BRIGIT


Meaning of BRIGIT in English

n.

In Celtic religion , the goddess of poetry, crafts, prophecy, and divination.

She was equivalent to the Roman Minerva and the Greek Athena and substantially the same as the northern British goddess Brigantia. In Ireland she was worshiped by the filid , a poetic and priestly class. She was one of three daughters of Dagda , all named Brigit, the others being associated with healing and the craft of the smith. Some of the lore surrounding Brigit was transferred to the 5th-century Irish abbess St. Brigid. Her feast day, February 1, is the date of the pagan festival Imbolc, when the ewes came into milk. Her great monastery at Kildare was probably founded on a pagan sanctuary, and many holy wells in the British Isles are dedicated to her.

Britannica Concise Encyclopedia.      Краткая энциклопедия Британика.