Ardagh History

Legend says that St. Patrick arrived in Ardagh c.434 and created a Christian settlement over which he put his nephew, Mel of Ardagh, in charge as bishop. The village is beside Ardagh Mountain (Irish Árd Archadh means "high field"), a hill 650 feet high.

The mountain was originally known as Brí Leith. One of the High King's rights was bilberries from Brí Leith for his traditional harvest meal. (Bilberries look like blueberries of North America but are not the same species. In Ireland they are gathered on the last Sunday of July, and at Lughnasadh.) Brí Leith was the legendary home of Midir, a king and son of Dagda of the Tuatha Dé Danann.

After Patrick, it became an important part of Ireland's early Christian history, but there are no records of Mél's successors as bishop of Ardagh until the reign of Henry II and the arrival in Ireland of the English. Brigid of Kildare was said to have spent her earliest years as a nun in the Ardagh monastery, under the mentorship of Mél.

The English attempt to take over Ireland (one of many) caused the burning of the original church and town. In 1230, after being restored, there was further trouble over choosing a bishop. The disagreement turned to violence, and part of the cathedral was once again destroyed. Another dispute over episcopal control in 1496 again destroyed the entire church, leaving only an altar standing. The illustration above shows what little remains of the Church of Mél behind some gravestones.

There was more than one location in Ireland named Ardagh. We've been talking about Ardagh in County Longford, but there was another in County Limerick, in which a treasure hoard was discovered in 1868 in a potato field. Tomorrow we'll show off the Ardagh Hoard.

Mél of Ardagh

St. Patrick had sisters. One of them was discussed yesterday, Derarca, called the "mother of saints" because she had so many children who became saints and or bishops. Four of her sons were named Mél, Melchu, Munis, and Rioch. (Some historians think Mél and Melcghu ere the same person.) They went with their uncle Patrick to Ireland tp help with his mission.

Patrick established a church at Ardagh and made Mél its bishop. (The illustration is of Patrick consecrating Mél.) Mél was a "traveling bishop," supposedly never staying in one place long but always moving to spread his missionary message. He performed manual labor to earn his living as he went. He spent part of his time living on the farm of his aunt Lupait, during which rumors spread to discredit him that he and she were living an inappropriate and scandalous life together. Patrick himself went to investigate, but Lupait and Mél proved their innocence by performing miracles. Lupait survived a Trial by Ordeal by carrying hot coals without harm. Mél produced a live fish by ploughing it up in a field.

In contrast to this reported wandering life, he also is said to have built a monastery at Ardagh, and was its abbot as well as a bishop (difficult to do if you aren't around much). Brigid of Kildare visited Ardagh for a time, and Mél was her mentor there. He granted her the authority of an abbess, which was a benefit when she established her own monastery.

Mél is remembered these days in a cathedral at Longford dedicated to St. Mél, as well as a college. His feast day is 7 February, and has taken on an unusual observance. It is seen as a holiday for single people (perhaps as a rebellion against all the fuss of St. Valentine's Day a week later). On 7 February in Longford, single people celebrate the benefits of being single, and even send cards and host parties for singles.

Ardagh was important as an early Christian diocese in Ireland, but its history traces back longer than that. Let's talk about its folkloric traditions tomorrow.

St. Patrick's Family

Whether Brigid of Kildare was an early Irish saint or a pre-Christian goddess, her legend says that her mother was a slave baptized by St. Patrick, and that she was mentored by Patrick's nephew, Mél of Ardagh. As it turns out, Patrick had more than a few nephews who followed in his footsteps.

Patrick had a sister, Derarca, known as St. Derarca and the "mother of saints" because of her children's careers. Our first indication of her comes from the Vita tripartita Sancti Patricii (Tripartite Life of Saint Patrick), which is believed to have been written within a century of Patrick's death. It mentions that Patrick had two sisters, and when he came to County Derry for an ordination he found three deacons there who were his nephews. (To be honest, Patrick's own very brief account of his life mentions no sisters.)

Legend says that Derarca married twice. Her first husband was purported to be Conan Meriadoc; she bore him Gradlon Mawr, later King of Brittany. (Another legend says that her first husband was Restitutus the Lombard.) Her second husband was Conis the Briton. If you add up all the children attributed to her, you have 17 sons—all of whom became bishops and/or saints—and at least two daughters. (The illustration shows where her house is said to have stood, on Valentia Island in Kerry, of which she is the patron.)

Her daughters were Saint Eiche of Kilglass and Saint Lalloc of Senlis. Her other children included Saint Sechnall of Dunshaughlin; Saint Nectan of Killunche; Saint Auxilius of Killossey; Saint Diarmaid of Druim-corcortri; Dabonna, Mogornon, Drioc, Luguat, and Coemed Maccu Baird.

The three deacons Patrick encountered in Derry, however, were Saint Reat, Saint Nenn, and Saint Aedh. They are commemorated on 3 March, 25 April, and 31 August. Some records say Patrick had several sisters, and I am not certain of the mother of these three. 

There was one child in particular, son of Derarca and Conis, of whom we do hear more, and that is the Mél of Ardagh mentioned above. I'll tell you about him tomorrow.

St. Brigid Cross

It is not unusual for Christian symbols of the cross to have variation. We all recognize the two straight lines perpendicular to each other, with a horizontal one shorter than the vertical one, and spaced about one-quarter to one-third from the top of the vertical.

There is, however, an upside-down or inverted cross in Christian tradition, the Cross of St. Peter. In Catholic tradition, when Peter was to be crucified he requested that the cross be upside-down. This comes from the "Acts of Peter," a 2nd-century Greek apocryphal work. The author says that Peter's request was to make a point that the beliefs of his persecutors were opposite of what they should be.

But there is also St. Andrew's Cross, the shape called saltire. It most resembles the letter "X"; it is named for St. Andrew because of the tradition that he was martyred by being bound to an X-shaped crucifix.

With those examples in mind, let's look at St. Brigid's Cross, associated with Brigid of Kildare. (The image above is from a site that will show you how to make it.) traditionally, Brigid's Cross is made from freshly cut reeds on 1 or 2 February, the cross-quarter festival of Candlemas. The rushes or reeds were pulled on the eve of her day, then crosses were made the next day to protect the home during the coming year.

I think this cross is just one more piece of evidence that Brigid was a legend, not a living person. Despite the stories—and even physical relics that exist but only appeared centuries after she supposedly lived—it seems more likely, as some historians believe, that the stories of St. Brigid are a Christianization of the Celtic goddess Brigid, a member of the Tuatha Dé Danann.

There is no real evidence for her existence. The miracles attributed to her parallel some stories out of folklore. Kildare, where she established a monastery, comes from Gaelic Cill Dara, "Church of the Oak," an oddly pagan-sounding name for a Christian church. Her feast day is Imbolc, the pre-Christian calendar's start of spring. She was raised in the house of a druid (!), and a white cow magically appeared to provide milk for her—not a unique animal to show up in times of need in Celtic folklore. St. Brigid and the goddess Brigid have some of the same associations: healing, metalwork, dairy workers, farming.

Her cross is different from other Christian cross variations, not just by its shape, but because the shape seems secondary to its construction from natural materials, still green, and re-created annually to ensure protection. Certainly, crosses and crucifixes are worn for protection, as are other amulets and talismans, but the Brigid Cross is so connected to Nature that it allies more closely to the pre-Christian traditions in Ireland than the later introduction of Christianity.

There are historical figures tied to her legend though, like the King of Leinster and St. Patrick. That king and Brigid's mother Broicsech were both baptized by Patrick. The Book of Armagh, relied on for its early texts about Patrick, clearly states the important friendship between Patrick and Brigid. Patrick died c.461, however, and the best sources for St. Brigid claim she was born c.451.

Speaking of the two, however: the Brigid story also states that her mentor was Mél of Ardagh, who was Patrick's nephew. I have to confess that in none of the reading I have done about St. Patrick have I seen references to his extended family—and it turns out it was pretty extensive! Tomorrow we'll look at the relatives of St. Patrick.

St. Brigid

When the King of Leinster, Crimthann Mac Énnai (died 483) told his vassal Dubhthach to free a young girl from slavery, he knew she was special, but could not predict that Brigid of Kildare (c.451 - c.525) would grow up to be a saint.

Tradition says that Brigid founded a monastery at Kildare  (Cill Dara, "church of the oak"), with seven companions. She became a "consecrated virgin"; that is, she pledged to live a life of virginity as a bride of Christ. This was confirmed (according to the stories) by either a bishop who became St. Mac Caille or by Saint Mél of Ardagh (a nephew of St. Patrick by Patrick's sister Darerca).

Brigid invited a hermit, Conleth from Connell, to help her, and they founded two institutions: one for women and one for men. Conleth became the first bishop of Kildare. Kildare was ruled for hundreds of years by co-equal abbess-bishops and abbot-bishops, became an important center of religious learning, and developed into a cathedral city.

Conleth, who was a metalsmith and illuminator, oversaw a school of art at Kildare. A Gospel book made there was praised by Gerald of Wales in the 12th century. His description of it matches what we now know as the Book of Kells.

Miracles attributed to Brigid include turning water to beer, calming the wind and rain, and healing wounds. A more unusual miracle took place when she asked the King of Leinster for the land to build the monastery and was denied. After praying, she asked the king if he would grant her as much land as her cloak would cover. The king, of course, agreed. She handed her cloak to four women, asking them to each take a corner and run off in the four cardinal directions. The cloak expanded more and more, threatening to cover hundreds of acres.

The panicked king asked what she was doing, and Brigid told him she intended to cover his whole kingdom in response to his stinginess. He pleaded with her to call the women back and he would give her a suitable plot of land.

Brigid's Feast day is 1 February, the same date as the pre-Christian festival of Imbolc that heralds the start of spring, and involves weaving Brigid crosses. I want to talk about the Brigid cross tomorrow, and whether it is a clue to Brigid's existence as, not a saint, but a goddess. See you then.