Brendan the Navigator | |
|---|---|
 "Saint Brendan and the Whale" from a 15th-century manuscript | |
| Catholic priest,abbot | |
| Born | c. AD 484 Ciarraighe Luachra nearTralee,Kingdom of Munster |
| Died | c. AD 577 Annaghdown, Kingdom of Connacht |
| Venerated in | Catholic Church Eastern Orthodox Church Anglican Communion |
| Majorshrine | Clonfert,Ireland |
| Feast | 16 May |
| Attributes | Whale; priest celebratingMass on board a ship while fish gather to listen; one of a group of monks in a small boat |
| Patronage | Boatmen; divers; mariners; sailors; travellers; whales; portaging canoes;Diocese of Clonfert;Diocese of Kerry;United States Navy |
Brendan of Clonfert (c. AD 484 – c. 577) is one of the earlyIrish monasticsaints and one of theTwelve Apostles of Ireland. He is also referred to as Brendan the Navigator, Brendan the Voyager, Brendan the Anchorite, and Brendan the Bold. The Irish translation of his name isNaomh Bréanainn orNaomh Breandán. He is mainly known for his legendary voyage to find the "Isle of the Blessed" which is sometimes referred to as "Saint Brendan’s Island". The written narrative of his journey comes from theimmramNavigatio Sancti Brendani Abbatis (Voyage of Saint Brendan the Abbot).
Saint Brendan'sfeast day is celebrated on 16 May byCatholics,Anglicans, andOrthodox Christians.
There is very little secure information concerning Brendan's life, although at least the approximate dates of his birth and death, and accounts of some events in his life, are found in Irish annals and genealogies. The earliest mention of Brendan is in theVita Sancti Columbae (Life of Saint Columba) ofAdamnan written between AD 679 and 704. The earliest mention of him as a seafarer appears in theMartyrology of Tallaght of the ninth century.[1]
The principal works regarding Brendan and his legend are a "Life of Brendan" in several Latin (Vita Brendani) and Irish versions (Betha Brenainn) and the better knownNavigatio Sancti Brendani Abbatis (Voyage of Saint Brendan the Abbot).[2] Unfortunately, the versions of theVita and theNavigatio provide little reliable information of his life and travels; they do, however, attest to the development of devotion to him in the centuries after his death. An additional problem is that the precise relationship between theVita and theNavigatio traditions is uncertain.
The date when theVita tradition began is uncertain. The earliest surviving copies are no earlier than the end of the twelfth century, but scholars suggest that a version of theVita was composed before AD 1000. TheNavigatio was probably written earlier than theVita, perhaps in the second half of the eighth century.[3]Aengus the Culdee, in hisLitany, composed in the end of the eighth century, invoked "the sixty who accompanied St. Brendan in his quest for the Land of Promise".[2]
Any attempt to reconstruct the facts of the life of Brendan or to understand the nature of his legend must be based principally on Irish annals and genealogies and on the various versions of theVita Brendani.[4]
Brendan was born in AD484 inTralee, inCounty Kerry, in the province ofMunster, in the south-west of Ireland.[5]
He was born among the Altraige, anIrish clan originally centred aroundTralee Bay, to parents called Finnlug and Cara. Tradition has it that he was born in the Kilfenora/Fenit area on the north side of the bay. He was baptised at Tubrid, nearArdfert, byErc of Slane,[6] and was originally to be calledMobhí but signs and portents attending his birth and baptism led to him being christenedBroen-finn or 'fair-drop'. For five years he was both educated and given infosterage to St.Íte of Killeedy, "The Brigid of Munster". When he was six he was sent toJarlath's monastery school atTuam to further his education. Brendan is considered one of the "Twelve Apostles of Ireland", one of those said to have been tutored by the great teacher,Finnian of Clonard.[7]
At age 26, Brendan was ordained a priest by Erc.[8] Afterward, he founded a number of monasteries. Brendan's first voyage took him to theAran Islands, where he founded a monastery. He also visited Hinba (Argyll), an island off theScottish coast, where he is said to have metColumcille. On the same voyage he travelled toWales and finally toBrittany, on the northern coast ofFrance.
Between AD 512 and 530 Brendan built monastic cells atArdfert, andShanakeel (Seana Cill, usually translated as the "Old Church"), at the foot ofMount Brandon. From there he is supposed to have embarked on his famous seven-year voyage bound forParadise. The old Irish calendars assigned a feast for the"egressio familiae Sancti Brendani".[2]
Brendan is primarily renowned for his legendary journey to the Isle of the Blessed as described in theNavigatio Sancti Brendani Abbatis (Voyage of Saint Brendan the Abbot) of the ninth century. Many versions exist that narrate how he set out on the Atlantic Ocean with sixteenmonks (although other versions record fourteen monks and three unbelievers who joined in the last minute) to search for theGarden of Eden. One of these companions is said to have beenMalo.[9] The voyage is dated to AD 512–530, before his travel to the island ofGreat Britain. On his trip, Brendan is supposed to have seenSaint Brendan's Island, a blessed island covered with vegetation. He also encountered asea monster, an adventure he shared with his contemporary Columcille. The most commonly illustrated adventure is his landing on an island which turned out to be a giant sea monster named "Jasconius".
The earliest extant version of theNavigatio Sancti Brendani Abbatis (Voyage of Saint Brendan the Abbot) was recordedc. AD 900. There are over 100 manuscripts of the narrative throughout Europe and many translations. TheNavigatio is plainly a Christian narrative, but also narrates natural phenomena and fantastical events and places, which appealed to a broad audience. TheNavigatio contains many parallels and inter-textual references toBran andThe Voyage of Máel Dúin.
On the Kerry coast, Brendan built acurrach-like boat ofwattle, covered it with hides tanned in oak bark and softened with butter, and set up a mast and a sail. He and a small group of monks fasted for 40 days, and after a prayer on the shore, embarked in the name of theMost Holy Trinity.[10] The narrative is characterized by much literary licence, for example, it refers toHell where "great demons threw down lumps of fiery slag from an island with rivers of gold fire" and also to "great crystal pillars". Many speculate that these are references to volcanic activity aroundIceland and toicebergs.[11]
The journey of Brendan begins when he meets withSaint Barinthus. Barinthus describes The Promised Land for Saints (Terra Repromissionis Sanctorum). As Barinthus describes his journey to this island, Brendan decides to visit the island also because it was described as a place of those who lived a certain lifestyle and embraced true faith of Christianity. Brendan assembles a group of fourteen monks who pray together with him in his community to leave with him on his journey. Before departing, Brendan and the monks fast at three-day intervals for forty nights and set out on the voyage that was described to him by Barinthus. They first embark towards the island called Saint Edna. After Brendan and the monks build a small boat for their journey, three people join them after Brendan has already chosen his companions. These three extras will not return to Ireland, as Brendan prophesies, since their number is now an unholy one.[12]
For a period of seven years, the group travel the seas and come across various locations while searching for the Promised Land. One of the first islands they come across is an unnamed and uninhabited island. It is here that the first of the three extra travellers dies. The survivors leave and continue their journey to the Island of Sheep. After a short stay, they land on the back of a giant fish named Jasconius, which they believe to be an island. But once they light a fire, the island starts to move revealing its true nature.[13] Other places they visit include the Island of Birds, the Island of Ailbe inhabited by a community of silent monks, and the Island of Strong Men. In some accounts, it is on the Island of Strong Men where the second of the three additional sailors leaves, remaining on the island instead of continuing. The third of the three is dragged away by demons.[12]
After travelling for seven years, visiting some of the same places repeatedly, the wanderers finally arrive in the Promised Land for Saints. They are welcomed and allowed to enter briefly. Awed by what they see, they return to Ireland rejoicing.[14]
TheNavigatio fits in with a then-popular literary genre, peculiar to Ireland, called animmram. Irish immrama flourished during the seventh and eighth centuries. Typically, an immram is a tale that describes the hero's series of seafaring adventures. Some of the immrams involved the search for, and visits to,Tír na nÓg, an island far to the west, beyond the edges of the world map. There appear to be similarities withThe Voyage of Bran written much earlier. In theNavigatio, this style of storytelling accorded with a religious ascetic tradition in which Irish monks travelled alone in boats, in a similar way to that in which their desert brothers isolated themselves in caves.
Brendan's voyages were one of the most remarkable and enduring of European legends. With many of the facts of Brendan's journeys coming from theNavigatio, it has been difficult for scholars to distinguish fact and folklore. The narrative of Brendan's voyage, developed during this time, shares some characteristics with immrams. Like an immram, theNavigatio tells the story of Brendan, who, with some companion monks, sets out to find theterra repromissionis sanctorum, ("Promised Land of the Saints"), that is, the Earthly Paradise.[15]
Jude S. Mackley holds that efforts to identify possible, actual locations referred to in theNavigatio distract from the author's purpose of presenting a legend of "salvation, monastic obedience and the faith required to undertake such a pilgrimage."[14]
Scholars debate whether theNavigatio influencedThe Voyage of Máel Dúin or vice versa. Jude Mackley suggests that an earlyNavigatio influenced an equally earlyMael Duin and that inter-borrowing continued as the traditions developed. TheNavigatio adapts the immram traditions to a Christian context.[14]
A principal similarity betweenMael Duin and theNavigatio is the introduction in both of three additional passengers. Mael Dúin is joined by his foster brothers, and Brendan by three additional monks. Both additions upset the equilibrium of the voyages, and only when the additional persons are no longer on board can each voyage be completed.[14]
TheAnglo-NormanVoyage of Saint Brendan is the earliest surviving narrative text ofAnglo-Norman literature. It was probably translated around 1121 by a cleric called Benedeit at the commission ofAdeliza of Louvain, the second wife ofHenry I of England. In its use ofoctosyllabic couplets to recount a quest narrative drawn from Celtic sources, it has been described as a precursor of laterOld French romances. Benedeit's version of the legend was itself retranslated several times into Latin prose and verse.[16][17]
One of the earliest extant written versions of Brendan's legend is the DutchDe Reis van Sinte Brandaen (Mediaeval Dutch forThe Voyage of Saint Brendan) of the twelfth century. Scholars believe it is derived from a now lostMiddle High German text combined withGaelic elements from Ireland and that it combinesChristian andfairy tale elements.De Reis van Sinte Brandaen describes "Brandaen", a monk fromGalway, and his voyage around the world for nine years. The journey began as a punishment by anangel who saw that Brandaen did not believe in the truth of a book of the miracles of creation and saw Brandaenthrow it into a fire. The angel tells him that truth has been destroyed. On his journeys Brandaen encounters the wonders and horrors of the world, such asJudas Iscariot 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 Brandaen's ship byholding its tail in its mouth. The English poem theLife of Saint Brandan is a later derivation from theDutch version.[18]
While the narrative is often assumed to be a religious allegory, there has been considerable discussion as to whether the legends are based on fact. There have been many interpretations of the possible geographical location ofSaint Brendan's Island. Various pre-Columbian sea charts indicated it everywhere from the southern part of Ireland to theCanary Islands,Faroes, orAzores; to the island ofMadeira; to a point 60 degrees west of the first meridian and very near the equator.
Belief in the existence of Saint Brendan's Island was almost completely abandoned until a new theory arose that the Irish were the first Europeans to encounter the Americas.
There is no reliable evidence to indicate that Brendan ever reachedGreenland or theAmericas.[19] The Saint Brendan Society celebrates the belief that Brendan was the first European to reach North America.Tim Severin demonstrated that it is possible for a leather-clad boat such as the one described in theNavigatio to reach North America.[20][21][22][23] Severin's filmThe Brendan Voyage of 1978, which documented his team's feat, inspired the Irish composerShaun Davey to write his orchestral suite "The Brendan Voyage".
TheNavigatio was known widely in Europe throughout the Middle Ages.[24] Maps ofChristopher Columbus' time often included an island denominated Saint Brendan's Isle that was placed in the western Atlantic Ocean.
Paul Chapman argues that Christopher Columbus learned from theNavigatio that the currents and winds would favour westbound travel by a southerly route from the Canary Islands, and eastbound travel by a more northerly route on the return, and hence followed this itinerary on all of his voyages.[25]
Brendan travelled toWales and the holy island ofIona, off the west coast ofScotland; returning toIreland, he founded amonastery inAnnaghdown, where he spent the rest of his life.[26] He also founded a convent at Annaghdown for his sister Briga.[8] Having established the bishopric ofArdfert, Brendan proceeded toThomond, and founded a monastery at Inis-da-druim (currently Coney Island), in the present parish of Killadysert,County Clare,c. AD 550. He then journeyed toWales and studied underGildas atLlancarfan, and thence toIona, for he is said to have left traces of his apostolic zeal at Kil-brandon (nearOban) and Kil-brennan Sound. After a mission of three years inBritain he returned toIreland, and evangelized further in various parts ofLeinster, especially at Dysart,County Kilkenny, Killeney nearDurrow (TubberboeIrish:Tóbar Bó, meaning 'Well of the cow'),[27] andBrandon Hill. He established churches atInchiquin,County Galway, andInishglora,County Mayo, and foundedClonfert inGalwayc. AD 557. He diedc. AD 577 inAnnaghdown, while visiting his sister Briga. Fearing that after his death his devotees might take his remains asrelics, Brendan had previously arranged to have his body secretly returned to the monastery he founded inClonfert, concealed in a luggage cart. He was interred inClonfert Cathedral.
Brendan was recognised as a saint by the Catholic Church. His feast day is celebrated on 16 May.As the legend of the seven years voyage spread, crowds of pilgrims and students flocked to Ardfert. Religious houses were formed at Gallerus, Kilmalchedor, Brandon Hill, and theBlasket Islands, to meet the wants of those who came for spiritual guidance from Brendan.[6] Brendan is the patron saint of sailors and travellers. At theUnited States Naval Academy inAnnapolis, Maryland, a large stained glass window commemorates Brendan's achievements. AtFenit Harbour,Tralee, a substantial bronze sculpture byTighe O'Donoghue/Ross was erected to honour the memory of Brendan. The project, including a Heritage Park and the Slí Bhreanainn (the Brendan way) was headed by Fr. Gearóid Ó Donnchadha and completed through the work of the St. Brendan Committee.
Brendan the Navigator (Brénainn moccu Alti or Brénainn maccu Alti as he is often known in medieval Irish) is the patron saint of two Irish dioceses, Kerry and Clonfert. He is also a patron saint of boatmen, mariners, travellers, elderly adventurers, whales,[28] theUnited States Navy,[29] and also of portaging canoes.[7]
St Brendan's activities as a churchman, however, were developed in Western Ireland, where his most important foundations are found, i.e., Ardfert (County Kerry), Inishdadroum (County Clare),Annaghdown (County Galway), and Clonfert (County Galway). His name is perpetuated in numerous place names and landmarks along the Irish coast (e.g., Brandon Hill, Brandon Point, Mount Brendan, Brandon Well, Brandon Bay, Brandon Head).[30]
Brendan's most celebrated foundation wasClonfert Cathedral, in the year 563, over which he appointed Moinenn as Prior and Head Master. Brendan was interred in Clonfert.
The group of ecclesiastical remains at Ardfert is one of the most interesting and instructive now existing in Ireland. The ruins of the ancient Cathedral of St Brendan, and of its annexed chantries and detached chapels, form a very complete reliquary of Irish ecclesiastical architecture, in its various orders and ages, from the plain but solid Danhliag of the seventh or eighth century to some late and most ornate examples of medieval Gothic. Following the Reformation, the cathedral was finally dismantled in A.D. 1641.[31]
In theSicilian town ofBrontë there is a church dedicated to Saint Brendan, whose name in the local dialect is"San Brandanu". Since 1574, the "Chiesa di San Blandano" ("Church of Saint Brendan") has replaced a chapel of the same dedication and in the same location. The reasons for dedicating a church to Saint Brendan here are still unknown and probably untraceable. However, it is known that theNormans and the many settlers that followed the Norman invasion brought intoSicily the tradition of Saint Brendan; there are documents of the 13th century written inSicily that refer to him. In 1799 the countryside surrounding Brontë became the British"Duchy ofHoratio Nelson". The town ofDrogheda, moreover, is twinned with Brontë.[32][33]
| Catholic Church titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| New post | Abbot of Clonfert 563–577 | Succeeded by |
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