BRIGID AND HER We are told that Brigid instituted the perpetual
fire for the use of pilgrims and travelers. This
VENERATION:
TWO SEQUENCES
By Dr. Sara G. Casey
of the University of Pittsburgh
BRIGID, along with Patrick and ColumCille, is
considered one of the three great saints of
Ireland.18 Although her similarity to a pagan
deity is very strong and evidence of the
historical Brigid somewhat limited, her adoption
as a saint by the Irish church is evidenced as
early as the seventh century, when her first Vita
was written by Cogitosus. Examples of the new
genre of hagiography, all of the vitæ written in
her honor are catalogs of miracles, seemingly
designed to “boost Brigid’s reputation as a
wonder worker and therefore a suitable
candidate for veneration.” 19
What appears to be discernable as truth from the
vitæ is that Brigid was born in the mid-fifth
century, possibly near Dundalk, at Faughart.20
Consecrating herself to God at an early age, she
received the veil from St. Macaille.21 She was the
founder of the monastery of Cell-dara, or
Kildare, “Church of the Oak.” Founded initially
for nuns, it soon became a double monastery,
with Brigid presiding over both monks and nuns.
With the addition of men to her community,
Brigid considered it essential to have a bishop,
and Conlaedh (d. 520) was appointed.22
18
James Kenney, The Sources for the Early History of
Ireland: Ecclesiastical (New York: Columbia University
Press, 1929; reprint New York: Octagon Books, 1996), 41.
19
Dáibhí Ó Cróinín, A New History of Ireland (Oxford:
Oxford University Press, 2005), 384. See Kenney, 359, for
manuscript lists of her vitae. See also Mario Esposito, “On
the Earliest Latin Life of St. Brigid of Kildare,” Proceedings
of the Royal Irish Academy, Section C, XXX (1912), 307-
26; D.N. Kissane, ‘Vitae metrica sanctae Brigidae: a critical
edition with Introduction, Commentary, and indexes’,
Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy 77c (1977), 57-192;
Richard Sharpe, “Vitae St. Brigid: the Oldest Texts,” Peritia,
1 (1982), 81-106; Kim McCone, “Brigit in the Seventh
Century: A Saint with Three Lives,” Peritia 1 (1982), 107-
45; Thomas Torma, “This Woman Alone: Approaches to the
Earliest Vitae of Brigit of Kildare,” (Ph.D. dissertation,
University of Edinburgh, 2001).
20
Butler, I, 226.
21
Aubrey Gwynn and R. Neville Hadcock, Medieval
Religious Houses: Ireland (Blackrock, Co. Dublin: Irish
Academic Press, 1970; reprint 1988), 320.
22
Gwynn and Hadcock, 320.
fire was continued in her memory after her
death at the age of seventy, in the 520s.23
Gerald of Wales commented on the fire in the
twelfth century:
. . .The fire of Brigid which they call
inextinguishable. . . because the nuns and
holy women so anxiously and punctually
cherish and nurse the fire with a supply of
fuel, that during many centuries from the
virgin’s own day it has ever remained alight
and the ashes have never accumulated…
Whereas in the time of Brigid twenty nuns
here served the Lord, she herself being the
twentieth, there have only been nineteen
from the time of her glorious departure and
they have not added to that number. But as
each nun in her turn tends the fire for one
night, when the twentieth night comes the
last maiden having placed the wood ready,
saith, ‘Brigid, tend that fire of thine, for
this is thy night.’ And the fire being so left,
in the morning they find it still alight and
the fuel consumed in the usual way.”24
The Dublin-born scholar Richard Staneyhurst
reported in 1564 that he “…did see a
monument like a vault, which to this daie they
call the ffire (sic) house.”25 While the fire was
extinguished by the seventeenth century, the
legend of Brigid and her holiness has endured.
Brigid’s cult is widespread. There were
innumerable churches dedicated to her in
Ireland, although many of these disappeared
after the enactment of the penal laws of the
seventeenth and eighteenth century. However,
her veneration continued to flourish.
Although her vitæ make note of her travels
within Ireland, Brigid never left the island of
her birth. In spite of this, she is venerated
throughout Europe. One of the reasons for this
are the travels of the Irish peregrini.
Beginning in the sixth century, groups of
monks from Ireland desired to go on
23
Gwynn and Hadcock, 320.
24
Butler, I, 227.
25
Lisa M. Bitel, Landscape With Two Saints: How
Genovefa of Paris and Brigit of Kildare Built
Christianity in Barbarian Europe (New York: Oxford
University Press, 2009), 203.
peregrinatio pro Christo. These holy people
left their homeland and, in increasing numbers,
travelled to regions throughout Britain and to
the continent of Europe, taking with them their
liturgy and customs, which included the
veneration of St. Brigid.
The peregrini exerted a powerful influence in
the region of Francia through the eighth century,
founding and populating more than sixty-five
monasteries, which are spread throughout
present day France, Switzerland, Austria,
Bavaria, and Italy. Veneration of Brigid went
wherever the peregrini could be found.
Ultimately, their influence waned in the wake of
increasing Roman influence and the Carolingian
concept of unitas.26 However, even today we
find remnants of Brigid’s veneration in the
continental landscape, with chapels and altars
dedicated to her still in Brittany, Belgium,
Germany, Switzerland, and Italy.27
The widespread nature of Brigid’s cult is also
reflected in the manuscript tradition, where
chants or chant texts for her veneration are
found in manuscripts with provenance from
Ireland, Scotland, England, Switzerland,
Germany, and Italy. These range in date from
the eighth to the fifteenth century. Even in
manuscripts without prayers written
specifically for Brigid, her presence in
numerous liturgical calendars provides
evidence of a continued and extensive
veneration of her feast day.28
While some research has been accomplished
on the office for Brigid, less has been done on
other liturgical genres.29 The Analecta
Hymnica lists two sequences for St. Brigid.30
Campi flos et lilium is found in the Arbuthnott
Missal of 1491.31 The inclusion of Brigid’s
sequence in this manuscript is under current
26
See Sara G. Casey, “Songs for the Peregrini: Proper
Chants for Irish Saints as found in Continental
Manuscripts of the Middle Ages,” (Ph.D. Dissertation,
University of Pittsburgh, 2003).
27
Róisín Ní Mheara, In Search of Irish Saints (Blackrock,
Co. Dublin: Four Courts Press, 1994), passim.
28
Ann Buckley, A New History of Ireland (Oxford:
Oxford University Press, 2005), 781.
29
Canty, Flame of Ireland: Medieval Irish Plainchant, an
Office for St. Brigid, Gaudeamus compact disk (2005).
Liner notes and melodic transcriptions by Dr. Ann Buckley.
30
Guido Dreves, Analecta Hymnica Medii Aevi
(Leipzig, 1891; reprint London, 1961), 40:157; 42:182.
investigation, but may be related to the fifth or
sixth century St. Ternan, bishop to the Picts,
who along with St. ColumCille was actively
involved in their conversion. Listed in the
Félire Óengusso, St. Ternan is the patron saint
of Arbuthnott Church.32 The second sequence,
Gloriosæ Brigidæ, is found in a Gradual of
Cologny, dated 1507.33 While exact provenance
for this manuscript has not yet been
established, one may posit the presence of
Brigid’s sequence within as part of the
influence of the Irish peregrini in the region’s
medieval manuscript tradition.
Infrequently sung in the modern liturgy, the
sequence was an important part of poetic and
musical composition for liturgies in the
medieval era, as we will see. A brief
examination of sequences and their texts in
general and the texts for Brigid’s sequences in
particular will allow us to locate her sequences
stylistically within the larger sequence
repertory of the Middle Ages.
The Sequence and Its History
The sequence was a very popular genre
throughout the Middle Ages. There are more
than 1,400 sequence melodies and 3,000
sequence texts found in over 1,400 manuscript
sources.34 Much having to do with the sequence
is a matter of debate, however, with scholars
frequently focusing on its origin and
derivation. First appearing in the eighth
century, the sequence represented a new form
of musical composition, one whose origins are
not yet clear. The sequence was sung in the
liturgy on feast days and was found most
commonly after the alleluia.
31
G. H. Forbes and A. P. Forbes, Liber ecclesie Beati
Terrenani de Arbuthnott. Missale secundum usum
Ecclesiæ Sancti Andreæ in Scotia (Burntisland: Pitsligo
Press, 1864). See also Sara G. Casey, “The Sequences of
the Arbuthnot Missal,” in process.
32
Butler, III, 528.
33
Cod. S. Martini Colonien. XXV. Possibly Cologny,
Benediktinerabtei Gross Sankt Martin 1519.
34
Nancy van Deusen, “The Use and Significance of the
Sequence,” Musica Disciplina 40 (1986), 5.
The placement of the sequence after the
alleluia, as well as an occasional similarity of
the incipit, or opening melody, to the preceding
alleluia, has suggested that the chant was in
fact derived from the alleluia. This theory
cannot be proven, however, and in that some
sequences are not similar to any known
alleluia, it seems likely the melodies were
derived from elsewhere.
The number of sequences allowed for use in
the liturgy was limited after the Council of
Trent in the sixteenth century. Only four
remained in the Roman Missal of Pope Pius
V (1570): 35 the eleventh century Victimæ
Paschali for Easter, Veni Sancte Spiritus, a
twelfth century chant for Pentecost, Lauda
Sion composed about 1264 for the feast of
Corpus Christi, and the thirteenth century
Dies Iræ from the Mass for the Dead. Stabat
Mater was added to the number of allowable
sequences in the early eightenth century.
Why were sequences dis-allowed after the
Council of Trent? An answer might be found in
the content of their texts. The texts of
sequences were often comprised of vivid
narratives detailing aspects of saints’ lives. As
such, it may be that the many sequences
eliminated after the Council did not conform to
the liturgical requirements for music.
Immediately after the Council in 1564,
Paolo Manuzio published, along with many
other decrees, one stating that music with
lascivious or impure elements was to be
prohibited. The same wording was also
found the new Codex iuris canonici.36
Finally, Gabrielle Paleotti, auditor of the
Rota and later archbishop of Bologna, wrote
Acta Concilii tridentini.37 Regarding music,
Paleotti said:
35
David Hiley, Western Plainchant: A Handbook
(Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1993), 618.
36
Craig A Monson, “The Council of Trent Revisited,”
Journal of the American Musicological Society, 55
(2002): 23.
37
Please see Prodi, II Cardinale Gabriele Paleotti 2:389-
424; Hubert Jedin, Das Konzil von Trient, ein
Ueberblick über die Erforschung seiner Geschichte
(Rome: Edizioni di "Storia e Letteratura," 1948), 37-
39.Quoted in Monson, 22.
In the deliberations regarding music in
divine service, although some rather
condemned [than approved] it in churches,
the rest, however, and especially the
Spanish, gave their vote that it should by
all means be retained in accordance with
the most ancient usage of the Catholic
Church to arouse the faithful to love of
God, provided that it should be free of
lasciviousness and wantonness . . . .38
We can see, therefore, that the oft-repeated
stricture regarding texts dealing with wanton or
impure elements was of critical importance as
regards music at the Council of Trent.39
Sequences were not named specifically as a
source of wanton texts, but given the secular
nature of their narratives, it is likely that they
might have been among the texts found guilty.
While the texts for Brigid’s sequences may not
seem lascivious or wanton to readers or
listeners of the twenty-first century, in that they
deal with aspects of the life of Brigid of
legend, they may have been considered far too
secular for proper worship, and so were among
those discarded after the sixteenth century.
The Sequence and Its Characteristics
Before looking at the sequences written in
honor of Brigid of Kildare, let us briefly
discuss the medieval sequences’ makeup. From
its earliest examples, the structure of the
sequence consisted of two consecutive lines of
text set to the same melody, creating paired
versicles.40 A single verse sometimes framed
the beginning and the end of the prayer, or
could be found within the sequence itself, as is
the case with Campi flos et lilium. (Please see
Appendix 1.) Sequences of the “first epoch,”
written from the eighth to the early eleventh
centuries, used a highly elevated prose style,
while those of the “second epoch” are
distinguished by the use of rhyme and rhythm.
These two styles are separated by a transitional
period that extended roughly from the mid-
eleventh to the mid-twelfth centuries. These
could have rhyme that was perfectly sustained
throughout while rhythm and symmetry of
verse structure could be lacking.
38
Monson, 24.
39
Monson, 7.
40
Hiley, 172.
The opposite could also be true, with texts
that were perfectly rhythmic and
symmetrical but with no regard for the
concepts of rhyme. 41 After the twelfth
century, “second epoch” sequences became
the standard, though those of the
transitional style continued to be written as
well. 42 Paris has been recognized as the
major center for “second epoch” sequences,
with special prominence being given to the
abbey of Augustinian canons at St. Victor
in the creation of both their text and
music. 43
Characteristics of “second epoch” sequences
follow the overall form of earlier sequences.
They are still composed of two consecutive
lines of text set to the same music, creating
paired versicles. Now, however, each line of
text, or phrase, can be divided into sub-phrases.
Frederick Raby describes the sub-phrases of
the rhymed or “second epoch” sequence par
excellence as “a trochaic line of 8 syllables
repeated one or more times, followed by a
trochaic line of 7 syllables.”44
An additional characteristic of “second epoch”
sequences, is a frequent occurrence of
“proparoxytone,” or two unstressed syllables at
phrase end, as for example in the word
Hibernia or gloria.45
Brigid’s Sequences
Let us turn now to the textual aspects of
Brigid’s sequences, seen in Appendices 1 and
2, in order to determine if they fit the general
patterns of either transitional or “second
epoch” sequences.
41
Lori A. Kruckenberg-Goldstein, “The Sequence from
1050-1150: Study of a Genre in Change,” (Ph.D.
Dissertation, Graduate College of the University of
Iowa, 1997), 27.
42
Kruckenberg-Goldstein, 7-8.
43
Margot Fassler, Gothic Song: Victorine Sequences and
Augustinian Reform in Twelfth-Century Paris
(Cambridge, 1993), 139.
44
F. J. E. Raby, A History of Christian-Latin Poetry from
the Beginning to the Close of the Middde Ages (Oxford:
Clarendon Pres, 1927; 2nd edition, Oxford: Clarendon
Press, 1953), 348.
45
Richard L. Crocker, “The Later Rhymed Sequence,”
The New Grove Dictionary of Music Online, ed. L. Macy
(accessed 2 April, 2005), http://grovemusic.com.
A syllable count reveals that one of these
sequences, Campi flos et lilium, conforms in
most aspects to the properties described by
Raby as sequences par excellence. Campi flos
et lilium also uses words of proparoxytone, at
the end of each phrase or versicle. These words
are underlined in Appendix 1.
Gloriosæ Brigidæ does not fit the pattern of
“second epoch” sequences quite as closely as
does Campi flos et lilium, suggesting that it
could be a transitional style. An examination of
yet a third sequence may shed some light on
the nature of Gloriosæ Brigidæ.
Guido Dreves in Analecta Hymnica (42:182)
provides the title of the melody for Gloriosæ
Brigidæ. It is given as Lætabundus, a melody
that was used in numerous sequences from the
late-eleventh century on.46 This sequence is
believed to survive today only in Dominican
liturgical books and is still sung by the
Dominicans at the third mass of Christmas, the
Epiphany, and Candlemas.47 Professor
Kruckenberg has described the text for
Lætabundus as characteristic and
representative of transitional sequences as a
whole.48
An examination of the textual characteristics of
Lætabundus (Please see Appendix 3.) shows a
close similarity with the text of Gloriosæ
Brigidæ and far less similarity with the text of
Campi flos et lilium, which fits the
characteristics of “second epoch” sequences
very closely. This could therefore suggest a
later date of composition for Campi flos et
lilium than for Gloriosæ Brigidæ.
Does this imply that the sequence Gloriosæ
Brigidæ may be considered one of the
transitional sequences, which could have been
written any time between 1050-1150? It seems
very likely, especially given the early dates of
manuscript evidence of Brigid’s veneration.
46
Sara G. Casey, “Irish Saints and Laetabundus,” in
process.
47
Novus Motus Liturgicus, February 1, 2007.
www.newliturgicalmovement.org/.../sequence-for-
candlemas-laetabundus.html. Accessed April 4, 2010.
48
Kruckenberg-Goldstein, 38.
However, since transitional sequences 5a. Castitas præfert palmam,
continued be written along side of ones of the Terris vitam ducens almam,
“second epoch,” and since the only exemplar Dei plena gratia.
of this chant that has been located to this point
is from a manuscript dated 1507, it is difficult 5b. In hac valle fæcis sita,
to say for certain. Until earlier exemplars of Cælo, terries inaudita,
Gloriosæ Brigidæ can be found, the question Fecit mirabilia.
will remain unresolved. Regardless of the dates
that may ultimately be established, the 6. Cæco visum, claudo gressum
sequences for St. Brigid present a clear view Reddens, atque vi opressum
into her liturgical veneration, perhaps from as Salvans de miseria
early as the twelfth century. CR
7a. Pulsa lepra iam leprosa
Munda carne fit formosa
Appendix 1 Eius beneficio
Campi flos et lilium49
7b. Surdus audit, Christo crédit
1a. Campi flos et lilium Infedelis, sanus redit
Alta linguens collium Pulso mentis vitio
Petit ima vallium
Collecturus lilia 8a. Mutat virgo rerum formam,
Supra usum atque normam
1b. Una inter varia Novas præstans species
Rosa pigmentaria
Invenitur, balsama 8b. Alteratur ac natura
Superans fragrantia Quam non prima genitura
Dedit neque series
2a. Hæc est Rosa, quam collegit
Rex cælorum et elegit,
9a. Plura manu salutari
Quam libido non confregit,
Fecit, quam nos quimus fari
Sacra virgo Brigida
Virgo sancta Brigida.
2b. Castitate singularis
Aetas floret puellaris 9b. In qua suum struxit templum
Morum normam, stellam maris Ipsam nobis dans exemplum
Vita sequens rigida. Ille verus Idida.

3a. Cuius caro illibata 10a. Talis extans, o benigna,

Est virtute exornata, Summi regis sponsa digna,
Et cælesti gratia, Assis tuis famulis.

3b. Quæ cervicem venenosam 10b. Qui te laudant venerantes,

Anguis trivit et exosam Tua festa celebrantes
Habet in munditia. Admiranda sæculis.

4a. Virgo casta et perita 11a. Nos, qui simus in hac fæce,
Secum ferre non oblita Reducamur tua prece
Oleum in vasculo, Ad supernam patriam,
4b. Et ad thronum introducta 11b. Ubi Christus, verbum patris,
Summi regis, non seducta, Suæ castæ prece matris
Sponsi digna osculo. Nobis donet gloriam.
49
http://www.archive.org/stream/analectahymnica
40drevuoft/analectahymnica40drevuoft_djvu.txt
 Appendix 2 Appendix 3
Gloriosæ Brigidæ Lætabundus50
1a. Gloriosæ 1a. Lætabundus
Brigidæ votiva festa exsultet fidelis chorus.
Recolamus, Alleluia.

1b. Venerantes 1b. Regem regum

Hanc diem præcalram omnes intactæ profudit thorus:
Concinamus. res mirranda.
2a. Angelus consilii
2a. Concrepet organicis
natus est de virgine:
Modulis et canticis
sol de stella.
Hæc, Brigida,
2b. Sol occasum nesciens,
2b. Proferat hæc contio stella semper rutilans,
Laudem, et devotio semper clara.
Sit sincera.
3a. Sicut sidus radium,
3a. Hanc fuisse filiam profert Virgo Filium,
Dupthati ducis unicam pari forma.
Tradunt scripta;
3a. Neque sidus radio,
3b. Annis puerilibus neque mater filio,
Signis et prodigiis fit corrupta.
Fuit clara.
4a. Cedrus alta Libani
4a. Quia nec obsequia conformatur hyssopo,
Prætermittens aliqua, calle nostra;
Quæ ad Christum
4b. Verbum ens Altissimi
4b. Pertinebant; igitur corporari passum est,
Cultus vanos respuit carne sumpta.
Venerari. 5a. Isaias cecinit,
Synagoga meminit,
5a. Huic sanctæ Brigidæ
numquam tamen desinit
Voluit. tribuere
esse cæca.
Christus tantam gratiam,
Ut in virtute 5b. Si non suis vatibus,
credat vel gentilibus;
5b. Patris atque filii Sibyllinis versibus
Sancti quoque spiritus hæc prædicta
Morbos cunctos que lepram
Posset sanare. 6a. Infelix, propera,
crede vel vetera:
6a. Ora pro populo, cur damnaberis,
Precare pro clero Agens misera?
Patrona nostra
o Brigida; 6b. Quem docet littera,
natum considera:
6b. Astantem populum, ipsum genuit puerpera.
Laudantem te clerum Alleluia
Fore et rege
per sæcula. 50
Novus Motus Liturgicus, February 1, 2007. www.liturgia
latina.org/Christmas/laetabundus.htm. Accessed April 4, 2010.