About Druids

One of the earliest recorded descriptions of druids comes from Julius Caesar, who encountered them in the conquest of Gaul in the 1st century BCE. In Book 6 of his Commentarii de Bello Gallico ("Commentaries on the Gallic War"), he has a few chapters on the social structure of Gaul. He lists two groups that were prominent in Gallic society, druids and nobles. Unfortunately, we should be careful what we take as fact, since a lot of what he wrote was hearsay, and some comes from an account a century earlier by another politician, Posidonius.

Posidonius decided in the 90s BCE to travel the world. He studied the Celts in Gaul, describing customs like nailing skulls to doorways as trophies. The Celts told him that they honored druids, whose descriptions caused Posidonius to describe druids as philosophers. Posidonius' writing on the lands of the Celts is lost, but was quoted by others, such as Caesar.

Julius Caesar commented on the role of human sacrifice, including of innocent people, and the option of burning alive hundreds of people to protect the larger population from famine or plague. The legend of the "wicker man" (seen above), entrapping several people in the wicker-made construct and burning the whole, comes from one line of Caesar's, which is believed to have been inspired by the stories of Posidonius:

They have images of immense size, the limbs of which are framed with twisted twigs and filled with living persons. These being set on fire, those within are encompassed by the flames.

The 1st-century Greek geographer Strabo also mentions this practice, saying that innocent people would be sacrificed inside if there were no criminals handy to use.

Caesar also discusses the divinities to whom the druids sacrificed, mentioning Dis (the Roman god of the underworld), from whom Caesar says the Celts believe they were descended. Another was the goddess Brigid, associated with healing and smithcraft and nature (among other things), who may have been Christianized centuries later as St. Brigid.

We'll go into more of the civil culture of druids tomorrow.

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. 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.

The King of Leinster

The Annals of Ulster mention that, in the Battle of Áth Dara in 458, Crimthann mac Énnai led the Laigin forces against high king Lóegaire mac Néill, resulting in Leinster not having to pay the high king a levy of cattle tribute after that.

Crimthann came from a highly respected lineage, the Uí Cheinnselaig, a Leinster dynasty that traced its line all the way back to the legendary Niall of the Nine Hostages, ancestor of the Uí Néill ("O'Neill") dynasties that ruled Ireland from the 6th to the 10th centuries.

If he had the throne by the time of that battle, he held it for a decent amount of time (for a culture fraught with fighting): he died in 483 after being wounded in a battle with those who were also Laigin from south of Leinster.

He had at least two children from his marriage. His son, Nath Í mac Crimthann, became king after him. He also had a daughter, Eithne Uatahach, who married Óengus mac Nad Froích (d.490), the first Christian king of Munster.

The reason that Crimthann's daughter was willing to marry a Christian in the 5th century was because she had been raised as a Christian. Crimthann had been converted and baptized by St. Patrick himself, a significant occurrence for an early Irish king.

Because Crimthann was a Christian, when one of his vassals brought him a problem girl named Brigid, and Crimthann saw that Brigid was inclined to give away her master's property to aid the poor, Crimthann recognized in her something special. Rather than support the idea of punishing her, he suggested to his vassal, Dubhthach, that the girl be freed from bondage. This was, of course, Brigid of Kildare, whose story we began yesterday, and which we will continue tomorrow.

Brigid of Kildare

Ireland has three national saints. Besides St. Patrick and St. Columba there is St. Brigid of Ireland, also called Brigid of Kildare.

Kildare Abbey in County Kildare was said to be founded by Brigid in the 5th century, first as a small oratory but growing into a double monastery, housing both women and men. A monk at Kildare in the 7th century, Cogitosus, wrote a Vita Sanctae Brigidae ("Life of St. Brigid"), probably drawn from earlier documents and stories passed down at the monastery. There was an earlier biography, possibly written by a lector at Kildare named St. Aleran (who also wrote a biography of St. Patrick).

Brigid was born c.451 as a Fothairt, one of the Irish tribes based in Leinster, to a chieftain named Dubhthach and a slave who had been baptized by St. Patrick. When Dubhthach's wife learned of the pregnancy, she forced her husband to sell the slave to a druid. At a moment when Brigid's mother was bringing milk into the house, she went into labor and Brigid was born on the threshold. When the druid tried to feed her, she vomited because of his paganism, but a white cow appeared that provided the babe with milk. The druid, realizing that the child was special, eventually freed her and her mother from slavery.

According to the Cogitosus' biography, she performed farming chores, watching the flocks and churning butter. She cared for the poor, and one day after she gave away all of her mother's butter to a needy person, the butter miraculously replenished itself after Brigid prayed. When she was ten, she went to work in her father's house, where she gave his belongings to the poor.

Dubhthach, annoyed, took her to the King of Leinster to sell her into slavery once more. While Dubhthach was talking to the king, Brigid gave Dubhthach's jeweled sword to a beggar so that he could barter it for food for his family. Seeing this, the king made a decision that would change Brigid's life.

Before I tell you what the king said to Dubhthach, I want to tell you more about the king. This was Crimthann Mac Énnai, who died in 483. This helps us settle the legend of Brigid in these decades of the 5th century—if she existed, that is. We'll talk about that after we look at Crimthann Mac Énnai and why he may have decided to be kind to Brigid.

Candlemas

Yesterday's post mentioned Candlemas among the cross-quarter days. It takes place on 2 February, and has taken on Christian associations, most notably the day when Christians take their candles to Church and have them blessed for use in the coming year. For Christianity, Candlemas is also called the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus Christ, or the Feast of the Holy Encounter. These names arise from the Gospel of Luke Chapter 2 in which Jesus is brought to the Temple and Simeon recognizes that Jesus is special.

The date of 2 February was noted outside of Christianity as well. The Celtic feast of Imbolc was celebrated on 1 or 2 February, marking the start of spring. It is mentioned in early Irish literature as the start of lambing season, and the Christian association of 2 February with St. Brigid is thought to be a Christianization of the pre-Christian Irish goddess Brigid, associated with domestic animals among other things.

Tradition in France, Belgium, and other countries stated that this was the date when Christmas decorations should be put away (a custom I would like to see followed in my neighborhood). In France making crepes is associated with the day; flipping a crepe while holding a gold coin in the other hand is supposed to ensure good luck for the year.

In Germany, Candlemas is associated with payments and rents, as we saw connected with Quarter Days. The Candlemas prediction in Catalonia was that, if there is bad weather on Candlemas, good weather will follow for the coming year.

In Hungary, the tradition has children dress as bears and eat honey. This is because it is the date that bears come out of their den to see if winter is over; they see their shadows because of the sun, and are frightened by it and return to hibernate for a time. This is the origin of the Pennsylvania Dutch tradition of Groundhog Day that took root in North America.

Was St. Brigid a real Christian saint, or a Christianization of an Irish legend? Tomorrow we'll look at the stories and see what evidence there may be.

Paganism and Christianity, Part 4

Although Christianity was replacing paganism all over Europe, pagan cultural influences inevitably lingered, and we can see this everywhere. The days of the week, and even the idea of a seven-day week, did not originate with Christians or the Bible. Pagan Romans had a seven-day week, and the modern English names come from Anglo-Saxon pagans and their Norse deities:

• Sunday = Sun-day
• Monday = Moon day
• Tuesday = Tyr's day (god of war)
• Wednesday = Woden's day (Odin, father of gods)
• Thursday = Thor's day (thunder god)
• Friday = Frigge's day (goddess of love)

Many pagan figures were turned into Christian saints because their stories were compelling. The saints Barlaam and Josaphat were decreed to be early saints, although they are from a much older Buddhist story. Some scholars doubt the historicity of St. Brigid of Kildare, suggesting that she was a re-purposing of the Celtic goddess Brigid, a member of the Tuatha.

Although the Bible does not mention the word or idea of a halo, Christian art puts it on the heads of religious figures as a standard indication of divinity. It is a much earlier image, however, appearing with Buddha, with Krishna, and the Egyptian sun-god, Ra.

The image of the Good Shepherd seems to come from the Bible, and was painted on Christian and Jewish tombs in the Roman catacombs, but it was previously used for pagan tombs as well. Jesus may be depicted as an adult with a beard, but the earliest Good Shepherd motif is of a beardless youth wearing Roman clothing from before the Common Era.

Other images in Jewish and Christian art that are predated by pagan use are found in the catacombs: woman praying with upright hands (so-called Orant figures), Winged Victories and cupids are seen throughout the catacombs, figures eating grapes, seven steps leading to a tomb, pairs of peacocks, scrolls—are all parts of pagan art that were adapted to Christian symbolism.

C.S.Lewis, after converting to Roman Catholicism, was happy to explain these borrowings as important parallels:

preparatio evangelica, a divine hinting in poetic and ritual form at the same central truth which was later focused on and (so to speak) historicized in the Incarnation... [from the essay "Myth Became Fact and Religion without Dogma"]

Of course the more deliberate adaptation of pagan-to-Christian culture is when Pope Gregory sent Augustine to convert Britain, telling him to appropriate their holy places and customs, or when St. Boniface cut down a sacred oak and used the timber to build a church. Gregory's re-defining certain words tells a similar story.

The Christianization of Europe kept advancing, but like the Renaissance it did not happen all at once. There was a country on the Baltic Sea that is considered the last country to become officially Christian. Curiously, its capital city of Vilnius had such a large and thriving Jewish population that it was called Yerushalayim D'Lita (the "Jerusalem of Lithuania"). Tomorrow we talk about (not for the first time) Lithuania.

Imbolc

The first of February is the date of the Irish quarter-year festival called Imbolc. Imbolc is Old Irish for "in the belly"; it refers to the time of lactation in ewes and lambing, and was the official start of spring.

Imbolc may well be a neolithic tradition [neolithic is from Greek νέος (néos, "new") and λίθος (líthos, "stone") "new stone age"; c.10,200 BCE to c.4500-2000 BCE]. In Leinster, Ireland there is a stone tomb constructed between 3000 and 2500 BCE; the rising sun illuminates the passage into it twice a year, on Imbolc and Samhain.

In the Middle Ages, references to Imbolc are found in Irish literature salting in the 10th century. It became a time to think about the lengthening days and therefore time to think about the plantings ahead. (Conceptually, it was probably a precursor to Groundhog Day.)

The day became connected with St. Brigid, one of the three patron saints of Ireland.* The conflation of the saint with a fertility goddess leant itself to adding a lot of rituals and traditions to the day. Brigid's Crosses were woven from rushes for the occasion by young females, who would carry them while singing a hymn to Brigid.  Brigid would be invited into the home on the eve of Imbolc so that she would bless the house and family members. The ashes of the fire were carefully raked and smoothed that night; in the morning, they would be searched for any disturbance that suggested that Brigid had passed through. Brigid would be called upon to bless livestock for the coming year.

*St. Patrick and St. Columba were the other two.