Metamorphosis of Eoin Bruinne : Constructing John the Apostle in Medieval Ireland

Abstract

This paper investigates the figure of Saint John the Apostle as it appears in Hiberno-Latin and Irish medieval literature, in miscellaneous documents ranging from the seventh century to the early modern period. In doing so, John’s distinctive traits have been identified – close intimacy with Christ, religious virginity, exclusive access to arcane wisdom – and analyzed, and certain Irish peculiarities have been highlighted – his epithet Eóin Bruinne (‘John of the Breast’), and his literary transformation into an infant. John is then characterized as a symbol of mystical intimacy and spiritual friendship, and possibly as an authoritative model for religious fosterage.