Crosses

Cross form

Brigid’s cross

Also: Saint Brigid’s cross · Cros Bríde

Drawing under review. New Atlas drawing (22 October 2026): a woven rush cross with three strands per arm turning around a woven centre, the documented rush-work form. The treatment awaits review before it is accepted.

Form

Woven from rushes or straw, in several forms. The earliest recorded designs are simple Latin or Greek crosses; an interlaced form is more often made from rushes.

When it is documented

The custom is first attested in the 17th century. Crosses are traditionally made on 1 February, Brigid’s feast, which coincides with Imbolc.

Context

The best-known origin story, in which Brigid weaves a cross while explaining the Crucifixion to a dying man, is a legend. The idea that the woven form once represented the sun is a possibility, not an established origin.

Links in the Atlas

  • Folk custom linked to Saint Brigid of Kildare (Saint)

    Named after her and made on her feast day; the custom is attested only from the 17th century.

Sources and how they were checked

  • Material, date of making, first attestation in the 17th century, the legend, the sun theory as a possibility.

    Wikipedia, “Brigid’s cross” · checked 2026-10-21 (tertiary reference)