There are substantial differences between the lives of female saints in early Ireland and those of female saints in medieval Europe. The female saints of early Ireland are, in many cases, strong and powerful women. They are rarely victims, and rarely martyrs.
Many of Ireland's early saints are leaders of the church, both male and female. Their miracles seem to support this theory, and are divided into the typical and traditional lines of male and female power. Women are more often responsible for miracles connected with birth and childbearing, with life and with death, while men's miracles may ensure victory in battle, even over astounding odds.
Interestingly, miracles involving food, wine and beer are assigned to both male and female saints. Later hagiography in Europe assigns food-related miracles nearly exclusively to women. Is this perhaps a reflection of a tribal society, one in which both men and women shared an equal role in food production?
Has this brief series of articles come to any true conclusions? Probably not...these are mere musings about Irish hagiography and the implications of gender on Irish hagiography. For more information on the lives of Irish saints, please see the following. http://www2.gol.com/users/stuart/celtsnt...
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