In
early Irish hagiography, Brigit exerts patronage over production
and supply of milk and other dairy products. This article will
focus on the ninth century Bethu Brigte, the earliest
vernacular life of Brigit or of any Irish saint.[1]
This article seeks to explore the role that dairy products play
in the Bethu Brigte while treating the text as a work
of literature, a work that is whole and complete in itself. Much
as we are able to find many examples of milk symbolizing purity
in other works of Irish literature, we also find that milk demonstrates
and exemplifies Brigit's holy purity.
Dairy
in Ireland
Bray argues that the connection between women and milk is the
result of an obvious connection between women and lactation -
namely an ability to produce milk with their own bodies after
giving birth (Bray 1989,
33).[2] Dairy products
were a vital part of the medieval Irish diet and presumably an
important part of the economy as well, the work of which was
mostly performed by women (Kelly
1997, 323-30, 450-55; Lucas
1989, 41-67).[3]
Additionally, there
was the belief that a cow would not give milk without its calf
present, strengthening this supposed bond between milk and maternity
(Lucas 1958, 80; 1989, 45). This is witnessed
in Bethu Brigte §22, when a women loses a calf that
she had intended to give to Brigit; she complains that the cow
was of no use without its calf. The calf then appears in accordance
with the will of Brigit. The appearance of the calf allows the
cow to give milk, which was the economic goal of having the cow.
The connection between maternity and milk meant that it would
make sense for a maternal figure to protect dairy products, and
no saint has as many miracles associated with dairy products
as Brigit.
Milk was an essential
part of the Irish diet. The lack of sunlight in Ireland means
that human bodies were physiologically not able to produce enough
vitamin D. Fortunately, milk is a source of vitamin D, as well
as a number of important proteins. Thus it was an essential part
of the Irish diet (Edwards
1990: 57). The importance of milk in the diet can be seen
in the ninth century triad that defines the three renovators
of the world as being 'the womb of a woman, the udder of a cow,
and the moulding-block of the smith' (The
Triads of Ireland §148). Furthermore, the Audacht
Morainn states that an abundant milk yield is a sign of a king's
truth, while dryness of milk results from injustice (§18).
Imbolc
In addition to being a vital source of nourishment, milk also
served as a symbol of purity. That the festival of Saint Brigit
falls on the same day as the pagan holiday of Imbolc is
probably more than coincidence. Of course, we must remember that
even though the Saint's day is the same as the holiday, we have
no warrant to presume that the pagan celebration was associated
with the goddess of the same name.
Professor Hamp has
argued that the Indo-European root for Imbolc was *uts-molgo,
meaning purification, and that it eventually became *ommolg,
meaning milking, which would have appeared similar to Oímelc,
another term in Cormac's Glossary for Imbolc (Hamp 1979/80: 109-11). Because
of this, there may be grounds to suspect a link between purity,
milk, and the holiday of Imbolc. According to Cormac's
Glossary, Imbolc was "the time the sheep's milk
comes. milking i.e. the milk that is milked" (Stokes
1868, 127). However, other scholars have rejected this explanation,
instead choosing to argue that this may be a false etymology
based on oí, meaning 'sheep', and melg,
meaning 'milk' (Ó
Catháin 1995, 7; Hamp
1979/80, 106-07).
However, in 1752 the
calendar was changed resulting in a loss of eleven days, meaning
that Imbolc, and Saint Brigit's day, would have originally
been held in what is now mid-February, a much more likely time
for the ewes to begin their lambing (Ryder
1983, 679-80). If lambing was associated with Imbolc,
Cormac's Glossary does not tell us what the role of the
lactating sheep might have been (Ó
Catháin 1995, 8).
Furthermore, there
is no evidence for sheep having a ritual purpose among the Celtic
speaking peoples (Powell
1958, 148). While Cormac may not have given us an entirely
accurate account of the proceedings of the festival of Imbolc,
he did help to reveal the important connection between milk and
purity in the minds of the Irish during his time.
Milk
and the Bethu Brigte
It should come as no surprise then that a festival associated
with purity would come to have an association with Saint Brigit.
Of the forty-six miracles in the Bethu Brigte, six of
them are concerned with milk. Milk is used a tool to promote
the purity of Brigit and to promote her claims by showing her
control over such an economically important commodity.[4]
For Brigit, as with any saint, purity was an essential part of
her personality An example of this can be seen in §5 of
Bethu Brigte, when she was nursed by a white cow with
red ears due to the impurity of the druid's food. Other saints
nourished by mystical kine include Cainneach (Plummer
1910, VSH I, I), Coemgen (Plummer
1910, VSH I,ii) and Enda (Plummer
1910, VSH II, xxii). In spite of these cows' special associations
with purity, they did not seem to have any additional financial
value above that of any other colour of cattle. While the price
of cattle can never be fixed for a very long period, Kelly points
out that a cumal (female slave) was often given the worth of
three milch kine in the legal texts (1997,
58). One early Irish text claims that seven white kine with red
ears were worth two cumals (Binchy
1978, CIH vi 2114.3), roughly the same price one would expect
to have paid for milch kine. More specifically we cannot ignore
the fact that the druid feeds her the milk on the grounds that
his food is impure, implying that the cow is also a symbol of
purity (Bethu Brigte
§5).[5]
The white red-eared
cow was a symbol of the other world in the Irish saga texts as
well. Although we do not know if Brigit as a goddess possessed
any such cattle, we do know that there was a close association
with the Morrígan, who owned a herd of white red-eared
cattle, and Midir who gambles for fifty of these kine in the
Tochmarc Étaíne (Lucas
1989, 240-43).[6]
However, as a saint, Brigit was not perceived of as being a part
of the pagan past. Indeed, the very reason why the druid was
nourishing the child on the cow is because, as a pagan, the food
that he produced was impure.
The meaning of having a Christian saint nourished by a symbol
of the other world is intriguing. It occurs as Brigit was being
weaned, presumably off her mother's milk, which was itself a
symbol of purity (Hamp 1979/80:
111-12). She could not digest normal food because an impure druid
offered it to her; the seemingly illogical choice to remedy this
problem was to have the Christian child fed by a symbol strongly
associated with the non-Christian other world. Whether this was
the result of Christian syncretisation of a pagan symbol or whether
the Christian authors were simply using a symbol of wealth and
purity into the texts, we cannot know. It has been argued the
white red-eared cow, sometimes associated with pre-Christian
goddesses, has become a heavenly cow in the hagiography. Its
dispersal of pure and heavenly milk seems to be symbolic of the
milk of salvation which was equaled by Brigit's faith (Bray
2000, 295-96).
Interestingly, the
druid, despite his apparent knowledge of the holiness of Brigit,
only converts after Brigit feeds his guests with the butter of
one and a half churnings (§12). Brigit's miraculous churning
puts the druid into Brigit's debt. In return he abandons his
pagan beliefs and agrees to be baptized and to never leave Brigit
again. His conversion after receiving the butter, even though
he was well aware of her spiritual importance indicates that
his conversion helps him to pay a debt.
The purity of milk
seems to have been an important symbol in the Christian faith.
Milk appearing as a symbol of purity occurs when as a child Brigit
was bathed with milk as was appropriate to 'the brightness and
sheen of her chastity' (Stokes
1890, 184.92). We have no evidence of widespread bathing
of children in milk until 1171 CE, when Henry II held a church
council in Cashel which demanded that children be baptized in
churches by priests and states:
For it was formerly
the custom in various parts of Ireland that immediately a child
was born, the father or some other person immersed it three times
in water and, if it was the child of a rich man, he immersed
it three times in milk and after that they threw that water and
milk into drains or other unclean places (translated in: Lucas 1989, 6-7).
This bathing may have
been a secular practice, and was not necessarily baptism (Lucas 1989, 7). However,
the washing of the child in this manner bore a remarkable similarity
to baptism, and was almost certainly a form of washing and thus
purification. Whether bathing in milk was a secular or religious
behavior, the practice was obviously one that was enough of a
concern to the church that the practice was banned.
As well as symbolising
Brigit's purity, milk has a close tie to healing. Milk as a tool
of healing is not confined to just Saint Brigit; for example,
in the Book of Lecan milk is described as a cure for poison darts
(Cohen 1977, 123). Brigit
herself used milk as a tool for healing, as in this episode from
the Bethu Brigte:
'Is there anything
in the world that you would desire?' said Brigit. 'There is'
she said, 'if I do not have fresh milk, I will die now.' Brigit
calls a girl and said, 'Bring to me my own cup, out of which
I drink, filled with water. Bring it concealed on your person.
It was brought to her then, and she blessed it so that it was
warm fresh milk so that she was instantly better when she tasted
it. So that those are two miracles at the same moment: that is
changing the milk from water and healing the woman.(Bethu
Brigte §24)[7]
In addition to an obviously
being a version of Christ turning water to wine (John 2: 1-11),
this miracle also illustrates milk being used to heal. Brigit's
ability to control dairy products ensured not only healing and
nurturing, but also that there would be bountiful supplies of
food.
Transforming milk into dairy products is an extremely difficult
process, in addition to which animal husbandry has never been
an easy process. Questions such as how many calves to keep and
how many to cull, were difficult to answer, largely because there
were so many variables, such as the weather or the possibility
of raids that could considerably impact on the well-being of
the herd. Bad weather in particular was difficult because harsh
conditions might mean that there was not enough feed to keep
all the calves alive.
The
Brigidine Claim to Cell Laisre
In one episode in the Bethu Brigte, the authority that
milk production can bring is illustrated dramatically in an incident
involving Saint Patrick. Lassar has milked and killed a milch
ewe so that she could provide a feast for Brigit. When Patrick
arrives there is not enough food for them all; 'There is no food
save for twelve loaves, and a small amount of milk that you have
blessed and one lamb that has been cooked for you.' (Bethu
Brigte §44)[8].
However, in spite of this shortage, when they eat there is enough
food for them all.
While seems to be a
version of the miracle of the loaves and fishes, the emphasis
on dairy aspects is striking. It is clearly stated that the ewe
had just been milked, and that a little bit of milk has been
blessed. Also being demonstrated is Brigit's virtue. Hospitality
was an extremely important virtue to the Irish that brought prestige
to its giver (Bray 1992,
109). Lucas points out that milk was especially important to
this hospitality as it consistently receives high placement on
lists of food items for guests (1960-62,
19). Finally, it must be stated that this miracle has a functional
aspect: a claim to a church at this site, for it ends with Lassar
giving Brigit a church at Cell Laisre; and the story ends by
claiming that Brigit is venerated at this site.
While it is clear that
a claim to a church for Brigit is the point of this miracle,
it is the background to that claim that is interesting. In order
for Brigit to successfully make the claim, she needs to show
that there is legitimacy in that claim. Lassar is depicted as
actually giving the church to Brigit, which gives Brigit a legal
and human claim to the location. Brigit's claim to the church
receives verification when she displays her ability to affect
the production of food on that land. While being able to do this
does not always indicate a claim to a certain area it would seem
in this case to indicate that her claim to this church is both
human and divine. Saint Patrick does not make either human or
divine claim to this area, so he is not credited with the food
production, nor given the church. His presence, as well as being
a catalyst for the miracle itself, serves to validate the claim
being made by the Brigidine cult.
Conclusions
Milk then was of central importance in the Brigidine vitae.
Her associations with milk are established at childhood, where
it helps to establish her purity, and thus her status as a saint.
Furthermore, her ability to produce an abundance of milk and
dairy products continued to prove her purity, as well as providing
a means for her biographers to claim status for their patron.
By depicting Brigit as a master of such a crucial element of
the early Irish economy, the cult was able to lay claim to status
and land. By keeping others in Brigit's debt the Brigidine cult
was able to maintain their claims for Brigit's high status within
Ireland.
