As St Brigid’s Day approaches, medieval historian Dr Catherine Swift says the enduring appeal of Ireland’s best-known woman saint continues to “speak to us” in each generation.
“We’ll never get the full picture,” Dr Swift said speaking to The Irish Catholic. “All history is fragmentary. We remember the saints because they speak to us in our present day in some fashion and St Brigid clearly is speaking to us at the moment.”
Dr Swift, who lectures in medieval Irish history at Mary Immaculate College, Limerick, and is completing a second doctorate at the Loyola Institute in Trinity College Dublin, said modern portrayals of Brigid often emphasise certain aspects of her life while obscuring others.
“In the 19th and early 20th centuries, she’s often depicted as a nun, very much in an agricultural context,” she said. “In the 21st century, we stress Brigid as a powerful woman, a leader of society. In doing that, we gain something and we lose something.”
That same tension between what is remembered and what is forgotten also shapes lesser-known stories from early Irish Christianity, including the account of St Ethna and St Fidelma, two daughters of the King of Tara, whose baptism by St Patrick is described in a long and unusually detailed medieval narrative.
“What makes this story extraordinary,” Dr Swift said, “is that they take the initiative. They’re the ones asking questions. They’re asking for education. They’re seeking to find out.”
Rather than responding to fear or displays of power, the young women question St Patrick about the nature of God: “Who is God and where is God? Whose God is he? Where is his dwelling place? How shall he be seen? How is he loved? How is he found? Is he found in youth or in old age?”
“It’s a lovely description of somebody speculating about the nature of God,” Dr Swift said. “That’s not normal in conversion stories.” In an age when many young people are searching for meaning and truth, she said, the saints offer a model of faith rooted in curiosity.
As Ireland prepares once again to celebrate St Brigid, she said, these early women saints offer strong role models for young people today.
