Personal history:
Brigit was born AD 1153, north of Luimneach on the river Seaná©®. She was
the proud daughter of a proud warrior chieftain of the Ua Briain sept:
second child and only daughter of Cormacc, whose ferocity battling the
invading Normans had earned him the nickname "Red Wolf". From the
beginning, she was headstrong and precocious, and spent long, rapt hours
listening to the warriors recount tales of battles they had fought, enemies
slain, and the glories of their ancestors. Cormacc doted on his wilful and
unpredictable daughter, and she, in her turn, adored her father. Though
Brigit had no interest in taking up the sword, she showed some skill with a
bow, and often accompanied her father and brothers on the hunt. She bullied
her two younger brothers, Fingal and Murchadh, unmercifully, and constantly
defied Diarmait, her elder brother, so that the three hapless boys were
always at odds with their sister.
While her mother continually tried to teach her the necessities of running a
household, Brigit's fancies were elsewhere. While her hands plied a needle,
her mind imagined far-away places and wonderous new experiences: she did not
take well to the daily tasks of keeping a house. She paid more heed to the
priest who taught her to read and to write: these skills she considered
keys that would open doors to the unknown. While her scribal skills were
ever tentative, she became an avid reader, constantly seeking more
knowledge.
Early in her life, she had displayed signs of being gifted with "the sight",
as many women of the Seaná©® were; but when she dreamed first of the death
of her young cousin, and, less than a year after, of her father's captain
and good friend Nial, she earned the nickname "an Morra", the little
Morrigan. She bore the name with some pride, but it caused some concern
for her father, whose intent was to wed her to a long standing adversary,
Uilliam ui Cennetig. Instead he made arrangements for her to be fostered in
the house of the king of Luimneach, and his cousin, Donnchad mac Briain. But
Cormacc died fighting against the Normans when Brigit was but twelve years
of age, and her elder brother Diarmait became the head of the sept. Within
the year, he had brought her home and married her off to one of his
supporters, Donnell MacDaire, an older man and a warrior as her father had been, to ensure his fealty.
Brigit had only two good things to say of Donnell MacDaire: the first, that
he was so old he was sure to die soon; and second, that he was always drunk
and favoured the contents of his tankard before her. When he fell from his
horse and broke his neck, she added a third to that list.
The law was that a woman unmarried or widowed was the responsibility
of her family. Diamait prepared to take Brigit into his household until
another marriage could be arranged for her, holding the lands she had
inherited from her late husband in trust until that marriage took place. To
escape Diarmait's machinations, Brigit fled her beloved Ireland for
Anjou, returning only as often as necessary to prevent her brother from
claiming her lands and property. For the next several years, she continued
to journey between her home and the continent. She travelled to Brittany,
Castille, Bavaria, Italy, Russia.... She became acquainted with many people
on her journeys, and kept in contact with them.
In 1170, Henry II of England, nominal ruler of Ireland, granted her a writ
of lands and Diarmait was forced to relinquish his designs on her property.
Brigit returned home in triumph, but her peace was short-lived. Five years
later, the hated Normans once again invaded her native soil, and Ruaidri Ua
Conchobair, with Norman allies, took Luimneach. For five years she has
chafed under their foreign rule, stubbornly refusing to yield her property
or her freedom. She travels when she can, for she does not trust the Ua
Conchobair; and she spends as much time as possible in the diverse company
of her Welsh, German, Russian, and Mongol friends.
Last updated on March 26, 2007
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