{"id":2861,"date":"2024-03-05T00:01:00","date_gmt":"2024-03-05T00:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/saintlyshowdown.org.uk\/?p=2861"},"modified":"2024-03-06T16:12:40","modified_gmt":"2024-03-06T16:12:40","slug":"brigid-of-kildare-v-julian-of-norwich","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/saintlyshowdown.org.uk\/index.php\/2024\/03\/05\/brigid-of-kildare-v-julian-of-norwich\/","title":{"rendered":"Brigid of Kildare v Julian of Norwich"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Will they show up for today’s showdown?\u00a0 It’s two mysterious girls battling for supremacy.<\/h5>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Brigid of Kildare v Julian of Norwich<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Brigid of Kildare<\/span><\/strong>\"\"<\/span><\/p>

Saint Brigid of Kildare\u00a0or\u00a0Saint Brigid of Ireland (c.<\/span>\u2009451\u00a0\u2013 525) is the\u00a0patroness saint<\/a> (or ‘mother saint’) of Ireland, and one of its three national saints along with Patrick<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Columba<\/a>.<\/p>

According to mediaeval Irish hagiographies<\/a>, she was an\u00a0abbess<\/a>\u00a0who founded the important abbey of\u00a0Kildare<\/a> as well as several other\u00a0convents<\/a> of nuns.<\/p>

Brigid is said to have been the daughter of a chieftain and a slave woman, and raised in a druid<\/a>‘s household before becoming a\u00a0consecrated virgin<\/a>.<\/p>

She is patroness of many things, including poetry, learning, healing, protection, blacksmithing, livestock and dairy production. In her honour, a\u00a0perpetual fire<\/a>\u00a0was kept burning at Kildare for centuries.<\/p>

Her feast day<\/a> is 1st February, and traditionally it involves weaving Brigid’s crosses<\/a> and many other folk customs.<\/p>

There is debate over whether Brigid was a real person. There are few historical facts about her, and early\u00a0hagiographies<\/a>\u00a0“are mainly anecdotes and miracle stories, some of which are deeply rooted in Irish pagan folklore”.<\/sup>\u00a0 She has the same name and many of the same attributes as the Celtic goddess Brigid<\/a>, and there are many supernatural events and folk customs associated with her.<\/p>

<\/sup>Like the saint, the goddess in Irish myth is associated with poetry, healing, protection, smithcraft, and domestic animals.<\/p>

Brigid’s year of birth is usually given as 451 or 452 AD.\u00a0 <\/sup>One tradition is that Brigid was born at\u00a0Faughart<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0(just north of\u00a0Dundalk<\/a>), in\u00a0Conaille Muirtheimne<\/a>, part of the\u00a0Kingdom of Ulaid<\/a>. Another tradition is that she was born at Ummeras, near Kildare.<\/p>

<\/sup>All early sources say she was one of the Fothairt<\/a>, a people mainly based in\u00a0Leinster<\/a>.<\/p>

Three biographies name her mother as Broicsech, a slave who had been baptised by\u00a0Saint Patrick<\/a>. They name her father as Dubhthach, a chieftain of Leinster.<\/sup><\/p>

The\u00a0Vitae<\/i>\u00a0says that Dubhthach’s wife forced him to sell Brigid’s mother to a\u00a0druid<\/a> when she became pregnant.\u00a0 This might have been inspired by the Biblical story of\u00a0Abraham<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Hagar<\/a>.\u00a0 It says that Broicsech gave birth to Brigid at dawn, on the threshold, while bringing milk into the druid’s house.<\/p>

Brigid was thus born into slavery. Legends of her early holiness include her vomiting when the druid tried to feed her, due to his impurity; a white cow with red ears arrives to sustain her instead.<\/p>

<\/sup>Brigid’s druid stepfather is portrayed somewhat sympathetically in the stories. He can see that Brigid is special, he is concerned for Brigid’s welfare, and he eventually frees her and her mother.<\/sup><\/p>

Brigid is said to have spent her youth as a farm worker; churning butter, shepherding the flocks and tending the harvest.<\/sup><\/p>

As she grew older, Brigid was said to have worked miracles, including healing and feeding the poor. According to one tale, as a child she once gave away her mother’s entire store of butter. The butter was then replenished in answer to Brigid’s prayers.<\/p>

<\/sup>Around the age of ten, she was returned as a household servant to her father, where her charity is said to have led her to donate his belongings to anyone who asked.<\/p>

In both of the earliest biographies, Dubhthach is so annoyed with Brigid that he took her in a chariot to\u00a0the King of Leinster<\/a>\u00a0to sell her. While Dubhthach was talking to the king, Brigid gave away her father’s bejewelled sword to a beggar to barter it for food to feed his family. The king recognised her holiness and convinced Dubhthach to grant his daughter freedom.<\/sup><\/p>

According to tradition, around 480 Brigid founded a monastery at\u00a0Kildare<\/a>.<\/p>

Brigid is also credited with founding a school of art, including metalwork and illumination.\u00a0 The Kildare scriptorium<\/a>\u00a0made the\u00a0Book of Kildare<\/a>, which drew high praise but disappeared during the\u00a0Reformation<\/a>. According to Giraldus, nothing that he ever saw was at all comparable to the book, every page of which was gorgeously illuminated, and the interlaced work and the harmony of the colours left the impression that “all this is the work of angelic, and not human skill”.<\/p>

Brigid is said to have been given the\u00a0last rites<\/a> by Saint Ninnidh of the Pure Hand when she was dying.\u00a0 Afterwards, he reportedly had his right hand encased in metal so that it would never be defiled, and this was the origin of his epithet.\u00a0 Tradition says she died at Kildare on 1st February. Her year of death is usually placed around 524 or 525.<\/sup><\/p>

Upon Brigid’s death, Darlugdach became the second abbess of Kildare. Darlugdach was so devoted to her mentor that when Brigid lay dying Darlugdach expressed the wish to die with her, but Brigid replied that Darlugdach would die on the first anniversary of her (Brigid’s) death.<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

Collect for Brigid of Kildare<\/strong><\/p>

Almighty God, you kindled the flame of your love in Saint Brigid, making her a beacon of hospitality, learning, and peace.<\/div>
\u00a0<\/div>

Grant that we, inspired by her example, may radiate your love in all we do, be instruments of your healing grace, and work for justice and compassion in the world.<\/p>

Through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.<\/span><\/p>



With thanks to Wikipedia<\/a> and Google Gemini<\/a><\/em><\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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\"\"Julian of Norwich<\/span><\/strong><\/p>

Julian of Norwich\u00a0(c. 1343<\/sup>\u00a0\u2013 after 1416), also known as\u00a0Juliana of Norwich,\u00a0the Lady Julian,\u00a0Dame Julian<\/sup>\u00a0or\u00a0Mother Julian, was an\u00a0English<\/a>\u00a0anchoress<\/a>\u00a0of the\u00a0Middle Ages<\/a>. Her writings, now known as\u00a0Revelations of Divine Love<\/a><\/i>, are the earliest surviving English language works by a woman, although it is possible that some anonymous works may have had female authors. They are also the only surviving English language works by an anchoress.<\/p>

Julian lived in the English city of\u00a0Norwich<\/a>, an important centre for commerce that also had a vibrant religious life. During her lifetime, the city suffered the devastating effects of the\u00a0Black Death<\/a>\u00a0of 1348\u20131350, the\u00a0Peasants’ Revolt<\/a>\u00a0(which affected large parts of England in 1381), and the suppression of the\u00a0Lollards<\/a>.<\/p>

In 1373, aged 30 and so seriously ill that she thought that she was on her deathbed, Julian received a series of visions<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0shewings<\/a>\u00a0of the\u00a0Passion of Christ<\/a>. She recovered from her illness and wrote two versions of her experiences, the earlier one being completed soon after her recovery.\u00a0 A much longer version, today known as the Long Text<\/i>, was written many years later.<\/p>

Julian lived in permanent\u00a0seclusion<\/a>\u00a0as an anchoress in her\u00a0cell<\/a>, which was attached to\u00a0St Julian’s Church, Norwich<\/a>.<\/p>

Four\u00a0wills<\/a>\u00a0are known in which sums were bequeathed to a Norwich anchoress named Julian, and an account by the celebrated mystic\u00a0Margery Kempe<\/a> exists which provides evidence of counsel that Kempe was given by the anchoress.<\/p>

Details of Julian’s family, education, or of her life before becoming an anchoress are not known; it is unclear whether her actual name was Julian. Preferring to write anonymously, and seeking isolation from the world, she was nevertheless influential in her lifetime.<\/p>

While her writings were carefully preserved, the Reformation<\/a>\u00a0prevented their publication in print. The\u00a0Long Text<\/i> was first published in 1670 by the Benedictine<\/a>\u00a0monk\u00a0Serenus de Cressy<\/a>, reissued by George Hargreaves Parker in 1843, and published in a modernised version in 1864. Julian’s writings emerged from obscurity in 1901 when a manuscript in the\u00a0British Museum<\/a>\u00a0was transcribed and published with notes by\u00a0Grace Warrack<\/a>; many translations have been made since. Julian is today considered to be an important Christian mystic and theologian.<\/p>

Little of Julian’s life is known. The few scant comments she provided about herself are contained in her writings, later published in a book commonly known as\u00a0Revelations of Divine Love<\/a><\/i>, a title first used in 1670.<\/p>

<\/sup><\/sup>The earliest surviving copy of a manuscript of Julian’s, made by a\u00a0scribe<\/a>\u00a0in the 1470s, acknowledges her as the author of the work.<\/sup><\/p>

The earliest known references to Julian come from four\u00a0wills<\/a>, in which she is described as being an\u00a0anchoress<\/a>.\u00a0 <\/sup>The wills were all made by individuals who lived in\u00a0Norwich<\/a>.\u00a0 Roger Reed, the rector of St Michael Coslany, Norwich<\/a>, whose will of 20th\u00a0<\/span>March 1394 provides the earliest record of Julian’s existence, made a\u00a0bequest<\/a>\u00a0of 12\u00a0<\/span>shillings<\/a> to be paid to “Julian anakorite”.\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Thomas Edmund, a\u00a0Chantry<\/a>\u00a0priest from\u00a0Aylsham<\/a>, stipulated in his will of 19th\u00a0<\/span>May 1404 that 12\u00a0<\/span>pennies<\/a> be given to “Julian, anchoress of the church of St Julian, Conisford” and 8 pennies to “Sarah, living with her”.\u00a0 <\/sup><\/sup>John Plumpton from Norwich gave 40 pennies to “the anchoress in the church of St Julian’s, Conisford, and a shilling each to her maid and her former maid Alice” in his will dated 24th\u00a0<\/span>November 1415.<\/sup>\u00a0 The fourth person to mention Julian was Isabelle, Countess of Suffolk (the second wife of William de Ufford, 2nd Earl of Suffolk<\/a>), who made a bequest of 20\u00a0<\/span>shillings to “Julian reclus a Norwich<\/i><\/span>” in her will dated 26th September 1416.<\/sup>\u00a0 As a bequest to an unnamed anchorite at St Julian’s was made in 1429, there is a possibility that Julian was alive at this time.<\/p>

Julian wrote in\u00a0Revelations of Divine Love<\/i> that she became seriously ill at the age of 30. \u00a0On 8th\u00a0<\/span>May 1373 a\u00a0curate<\/a>\u00a0administered the\u00a0last rites<\/a>\u00a0of the Church to her, in anticipation of her death. As he held a\u00a0crucifix<\/a>\u00a0above the foot of her bed, she began to lose her sight and feel physically numb, but gazing on the crucifix she saw the figure of Jesus begin to bleed. Over the next several hours, she had a series of 15 visions of Jesus, and a 16th the following night.<\/sup><\/sup><\/p>

Julian completely recovered from her illness on 13th\u00a0<\/span>May. \u00a0There is general agreement that she wrote about her shewings<\/a> shortly after she experienced them.\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Her original manuscript no longer exists, but a copy, now known as the\u00a0Short Text<\/i>, survived.\u00a0 Decades later, perhaps in the early 1390s, she began a\u00a0theological<\/a>\u00a0exploration of the meaning of her visions, and produced writings now known as\u00a0The Long Text<\/i>. This second work seems to have gone through many revisions before it was finished, perhaps in the 1410s or 1420s.<\/p>

<\/sup>Julian’s\u00a0revelations<\/a>\u00a0seem to be the first important example of a vision by an Englishwoman for 200 years, in contrast with the Continent, where “a golden age of women’s mysticism” occurred during the 13th and 14th centuries.<\/p>

Julian of Norwich is now recognised as one of England’s most important mystics.<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

Collect for Julian of Norwich<\/strong><\/p>

Loving God, source of all being,<\/p>

You granted your servant Julian profound visions of your unfailing love.\u00a0 Through her, you remind us that all shall be well and that your love is everlasting.<\/p>

Grant us, like Julian, to see the world through your eyes, to find hope in darkness, and trust in your enduring presence.<\/p>

May we live in the peace that surpasses understanding,<\/p>

through Jesus Christ our Lord.\u00a0 Amen.<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

With thanks to Wikipedia<\/a> and Google Gemini<\/a><\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tVote now!<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Will they show up for today’s showdown?\u00a0 It’s two mysterious girls battling for supremacy. Brigid of Kildare v Julian of Norwich Brigid of Kildare Saint Brigid of Kildare\u00a0or\u00a0Saint Brigid of Ireland (c.\u2009451\u00a0\u2013 525) is the\u00a0patroness saint (or ‘mother saint’) of Ireland, and one of its three national saints along with Patrick\u00a0and\u00a0Columba. According to mediaeval Irish […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2861","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-showdowns"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/saintlyshowdown.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2861","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/saintlyshowdown.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/saintlyshowdown.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saintlyshowdown.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saintlyshowdown.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2861"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/saintlyshowdown.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2861\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2867,"href":"https:\/\/saintlyshowdown.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2861\/revisions\/2867"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/saintlyshowdown.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2861"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saintlyshowdown.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2861"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saintlyshowdown.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2861"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}