The Life of Saint Bridget, Virgin and Abbess

'The Life of Saint Bridget, Virgin and Abbess' is a book about Saint Brigid of Kildare or Brigid of Ireland, who is the patroness saint (or 'mother saint') of Ireland, and one of its three national saints along with Patrick and Columba. According to medieval Irish hagiographies, she was an abbess who founded several convents of nuns, most notably that of Kildare, which was one of the most important in Ireland. She is patroness of many things, including poetry, learning, healing, protection, blacksmithing, livestock and dairy production. The saint shares her name with a Celtic goddess. Brigid's feast day is 1 February, which was originally a pre-Christian festival called Imbolc, marking the beginning of spring.