The Poetry of Taliesin

Taliesin (6th century) came a legendary figure of whom many stories are told and to whom many poems are ascribed—(almost) all of it fiction. It is believed by some scholars, however, that some of the poetry that mentions 6th century events or figures are likely the work of a real figure of that name who existed.

Rheged was a kingdom in the north of Great Britain, a Brittonic-speaking region in terms of post-Roman and Early Medieval Eras. One of its kings was Urien, mentioned in the Historia Brittonum and in several poems praising him. (Urien's grandson was St. Mungo.) A poem by Taliesin praising Urien at the Battle of Catraeth—and believed to be original—is offered here.

It is called "The Battle of Gwenystrad" [source].

The men of Catraeth arose with the dawn,
About the Guledig, of work a profitable merchant.
This Urien, without mockery is his regret.
He sustains the sovereignty and its demands.
Warlike, the grandeur of a perfect prince of baptism.
The men of Prydain hurtful in battle array,
At Gwenystrad, continuously offerers of battle.
Protected neither the field nor woods
The people with shelter when tribulation comes.
Like the wave loud roaring over the beach,
I saw valiant men in battle array,
And after the morning, battle-mangled flesh.
I saw a tumult of three limits slain,
A shout active in front was heard.
In defending Gwenystrad was seen
A mound and slanting ground obstructing.
In the pass of the ford I saw men gory-tinted,
Dropping their arms before the pallid miserable ones.
They join in peace as they were losers.
Hand on the cross they wail on the gravel bank of Garanwynyon.
The tribes revel over the rising wave.
The billows protect the hair of their captures.
I saw men of splendid progress
With blood that clotted on the garments,
Toiling energetically and incessantly in battle.
The covering battle, where there was no flight, when contrived.
The ruler of Reged, I am astonished at what was dared.
I saw a brow covered with rage on Urien,
When he furiously attacked his foes at the white stone
Of Galystem. His rage was a blade;
The bucklered men were sustained in need.
May a desire of battle come on Eurwyn.

And until I fail in old age,
In the sore necessity of death,
May I not be smiling,
If I praise not Urien.

This page tries to locate the battle geographically. 

Taliesin's existence is mentioned as one of five chief British poets in the Hitoria Brittonum. Although I've referenced the Historia several times, I haven't spent time explaining the pros and cons of this early source. Let's start talking about that tomorrow.

Chief of Bards

The 9th-century Historia Brittonum mentions five especially renowned British poets, one of whom is Taliesin. In the 12th century he was considered the author of a great number of romantic legends. The Middle Welsh manuscript called the Book of Taliesin from the 14th century has 56 poems. Scholars think 11 of them may date back to the 6th century, and may actually have been written by the figure known to history as Taliesin.

We know little of his life (of course), but the odes to King Urien Rheged, who died c.550, give us a time frame for an early bard. There are poems to other rulers of that era, suggesting that Taliesin may have performed for at least three kings. His life, however, contains (again, of course) many stories that cross over into fantasy and legend. His double-birth is the most profound of these.

According to a 16th-century account, the Hanes Taliesin (Welsh: "Tale of Taliesin"), his given name was Gwion Bach, and he was a servant to Ceridwen, an enchantress married to a noble in the time of King Arthur. She wanted her ugly son to gain respect, and so created a potion of inspiration so that he would become a famous bard. The potion needed stirring for a year and a day, and that task was given to Gwion Bach. At the completion of the stirring, three drops from the cauldron landed on Gwion's thumb.

Because it was hot, Gwion immediately put his thumb in his mouth, and received the inspiration and wisdom intended for Ceridwen's son. Knowing Ceridwen would be furious, he fled. She pursued, so he turned himself into a hare. Ceridwen turned herself into a greyhound to catch him, so he became a fish and leapt into the river. She became an otter, so he turned himself into a bird to fly away. She turned herself into a hawk, so he fled into a barn and turned himself into a single grain to hide. She became a hen and ate the grain.

The result was that she became pregnant. Realizing that she would give birth to Gwion, she resolved to kill the child, but he was so beautiful at birth that she could not bring herself to do it. She instead put him in a basket and threw him into the river.

The baby and basket got caught in a weir set up to catch salmon by Elffin, son of a lord, who raised the child and named him Taliesin. (The illustration above is an 1897 work by F.H.Townsend.) Taliesin grew up possessing the wisdom and talent derived from the potion ingested by his previous self.

That is the origin story of the legendary Taliesin. Tomorrow we'll look at the poetry that might actually be ascribed to the real Taliesin.

Druid Culture

The Classical Era sources we have for druid culture agree that druids were important in Celtic society. Julius Caesar wrote that the druids had an elected leader who ruled until death, referred to in later literature often as an "arch-druid."

Druids were highly respected for the learning and wisdom. Caesar said that they studied "the stars and their movements, the size of the cosmos and the earth, the nature of the world, and the powers of immortal deities." (Despite this sophistication that mirrored the Roman world, Caesar also described the frequency of human sacrifice, likely in order to paint them as inferior to the civilized Romans, and therefore worthy of conquest.)

Other classical writers, Diodorus Siculus and Strabo, claimed the druids were so revered that they could stop an impending battle between armies simply by intervening. They were philosophers and knowledgeable about religion. Another Roman, Pomponius Mela, writing around the same time as Julius Caesar, made the first remarks about how their learning was conducted in secret, taking place in caves or hidden in forests.

Caesar claimed it could take 20 years for a druid to properly learn the required lore, because nothing was committed to writing, but needed to be thoroughly memorized. Yes, there was a written language in Gaul, but there exists today no single written line of "druidic lore" that can be verified as authentic. The forgeries of Edward Williams/Iolo Morganwg do not count.

In the centuries after the conquest of Gaul, the Romans took measures to wipe out the druids. Pliny the Elder wrote that Emperor Tiberius (14-37CE) banned druidic practices (and soothsayers) in order to stop human sacrifice.

Druids seem to have survived in the British Isles a little longer, until Christianization spread. Their role as carriers of oral tradition and law did not disappear, however: it survived with a different name for the purveyors. That name was "bard." Tomorrow we'll look at one of the early and most famous bards, of whom some say it can be argued that he was one of the last druids: Taliesin. See you then.

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.

Faking Medieval Literature

During the Celtic Revival, a Welsh stonemason named Edward Williams (1747 - 1826) took an interest in collecting old manuscripts and began writing his own poetry. After moving to London, he joined a Welsh literary society, but later returned to Wales and farming (at which he was unsuccessful). In the 1780s, he decided to help "revive" early Welsh literature by forging it, and he adopted the name Iolo Morganwg. His collection was later published in 26 volumes as the Iolo Manuscripts by his son, Taliesin, whom he named after an early medieval bard.

To be fair, not everything in the Iolo Manuscipts was a forgery. He wanted to prove, however, that a lot of Welsh culture—particularly druidism—survived the Roman Conquest of Britain, and his evidence was manuscripts that he claimed to have uncovered himself. His first foray into re-educating a modern world on his finds was by publishing a collection of poetry by a known 14th-century creator of love poetry and erotica, Dafydd ap Gwilym (c.1315 - c.1350). He included hitherto unknown poems of Dafydd which were Edward's first published forgeries.

This collection was very successful, and Edward moved back to London in 1791 where he founded Gorsedd (Welsh for "throne"), a community of Welsh writers and poets. (The site of its founding is commemorated by the plaque shown above.) This society had ranks:

• Ovates, who wear green robes (novices)
• Bards, who wear blue robes (seasoned members)
• Druids, who wear white robes (the highest rank)

Wales has an annual music and poetry competition, the Eisteddfod. In 1884, the Transactions of the Royal National Eisteddfod of Wales made remarks on Edward's published work:

The records thus furnished, take us back to a time of Prydain ab Aedd Mawr, who is said to have lived about a thousand years before the Christian era, and who established the Gorsedd as an institution to perpetuate the works of the poets and musicians.

Of course, Edward's records were made up, but they supported the idea of a Celtic Revival and mis-educated people for generations. Gorsedd also made much of Stonehenge and other circles of standing stones. Occurrences of Eisteddfods often created circles of standing stones to mark the event, but these days a set of artificial stones is used and set up wherever the Eisteddfod takes place, only to be put away until the following year.

But what of the druids? Do we really know anything about them, especially since they left no written records? Let's delve into them next time.

The Celtic Revival

Folk often look to the past as a "Golden Age," or even just as having facets that fascinate the current era. There was a "Celtic Revival" that started in the 19th century that became enamored of a highly polished view of the stories and artifacts of the distant past. (There was a similar Gothic Revival that started in the 18th century, extended into the next century by Pugin.)

A large part of this was "insular art"; that is, arts and crafts of Early Medieval Ireland, Britain, and Wales. Archaeology was becoming a popular pastime—alas, without the rigor of modern scholars: sites were frequently simply "bulldozed" to reveal treasure, and careful mapping and cataloguing was unknown—and the artifacts discovered were sought after and duplicated, as mentioned in yesterday's post on Irish Treasures.

One lasting effect of this is the ubiquity of the High/Celtic/Irish cross (pictured), with knotwork inscribed in the verticals and horizontals. That knotwork found its way into some Art Nouveau designs by Irish-American designers, such as are found in Old Saint Patrick's Church in Chicago, and the designs of Chicago Architect Louis Sullivan [link], whose father was a traditional Irish musician.

Another lasting effect was created by Welsh antiquarian and author Iolo Morganwg (Edward Williams, 1747 - 1826), a collector of Welsh literature who portrayed himself as an expert on Welsh culture and a reviver of druidism, although after his death it was discovered that he had forged many documents he passed off as historical.  The idea of druidism, however, is still with us, and we should talk about that a little more.

Irish Treasures

In yesterday's post about the Ardagh Hoard it was compared to the Book of Kells as prime examples of early Irish art, but then mentioned the Derrynaflan Chalice  and the Tara Brooch.

The Derrynaflan Chalice was discovered rather recently, in 1980, as part of a hoard of five liturgical vessels found in County Tipperary on the site of an early Irish abbey. Unlike the accidental discovery at Ardagh when the boys were digging for potatoes, the Derrynaflan discoverers were exploring the abbey site with a metal detector. Similar to the Ardagh situation, ownership of the find was disputed. The discoverers,  father and son, were given permission to wander the land, but the ruins were protected under the National Monuments Act of 1930, and digging up anything on the site was not permitted. They kept their find secret for weeks before revealing it and trying to claim ownership and trying to sell it for £5,000,000. They were unsuccessful, and the find went to the National Museum of Ireland.

The Derrynaflan Hoard is of the same vintage (8th - 9th centuries) as the Ardagh Hoard, displaying the same intricate detail. It included a silver paten, a hoop that may have been intended to support the paten, and a strainer. A bronze basin was inverted on top of the four items, suggesting it was deliberately buried that way to keep the items preserved.

The Tara Brooch was a little earlier (late-7th - early-8th centuries). It is so finely detailed that a magnifying glass is needed to appreciate parts of the design. It was found c.1850 on a beach on the east coast of Ireland, 25 miles from Tara, and despite its name has no real connection to the Hill of Tara. It was given that name by a Dublin jeweler named George Waterhouse who wanted to make and sell copies during the Celtic Revival and thought the name would add mystique and grandeur and create more customers.

Although it is impossible to know the origin of these items, there are occasional random hints about them in history. As I mentioned in the post on St. Brigid, Gerald of Wales makes a reference to a book at Kildare that might just be the Book of Kells. The Book of Leinster (12th century) mentions an elaborate brooch buried after a defeat. Historians wonder if the burial of the Tara Brooch was deliberate to commemorate a tragedy, and not an accidental loss.

What was the Celtic Revival? Although it was well past the Middle Ages, let's talk about it tomorrow.

The Ardagh Hoard

In 1868, two boys were digging in a potato field west of Ardagh in County Limerick when they struck something solid that was definitely not a potato. Clearing some earth and reaching his hand down, he discovered the long pin of a broach. Realizing that there might be more buried there, he dug down three feet and found a space shaped with round stones, inside of which was a large cup which contained a smaller cup and some brooches. A flat stone that had shifted sideways suggested that the items were deliberately buried in a stone-lined chamber with a flagstone on top.

The boys had unwittingly uncovered what became known as the Ardagh Hoard. It included four broaches, a plain chalice, and an elaborate chalice called the Ardagh Chalice. The Chalice is a two-handed size made of beaten silver and decorated with gold, bronze, brass, and pewter, with enamel designs. Around the bowl it is inscribed with the names of the apostles. It is clearly a Christian chalice, but the fine brooches suggest use by wealthy people, and are reminiscent of later Viking designs, suggesting that the hoard was not buried until about 900CE.

The land was rented by the mother of one of the boys, who sold the items to the Bishop of Limerick, George Butler. Butler had the items cleaned up by a jeweler. Because the objects seemed to have been hidden away carefully, as if the owner were protecting them and intended to retrieve them, they would qualify as a "treasure trove" and by law become the property of the Crown. Bishop Butler denied that they were a treasure trove, but did eventually hand them over to the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin.

The Ardagh Chalice is considered one of the finest examples of early Irish craftsmanship, rivaling the Book of Kells. Tomorrow we'll look at a couple of comparable examples of Early Irish art, the Tara Brooch and the Derrynaflan Chalice.

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.

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.