Early life Brendan was born in
AD 484 in
Tralee, in
County Kerry, in the province of
Munster, in the south-west of Ireland. He was born among the Altraige, an
Irish clan originally centred around
Tralee 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, near
Ardfert, by
Erc of Slane, and was originally to be called but signs and portents attending his birth and baptism led to him being christened or 'fair-drop'. For five years he was both educated and given in
fosterage to St.
Íte of Killeedy, "The Brigid of Munster". When he was six he was sent to
Jarlath's monastery school at
Tuam 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. Afterward, he founded a number of monasteries. Brendan's first voyage took him to the
Aran Islands, where he founded a monastery. He also visited Hinba (
Argyll), an island off the
Scottish coast, where he is said to have met
Columcille. On the same voyage he travelled to
Wales and finally to
Brittany, on the northern coast of
France. Between AD 512 and 530, Brendan built monastic cells at
Ardfert, and
Shanakeel (, usually translated as the "Old Church"), at the foot of
Mount Brandon. From there, he is supposed to have embarked on his famous seven-year voyage bound for
Paradise. The old Irish calendars assigned a feast for the
"egressio familiae Sancti Brendani". Many versions exist that narrate how he set out on the Atlantic Ocean with sixteen
monks (although other versions record fourteen monks and three unbelievers who joined in the last minute) to search for the
Garden of Eden. One of these companions is said to have been
Malo. The voyage is dated to AD 512–530, before his travel to the island of
Great Britain. On his trip, Brendan is supposed to have seen
Saint Brendan's Island, a blessed island covered with vegetation. He also encountered a
sea 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 Voyage of Saint Brendan the Abbot The earliest extant version of the (
Voyage of Saint Brendan the Abbot) was recorded AD 900. There are over 100 manuscripts of the narrative throughout Europe and many translations. The is plainly a Christian narrative, but also narrates natural phenomena and fantastical events and places, which appealed to a broad audience. The contains many parallels and inter-textual references to
Bran and
The Voyage of Máel Dúin. On the Kerry coast, Brendan built a
currach-like boat of
wattle, 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 the
Most Holy Trinity. The narrative is characterized by much literary licence; for example, it refers to
Hell 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 around
Iceland and to
icebergs. ;Synopsis The journey of Brendan begins when he meets
Saint Barinthus. Barinthus describes The Promised Land for Saints (). 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. 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. 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. Jude S. Mackley holds that efforts to identify possible, actual locations referred to in the distract from the author's purpose of presenting a legend of "salvation, monastic obedience and the faith required to undertake such a pilgrimage."
Intertextuality Scholars debate whether the influenced
The Voyage of Máel Dúin or vice versa. Jude Mackley suggests that an early influenced an equally early and that inter-borrowing continued as the traditions developed. The adapts the immram traditions to a Christian context.
Early Dutch version One of the earliest extant written versions of Brendan's legend is the Dutch (Mediaeval Dutch for
The Voyage of Saint Brendan) of the twelfth century. Scholars believe it is derived from a now lost
Middle High German text combined with
Gaelic elements from Ireland and that it combines
Christian and
fairy tale elements. describes "Brandaen", a monk from
Galway, and his voyage around the world for nine years. The journey began as a punishment by an
angel who saw that Brandaen did not believe in the truth of a book of the miracles of creation and saw Brandaen
throw 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 as
Judas 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 by
holding its tail in its mouth. The English poem the
Life of Saint Brandan is a later derivation from the
Dutch version.
Saint Brendan's Island . 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 of
Saint Brendan's Island. Various pre-
Columbian sea charts indicated it everywhere from the southern part of Ireland to the
Canary Islands,
Faroes, or
Azores; to the island of
Madeira; to a point 60 degrees west of the first meridian and very near the equator.
Tale of reaching North America 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 reached
Greenland or the
Americas. 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 the to reach North America. Severin's film
The Brendan Voyage of 1978, which documented his team's feat, inspired the Irish composer
Shaun Davey to write his orchestral suite "
The Brendan Voyage". The was known widely in Europe throughout the Middle Ages. Maps of
Christopher 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 the 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.
Later life Brendan travelled to
Wales and the holy island of
Iona, off the west coast of
Scotland; returning to
Ireland, he founded a
monastery in
Annaghdown, where he spent the rest of his life. He also founded a convent at Annaghdown for his sister Briga. and
Brandon Hill. He established churches at
Inchiquin,
County Galway, and
Inishglora,
County Mayo, and founded
Clonfert in
Galway AD 557. He died AD 577 in
Annaghdown, while visiting his sister Briga. Fearing that after his death his devotees might take his remains as
relics, Brendan had previously arranged to have his body secretly returned to the monastery he founded in
Clonfert, concealed in a luggage cart. He was interred in
Clonfert Cathedral. ==Veneration==