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'Saint Brendan of Clonfert' or 'Bréanainn of Clonfert' (c. 484 – c. 578) called "the Navigator" or "the Voyager", is one of the early Irish monastic saints whose legends have overshadowed their history. He is chiefly renowned for his semi-legendary quest to the Land of Delight. The ''Voyage of St. Brendan'' could be called an ''immram'' (Irish voyage story).
His feast day is May 16.

Contents

Early life

Legendary journey

Early Dutch version

Context

Effects

Further travels

Modern re-enactment

Appearances in popular culture

List of Places Associated with St. Brendan and their General Location

References

See also

External links

Early life

In 484 Saint Brendan was born near what is now Fenit the port of Tralee, in County Kerry in the south west of Ireland.^[1] It was known as Ciarraight Luachra in those days. He was baptized at Tubrid, near Ardfert, by Saint Erc. For five years he was educated under Saint Ita, "the Brigid of Munster", and he completed his studies under Saint Erc, who ordained him priest in 512. Between the years 512 and 530 St. Brendan built monastic cells at Ardfert, and, at the foot of Mount Brandon, Shanakeel— ''Seana Cill'', usually translated as "the old church"— also called Baalynevinoorach. It was from here that he set out on his famous seven years voyage for the Land of Delight. The old Irish Calendars assigned a special feast for the ''Egressio familiae S. Brendani'', on 22 March; and St Aengus the Culdee, in his Litany composed at the close of the eighth century, invokes "the sixty who accompanied St. Brendan in his quest for the Land of Promise".

Legendary journey

St Brendan is chiefly renowned for his legendary journey to The Isle of the Blessed (also called Tír na nÓg) as described in the ninth century ''Voyage of St Brendan the Navigator''. Many versions exist, that tell of how he set out onto the Atlantic Ocean with sixty pilgrims^[2] (other versions have fourteen, plus three unbelievers who join at the last minute), searching for the Americas. If it happened, this would have occurred in around 530, before his travel to the island of Great Britain. On his trip, Brendan is supposed to have seen a blessed island covered with vegetation. He also encountered a sea monster, an adventure he shared with his contemporary St. Columba. The most commonly illustrated adventure is his landing on an island which turns out to be a giant sea monster called Jasconius or Jascon. This too, has its parallels in other stories, not only in Irish mythology but in other traditions, from Sinbad the Sailor to Pinocchio.

Early Dutch version

One of the earliest preserved written versions of the legend is in Dutch ''Des Reis van Sint Brandaen'' (Dutch for ''The Voyage of Saint Brandon''), written in the 12th century. Scholars believe it derived from a now lost middle High German text combined with Celtic elements from Ireland and combines Christian and fairy tale elements. ''Des Reis van Sint Brandaen'' describes "Brandaen," a monk from Galway, and his voyage around the world for nine years. The journey was begun as a punishment by an angel who had seen Brandaen not believe the truth of a book on the miracles of creation and saw Brandaen throw it into the fire. The angel tells him that truth has been destroyed. On his journeys Brandaen encounters the wonders and horrors of the world, such as Judas frozen on one side and burning on the other, people with swine heads, dog legs and wolf teeth carrying bows and arrows, and an enormous fish that encircles the ship by holding its tail in its mouth. The English poem ''Life of Saint Brandan'' is a later English derivative of the Dutch version.^[3]

Context

While it is generally assumed that the story is a religious allegory, there has been considerable ink spilled over the question of whether part of the legends really happened, and whether the Isle of the Blessed that Brendan reached was not, in fact, America. There is a St. Brendan Society that celebrates the belief that Brendan was the first to discover America. As Tim Severin showed in his book, it is not unlikely that Brendan reached North America on his journey, and he has proven that such a trip was possible for a leather-clad boat such as the one described in the ''Navigatio''.^[4][5] Christopher Columbus relied on the legends told of St. Brendan as part of his argument that it was indeed possible to travel to Asia by crossing the Atlantic. Some propose St Brendan as one of the ancient visitors to the Americas.
As a genre, The Voyage of St. Brendan (in Latin, the ''Navigatio Sancti Brendani'') fits in with a then-popular form of literature, peculiar to Ireland, called an imrama, that describes a hero's series of adventures in a boat. For example, there appear to be similarities with ''The Voyage of Bran'' written much earlier. In the Navigatio, this style of storytelling meshed with a religious ascetic tradition where Irish monks would travel alone in boats, the same way their desert brothers used to isolate themselves in caves.

Effects

Naturally, the story of the seven years voyage was carried about, and soon crowds of pilgrims and students flocked to Ardfert. Thus, in a few years, many religious houses were formed - at Gallerus, Kilmalchedor, Brandon Hill, and the Blasket Islands - in order to meet the wants of those who came for spiritual guidance to St. Brendan.
Saint Brendan is the Patron Saint of the United States Navy.

Further travels

Later, he travelled to Wales and the holy island of Iona, off the west coast of Scotland; returning to Ireland, he founded a bishopric at Annaghdown, where he spent the rest of his days. He was recognised as a saint by the Irish church, and his feast day is May 16. Having established the bishopric of Ardfert, Brendan proceeded to Thomond, and founded a monastery at Inis-da-druim (now Coney Island), in the present parish of Killadysert, County Clare, about the year 550. He then journeyed to Wales, and thence to Iona, for he is said to have left traces of his apostolic zeal at Kil-''brandon'' (near Oban) and Kil-''brennan'' Sound. After a three years' mission in Britain he returned to Ireland, and did more proselytizing in various parts of Leinster, especially at Dysart (Co. Kilkenny), Killiney (Tubberboe), and Brandon Hill. He established churches at Inchiquin, County Galway and at Inishglora, County Mayo.
His most celebrated foundation was Clonfert, in 557, over which he appointed St. Moinenn as Prior and Head Master. Brendan was interred in Clonfert.

Modern re-enactment

In 1976, Irish explorer Tim Severin built an ox leather curragh and over two summers sailed her from Ireland via the Hebrides, Faroe Islands and Iceland to Newfoundland to demonstrate that the saint's purported voyage was feasible. On his voyage, he encountered various sights such as icebergs and sea animals such as whales and porpoises which he suggests are factual counterparts to the fantastic sights from the legends of Brendan. See ''The Brendan Voyage'', ISBN 0-349-10707-6.

Appearances in popular culture

''The Brendan Voyage'' is an orchestral suite for uillean pipes, written by Irish composer Shaun Davey in 1983 and based on Tim Severin's book of the same name.
Novelist Patricia Kennealy-Morrison features St. Brendan in her book "The Deers Cry", retelling his story with a science fiction twist.
Novelist Frederick Buechner retold the story of Brendan's travels in his 1987 novel ''Brendan.''
The cream liqueur Saint Brendan's is named after him.
The Canadian band The Lowest of the Low wrote a song titled "St. Brendan's Way" that appears on their album Shakespeare My Butt.
The celtic band Iona made an entire recording inspired by the voyage of Saint Brendan called ''Beyond These Shores'', now available as part of the recording ''The River Flows''.
In the 2005 film Beowulf & Grendel, a travelling monk named Brendan the Celt sails to Denmark circa 521 A.D.
Singer songwriter Sarana VerLin wrote an instrumental song titled "St. Brendan's Reel" that appears on the album "Amadon Crest" and "GutterPups Live in the Red Lantern District".

List of Places Associated with St. Brendan and their General Location

★ Ardfert, Kerry

★ Mount Brandon, Kerry

★ Brandon Hill, Co. Kilkenny

★ Faroe Islands

★ Bristol, Gloucestershire.

★ Iona Island, Scotland

★ Gallarus Oratory, Kerry

★ Clonfert

★ Killadysert, Co. Clare

★ Dysart, Co. Kilkenny

★ Killbrandon, near Oban, Scotland

★ Kilbrennan Sound

★ Killiney

★ Inchiquin, Co. Galway

★ Inishglora, Co. Mayo.

★ Hebrides

★ Iceland

★ Newfoundland

★ Canary Islands

References

★ Donnchadha, Gearóid Ó. ''St Brendan of Kerry, the Navigator. His Life & Voyages.'' OPEN AIR ISBN 1-85182-871-0

★ Meijer, Reinder. ''Literature of the Low Countries: A Short History of Dutch Literature in the Netherlands and Belgium.'' New York: Twayne Publishers, Inc., 1971.
1. North American Exploration: A New World Disclosed. Volume: 1, Allen, John Logan, , , University of Nebraska Press, 1997,
2. One of these companions is said to have been Saint Malo, the namesake of Saint-Malo.
3. Meijer 1971:9-10.
4. Severin, Tim. ''The Brendan Voyage: A Leather Boat Tracks the Discovery of America by the Irish Sailor Saints''. McGraw-Hill Book Company. 1978. ISBN 0-07-056335-7.
5. (1964, Robert Reily) ''Irish Saints'' page:37, Wing Books, New Jersey, ISBN 0-517-36833-1

See also

★ List of people on stamps of Ireland

★ Saint Amaro, a semi-legendary Spanish navigator and saint

★ Timeline of pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact

★ Brandane

External links

★ Catholic Encyclopedia St. Brendan

★ Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''

★ Biography from ''A Little Book of Celtic Saints'' Saint Brendan the Navigator

★ ''Navigatio sancti Brendani abbatis'' (Latin)

★ Wall Street Journal: "Of Sainted Memory"

★ Faroestamps.fo - Faroese stamp edition (English, German, French, Danish, Faroese)

★ Brendan's Fabulous Voyage - 1893 lecture by John Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute, available from Project Gutenberg