The Legend of St Brendan

by Mackley, J. S.

• ISBN13: 9789004166622
• ISBN10: 9004166629
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-06-15
• Publisher: Brill Academic Pub

Summary

The Legend of St Brendan is a study of two accounts of a voyage undertaken by Brendan, a sixth-century lrish saint. The immense popularity of the Latin version encouraged many vernacular translations, including a twelfth-century Anglo-Norman reworking of the narrative which excises much of the devotional material seen in the ninth-century Navigatio Sancti Brendani abbatis and changes the emphasis, leaving a recognisably secular narrative. The vernacular version focuses on marvellous imagery and the trials and tribulations of a long sea-voyage. Together the two versions demonstrate a movement away from hagiography towards adventure.

Author Biography

J.S. Mackley, Ph.D. in English (2003), University of York, is an independent researcher. His principal interests include the medieval perception and reception of apocryphal legends.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	p. xi
Abbreviations	p. xiii
Introduction	p. 1
The aims of the study	p. 1
Summary of the narratives	p. 3
Methodology	p. 5
A previous study of 'Elements of the fantastic' in the Brendan narrative	p. 8
Other scholarship	p. 8
St Brendan: the man and the manuscripts	p. 13
The authors and manuscripts of the Navigatio and the Anglo-Norman Voyage	p. 13
Introduction	p. 13
The dates, manuscripts and audience of the Navigatio	p. 14
Genres of the two narratives	p. 19
The author, dates, manuscripts and audience of the Anglo-Norman Voyage	p. 31
Historical and Literary Sources	p. 43
Before the Voyage	p. 43
Peregrinus and Exile	p. 50
The Voyage of Brendan: an actual journey or fantastic fiction?	p. 53
The Voyage of Brendan and the immrama	p. 55
The Otherworld and other early influences	p. 59
The Voyage Home	p. 62
Conclusion	p. 67
Accepting the fantastic: from the familiar to the fantastic-uncanny	p. 69
Introduction	p. 69
Todorov's model	p. 70
Application of the model	p. 75
Definition of the 'uncanny'	p. 76
The opening scenes of the Brendan narratives	p. 77
Mundane or uncanny?	p. 77
Uncanny-familiar	p. 81
Establishing the coracle as 'familiar'	p. 84
Claustrophobia: the late-coming monks and the confinement of the coracle	p. 86
The Supernumeraries	p. 86
The patterns of the journey	p. 95
The 'pure uncanny'	p. 98
Uncanny silence and spiritual darkness: the Deserted Citadel	p. 99
Religious symbolism and preordination	p. 100
The uncanny	p. 102
Fantastic-uncanny	p. 104
Leading towards the fantastic-uncanny	p. 106
Enormous creatures: the Island of Sheep and Jasconius	p. 107
From the uncanny to the fantastic-uncanny	p. 108
Gradation towards the fantastic	p. 115
The Neutral Angels	p. 116
Sources	p. 117
A respite from the fantastic imagery?	p. 119
Conclusion	p. 124
The marvels of the ocean: from the fantastic-uncanny to the marvellous	p. 127
Introduction	p. 127
The transition from the 'fantastic-uncanny' to the 'pure fantastic' and the monastic ideal	p. 130
The Isle of Ailbe	p. 131
The ascent towards the pure fantastic	p. 137
The pure fantastic: the mysterious provision of food and the flaming arrow	p. 138
The provision of food	p. 139
The flaming arrow and other elements	p. 142
A vital ingredient in the gradation towards the fantastic	p. 145
The negative connotations of water	p. 146
The spring on the Paradise of Birds	p. 147
The springs on the Isle of Ailbe	p. 147
The Intoxicating Spring	p. 150
The Coagulated Sea	p. 154
The significance of these scenes	p. 156
The conflicts of monsters	p. 158
The first conflict	p. 160
The second conflict of monsters	p. 163
The credibility of the conflicts of monsters	p. 164
The rewards of faith-a temporary respite from the fantastic?	p. 166
Conclusion	p. 171
The mirrors of salvation	p. 175
Introduction	p. 175
Todorov's model	p. 176
The three parts of the chapter	p. 177
Natural Exotica as supernatural forms	p. 177
The Crystal Pillar	p. 177
A natural phenomenon	p. 178
Fantastic-uncanny	p. 180
Religious symbolism	p. 181
Sources	p. 182
Unlocking the symbolism	p. 184
The Smithy of Hell as a representation of evil	p. 187
A natural phenomenon or a supernatural experience?	p. 187
Religious significance	p. 191
Claustrophobia	p. 192
A safe environment for discussing damnation	p. 193
The significance of the Crystal Pillar and the Smithy of Hell	p. 195
Human representations of the diabolical and the divine	p. 196
Judas Iscariot	p. 197
Sources	p. 197
The moral treatment	p. 201
The punishments	p. 202
Christ's mercy	p. 205
Fudas on the 'threshold'	p. 206
The moral	p. 214
Paul the Hermit	p. 214
Source	p. 215
Preparation for Paradise	p. 216
Fantastic imagery	p. 220
The significance of the two meetings	p. 221
Achieving Paradise	p. 222
Sources	p. 223
Christian allegory and Celtic mythology	p. 225
Liminality	p. 226
The treatment of the fantastic	p. 228
The return home	p. 232
Conclusion	p. 232
Conclusion	p. 235
Principal differences between the Navigatio and the Anglo-Norman Voyage	p. 235
Todorov and the fantastic	p. 238
The genealogy of the manuscripts of the Navigatio and the Anglo-Norman Voyage	p. 245
Translation of the Anglo-Norman Voyage of St Brendan	p. 257
Bibliography	p. 313
Index	p. 327
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