What does Brigid look like?

It’s something many artists have attacked in their art: what would Brigid look like? Last week, we explored what language she might have spoken. This week, let’s explore what our darling deity might look like.

Modern inclinations – hair

There is a tendency in the modern world to assume that Brigid was red haired. She is described as fiery headed, and this ties into the stereotype of the green-eyed, red-haired Irish woman. Even 23andme explicitly links the red-hair mutation with Ireland and our distinct issues with Vitamin D.

But even in Ireland, the real percentage of people with red hair is comparatively small. I mean, ok, outside of Ireland, we’re looking at 1-2% of the population having red hair. In Ireland, it’s something like 10%. So, between 5 and 10 times the rate of the global population?

It’s possible Brigid had red hair. But she’s not known as Brig Rua. Brigid Rua, which would be common if she had red hair. None of the hagiographies or our tales mention any red hair.

But it’s there in the zeitgeist now. So this is one version of what Brigid looks like.

Clothing

With clothing, we’re on more solid ground. Kinda.

We have a fair idea of what St. Brigid would have worn. OK, again, we have the idea of the green mantle. Now, there is the text where she gains the land for her monastery in Kildare by spreading her cloack over the land and having 4 nuns each take 1 corner and start walking. No mention of colour though.

I don’t really have an issue with the idea of the green. I mean, green is so heavily associated with Ireland, it seems reasonable that it be linked to how Brigid looks.

Poet, Smith, Healer

We might all have ideas of how a poet, a smith or a healer might look like.

We also need to take into account that possibly, maybe, our tales might have exaggerated how tall the heroes were. Or indeed, their manes of hair (although fair and dark are the most commonly mentioned. Rare is red mentioned)

I mean, I find it unlikely that there were so many 7foot+ tall people wandering around the island as some of our tales might suggest…

There’s no mention of height with Brigid. But we might need to put aside modern images of what a poet, smith or healer might look like. For a start, poets had to survive travelling from place to place. In wilderness. With dangers and trials and perils aplenty. So, they might have been a bit better built than we imagine. And Brigid is a poet. So, Brigid the Poet, she might look a bit more sturdy than the scholarly build we might imagine.

Similarly, with Brigid the Smith. We imagine a smith as big, burly, muscular. But that doesn’t mean that Brigid looks like the Dagda… I mean, for a start, she’s female and has certain attributes the Dagda, as far as I’m aware, lacks…

And honestly, any good healer I’ve ever known has never lived up to the stereotype of gentle and mild. They can be fierce, strong, vicious when their patients are threatened. Even if said patients are threatened by themselves… Can you imagine Brigid appearing to confront a patient who wasn’t taking care of themselves?

Even the saint un-cured the leper who didn’t follow through on her instructions….

Essentially

Brigid is a saint and a deity. What she looks like, is entirely up to her. She can appear as young or old, short or tall, square or round. She has appeared to me in all sorts of guises. Including as a flame. As in not appearing in human shape at all.

We all have ideas of how Brigid should appear. But we can’t let ourselves be limited by this. Be realistic. Our modern romantic notions don’t always match up to the reality.

Just because she chooses to appear in a way you don’t expect, don’t be disappointed, or doubt whether it’s Brigid you’re dealing with. There’s few enough beings willing to impersonate her. Trust me on this one.

We can’t bind a deity into our notions of what they should look like. We have to accept them as they appear to us. No matter how strange it might appear to us!