Sheela-na-gig

Anything that comes to mind. Members should use the TdB Member forums for official or private business. Forums in this area are readable by anonymous visitors, and registered users can post here.
Forum rules
Use this forum to discuss topics of history or craft as related to our hobby.
As this is a PUBLIC forum, be discrete! Private matters should be discussed in the TdB Member forums!
Any post which is deemed too sensitive for public consumption may be moved to the Private Discussions forum by Moderators.
User avatar
Comyn
Posts: 963
Joined: Mon Jan 02, 2017 9:22 am
Class: Aurrad (Member)

Sheela-na-gig

Post by Comyn »

Many of the Sheela-no-gigs that have been found were associated with Churches and while they cannot be dated, most are associated with places that were in use between the 12th and the 14th century. There is also a folk memory of someone named Sheela in all those places that the Irish went to in the late 1600s even though all memory of that name seems to be lost in Ireland. In these folk stories Sheela was the wife of St. Patrick! Could the Sheela na gig be a merging of ancient Celtic folk belief and the Christian creed through the figure of Sheela, possibly representing the bringing of life (through its obvious imagery) and her "marriage" to the Saint?

https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-sty ... -1.3013056

This Smithsonian article about the Sheela na gig also points to a map which plots all the finds:

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-new ... 180964597/

https://www.heritagemaps.ie/WebApps/Her ... index.html