Brigid or Brigit ( , ; 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.

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.

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.

In early Irish literature
Cormac's Glossary, written by Christian scribes in the 9th century and based on earlier sources, says that Brigit was a goddess and daughter of the Dagda. It describes her as a "goddess of poets" and "woman of wisdom" or sage, who is also famous for her "protecting care". It says that Brigit has two sisters: Brigit the physician or "woman of healing", and Brigit the smith. It explains that from these, all goddesses in Ireland are called Brigit; suggesting that it "may have been more of a title than a personal name".

The Lebor Gabála Érenn also calls Brigit a poetess and daughter of the Dagda. It says she has two oxen, Fea and Femen, from whom are named Mag Fea (the plain of the River Barrow) and Mag Femin (the plain of the River Suir). Elsewhere, these are named as the two oxen of Dil, "radiant of beauty," which may have been a byname for Brigid.  It also says she possesses the "king of boars", Torc Triath (from whom the plain of Treithirne is named), and the "king of wethers", Cirb (from whom the plain of Cirb is named). The animals were said to cry out whenever plundering was committed in Ireland. This suggests Brigid was a guardian goddess of domesticated animals. 

In Cath Maige Tuired, Bríg is the wife of Bres and bears him a son, Ruadán. His name is cognate to several words in Indo-European languages that mean "red, rust", etc. The story says she began the custom of keening, a combination of wailing and singing, while mourning the death of Ruadán. She is credited in the same passage with inventing a whistle used for night travel.

In her English retellings of Irish myth, Lady Augusta Gregory describes Brigit as "a woman of poetry, and poets worshipped her, for her sway was very great and very noble.  And she was a woman of healing along with that, and a woman of smith's work, and it was she first made the whistle for calling one to another through the night."

Brigid and Saint Brigid

Historians suggest that the goddess Brigid was syncretized with the Christian saint of the same name. According to medievalist Pamela Berger, Christian monks "took the ancient figure of the mother goddess and grafted her name and functions onto her Christian counterpart," Brigid of Kildare. 

The goddess and saint have many of the same associations. Saint Brigid is considered a patroness of healers, poets, blacksmiths, livestock and dairy workers, as well as serpents (in Scotland) and the arrival of spring. 

The saint's hagiographies "are mainly anecdotes and miracle stories, some of which are deeply rooted in Irish pagan folklore". Dáithí Ó hÓgáin wrote that the melding of pagan goddess and Christian saint can be seen in some of the saint's miracles, where she multiplies food, bestows cattle and sheep, controls the weather, and is linked with fire or thermal springs.

In the late 12th century, Gerald of Wales wrote that nineteen nuns took turns keeping a perpetual fire burning at Kildare in honour of Saint Brigid. He said this fire was kept burning since Brigid's time, and it is suggested it originally belonged to a temple of Brigit the goddess. The Roman goddess Vesta and the Greek goddess Hestia had perpetual fires tended by priestesses. According to Gerald, it was ringed by a hedge that no man was allowed to cross, lest he be cursed.

The saint is associated with many holy wells and clootie wells in Ireland and Britain, where small strips of cloth or ribbons are left as part of a healing ritual. Celtic healing goddesses, such as Sirona and Coventina, were often associated with sacred springs. 

Saint Brigid's Day is 1 February. It was originally Imbolc, the first day of spring in Irish tradition. Because Saint Brigid has been theorised as linked to the goddess Brigid, some associate the festival of Imbolc with the goddess.

Saint Brigid's Day or Imbolc is traditionally a time for weather prognostication:

Neo-Paganism 
Brigid is an important figure for some modern pagans, who emphasize her triple aspect. She is sometimes worshipped in conjunction with Lugh or Cernunnos.

Name
Middle Irish Brigit  came to be spelled Briġid and Brighid  by the early modern Irish period. Since the spelling reform of 1948, this has been spelled Bríd . The earlier form gave rise to various forms in the languages of Europe, starting from the Medieval Latin Brigida, and from there to English Bridget, French Brigitte, Swedish Birgitta and Finnish Piritta.

The name comes from Proto-Celtic *Brigantī and means "the high one" or "the exalted one". It is cognate with the name of the ancient British goddess Brigantia, with whom Brigid is thought to have some relation. It is also cognate with the Old High German personal name Burgunt, and the Sanskrit word Bṛhatī (बृहती) "high", an epithet of the Hindu dawn goddess Ushas. The ultimate source is Proto-Indo-European *bʰr̥ǵʰéntih₂ (feminine form of *bʰérǵʰonts, "high"), derived from the root *bʰerǵʰ- ("to rise"). Xavier Delamarre, citing E. Campanile, suggests that Brigid could be a continuation of the Indo-European dawn goddess.

See also
 Brigid's cross
 List of Irish-language given names
 Saraswati
 Maman Brigitte
Perchta
Athena

References

Further reading
Bitel, Lisa M. 2001. St. Brigit of Ireland: From Virgin Saint to Fertility Goddess
 Catháin, Séamas Ó. “Hearth-Prayers and Other Traditions of Brigit: Celtic Goddess and Holy Woman.” The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, vol. 122, 1992, pp. 12–34. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/25509020. Accessed 7 May 2020.

External links

Brighid Goddess and Saint
Mary Jones's entry on Brigid
Sloinntireachd Bhride (Genealogy of Bride) from the Carmina Gadelica

Arts goddesses
Domestic and hearth deities
Fire goddesses
Health goddesses
Irish goddesses
Smithing goddesses
Triple goddesses
Tuatha Dé Danann
Water goddesses
Irish royal consorts
Wisdom goddesses
Women metalsmiths
Crafts goddesses
Celtic goddesses
Dawn goddesses
브리이드()는 아일랜드 신화의 투어허 데 다넌의 일원으로, 다그다 모르의 딸이자 브레스의 아내이다.

역시 브리이드라는 이름의 여동생이 둘 있다고 하며, 켈트의 고전적인 삼신일체로 여겨진다.

가족관계 
《에린 침략의 서》에 따르면 다그다 모르와 어느 시인 사이에 태어난 딸이다. 같은 구절에서 그녀는 페(Fe)와 멘(Men)이라는 거세한 수소를 두 마리 가지고 있으며, 풀밭에서 입은 찰과상을 그 소들의 이름을 따서 페멘(Femen) 이라고 부른다고 한다. 또한 브리이드는 "돼지의 왕"인 토르크 트리어흐와 "거세한 양의 왕"인 키르브(Cirb)를 소유했으며, 키르브 들판은 이 양 키르브의 이름을 딴 것이라고 한다. 다그다의 딸이므로 브리이드는 커마이트, 앙구스, 미디르, 보드브 데르그 등의 배다른 자매가 된다.

출전 
모이 투라 전투 때 브리이드와 브레스 사이에 낳은 아들 루아단(Ruadán)이 포모르의 편에 서서 싸우다 죽자 브리이드는 아들의 죽음을 애도하려고 흐느낌과 노래가 합쳐진 애가(哀歌, keening)를 만들었다고 한다. 같은 구절에서 밤에 돌아다니기 위해 호루라기를 발명한 것도 그녀라고 한다.

브리이드는 시가, 대장일, 의료, 예술과 장인, 마소를 비롯한 가축, 성스러운 우물, 뱀(스코틀랜드에서), 그리고 겨울이 끝나고 찾아오는 초봄의 여신으로 생각된다. 아일랜드에 기독교가 전해진 뒤, 킬데어에서 수녀 열아홉 명이 성인의 불꽃을 꺼뜨리지 않도록 지키는데, 이것은 기독교가 전래되기 전에 여성들이 브리이드의 불을 지킨 관습의 연장에 있는 것으로 여겨진다. 브리이드의 축제일인 임볼릭은 전통적으로 날씨를 예언하는 시기였다.Thig an nathair as an toll
Là donn Brìde,
Ged robh trì troighean dhen t-sneachd
Air leac an làir.

평평한 땅 위로
아직 눈이 3 피트는 쌓여 있지만
브리이드의 날에
뱀이 구멍에서 기어나오네

브리이드와 성 브리지다 
중세가 되자 브리이드 여신은 동명의 기독교 성인과 혼합되었다. 중세학자 Pamela Berger에 따르면 기독교 "수도사들은 고대의 어머니 여신의 이름과 역할을 그녀의 기독교 상대역"인 아일랜드의 브리지다에게 "접붙였다."

성 브리지다는 킬데어에 위치한 성소에서 19명의 수녀가 꺼뜨리지 않게 지키는 불과 관련이 있다. 지랄두스 캄브렌시스를 비롯한 연대기작자들에 의하면 킬데어의 성스러운 불은 남자는 통과할 수 없는 생울타리로 둘러싸여 있으며, 울타리를 넘으려고 하는 남자는 저주를 받아 미치거나 죽거나 불구가 된다고 한다.

여성 사제가 성스러운 "영원한 불"을 지키는 관습은 기독교 이전 인도-유럽 종교에서 빈번히 나타난다. 대표적인 예로 로마의 베스타, 그리스의 헤스티아가 있다.

여신 브리이드와 성녀 브리지다 모두 킬데어를 비롯한 여러 켈트의 땅에 존재하는 성스러운 우물과 관련지어진다. 우물 옆의 나무에 천이나 넝마조각을 묶어 매다는 클루티를 비롯한, 브리이드에게 빌거나 그녀를 기리는 여러 관습이 여전히 켈트계 땅에서, 또 켈트계 이주자들에 의해 행해지고 있다.

축제 
로마 가톨릭교회, 동방 정교회, 일부 성공회에서 2월 1일을 성 브리지다 축일로 지내고 있다. 또한 아일랜드의 임볼릭은 브리이드 여신과 관계된 이교의 축제이다.

이름의 어원과 이명 
고대 아일랜드어의 Brigit [ˈbrɪʝɪdʲ]는 현대 아일랜드어에서는 Brighid라고 쓰고 [ˈbriːdʲ]라고 발음한다. 초기 형태는 영어의 Bridget가 발생하게 하였으며, 현대 영어에서는 이제 Brigid라고 쓴다.

 Brìghde/Brìde (스코틀랜드)
 Fraid (웨일스)
 Brigindū (갈리아)
 Brigantia (그레이트브리튼)
 Brigantia (옛 갈리시아, 현대 철자는 Betanzos)
 Braga (옛 갈리시아, 현 포르투갈 북부)
 Bragança (옛 갈리시아, 현 포르투갈 북부)
 Brigantis (그레이트브리튼)
 Bregenz (오스트리아)

같이 보기 
 아일랜드의 브리지다
 브리이드 십자
 임볼릭

각주

참고 자료 

 Bitel, Lisa M. 2001. St. Brigit of Ireland: From Virgin Saint to Fertility Goddess
 MacKillop, James. 1998. Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. (Oxford: Oxford University Press) 
 The Slaney Press. 1994. Lady Gregory's Complete Irish Mythology. (London: The Slaney Press)

외부 링크 
 St. Brigid Fire Pictures of St. Brigits Church in Kildare and the sacred fire pit.
 Sloinntireachd Bhride (Genealogy of Bride) from the Carmina Gadelica
 Mary Jones's entry on Brigid
 Brighid: What do we really know? by Francine Nicholson 

아일랜드의 여신
봄의 신
불의 여신
물의 여신
건강의 신
예술의 여신
투어허 데 다넌
삼상신