The Image of Brigit as a Saint: Reading the Latin Lives

This is an argument for reading the early Latin Lives of Brigit theologically as christian texts with spiritual and pedagogical aims. The portrayal of Brigit as a saint is based on the authors’ theological understanding of holiness. The sources must be understood in their own right as literary products of a learned christian culture and thus one can elucidate the hagiographers’ conception of Brigit as a holy person. These matters are important for the relationship between the saint and her pre-christian namesake, and it is argued here that the image of the saint should take precedence since the sources on Brigit portray her as such.