[Vision2020] Joan and the Celtic Goddess

[Michael]

Rose Writes:

 

Why would you rely on Aaron Rench's hagiographic view of St. Bridget over
Joan's?  Joan is a trained medievalist, Aaron is a trained ?.  Aaron and I
had this conversation privately about a month ago - and it was my hope that
he had learned something from it.  Apparently not.  

 

Me:

Rose, I'm not inclined to think that your account of St. Bridget or the
problem is lining up with Joan's.  Your web link said only the following
about St. Bridget:

 

"St. Bridget was the daughter (possibly illegitimate) of a pagan chieftan
and a Christian serving woman. From childhood, Bridget had a reputation for
generosity and hoped to become a nun. Stories that St. Patrick baptized her
are now discounted; she is said to have become a nun under St. Mel, nephew
of Patrick. She is said to have performed many miracles, often associated
with the multiplication of food or drink. She founded Cill-Dara, the church
of the oak, c. 470. She may have been a hermit whom others seeking the
monastic life joined at Kildaire. The monastery was the only
double-monastery in Ireland and became among the best-known and most
powerful of monastic houses in the country. Legends say that Ibor
consecrated her a bishop, and this is one reason cited for the power and
influence that the abbesses of Kildaire wielded. When Bridget died in the
early VI Century, she was buried at Kildaire. Some say that no man was
allowed to enter the shrine to St. Bridget, which the English looted in the
time of Henry VIII."

 

And here is what Joan said:

 

"Do you know who Brigid was? Maiden, mother, and crone. She was a Celtic
goddess; she made the crops grow, she was called upon to aid in childbirth;
the Irish still put out bowls of milk on St. Brigid's Day. Why? Because
Brigid the Goddess had a bit of a nasty streak - she needed to be appeased."

 

And here is what Aaron said:

 

"I'm sure there was a Brigid who was a Celtic goddess, but if you recall the
name of the feast at Trinity Fest was *Saint* Brigid's Feast. That's because
we were not naming our feast after Brigid the Celtic goddess, but after a
Christian medieval nun who was known for her hospitality."

 

Me:

So, who has more accurately described St. Bridget?  I'd be inclined to think
that Aaron did.  But doesn't your very argument about academic sloppiness on
the part of Aaron (and therefore Christ Church) show that even if Joan is
correct, we are operating with a false, mythic view of St. Bridget.  Is
hagiography heresy?  Joan wants to call St. Bridget a Crone.  Well, what
shall we think about that?  Here's a feminist definition of Crone for anyone
interested:

 
"The crone eludes precise definition. Some traditions, organizations, and
individuals variously define the crone as a woman who is either 50, 52, or
56, post-menopausal, consciously aging, willing to acknowledge her shadow
side. Crone is a term used to describe an ancient archetype, an aspect of
the triple goddess (maiden/mother/crone), and the third phase of a woman's
life. When a woman is near, in, or past menopause, she is potentially a
crone. The designation refers to a perspective or point of view rather than
a specific age or physical event. 

A woman who calls herself crone is willing to acknowledge her age, wisdom,
and power. Through conscious self-definition, she helps to reverse hundreds
of years of oppression, degradation, and abuse aimed at old women. Although
she may prefer to be called elder, grandmother, or wisewoman, she does not
dismiss, disavow, or use pejoratively terms such as crone, witch, or hag. 

The wisewoman/crone/grandmother realizes that the true meaning of these
terms, and the woman-centered traditions from which they originate, have
been obscured and distorted by patriarchal systems. 

In ancient times, the crone was revered as an old woman who embodied wisdom
and knew the truth of cyclic existence. Crones cared for the dying and were
spiritual midwives at the end of life, the link in the cycle of death and
rebirth. They were healers, teachers, way-showers, bearers of sacred power,
knowers of mysteries, mediators between the world of spirit and the world of
form. In pre-patriarchical societies, women's wisdom held healing power, and
crone wisdom was the most potent of all. For nearly thirty thousand years,
old women were strong, powerful sources of wisdom. Crones were respected and
honored in their communities."

 

Thanks!

Michael Metzler 

 

 

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