Imperial Gazetteer of Scotland," vol. i. , pp. 218 to 222.
^ King Congall I. , who was the forty- fourth monarch of Scotland, according to Buchanan, succeeded Constantine I. After a reign of twenty-two years. King Congall I. died A. D, 501. See "Renim Scoticarum Historia," lib. v. , pp. 133 fo 135. In the list of Pictish Kings, as furnished by Rev,
after the Romans
—which are
toria," lib. v. , pp. 125 to 131. The Picts and Scots had made so many inroads on the
Dr. J. F. S. Gordon, we find no such name, "
See Scotichronicon," vol. i. , pp. 5, 6.
s Plengist invaded Britain in 449. See
Dr. Lingard's
"
History of England," vol.
Eugene or Evan, the forty- first Scottish king, was on the throne.
'°3 See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga,"
Jocelyn's or Sexta Vita S. Patricii, cap.
Xciv. , xcv. , pp. 86, 87.
chap, iii. , p. 31.
*°9 In her exertions for forming congrega*
tions —of holy virgins and establishments for
ded so well with the them which coinci—
views of our Apostle she would and should
have acted under his guidance, were he
alive. there must have been Accordingly
frequent communications between them, concerning which the ancient writers could
"
not have been totally silent. See
siastical History of Ireland," vol. i. , chap* viii. j sec. ii*, n. 29, pp. 384, 385.
"°See Dr. Lanigan's "Ecclesiastical
History of Ireland," vol* i. , cap. viii. , sec, ii. , n. 29, p. 384.
^°'*
See
Septima Vita S. Patricii, lib. iii. , cap. iv. , pp. 149, 150, and n. 11, p. 184.
"Trias
Colgan's Thaumaturga,"
'°s See "The Life of St.
Irish Priest, chap, iii. , pp. 31 to 33.
'"*
an
See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Quarta Vita S. Patricii, xciii. , p. 47.
^°7 StQ Ibid. Sexta Vita S. Patricii, cap.
clxxxviii. , clxxxix. , p. 107.
108 jn "The Life of St. - Brigid," by an
Irish Priest, the author seems inclined to adopt this date for St. Patrick's death. See
Eccle-
Brigid," by
46 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [February i.
St. Brigid lived in the year 432, when St. Patrick first preached in Ireland, and that she survived him thirty years. "' As St. Brigid approached the
years of puberty, her parents thought of procuring her a partner for life; and they wished to espouse her to a husband of their own selection. But, this
holy virgin had long before resolved, on consecrating herself to the service of God, to whom she had already devoted herself, by those chaste disposi-
tions of soul, and by those ardent inspirations of piety, which so much distinguished her childhood. To her declarations thus made, it would appear, that her parents interposed no serious objections. She was in the bloom of maidenhood, when she resolved on entering the religious state. An opinion has been advanced, that she was only fourteen years of age, at the time of making her vows ;"^ but one better weighed may be more deserving our regard, that she was not a consecrated virgin, during the life-time of St. Patrick, and that she must at least have attained the sixteenth year of her age, to have been canonically eligible for this state. "3
Before we arrive at this event in her life, there are other circumstances
mentioned, regarding the holy virgin, in what are considered to be among the most questionable of her recorded acts. It may not be irrelevant, how- ever,tointroducethem. Whileatherfather'shouse,andbeforeshereturned to see her captive mother, it is related, that a certain religious widow,"'^ who lived in an adjoining village, asked our Saint's father to allow her Brigid's companionship to a Synod,"5 then held in the plain of the Liffy. ""^ To this request her father assented ; and while both proceeded on their way, a cer- tain holy man,"7 who was present at the Synod,"^ slept. He had a vision,
" I have beheld
the Synod, St. Brigid and her companion arrived. Then the same holy man
criedout "ThisistheMary,whomIhaveseen,forIknowwithcertainty ;
her appearance. " All, who were present, rendered their acknowledgment
at the same time. On from he said awaking sleep, ;
Mary,
with her, who said to whodwellsamongstyou. '""9 Whenthevenerablemanhadmentionedthisin
and a certain man
standing
me,
* This is
holy Mary,
to St.
"°
beholding
in her a
type
"^
of the Blessed
Virgin Mary. "'
Brigid,
XII "
See Louth Letters containing Infor-
mation relative to the Antiquities of the County, collected during the Progress of the
Ordnance Survey in 1835-1836," vol. i. , p. 287. Letter of Messrs. P. O'Keefe and T.
O'Conor, dated Dundalk, February iSth, 1836.
*" Such is Ussher's statement, founded on
the questionable authority of Hector Boece.
In an Irish Life, it is called a Synod of the Leinster Seniors.
"» See "The Life of St. Brigid," by an Irish Priest, chap, ii. , p. 16.
"° This is somewhat differently related in
an Irish Life of St. Brigid, cap. xii. , as
quoted by Colgan. See "Trias Thauma-
"3 This is Dr.
'" See " Trias Colgan's
conclusion. The Life of St. Brigid," by an Irish Priest, states, that about her sixteenth or
**
Thaumaturga. " Vita Tertia S. Brigidse, cap. xiv. , p. 528. In n. 9, p. 543, ibid, with the usual typo- graphical errors of his works, we are referred by Colgan to the sixteenth chapter of St. Brigid's Irish Life, where the holy man alluded to is St. Iber, bishop ; and for the eulogy pronounced on her, whereby she re- ceives as a title "the other Mary of the Irish," we are to examine, not the Third, "5 An Irish Life, quoted by Colgan, but the Twelfth chapter, in his Fourth Appendix to our Saint's Acts. There we have a different version of the story, related in the text, and regarding the consideration in which our Saint had been held by the ancient Irish, These called her another
Lanigan's
seventeenth year was that of her profession, the date being «mV<? r 469. See chap, iii. , p. 28.
"* In an Irish Life of St. Brigid, this woman is called a Virgin. In Professor O'Looney's Irish Life she is simply desig- nated "a religious woman," pp. ii, 12.
states, at cap. xii. , that this Synod was held at the spot, afterwards known as Kildare.
"^ Called Magh Liphe in Professor
O'Looney's Irish Life, pp. 11, 12.
"7 The Irish Life calls him Hibar or Ibar. In Professor O'Looney's Irish Life his name
Mother of God, or another Mary,
is written ibAip, pp. 1 1, 12.
"
ad Acta S. Bri-
Appendix Quarta
turga.
gidae, cap. xii. , p. 622.
February i. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 47
Thenceforth, this holy virgin was called " the Mary of the Gaedhels. """ The
learned Dr. Todd observes, commenting on this title : Here when it is said "
thatBrigidwas inthetypeofMary,"themeaning,perhaps,maybe,that sheresembledinformandfigurethepersonoftheBlessedVirgin; notthat
she was actually the Blessed Virgin, reappearing upon earth, but that, from the close resemblance of her features to those of Mary, and from her having been seen in the vision as Mary, and called by the Angel as " Holy Mary, that dwells amongst you," she was saluted by the assembled Synod as Mary,
"
and was thenceforth regarded as
gyrists call St. Brigid, the Mother of Christ," The Mother of my Lord," &c. , thus bestowing upon her attributes, belonging especially to the Blessed Virgin Mary. "* St. Columkille, it is stated, composed a certain Hymn in praise of St. Brigid. "5 This was a short metrical Irish composition, which has been rendered in a Latin version by Colgan,"^ and there St. Brigid is called "The Mother of Christ. ""^ In the panegyrical poem of St. Brogan Cloen,"^ which Colgan has printed, the same exalted praise is bestowed upon St. Brigid. Dr. Todd takes quotations from the original Irish, as Colgan's printed text is full of typographical errors. Omitting the Irish extracts, these following passages are submitted :"9
the Mary of the Irish/'"3 Other pane- ""
"
Of heaven, a sovereign the best bom. "
Brigit, mother of my Lord,
On these passages, the learned commentator remarks, that Brigid is strangely
spoken of, not as resembling the Virgin Mary in feature, or even in purity and sanctity, but as partaking wiih her, in some mystical sense, of the prero-
" Mother of Lord of heaven. " Never- my
of Mother of gative being
Jesus,
theless, it is certain, that the idea of a reappearance of Mary, in the person
of St. Brigid, which should make them one and the same person, was not in the minds of those writers, notwithstanding the extravagance of their lan- guage. ^3° Yet, it is clear, that Mary and Brigid are spoken of as two distinct
have been the author. The SchoHast also adds, " or it was Ultan of Ardbreecan who made this Hymn. "
"^ In one o—f these lines, St. Brigid is alluded to thus
" Haec Christi mater. " — "7 There is still some undefined beUef
— the discre- notwithstanding chronological
**'
According
to Professor Irish Life of St. Brigid, pp. 1 1, 12.
^"3 Seethe "Liber Hymnorum," Fasciculus I. Edited with notes, by Dr. James Hen- thorn Todd. Note B, pp. 65, 66, and nn. (f. g. ) ibid. There we find a like account, under the
Brigid,
of
heading, the Irish. "
** St.
the
Mary
"'^ In the Third Life the language is :
the Irish that St. people,
"Hsec est Maria (without the explanatory altera) quae habitat inter vos ;" and these are there given, as the words, not of the saint who saw the vision, but of the Angel seen in the vision, who stood with the Vir-
pancy among BrigidwasasisterofourBlessedLady. A
gin Mary, and said, not of St. Brigid, but "
legend prevails, that St. Brigid advanced
before the Mother of our Lord to the tem-
pie, and by an ostentatious exhibition, or
"praisga," of herself, carrying lighted can- dies on her head, she wished to divert at-
tention from the modest Mother-Virgin, Although the day was stormy, none of the candles were extinguished. Hence, our Blessed Lady enjoined St. Brigid's feast to be celebrated before that of the Purification, This account was furnished to the writer by
Rev. David B. Mulcahy, C. C. , Loughguile,
Co. Antrim, in a letter, dated April 26th,
1875.
^^^ His is also foimd in the composition
"Liber Hymnorum," p. 33.
"' As translated by Dr. Todd, —
of the B. V. Mary herself, Hsec est Maria quse habitat inter vos," thus strangely con-
founding the person of Mary and Brigid. It will be observed, however, that this ex- travagance is avoided in the Office printed
"
Liber Hymnorum," Note B, n, (n. ), pp. 68, 69.
"5 A portion of the original Irish of this
Hymn, with an English translation, is given
in 1622. See
by
Dr. Todd, in the work
already quoted :
and it is taken from the MS. "Liber
Hymnorum," p. 32. In the preface, it is
said, that St. Columkille is supposed to
*3o gt. Brogan Cloen afterwards says
O'Looney's
4S LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [February i.
beings, and the notion of reappearance of the former in the person of the latter is exckided. '^i Our Lord has said, that whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is his brother, and sister and mother,''^'' and this perhaps may be all that is meant by St. Brigid's pledging herself to be the Mother of Christ, and making herself so by words and deeds. According to another explanation, she who by continual elevation of mind, and fixed intention, keeps her thoughts ever upon Christ, may be said to travail with Christ, and figuratively to be the mother of Christ, and so to be, as it were, another Mary. ^33 Colgan has interpreted this prerogative of St. Brigid to be "the Mary of the Irish," because of the honour and veneration our people enter- tained for her over every other Saint—the Blessed Virgin only excepted— and because of her having had some similar kind of religious deference in comparison with the Holy Mother of God. '34 —
found with full musical notation, in the Antiphonary of Clondalkin, a MS. of the fourteenth century. '3^ It has also been reprinted by Colgan, and has
•'
The veiled Virgin who drives over the Currech
Is a shield against sharp weapons ;
None was found her equal, except Mary, Let us put our trust in my strength. "
promised or pledged herself to be Christ's
mother,' and made herself so by words or
deeds, Brigid, who is esteemed the Queen
of the true God. " The Hymn itself, how-
ever (v. 8), is content with the statement
that she was a virgin like to Holy Mary,
"
*'
Be upon them that recite it together.
There are two Virgins in heaven,
"Who will not give me a forgetful protec-
tion,
Mary and St. Brigid,
Under the protection of them both may
we remain. "
*3* To passages taken from this Irish
certainly softening the matter as much as possible, seeing that the ancient authorities place her on an equality with the Blessed Virgin, giving to her also the seemingly in- communicable title of Dei Genetrix, and the
' stillmoreunusualoneof Queenofthetrue
God. ' And,moreover,theystateexpressly that she was called the Mary of the Irish, and was recognised as such by an assembled Synod, in consequence of her personal resemblance to the B. Virgin Mary, whilst
Hymn
of St.
Dr. Todd — still a child, and therefore before she was Brogan Cloen, ap-
The accou—
nt of that
at Kildare but in a somewhat modifiedform isretainedinanOfficeofSt. Brigid,whichhasbeenprinted in Paris. '35 This Office, containing some minor variations, is also to be
In the last line there is a play upon the name of St. Brigid, and the I—rish word Btigiy "strength. " And again:
**
Marise SanctK similem. " ^32 St. Matt. xii. 50.
^33 This seems to be the
Every one that hears ;
peats [this poem],
The of blessing Brigid
every one that re-
idea, presented to the mind of the author, supposed to have been St. Ultan : "Christi matrem se spo-
be on him The blessing of Brigid and of God
^34 Dr. Todd here remarks
:
* * This is
pends the following notes. The Currech
i. e. , the Curragh of Kildare. The Scholiast
in a on this word " a
Irish
known to the people, or could have
received any honour or veneration from
them. " We are then referred Dr. Todd by
words of the supposed stanza of the Hymn in the text (taking the corrected reading of autumata for aut amata) are also remark-
'36 This latter is preserved in the Library of Trinity College, Dublin. It is classed in
a Catalogue of "MSS. there preserved, B, L3.
able : Christi matretn se spopondit ;
'
She
supposed Synod,
;
gloss says, cup|\ech
cursu equorum dictus est j" a curious proof
of the antiquity of its use as a race-course :
to which, perhaps, some allusion may be
intended in the description of St. Brigid, as
"the Nun (or veiled Virgin) who drives
oyer —the Currech. " And again : Two Vir-
gins. The word cAiLlech, here used, sig-
nifies a veiled or consecrated virgin, a nun,
derived probably from the Latin cucullus. ''^
The learned editor of the "Liber Hymno-
rum" thus continues his remarks: "The " Trias Thaumaturga," p. 600.
pondit, dictis atque factis fecit. "
to some learned and curious remarks on this
subject in Mr. Herbert's Cyclops Christianus,
p. 113, seq,, p. 137, p. 141-2. See the
"
Liber Hymnorum," Note B, pp. 65 to 68, and nn. (f,g,h,i,j,k,l,) ibid. Also Colgan's " Trias Thaumaturga," Appendix Secunda ad Acta S. Brigidoe, sec. xxiii. , p. 606, and Appendix Quarta ad Acta S. Brigidse, cap. xii. , p. 622, ibid.
'35 A. D. 1622. Noct. ii. , Lect. v. , Colgan's
February i. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 49
been republished by him, in common with various lessons and prayers, relating to our Saint, as found in other Breviaries. '37 In the same Office, there is a Hymn at Lauds, the two first stanzas of which evidently paraphrase the verses commencing with " Christus in nostra insula. "'38 The Irish Life of Brigid'39 relates, that after returning from the Synod, she went to visit her mother who was in bondage.
Some great characteristics of our holy virgin are thus alluded to in an
"
It was her anxious care to comfort the poor, to banish all distress, to relieve all wretchedness : there was no one more modest, more righteous, more humble, or more chaste ; she never looked in the face of man \ she was abstinent, she was spotless, she was prayerful, she was patient, shewasjoyfulinthecommandmentsofGod. Shewasaconsecratedshrine to receive the Body and Blood of Christ : she was the temple of God : her heart and her mind were an abiding throne for the Holy Ghost. She was bright in miracles ; her type among creatures is the dove among birds, the vine among trees, the sun amidst the stars. It is she that reHeves all who are in distress and danger ; it is she that subdues disease. It is she that restrains the angry fury of the sea. She is the Mary of Ireland. ^'^o This is not the sole highly-coloured panegyric found in our ancient literature. A
very old book of vellum, in which is found the Martyrology of Maelruain of Tallagh, and also the saints bearing the same name,'^^ with the names of
many mothers of the saints, states, that Brighit was following the manners and the life, which the holy Mary, Mother of Jesus, had practised. '^^ Such was her aptitude for devotional feeling, that she possessed every virtue which could adorn a child of Mary, or which could endear her to those who were around her. '43
CHAPTER III.
STATEMENT REGARDING ST. BRIGID's PARENTS—HER PERSONAL AND MENTAL ATTRAC- TIONS DURING HER EARLY YOUTH—ALLEGED TREATMENT BY HER PARENTS—HER GREAT CHARITY TOWARDS THE POOR—BROUGHT BEFORE DUNLAING, KING OF LEINSTER—HIS ADMIRATION OF HER VIRTUES—HER RESOLUTION TO EMBRACE A RELIGIOUS LIFE—A SUITOR PROPOSES MARRIAGE WITH ASSENT OF HER FAMILY— SHE REJECTS THIS OFFER—HER RELIGIOUS PROFESSION, AND OPINIONS ADVANCED RELATIVE TO IT—PROBABLE TIME AND PLACE—ESTABLISHMENT OF ST. BRIGID's FIRST RELIGIOUS HOUSE—SHE SELECTS THE BEATITUDE OF MERCY FOR HER SPECIAL PRACTICE—HER MIRACLES.
A SINGULAR Statement has been made,^ that the parents of Brigid ruled over
ancient biography.
'37 See " Trias Thaumaturga," Appendix Prima ad Acta S. Brigidse, pp. 599 to 602. In this Office, the following is a portion of
Qui per beatam Brigidam Decoravit Hiberniam, Vitam dans ejus lucidam.
the Fifth Lesson :
plaudit. "—/fo'^/, p. 600.
'38 These stanzas are as follows :—
mina a postulavit
"
Vol. II.
"
Religiosa qusedam fae-
" Haec
Quae mundo late clamit,
Hsec rosa temperantise
Cujus virtus non languit. "
'39 professor O'Looney's Copy, pp. ii, 12. ^o prom "Life of St. Brigid," in the
" Leabhar Breac," and " Book of Lismore. "
'^i By some called Homonymi.
^^^a See "The Martyrology of Donegal," edited by Rev. Dr. Todd and Rev. Dr.
Reeves, pp. 34, 35.
M3 See " The Life of St. Brigid," by an
Irish —
Priest, chap, i. , p. 13.
ut S.
secum exiret ad synodum quae collecta erat in Carnpo Liffaei, et a pater permittitur. Tunc vir quidem sanctus in synodo dormiens vidit visionem et surgens ait. Haec altera Maria, quae habitat inter nos. Respons. Virgo deportatur, honor ei amplius cumula- tur : Synodus instabat, nova Brigida Stella micabat. Sacra cohors plaudit, quia signum caelitus audit. Vers. Presbyter banc aliam denunciat esse Mariam. Sacra cohors
patre suo,
Brigidce
speculum munditise,
Christo canamus gloriam.
Chapter hi.
'
By Camerarius.
E
50 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [February i.
the Orkney islands,^ and had their residence in the province Cathensia3 in
Scotia. Under King Congall/ they helped to prevent Hengist and the Saxonss taking possession of those islands, according to the same ill-instructed ecclesiastical historian. ^ Several particulars, regarding our Saint's early youth, are supplied by Laurence of Durham, but, these are wanting in her other Acts. It is not easy to pronounce, whether some of those accounts are furnished by his own fertile imagination, or from authors, who ^vrote before his time. In various instances, however, they present a pleasing picture of virtues, that early adorned our Saint. We are told, as Brigid grew in age, she increased also in grace. Her natural endowments were likewise remarkable. She received an excellent education. To her, the Almighty granted personal gifts, which to others are often the occasion of
danger, in a spiritual sense. Whilst a mere child, her countenance was radiant with smiles, but her looks were truly angelic. These even betokened her future exalted sanctity. Her figure was moulded with a peculiar grace- fulness, while her natural intelligence caused the pagan master of her mother —for we are still left in the mirage of legend—to furnish his bond-woman's daughter opportunities for acquiring some special culture. Each day added
effulgence of beauty to Brigid's mental faculties, and to her natural bodily endowments; while,owingtoherindividualmerits,ablessingseemedtofall
on the Magus himself, who began to grow rich in possession of this world's
goods. From the very period of our Saint's infancy, it was surprising to find, that she exhibited little youthful levity. Her thoughts and actions were characterized by sound discretion, and while her lovely features beamed with a matronly reserve, she abhorred the follies of old dotards, as much as she did the amusements of young persons. All admired her justly-regulated mind, her propriety of speech, her dislike of merely terrestrial and transitory things, and her perseverance in holy practices. Worldly-minded men wondered, that she avoided all companionship with them, and women of light
character could not but feel mortified, when the holy virgin regarded them withhorror; whilethosepiousfemales,whodevotedthemselvessincerelyto God's service, felt rejoiced, when our Saint sought their company and con-
^
These are twenty-eight in number, and
they lie directly north from Caithness.
They are partly in the Northern and partly
in the German Ocean. In the old Pictish
language, they are said to have been i. , chap, ii. , p. 63. This happened, while called Ar Cath, or the Tail of Caithness.
Hence, classic writers have their denomina-
tion, Orcades. These are divided into the
North and South groups of Islands. Some
of these are called Skirrachs—corresponding
with the Irish word Skerries
chiefly barren rocks, often covered by the salt-water. Others, which abound in pas- turage, are designated Holms.
3 Now Caithness, a district in the extreme north-east of the mainland of Scotland. See an interesting account of it in Fullarton's "Imperial Gazetteer of Scotland," vol. i. , pp. 218 to 222.
^ King Congall I. , who was the forty- fourth monarch of Scotland, according to Buchanan, succeeded Constantine I. After a reign of twenty-two years. King Congall I. died A. D, 501. See "Renim Scoticarum Historia," lib. v. , pp. 133 fo 135. In the list of Pictish Kings, as furnished by Rev,
after the Romans
—which are
toria," lib. v. , pp. 125 to 131. The Picts and Scots had made so many inroads on the
Dr. J. F. S. Gordon, we find no such name, "
See Scotichronicon," vol. i. , pp. 5, 6.
s Plengist invaded Britain in 449. See
Dr. Lingard's
"
History of England," vol.
Eugene or Evan, the forty- first Scottish king, was on the throne.
