Brigid of Ireland is a Celtic goddess and Christian saint. Brigitte Irish Saint Brigitte Irish Life

The role of women in society in the Middle Ages was not insignificant, as we used to think about it. In all ages, and the middle ones are no exception, strong and ambitious women were born. Such was Saint Brigitte of Sweden. A lot says about her in the town of Vadstena, where we stopped during our trip to Sweden.

For me it has always been a mystery: by what criteria this or that person was canonized.

Well, more or less clear with the martyrs and St. Francis. But the rest are somehow not very good, especially with the Scandinavian characters.

However, it is quite obvious to me that outstanding personalities were recognized as Saints, and at least they should have been glorified during their lifetime. In the absence of the media, becoming famous was, to put it mildly, not easy.

Brigitte of Sweden became famous for two things: her revelations, which are recognized as outstanding examples of medieval literature, and the founding of a monastic order with its own charter. In addition, she made pilgrimages, gave advice to those in power and helped those in need.

The story of Brigitte of Sweden

The saint was born in 1303 into an aristocratic Swedish family. She was married at the age of 13. The marriage was successful. With her husband, they understood each other perfectly and they had eight children.

However, the role of wife and mother did not suit Brigitte, she began to conduct. The first vision happened to her at the age of seven - she saw the Virgin Mary. At the age of ten she first saw Christ.

In 1330, she became a maid of honor at the court of King Magnus II of Sweden Eriksson. At court, she tried to influence the king's decisions by telling him her revelations. However, the king did not listen to her very much, which earned her contempt. She often mentions him in her revelations not from the best side.

By the way, the Saint's "Revelations" were written in Latin, which she did not know. It is assumed that these revelations were recorded by her confessor Peter.

These revelations are also interesting because they are devoted to purely female issues. For example, how to dress, why you need jewelry, and do you need to obey men? Imagine, even in the Middle Ages, women asked themselves such a question.

She gives an unequivocal answer to this question: of course it is necessary, because a man works by the sweat of his brow. A medieval woman should have had no other answer, although the very formulation of such a question already speaks of doubts on this score.

However, the saint later resolves this contradiction in the charter of her brotherhood.

Vadstena monastery

Brigitte made the decision to become a nun after the death of her husband. He died in 1341 while on a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostelo. And as it should be in those days, she saw a "revelation." In it, the "voices" ordered her to create a monastic order.

So that Brigitte could create a monastic order, the king of Sweden allocated land to her in Vadstena for a future monastery. However, the lady did not find support in the person of Pope Clement VI. He from Avignon rejected her application for the establishment of a new order.

The monastic order conceived by Brigitte assumed the creation of a joint male and female monastery. At the same time, women must obey men in spiritual matters, and men to women in economic matters. An interesting fact was that the women led a reclusive lifestyle, while the men preached outside the walls of the monastery.

The order was approved after her death, and her daughter St. Catherine became the founder of the Vadstena monastery.

Now Vadstena is a small Swedish town located on Lake Vattern. The buildings of the former abbey are scattered throughout the whole block. https://www.upplevvadstena.se/en/abbey.htm

The most beautiful attraction in Vadstena is the old castle.

How Brigitte became a Saint.

During her stay in Rome, Brigitte became famous for her righteous lifestyle and mercy. In the seventieth year of her life, she went to Bethlehem and Jerusalem. Thus, she fulfilled the vow to the Virgin Mary, which she made many years ago. She died in 1373 in Rome, immediately after the pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Her body was subsequently reburied at Vadstena.

It was through the efforts of the saint's daughter, Catherine, that she was canonized in 1391. Brigitte is revered by the Catholic Church as the patroness of Europe. However, at home, the famous nun has an ambiguous attitude towards her.

Even Queen Christina once said that she wants to be ranked among the rational rather than among the saints. I was referring, of course, to Brigitte and her revelations, which Protestant Sweden considers to be a sign of dementia.

Already in our century, Swedish scientists decided to examine two skulls stored in the Vadstena Cathedral in order to test the assumption that Saint Brigitte had a benign brain tumor that would explain her “visions”. However, as a result, it turned out that the skulls do not belong to relatives and, in general, the difference between the deceased women is 200 years old. So it is not possible to clarify which powers are fake.

Leading an ascetic lifestyle, Saint Brigid was distinguished by an amazing love of poverty and boundless hospitality. Many people resorted to the saint's generosity and magnanimity, from the poor lepers to the outstanding hierarchs of the Church. Saint Brigid performed many healings and other wonderful miracles. According to legend, the saint once worked in the pouring rain and got wet to the skin. Returning home, she hung up her clothes to dry in the sunbeam, mistaking it for the branch of a tree out of fatigue. And the clothes of St. The brigits hung on the beam as if it were indeed a tree branch.

According to legend, Saint Patrick had special favor for Brigit and called her his most beloved disciple. She founded a monastic community, which began to grow rapidly thanks to the glory of the holy abbess. A huge oak tree also grew there, so the monastery was named Kell-Dara (modern. Kildar), which in Irish means the Church of the Oak. Even during the life of Saint Brigit, an episcopal see was founded in the monastery, to which the righteous Elder Konlet was elevated.

Followers of Saint Brigid founded monasteries throughout Ireland. To visit new monasteries, she had to travel a lot, and the appearance of the saint was always accompanied by miracles. With the sign of the cross, she cast out demons, healed diseases, converted sinners. Her presence inspired people with love for God. All the celebrities of that time knew and respected Saint Brigid.

Having predicted the day of her death, she died on February 1. The death of the saint dates back to the twenties of the 6th century. Saint Brigid is revered, along with Saint Patrick, as the patroness of Ireland. After the Mother of God, it is to her that the inhabitants of these lands most often turn to prayer. In the Middle Ages, her veneration spread throughout Europe.

Compiled by - hieromonk Macarius of Simonopetrsky,
adapted Russian translation - Sretensky Monastery publishing house

This memory is not included in the Months of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Ancient Irish records indicate that St. Brigid passed away in 524 or 526, the lives of the saint, written in Latin and in Irish, have survived, but the earliest of them were created more than a hundred years after her death and do not agree with each other in everything. Since the Lives contain not a lot of reliable information about St. Brigitte, some doubted its historical existence.

The head of St. Brigid is kept in the parish church in Lumiar near Lisbon (Portugal), where the shrine, according to legend, was brought in the 13th century. three knights from Ireland.

She is revered in Ireland as the Blessed Virgin Herself. The holiday in honor of St. Brigid is one of the most beloved in Ireland. The image of this Christian saint merges with the ancient Celtic goddess Brigit, the patroness of women in labor, herds and agricultural labors. There is a legend that says that Saint Brigid was the ancestor of the Most Holy Virgin herself. In the image of this saint, two seemingly opposite traditions are intertwined: folk and Christian. After all, Brigid was revered in ancient Ireland as a pagan deity.

On the eve of Saint Brigita's day in the villages, a vessel with milk or cottage cheese is placed on the windowsills so that the saint, passing by, blesses the labors of the owners. Often the beggars eat food offered for blessing, but St. Brigid, during her earthly life, fed the beggars, and also received strangers and vagabonds for the night. Saint Brigid is also considered the patroness of students and those who want to become a priest. Her life is sometimes indistinguishable from the ancient epic.

Saint Brigid was the daughter of a Leinster druid and a Christian woman from the Pictish tribe. The woman, the mother of Saint Brigid, was distinguished by her extraordinary beauty. She was a royal slave, but then the king gave her to a famous poet, who sold her to a druid. So the very birth of the saint is surrounded by an ancient mystery. According to legend, at the time of the birth of Saint Brigita, the room was lit up with heavenly light, and her mother was informed that her child would become an extraordinary saint. The girl grew up beautiful, wise and strict. Once, while traveling with her mother, Saint Brigid met her father. The king, struck by the girl's beauty and ingenuity, took her to his house as a servant. Saint Brigid meticulously performed all her duties, although her treatment was very strict. Saint Brigid was faithful to the Christian faith, in which she was raised by her mother, who received Holy Baptism from Patrick himself. The girl had to resist the pagan way of life. However, she believed in Christ so much and was so wise that she was apparently accompanied by divine grace. According to legend, on the eve of one celebration she was given the task of filling all the vessels in the pantry with milk. But even all the cows in the royal pens together could not have produced that much milk. Saint Brigid retired to pray to God in a small cage at the storeroom, and her prayers were heard. Then Oka filled the remaining empty vessels with water, overshadowed them with the holy cross, and the water in them turned into milk. This is a miracle: the filling of the vessels with milk or beer, after which it was done several times. When asked how she did it, the girl replied that the Lord Jesus Christ did it. Saint Brigid was distinguished by extraordinary generosity, while still living in her mother's house. One day she gave out to the poor the entire supply of oil that was in the house. Fearing the wrath of her mother, Brigid prayed to God, and the oil filled the empty vessels again. On another occasion, she took off her cloak and shoes to give to a beggar. When she lived in the house of King Dubtah, her father, she gave his sword to the leper.

There is a legend about how Saint Brigid refused to marry for Christ's sake. She was the daughter of a king, intelligent, beautiful and well-bred. In addition, she had reached the age at which people were usually married at that time. Soon one of the Ulster kings wooed Saint Brigit and even began to threaten that he would lay down a song of reproach on her. But Saint Brigid was not afraid of that, on the contrary. She tore out her left eye and held it out in the palm of her hand to the king. He was scared; he could not marry a one-eyed girl. So as soon as he refused, Saint Brigid again inserted the torn out eye into the eye socket, he rooted and began to see again. To an attempt to renew the matchmaking, the girl replied: "I belong to Christ and have already been betrothed to him in Holy Baptism." Like Christ Himself, like the saints of the first centuries of Christianity, she chose a celibate life.

Living at the court of her father, Saint Brigid performed many miracles and deeds of mercy. The fame of her spread throughout the district. Over time, the king agreed to grant her freedom. Thus, Saint Brigid received the opportunity to devote her life entirely to the service of Christ, works of mercy and prayer. She traveled with a small retinue of seven girls to north Leinster and received the monastic robe from Bishop Michaelis. The first monastery she founded, in Kil Dair, was notable for the poverty of the environment and economy. But Saint Brigid encouraged the sisters, taught patience, supported the exhausted, healed the sick, tried to be everything for everyone. Her whole life is a single example of mercy. The fame of her has already spread throughout Ireland.

Once on the eve of Easter, Keel Dair was left with only a sack of malt, a tub and two tubs for making beer. There were eighteen temples in the Keel Dayre Mag Talah district, which wished to arrange Easter festivities with refreshing and amusing drinks. Despite the lack of utensils and raw materials, Saint Brigid blessed the brewing of beer. In one bucket they put the wort, and in the other bucket they made beer. Kadkoyu collected beer from the first tub and carried it to the courtyards of the temples. And while the sisters carried a tub of beer to the courtyard, new wort was fermented in one tub, and beer was ripening in the other tub. Thus, all eighteen temples received enough fortifying drink for the Easter holidays.

Saint Brigid was not afraid to heal lepers - people rejected by society. In no other life there are so many different cases of the description of healing from leprosy, as in the life of St. Brigita of Kildare. Sometimes the mentally ill were brought to her; Saint Brigid, as the Savior Himself, did not disdain anyone, in all she saw the image of God. She also possessed the gift of judgment. Sometimes they turned to her almost like a judge, when all hopes for earthly justice were exhausted. Tradition says that once for healing several lepers came to Saint Brigit. Saint Brigid foresaw strife between them. And therefore, first she healed one, the one who gave thanks to God. However, he began to boast that he was healed before the others, and after boasting, he fell ill again. But then he repented of his vain boasting and again cleansed himself of leprosy. Then Saint Brigid healed his companions too. When the quarrel between the lepers resumed, the leprosy returned to those who envied their friend, and the one who praised God got rid of the leprosy completely.

Students and priests of Ireland sought Saint Brigit for help and support. She was considered an eldress, a vessel of wisdom and many other gifts. She is often referred to as the Woman Bishop; for since the beginning of the Saxon conquest of the fifth and sixth centuries, Ireland was cut off from the continental church, and she had to survive in very difficult conditions. One bishop asked Saint Brigid how she prayed. According to legend, Saint Brigid replied that from her youth her heart became betrothed to Christ and she never asked for this gift back. The memory of Saint Brigita of Kildare is celebrated on February 1.

via kamenah

Biography

About the life of St. Little reliable information has survived to Brigitte.

Three lives of St. Brigid (one of whom was Kylian of Ireland) preserved in a large number of manuscripts and variants. Two Lives are written in Latin, which are usually called Vita I, or Vita Prima, and Vita II... The third life is written in Old Irish - Vita III, or Bethu Brigde (BB)... All of these texts have a complex handwritten tradition. First Life ( Vita I) was written between 650 and 725. However, the first life, according to medievalists, is not the most ancient. In its style and themes, it is typical of Irish hagiographic literature of the eighth and subsequent centuries. Second Life ( Vita II), smaller in volume, is one of the four works of hagiographic literature of the seventh century, which have an author - he was Kogitos of Kildare (lat. Cogitosus, commemorated April 18).

According to her life, which is largely legendary, her father was the pagan king of Leinster, and her mother was a slave from among the Picts, converted to Christianity by St. Patrick.

Brigid is glorified not only for her miracles, but also for her kindness and mercy: she distributes food to the poor, heals the sick, without refusing to help anyone.

In the hands of Brigitte, meat, butter, treats for the guests practically never run out, there is enough food and drink for everyone. These plots have something in common with the gospel miracle with five loaves of bread and fish, on the one hand, and with the properties of the pagan goddess of fertility Brigit. To ensure that all guests have enough milk, her cows are milked three times a day. But her main talent is brewing:

It happened before Easter: “What should we do? - Brigita asked her girls. - We have a bag of malt. We need to let him wander, for we cannot be left without beer at Easter. There are eighteen churches in Magic Talah. How to give them beer for Easter, a feast in honor of the Lord, so that it would be drink and not food? Moreover, we have no vessels. " It was true. The house had only one tub and two tubs. "Good. Let's cook. " This is what was done: in one tub the wort was prepared, in the other it was placed to ferment; and what was supposed to wander in the second tub, and from it the tub was filled and taken to each church in turn and returned back, but, although they returned quickly, the tub had time to be filled with beer. Eighteen full tubs were emptied from the tub and that was enough for Easter. And in no church was there a shortage of holidays from Easter to Fomin Sunday, thanks to the labors of Brigit.

St. Brigitte in the monastery she founded in g, but is buried in Downpatrick next to St. Patrick, with whom she is considered the patron saint of Ireland.

Veneration of St. Brigid spread quickly, first throughout Ireland and then throughout the western church. Memory of St. Brigid of Ireland in the Catholic Church - February 1, in the Orthodox Church - January 23 st. Art.

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