The Legend of St Brendan: A Critical Bibliography (review)

Abstract

St. Brendan, an Irish monk of Munster ancestry, was born toward the end of the fifth century and died c. 575. His fame is based primarily on the voyage tale Navigatio sancti Brendani abbatis ("The Voyage of St. Brendan the Abbot"), a text written as early possibly as the last quarter of the eighth century which describes a voyage said to have been undertaken by the saint in search of a wonderful island in the ocean, the "Land of Promise." This tale catapulted him to cult status as "Brendan the Navigator" and became a medieval best-seller, giving rise to a wide range of versions in most of the vernacular languages of Europe.