|
|
aint Brendan the Navigator (known as such to differentiate him from another contemporary, Saint Brendan of Birr), the best known Irish saint in the Middle Ages, was fabled in stories told all over Europe in different versions, different languages. He was one of the "Twelve Apostles of Ireland", men who were disciples of the great Saint Finian.
The date of his birth is uncertain, somewhere between 460 and 486 A.D. He was born of a noble family in Ciarraighe Luachra, near Tralee in County Kerry, and spent five years of his youth in tutelage under Saint Ita, the mystic, and educated further by Bishop Erc for the priesthood. It is as an Abbot that we know him now.
The facts of his life are threaded through the fanciful stories which surrounded him. We do know that he founded many monasteries and sees, even when he was well into his 80's - the most well known one being the large monastery of Clonfert, which was said at one time to house 1000 monks. His rule was austere, said to have been dictated to him supernaturally. Clonfert was a missionary center, and from there Saint Brendan sailed to Wales, England, the Scottish islands, Brittany, and northern Europe, founding monasteries abroad.
The tales which captured the imagination of the people for centuries came from the "Navigatio Sancti Brendani" ("The Wandering of Saint Brendan"), written in the ninth or tenth century by an Irish monk as an imrana (rowing-about story), a tale of a magical voyage. Some versions of the story had Saint Brendan hearing of a mystical holy place, some say that he saw it from afar from the western coast of Ireland. It was called the Garden of Eden, the Isles of the Blessed, the Land of Promise, the Land of Delight, and to find it, Saint Brendan and fourteen of his monks (the number varies in different versions) voyaged for seven years. They fashioned a coracle of ox hides stretched across a wooden frame, sewn with leather thread and smeared with fat to waterproof it. Sails were attached and the little craft was blessed in the name of the Trinity.
"Let us inspect the wonders of God, our Maker!"
The travels follow a cyclic route - each year's celebration of Easter and the time until Pentecost found the monks returning, after which they set out again on their travels. There are fantastic elements in this story, such as a helpful whale named Jasconius, who allowed the monks to celebrate Mass on his back. There are also details in the story which may have been true, such as the "crystal pillars" which were seen and may have been icebergs in the North Atlantic; "fiery stones" that were thrown at them in what may have been Iceland - perhaps the result of the volcanic activity there; flora and fauna exclusive to the New World. A number of details can be reconciled with what we know of the Faroe Islands, Mykines, Iceland and Newfoundland.
"Do not be afraid, for we have our God as our guide and helper. Put up your oars, and do not toil anymore; God will guide this boat and company as God pleases."
In 1976, an English navigation scholar named Tim Severin made a coracle exactly as described in this story and set out to follow Saint Brendan's route across the North Atlantic to Newfoundland via Iceland and Greenland. He proved it could be done - a feat that had been declared impossible. Saint Brendan and his hardy mariners may very likely have made it to Iceland, to Newfoundland, and the New World. It is known that Irish mariners sailed the North Atlantic for centuries and very recently Old Irish Christian inscriptions and artifacts have been found in Connecticut and West Virginia dated between 500-1000 A.D., predating Columbus by many centuries.
For the next 1000 years after his life, maps featured an island somewhere to the west of Europe called "Saint Brendan's Isle" and may have inspired some of the later voyagers.
"I confess that since I first fixed my mind on God, I have never taken it from Him, and never will until Doomsday."
We do know that Saint Brendan visited the famous Saint Columba, not at his monastery on Iona but on the island of Hinba, thought to be Argyll. We can also be certain of the many communities he founded - at Ardfert, Gallerus, Kilmalchedor, Shanakeel, Inis-da-druim (Coney Island) in Ireland, Kilbrandon and Kilbrennan in Scotland. Churches he built in Inchiquin and Inishglora. He founded the Sees of Ardfert and Annaghdown. The monasteries in western Ireland attracted pilgrims seeking wisdom from Saint Brendan.
"God is calling me to the eternal kingdom."
Saint Brendan died in his 90's in his homeland, at the convent of his sister Briga at Enachduin and is said to be buried facing the door to the Cathedral in Clonfert. When near death, he said to his sister, the Abbess Brig, "I fear that I shall journey alone, that the way will be dark; I fear the unknown land, the presence of my King and the sentence of my Judge". His last words were, "In manus tuas, Domine" ("into Your hands, O Lord").
Saint Brendan's feast day is May 16th and he is the patron saint of sailors, travelers and whales. He is shown in art celebrating Mass, with the fish in attendance around the ship.
Shall I abandon, O King of Mysteries, the soft comforts of home? Shall I turn my back on my native land, and my face towards the sea?
Shall I put myself wholly at the mercy of God, without silver, without a horse, without fame and honor? Shall I throw myself wholly on the King of Kings, without sword and shield, without food and drink, without a bed to lie on?
Shall I say farewell to my beautiful land, placing myself under Christ's yoke? Shall I pour out my heart to him confessing my manifold sins and begging forgiveness, tears streaming down my cheeks?
Shall I leave the prints of my knees on the sandy beach, a record of my final prayer in my native land? Shall I then suffer every kind of wound that the sea can inflict?
Shall I take my tiny coracle across the wide, sparkling ocean? O King of the Glorious Heaven, shall I go of my own choice upon the sea?
O Christ, will you help me on the wild waves?
Prayer from a medieval Mass, date circa 14th century; translated by Karen Rae Keck, 1994.
Prayer of Saint Brendan - Robert Van der Weyer, Celtic Fire, p. 30.