Melinda Uno
Professor Emily Thornbury
English 110/ Visions of Heaven and Hell in Medieval Literature
Essay Assignment #2, Prompt 1
Narrative Frameworks of St. Brendan’s Voyage
23 November 2010
Messengers of God, a tempestuous sea-faring voyage, talking birds, places beyond hunger, and islands that turn out to be whales are all basic elements of “The Voyage of St. Brendan”. This Medieval Christian adventure tale is part of a literary tradition of the English language in which religious motifs of realms of paradise and punishment are combined with an Irish travel narrative. A ship of monks travels beyond the known world to discover islands of temptation and paradise that exist beyond conventional measurements of time. Yet because the transmission of this story spans centuries and across countries, not all “Voyages of St. Brendan” are the same. A close examination of the narrative frameworks of three different versions of “St. Brendan’s Voyage” will reveal the context surrounding the production of the texts and help to illuminate to a contemporary reader some reasons for the popularity of the story.
Following Christian literary tradition, the tale of St. Brendan’s journey from Ireland to the Promised Land of the Saints is one of revelation and moral reaffirmation. From a tradition of hagiography, the writing of the lives of saints (OED online), the Vita Brendani (the life of Brendan) serves as the primary textual influence for St. Brendan’s Voyage; “this account of a fantastic voyage by Brendan to the “terra repromissionis sanctorum” (Promised Land of the Saints) expands on an earlier sub-genre of voyage narratives found in Latin saints’ lives such as... the Vita Brendani” (Duffy 228). Religion and literature were inseparable; many tales from the Bible were redacted into a form that pertained to lay people. As Christianity spread westward the travel narrative was popular subject matter during the time of production of the textual versions of “St. Brendan’s Voyage”: “The second half of the twelfth century offers several signs of haigographical exchanges between Ireland and the Continent (of England). This can be seen in versions of the tale well-known throughout England, Bavaria and lower Austria (Sharpe 27). The exchanges across cultures is noteworthy when examining the different versions for the narrative framework is the means of introducing the story. They explain why the text changes. Variations are a result in changes in authorship of “St Brendan’s Voyage”. Many religious scholars ventured beyond the conventional realm of medieval society. These journeys are romanticized and sensationalized in “St. Brendan’s Voyage”.
“St. Brendan’s Voyage” is a romance in the tradition of voyage tales as well as a tradition of redaction; similarities between versions can be attributed to Irish genre. “St. Brendan’s Voyage”e is part of the immrama which is, according to the Encyclopedia of Medieval Ireland, “a genre which exemplifies the spirituality of early Medieval Irish self-exile and monastic pilgrimage which achieves its most developed form in the Latin prose tale Nauigatio sancti Brendani abbatis. The voyage episodes in these Latin saints’ lives also exhibit many basic similarities with the immrama” (Duffy 228). This literary tradition reflects the Irish concept of the perigrinatio, a person who like a hermit, has forsaken all material wealth and luxury, although specifically the perigrinatio is self-exiled from society. Because of the nature of the perigrinatio, monasticism, and ermeticism, “St. Brendan’s Voyage” concerns the nature of relinquishing material wealth and safety: “... both the Latin and Irish voyage narratives appear to present parables concerning the balance between the personal desire for pilgrimage and the requirement to provide leadership... In the secular immrama the aspirations of lay heroes present allegories of monastic ideals - much as the aspirations of heroes of some later French romances seem to present secular, heroic endeavor in terms of monastic ideals of purification and perfection” (Duffy 229).
Differences in versions is a result of the dates and locations of production as a result of the spread of Christianity and development of the English vernacular (written, drawing away from Latin). This also due to private patronage of redactions, changes in religious behavior and the inclusion of laypeople as recipients of these stories.
The disputed date of the original Latin version titled: Navigatio S. Brendani ranges from 800 CE to 900 CE. The story is of the Hiberno-Latin tradition (Hibernici meaning Irish/Gaelic in Latin), most commonly the Latin texts of Irish scholars. This is the result of a sort of medieval Latin-revival; “this would seem to be a reflexion of real changes in the Irish church, which, after years of insulation from outside influence began once again to see itself as a part of a wider world... Once again books other than liturgical works were written in Latin, though still in Irish script” (Sharpe 25). Christian tradition originates in the western world in Latin, and for a monk or a saint of Ireland to join that tradition, it is logical that accounts of their works and travels should be written in Latin as well.
Translated from four Latin versions of “St. Brendan’s Voyage” and life, the Gardiner version begins simply with an introduction of St. Brendan and his role in the religious community. The Irish/Gaelic influences are apparent in the emphasis on Brendan’s tribal associations and lineage: “St. Brendan, the son of Finnlug Ua Alta, of the race of Eoghan... famous for his great abstinence and his many virtues, and he was the patriarch of nearly three thousand monks. While he was waging his spiritual warfare... a certain father named Barinthius, of the race of King Nial, came to him one evening” (Gardiner 81). This introduction is important to establish the credibility of Brendan as a saint, because of his tribe and his status as a sort of warrior of God he is a character to be respected. Irish influence on the text is also apparent in the materials used for Brendan's boat (Gardiner 85) along with the direction in which the monks embark “toward where the sun rises at the summer solstice” (Gardiner 86). As pagan Celtic religions celebrate festivals on the solstice and equinox, this is perhaps an incorporation of pagan and Christian calendars. This hybridization of Irish and Christian is present in the Gardiner version’s emphasis on the liturgical year, marked by festivals and feasts (especially as the voyage’s pinnacle occurs around Easter [Gardiner 124]), the singing of canonical hours, and the passage of calendar days and years. The emphasis of forty days fasting and preparation of food for forty days also invokes Christian notions of Lent, Pentecost, and the liturgical year. This repeated motif contrasts greatly with part IV on Sheep Island, where the sheep are unstressed by seasonal grooming and milkings “since at all seasons they had abundant pasture” (Gardiner 91) along with part XIV: “The Land of Promise of the Saints” where there is no night and no conventional passage of time. Understanding the Land of Promise of the Saints is based on the understanding of how time works in a monastery. This is later depreciated and even omitted in subsequent versions because of the change in the context of the writing and the intended audience..
The Anglo-Norman (AN) Version is found in six manuscripts dated around the first half of the 14th century (1101-1106 or after 1121). This account of “St. Brendan’s Voyage” is addressed to Queen Adeliza and the author names himself as Dom Benidicte. Because of the noble addressee and the summons to “undertake the commission [Adeliza] gave him in accordance with his ability and put into writing in the vulgar tongue... the story of the holy abbot St. Brendan” (Barron 74), the author reveals a prejudice for the common written vernacular, and at the same time his high status in the community. Because of the class of the author, the nobility of the patron, and the likely aristocratic nature of the intended audience, there is throughout the text, heavy emphasis on piety of laypeople especially those born to privilege, apparent in the background story of Brendan. In this version, St. Brendan is described as: “...of royal birth and Irish descent; being of royal lineage, it was fitting that he should devote himself to a noble cause. He was well aware of what the Scriptures say... He prayed at the same time he might see Hell and the suffering... Brendan wished to accomplish his desire with God’s support, and decided first to make a confession to a hermit named Barrind, a man of virtue who led a saintly life” (Barron 74-65). In this version, Barrind is a hermit perhaps as a model of behavior for Brendan as the route to the Island of Paradise is told by him; as such, it is St. Brendan who is to be the model of behavior for the reader. Repeatedly the author of the Anglo-Norman version emphasizes how suffering and toiling in God’s name is the path toward salvation. This is obvious in the introduction, where Brendan forsakes his birthright and material wealth for a simple monastic life. This is also apparent in the emphasis on the work of the monks as they travel out of Ireland. The (AN) version reads didactically, like a sermon with the breaking up of the plot of the voyage with phrases regarding the nature and grace of God; “At a time of great need, God is never far from is faithful followers; so no one should be lacking in faith. Anyone who undertakes a voyage in God’s name should do all he is able; God will provide for his needs” (Barron 77). This version is older than the South English Legendary version, implying that those who had access to these types of texts had money and education.
“Seen in Ardfert Cathedral, an image of a woodcut dating from 1479: it shows St Brendan and his monks on their epic voyage in search of Paradise. On the way, they discovered the American continent”
The South-English Legendary (SEL) version comes from a collection of hagiographical texts from around the turn of the thirteenth century (1484). The change in vernacular to Middle English serves as proof for the change in the directed audience for common laypeople and this is also depicted in the brevity of the introduction of the Saint: “The blessed Saint Brendan came from Ireland. He was, so I understand, a monk leading a strict life of much fasting and self-denial; he was abbot there over a thousand monks who were all under his authority. It so happened one day, as was the will of our Lord, that another abbot, Barynt, chanced to come to him” (Barron 285). There is less emphasis on who St. Brendan was as a lay person, that information is not important to this author. It is assumed that his greatness is defined by his piety and his accomplishments as a member of the church. In this version like the Gardiner version, comes to Brendan and reveals tales of the wonders he has seen. However, unlike the Gardiner version, the SEL version glosses over the fellow abbot’s account of his travels and jumps right into Brendan’s reaction and preparation for his own journey to the Promised land of the Saints. Instead, the SEL version elaborates the nature of each island that St. Brendan’s ship visits. Also, the amount of time that this version covers is many years. For example, the monks are on the first island for a whole year: “A year has now passed since you first set out, and you shall journey fully six years to come before you bring this voyage to an end” (Barron 295). The length of the journey in this version helps to understand the nature of the message for the reader. It is indicative of the length of one’s life and the moral codes and conditions surrounding “St. Brendan’s Voyage” are to be applied as such. This is similar to the Anglo-Norman version, where the conditions surrounding Brendan’s choice of piety is a model for social behavior of the privileged.
In each of the texts, the journey is instigated by Brendan’s encounter with another man of the cloth, sometimes an abbot, sometimes a hermit, although the nature of their conversations varies. There seems to be a distinct difference in tone, particularly when comparing the Anglo-Norman and South-English Legendary Versions, a difference that is apparent in the elaborations and exclusions of certain scenes that are found in Gardiner’s version. This tonality combined with the socio-historical context of the versions proves the different motives for the production of the texts. Whereas Gardiner’s modern interpretation is based on Latin versions and is arguably the most objective, the Anglo-Norman version has no qualms with its transparency as an adaptation of the traditional story. The introductions serve as a foundation for the structure of the rest of each of these texts. Although in each version, the basic disposition and nature of Brendan remain relatively identical, it is the emphasis on certain ideals and characteristics that Brendan presents that change with the passing of time. The evolution of “St. Brendan’s Voyage” is most apparent in the motivation for his journey along with the ways in which the wonders are presented and received .
Works Cited
Barron, W.R.J and Glyn S. Burgess. The Voyage of St. Brendan
Duffy, Seán, Ailbhe MacShamhráin, and James Moynes. "Immrama." Medieval Ireland: an Encyclopedia. New York: Routledge, 2005. 228-30. Print.
Gardiner, Eileen. "St. Brendan's Voyage." Visions of Heaven and Hell before Dante. New York: Italica, 1989. Print.
"Hagiography." Oxford Dictonaries. IFactory, 2010. Web. 21 Nov. 2010.
Sharpe, Richard. Medieval Irish Saints' Lives: an Introduction to Vitae Sanctorum Hiberniae. Oxford: Clarendon, 1991. Print.