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Brigid's cross

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Brigid's cross

Brigid's crossorBrigit's cross(Irish:Cros Bhríde,Crosóg BhrídeorBogha Bhríde) is a small variant of theChristian crossoften woven from straw orrushes.It appears in many different shapes; the earliest designs were simple ChristianLatin or Greek crosses,but the most popular modern iteration features a woven diamond orlozengein the centre. The cross is named for theChristiansaintBrigid of Kildare.

Brigid's cross is typically woven on 1 February, herfeast day,as well as the festival ofImbolcinpre-Christian Ireland.Hanging Brigid's cross from the rafters of one's house was believed to bring the blessing and protection of the saint for the remainder of the year. The practice of crafting Brigid's crosses is first attested in the 17th century and seems to have been in decline by the 20th century, in part due to house renovations that made hanging them difficult.[1]

In addition to theshamrockandCeltic harp,Brigid's cross is a national symbol of Ireland. From 1962 to 1995, it was incorporated into theRaidió Teilifís Éireann logo.A collection of Brigid's crosses collected by theIrish Folklore Commissionis on display at theNational Museum of Ireland – Country Life.

Design

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The arms of the cross are not parallel to one another, giving the impression of motion.

Brigid's crosses broadly refer to a type of cross woven out of straw orrushes.They are defined by building material more than appearance, and the exact shape of a Brigid's cross varies greatly. TheNational Museum of Irelandhas identified seven basic categories of cross: diamond, which is subdivided into single or multiple; "swastika"type, with four or three arms; wheel type; interlaced type; traditionalLatin crossesmade from straw or rush; bare wooden crosses in the Latin orGreekstyle which are bound with straw; and a final "miscellaneous" category.[2]

There are several variations on the Brigid's cross, including this three-armed version.

The most popular of these is the diamond orlozengecross, the dominant variant throughoutMunsterandConnacht.[2]Two sticks are crossed over one another to provide a wooden framework for this cross, and at its centre, straw is woven into the shape of a diamond. Sometimes, additional woven diamonds are added to the four arms of the cross.[3]Some historians have compared the lozenge shape at the centre of the diamond cross to that of the Mexicangod's eyeor the Eurasian "magic square".[4]

Another popular variant is the "swastika" cross. Rather than being set parallel to one another like a traditional cross,[5]the arms of the swastika cross are set at right angles from a lozenge or diamond at the centre. These offset angles evoke the image of a wheel in motion and may have originally represented the sun, or "the great wheel in the sky".[6]In certain regions ofUlster,this wheel spinning in a circle imagery is evoked with a three-armed woven cross.[7]This three-armed variant has been compared to thetriskelion,a popular motif in Celtic imagery.[8]In rare cases, Brigid's cross may be set fully inside a circle; this is known as a "wheel cross" or "St. Brigid's Bow".[9][10]

Unlike other Brigid's crosses, which were typically made of straw, the interlaced cross is often made of rushes. Unlike other forms of the cross which contain a woven shape in the centre, the interlaced cross consists only of rush or straw strands woven into a Christian cross shape.[9][10]While straw is the more popular weaving material for most variants of Brigid's cross, the interlaced cross is more frequently made from rushes.[2]An even simpler variant is the bare cross, which consists either of two bound plaits of straw or of two planks of wood bound together in the centre by straw.[11]Occasionally, no straw is used at all: the Sheaf-Cross, located in easternCounty GalwayandCounty Roscommon,involves two small sheathes of unthreshed corn are bound together by a splitthatchingbranch.[12]

Folklore

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Brigid's cross is named forBrigid of Kildare,the only femalepatron saintof Ireland, who was bornc. 450inLeinster.Unlike her contemporary,Saint Patrick,Brigid left no historical record, and most information about her life and work derives from ahagiographywritten by the monkCogitosussome 200 years after her birth.[13]The prevailingChristian folkloresurrounding Brigid's cross involves thedeathbed conversionof an Irishpaganchieftain, in some stories her father. While telling the pagan about theCrucifixion of Jesus,Brigid collected rushes from the ground and wove them into a cross, after which the chieftain requested a Christianbaptism.[14]In another story, Brigid was given a poisoned drink by a woman of ill intent, and she wove the cross to neutralise the toxins.[15]

Ritual use

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Brigid's cross hung over a doorway

One of the customs associated with Brigid of Kildare's feast day was to hang Brigid's crosses in the rafters or over entryways of buildings, thus invoking the saint's blessing and protection for the remainder of the year.[16]Families would gather rushes on 31 January, the eve of Brigid's feast day. After an evening feast, the head of household would supervise the rest of the family as they wove crosses from the collected material.[17]These crosses were left out overnight to receive Brigid's blessing, and on 1 February, crosses would be mounted in the main dwelling place, outhouses, andstables.[18]While the direction in which the crosses were hung remains unknown, that the centre shape is frequently described as a lozenge rather than a square suggests that Brigid's cross is properly displayed in asaltirestyle rather than that of theLatin cross.[19]Crosses were either taken down annually and replaced, or they accumulated between feasts.[20]If they were discarded, they were burned or buried, with the latter preferred due to Brigid's associations with agriculture.[21]

The weaving of Brigid's crosses was popular throughout Ireland, particularly in the north and midland, but its popularity dwindled during the 20th century.[22]Some families attributed the decline of Brigid's crosses to house renovations that inhibited the ability to hang them appropriately.[23]Outside of Ireland, Brigid's crosses are also customarily hung inGlastonbury,England, in accordance with a local legend that says Brigid of Kildare visited the town in 488 CE.[24]Families may also send woven crosses to their friends and relatives who live abroad, or they will carry a cross with them when they leave Ireland.[25]The weaving of crosses was not restricted to Brigid's feast day: friends would often gift crosses to incur blessings and strengthen their bond,[26]while newlywed couples would often receive "womb crosses" to hang above their door, as Brigid was also a patron offertility.[27]

Although they take place at different points of the season, the weaving of Brigid's cross is associated withother ritualsin which the last sheaf of that year's harvest is woven into intricate shape.[28]InCounty Armagh,for instance, the harvest season involves the weaving of Harvest Knots and Harvest Stars, the former of which involves a lozenge shape similar to that of Brigid's cross.[29]These "last sheaf" celebrations are collectively known as theCailleach.[30]

As a national symbol

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The first RTÉ logo, designed in 1961

Shortly after theIrish Free Stategained its independence in 1922, Brigid's cross became one of several nationalist symbols, alongside such other motifs as theshamrockandCeltic harp,used by Irish artists in order to create a national cultural identity separate from that of Britain.[31]In the 1950s, Brigid's cross was incorporated into the logo of the IrishDepartment of Health,[25]and as of 2024, the cross remained a part of the logo of theNursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland,who frequently incorporate Brigid into their imagery for her associations with midwifery.[32]

Brigid's cross was selected as the firststation identificationmarker forRaidió Teilifís Éireann(RTÉ) in 1962, with Alice Curtayne writing that the cross was selected to evoke "the image of quiet, serene places in the springtime of our history, of rush-bordered rivers in a serene arcadian landscape".[33]The RTÉ logo underwent nine redesigns between 1962 and 1987, with the cross taking varying levels of prominence compared to the station name. It was removed from the RTÉ logo in 1995 in favour of "a clean striking piece of modern design", a decision which Carol Coulter ofThe Irish Timesopined, "Saint Brigid's cross has lost its place as a symbol of our national identity, well at least as far as our national broadcasting station is concerned."[34]

In 1942, theIrish Folklore Commissioncreated a questionnaire regarding the Feast of Saint Brigid, during which they collected several hundred Brigid's crosses.[35]In 2022, the Commission selected a sample of 21 of these crosses to be displayed at theNational Museum of Ireland – Country LifeinCastlebar.The display coincided with an announcement from the Irish government that 1 February would be declared a national holiday.[27]

See also

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References

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Citations

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  1. ^Paterson 1945.
  2. ^abcO'Dowd 2015,p. 55.
  3. ^Ó Duinn 2005,pp. 122–123.
  4. ^O'Dowd 2015,p. 59.
  5. ^Ó Duinn 2005,p. 121.
  6. ^Kissane 2017,pp. 258–259.
  7. ^Ó Duinn 2005,p. 122.
  8. ^Mason 1945,pp. 162–163.
  9. ^abÓ Duinn 2005,p. 125.
  10. ^abO'Dowd 2015,pp. 55–56.
  11. ^Ó Duinn 2005,pp. 125–126.
  12. ^Ó Duinn 2005,p. 126.
  13. ^Bitel 2022.
  14. ^Loughrey-Grant 2018.
  15. ^Kissane 2017,pp. 259–260.
  16. ^Mason 1945,p. 160.
  17. ^Kissane 2017,pp. 254–258.
  18. ^Kissane 2017,pp. 260–261.
  19. ^O'Dowd 2015,pp. 61–62.
  20. ^Kissane 2017,p. 261.
  21. ^Paterson 1945,p. 47.
  22. ^O'Dowd 2015,pp. 55–57.
  23. ^Kissane 2017,p. 258.
  24. ^Robinson 1953,pp. 97–99.
  25. ^abO'Riordan 1951,p. 91.
  26. ^Paterson 1945,p. 48.
  27. ^abShiel 2022.
  28. ^O'Dowd 2015,pp. 64–67.
  29. ^Paterson 1944,p. 348.
  30. ^Ó Duinn 2005,p. 129.
  31. ^Kennedy 1992,p. 17.
  32. ^Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland 2009.
  33. ^Curtayne 1962.
  34. ^Mullally 2020.
  35. ^O'Dowd 2015,pp. 53–55.

Sources

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