1. Meaning of Name: Olmsted gives us “The High One” or “The Exalted One”. Kondratiev gives us the more complex but essentially similar “She who raises herself on high, who is exalted”. Mackillop gives us “High One”.¹
2. Pronunciation: Brig-UN-tyaa, with the “u” sound like in “Gus”.
3. Other Names and Epithets: Briginidona, Brigintona, Brigana, Brigia, Brigana, Briginti.²
4. Interpretatio Romana: She is identified with Victoria in one inscription.³
5. Irish Equivalent: Brigid.⁴
6. Indo-European Equivalent: Wéstyā, the Indo-European Hearth Goddess.⁵
7. Realm: Ueronadâ/Upper World Goddess
8. Iconography: Brigantiâ is depicted as a typical Romano-Celtic Minerva, with shield, spear, and helmet.⁶
9. Significance: The key to understanding Brigantiâ are her identification with the Indo-European hearth Goddess, and with the later Irish Brigid. Brigantiâ is in origin the hearth Goddess, but becomes identified with fire itself. In Ireland, she is the Goddess of Poetry, Smithcraft, and Healing, all of which are associated with spiritual fire or heat. These attributions all apply to her earlier Gaulish form to some extent. She is the Goddess of the Hearth Fire, but also of heat, energy, warmth, purity, and protection. Her patronage of the hearth gives her a role as a patron of the household, as well. Noémi Beck, in Goddesses in Celtic Religion: Cult and Mythology: A comparative study of Ancient Ireland, Britain, and Gaul, points out that Brig- names are very often associated with highlands and highland sanctuaries, thus definitely proving her to be a Goddess of high places, including mountains and hills. My own personal gnosis suggests that she is the daughter of Taranis, which would help explain her patronage of fire and high places alike.⁷