Page:A Dictionary of Saintly Women Volume 1.djvu/147

Rh concerning St. Brigid. She was the daughter of Dubtach, a nobleman of Leinstor, who was descended from Eochard, brother of King Conn of the Hundred Battles; her mother was Broetseach or Brocessa O’Connor, his slave. Dubtach’s wife had several sons, but no daughter, and her jealousy of Brocessa was increased by the prophecy that Brocessa would give birth to a daughter who should be very illustrious. She insisted that Brocessa should be sent away. So Dubtach sold her to a magician or bard at Faugher, near Dundalk, with the condition that her child should be returned to him. The night that she arrived in her new home, a holy man came begging for hospitality. He passed the whole night in prayer, and in the morning told his host he had seen a globe of fire resting over the place where the servant slept. One day the bard invited his king and queen to supper, but the queen could not come because she was hourly expecting to have a child. The friends and servants of the king inquired of the bard what sort of child the queen would have, and when it would be born. He told them that it would have no equal in Ireland if it were born at sunrise, neither in the house nor out of the house. At midnight the queen gave birth to a son. Very early in the morning, Brocessa went and milked the cows as usual. She returned with a large pail of milk. As she entered her master’s door, having one foot in the house and one foot out, she fell down on the threshold, and there, at the moment of sunrise, she was delivered of a daughter, Brigid, whose infancy was illustrated by prodigies, and who was evidently under the immediate protection of Heaven. Flames often filled her room or surrounded her head, but did not hurt her or destroy anything. No food was found to suit her until the magician set apart a beautiful white cow for her use, and got a Christian woman to milk it. According to agreement, the bard sent the child Brigid to her father. Once she went to help her mother, who was making butter and taking care of the cows some distance from her master’s house. As fast as the butter was made, Brigid. who said, “Every guest is Christ,” gave it all away to beggars and travellers. After a time the magician and his wife came to the farm to fetch the butter. When Brigid saw what a large cask they had brought to carry it away in, she was much embarrassed, knowing she had only the supply of one day and a half; however, she received them cheerfully, washed their feet, and gave them food. She then went to her own cell and prayed, and afterwards brought the butter she had to the bard’s wife, who laughed at her and said, “Is that all the butter you have made in so many days?” Brigid said, “Fill the cask: you shall have butter enough.” The woman began putting the butter into her large receptacle out of Brigid’s little one, and very soon it was quite full. When the magician saw that miracle, he said to Brigid, “You shall have all the butter for yourself, and the twelve cows which you have milked shall be yours also.” Brigid said, “Keep your cows, and give me my mother’s freedom.” The magician answered, “The cows and the butter and your mother are yours.” Then he believed in Christ and was baptized, and Brigid gave all his gifts to the poor, and returned to Dubtach with her mother. Her father offered to sell her to the king, saying that he wished to get rid of her because she gave to the poor everything she could lay her hands upon. While they were in the house discussing the matter, Brigid was left in the carriage at the door. A beggar asked her for alms, and as she had no money she gave him her father’s sword, which was a gift from the king. When he came back, she said that what she gave to the poor she gave to Christ, that her father and the king ought to be glad that the sword was so honoured, and that if she could, she would give them both, and everything that belonged to them, to Christ. The king then gave her a new sword for her father.

Some Christians, travelling through the country, were taken by Dubtach’s followers. As they could not give a satisfactory account of themselves, they were condemned to death as rogues and