Saint Brendan of Clonfert
St. Brendan and the whale from a 15th century manuscript
Born	c. 484, Fenit, Tralee, Kerry
Died	c. 578
Venerated in	Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church
Major shrine	Clonfert
Feast	May 16 (R), January 15 (O)
Saints Portal

Saint Brendan of Clonfert or Bréanainn of Clonfert (c. 484 – c. 578) called "the Navigator", "the Voyager", or "the Bold" is one of the early Irish monastic saints whose legends have overshadowed their history. He is chiefly renowned for his semi-legendary quest to the Isle of the Blessed . The Voyage of St. Brendan could be called an immram (Irish voyage story). Image File history File links Saint_brendan_german_manuscript. ... Events December 28 - Alaric II succeeds Euric as king of the Visigoths. ... Fenit is a village with a mixed function sea port, close to Tralee Town in County Kerry, in the South West of Ireland. ... WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: , Irish Grid Reference Q828141 Statistics Province: Munster County: Elevation: 37 m Population (2006)  - Town:  - Rural:   20,258  1,932 Website: www. ... Statistics Province: Munster County Town: Tralee Code: KY Area: 4,746 km² Population (2006) 139,616 Website: www. ... Events Tiberius II Constantine succeeds Justin II as Byzantine Emperor Births Deaths July 30 - Jacob Baradaeus, bishop of Edessa October 5 - Justin II, Roman emperor Northern Zhou Wu Di, Chinese ruler John Malalas, Byzantine chronicler Categories: 578 ... Catholic Church redirects here. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Coptic Orthodox Pope · Roman Catholic Pope Archbishop of Canterbury · Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      Faith... Eastern Orthodox shrine Buddhist shrine just outside Wat Phnom. ... The Diocese of Clonfert is a small diocese in Ireland, mainly situated in the eastern part of County Galway. ... The calendar of saints is a traditional Christian method of organising a liturgical year on the level of days by associating each day with one or more saints, and referring to the day as that saints day. ... Image File history File links Gloriole. ... Look up Brendan in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Events December 28 - Alaric II succeeds Euric as king of the Visigoths. ... Events Tiberius II Constantine succeeds Justin II as Byzantine Emperor Births Deaths July 30 - Jacob Baradaeus, bishop of Edessa October 5 - Justin II, Roman emperor Northern Zhou Wu Di, Chinese ruler John Malalas, Byzantine chronicler Categories: 578 ... Celtic Christianity, or Insular Christianity (sometimes commonly called the Celtic Church) broadly refers to the Early Medieval Christian practice that developed around the Irish Sea in the fifth and sixth centuries: that is, among Celtic/British peoples such as the Irish, Scottish, Welsh, Cornish, Manx (the inhabitants of the British... For other uses, see Saint (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Legend (disambiguation). ... This article is about the study of time in human terms. ... Paradise, Jan Bruegel Paradise is an English word from Persian roots that is generally identified with the Garden of Eden or with Heaven. ... An Immram (pl. ...

His feast day is May 16. is the 136th day of the year (137th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Early life

In 484 Saint Brendan was born near what is now Fenit the port of Tralee, in County Kerry in the south west of Ireland.^[1] It was known as Ciarraight Luachra in those days. He was baptized at Tubrid, near Ardfert, by Saint Erc. For five years he was educated under Saint Ita, "the Brigid of Munster", and he completed his studies under Saint Erc, who ordained him priest in 512. Between the years 512 and 530 St. Brendan built monastic cells at Ardfert, and, at the foot of Mount Brandon, Shanakeel— Seana Cill, usually translated as "the old church"— also called Baalynevinoorach. It was from here that he set out on his famous seven years voyage for the Land of Delight. The old Irish Calendars assigned a special feast for the Egressio familiae S. Brendani, on 22 March; and St Aengus the Culdee, in his Litany composed at the close of the eighth century, invokes "the sixty who accompanied St. Brendan in his quest for the Land of Promise". Fenit is a village with a mixed function sea port, close to Tralee Town in County Kerry, in the South West of Ireland. ... WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: , Irish Grid Reference Q828141 Statistics Province: Munster County: Elevation: 37 m Population (2006)  - Town:  - Rural:   20,258  1,932 Website: www. ... Statistics Province: Munster County Town: Tralee Code: KY Area: 4,746 km² Population (2006) 139,616 Website: www. ... Ardfert (Ard Fhearta in Irish) is a parish in the barony of Clanmaurice, County Kerry, Ireland, anciently in the territory of Ui Fearba/Hy Ferba. ... Saint Erc (also known in Latin as Ercus; in Cornish as Erth; and incorrectly as Herygh) was an Irish saint who was apparently also active in Cornwall. ... Saint Ita, also known as Saint Ida or Saint Ides, (ca. ... Mount Brandon or the Brandon Mountain (Irish: Sliabh Bhreandáin) is a mountain on the Dingle Peninsula, in Co. ... The word Voyage may mean: The PC Game Voyage: Inspired by Jules Verne The Musical Group Voyage - Disco Group ... Paradise, Jan Bruegel Paradise is an English word from Persian roots that is generally identified with the Garden of Eden or with Heaven. ... The Culdees formed an ancient monastic order with settlements in Ireland and Scotland. ...

Brendan discovering the Faroes and Iceland
Stamp sheet FR 252-253 of Postverk Føroya
Issued: 18 April 1994
Artist: Colin Harrison

Image File history File links Faroe_stamps_252-253_Europe_and_the_Discoveries. ... Image File history File links Faroe_stamps_252-253_Europe_and_the_Discoveries. ... Postverk Føroya [] is the postal service of the Faroe Islands and was founded on 1st April 1976 under the Home Rule of the Faroe Islands. ...

Legendary journey

St Brendan is chiefly renowned for his legendary journey to The Isle of the Blessed (also called Tír na nÓg) as described in the ninth century Voyage of St Brendan the Navigator. Many versions exist, that tell of how he set out onto the Atlantic Ocean with sixty pilgrims^[2] (other versions have fourteen, plus three unbelievers who join at the last minute), searching for the Americas. If it happened, this would have occurred in around 530, before his travel to the island of Great Britain. On his trip, Brendan is supposed to have seen a blessed island covered with vegetation. He also encountered a sea monster, an adventure he shared with his contemporary St. Columba. The most commonly illustrated adventure is his landing on an island which turns out to be a giant sea monster called Jasconius or Jascon. This too, has its parallels in other stories, not only in Irish mythology but in other traditions, from Sinbad the Sailor to Pinocchio. Tír na nÓg, called in English the Land of Eternal Youth or the Land of the Ever-Young, was the most popular of the Otherworlds in Irish mythology, perhaps best known from the myth of Oisín and Niamh of the Golden Hair. ... Monument to pilgrims in Burgos, Spain This article is on religious pilgrims. ... World map showing the Americas CIA political map of the Americas The Americas are the lands of the Western hemisphere or New World, consisting of the continents of North America[1] and South America with their associated islands and regions. ... Battle of Daras: Belisarius and Hermogenes defeat the Persians in a major battle which blunts a Persian offensive into Roman Mesopotamia. ... Situated somewhere west of Europe, St. ... For the television series about extinct sea animals, see Sea Monsters. ... See Columba (disambiguation) and St Columb for other uses. ... Jasconius is an enormous fish in the story of Saint Brendan. ... The mythology of pre-Christian Ireland did not entirely survive the conversion to Christianity, but much of it was preserved, shorn of its religious meanings, in medieval Irish literature, which represents the most extensive and best preserved of all the branches of Celtic mythology. ... “Sinbad” redirects here. ... For other uses, see Pinocchio (disambiguation). ...

Early Dutch version

One of the earliest preserved written versions of the legend is in Dutch Des Reis van Sint Brandaen (Dutch for The Voyage of Saint Brandon), written in the 12th century. Scholars believe it derived from a now lost middle High German text combined with Celtic elements from Ireland and combines Christian and fairy tale elements. Des Reis van Sint Brandaen describes "Brandaen," a monk from Galway, and his voyage around the world for nine years. The journey was begun as a punishment by an angel who had seen Brandaen not believe the truth of a book on the miracles of creation and saw Brandaen throw it into the 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 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 the ship by holding its tail in its mouth. The English poem Life of Saint Brandan is a later English derivative of the Dutch version.^[3] Dutch Proverbs, by artist Pieter Brueghel the Elder 1559, with peasant scenes illustrating over 100 proverbs Dutch folklore, also known as folklore of the Low Countries includes the epics, legends, fairy tales and oral traditions of the people of the Netherlands, including to an extent the Germanic tribes and Belgic... (11th century - 12th century - 13th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 12th century was that century which lasted from 1101 to 1200. ... Subdivisions Central German Upper German High German (in German, Hochdeutsch) is any of several German dialects spoken in Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, and Luxembourg (as well as in neighbouring portions of Belgium, France (Alsace), Italy, Poland, and Romania (Transylvania) and in some areas of former colonial settlement, for example in... This article is about the European people. ... For other uses, see Christian (disambiguation). ... A fairy tale is a story, either told to children or as if told to children, concerning the adventures of mythical characters such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, giants, and others. ... This article is about the supernatural being. ... Judas (Greek: Ιούδας) is the anglicized Greek rendering of the Hebrew name Yehudah (Hebrew: יְהוּדָה), also rendered in English as Judah. ...

Context

Sculpture of St. Brendan, The Square Bantry, County Cork

While it is generally assumed that the story is a religious allegory, there has been considerable ink spilled over the question of whether part of the legends really happened, and whether the Isle of the Blessed that Brendan reached was not, in fact, America. There is a St. Brendan Society that celebrates the belief that Brendan was the first to discover America. Tim Severin demonstrated it is possible that a leather-clad boat such as the one described in the Navigatio could have potentially reached North America.^[4][5] Christopher Columbus relied on the legends told of St. Brendan as part of his argument that it was indeed possible to travel to Asia by crossing the Atlantic^{[citation needed]}. Some propose St Brendan as one of the ancient visitors to the Americas. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1704x2272, 388 KB) Summary My own photo of Naomh Bréanainn. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1704x2272, 388 KB) Summary My own photo of Naomh Bréanainn. ... WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: , Irish Grid Reference V997488 Statistics Province: Munster County: Population (2006)  - Town:  - Rural:   3,309  8 Website: www. ... North America North America is a continent[1] in the Earths northern hemisphere and (chiefly) western hemisphere. ... Christopher Columbus (1451 – May 20, 1506) was a navigator and colonialist who is one of the first Europeans to discover the Americas, after the Vikings. ... For other uses, see Asia (disambiguation). ... Pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contacts were interactions between the indigenous peoples of the Americas and peoples of other continents—Europe, Africa, Asia, or Oceania—before the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1492. ...

As a genre, The Voyage of St. Brendan (in Latin, the Navigatio Sancti Brendani) fits in with a then-popular form of literature, peculiar to Ireland, called an immram, that describes a hero's series of adventures in a boat. For example, there appear to be similarities with The Voyage of Bran written much earlier. In the Navigatio, this style of storytelling meshed with a religious ascetic tradition where Irish monks would travel alone in boats, the same way their desert brothers used to isolate themselves in caves. An Immram (pl. ... The Beginning In Irish Mythology, Bran, son of Febal, embarks upon a quest to the Other World. ...

Effects

Naturally, the story of the seven years voyage was carried about, and soon crowds of pilgrims and students flocked to Ardfert. Thus, in a few years, many religious houses were formed - at Gallerus, Kilmalchedor, Brandon Hill, and the Blasket Islands - in order to meet the wants of those who came for spiritual guidance to St. Brendan. Location map of the Blasket Islands The Blasket Islands (Na Blascaoidí in Irish - etymology uncertain: it may come from the Norse word brasker, meaning a dangerous place) are a group of islands off the west coast of Ireland, forming part of County Kerry. ...

Saint Brendan is the Patron Saint of sailors and travelers.

Further travels

Later, he travelled to Wales and the holy island of Iona, off the west coast of Scotland; returning to Ireland, he founded a bishopric at Annaghdown, where he spent the rest of his days. He was recognised as a saint by the Irish church, and his feast day is May 16. Having established the bishopric of Ardfert, Brendan proceeded to Thomond, and founded a monastery at Inis-da-druim (now Coney Island), in the present parish of Killadysert, County Clare, about the year 550. He then journeyed to Wales, and thence to Iona, for he is said to have left traces of his apostolic zeal at Kil-brandon (near Oban) and Kil-brennan Sound. After a three years' mission in Britain he returned to Ireland, and did more proselytizing in various parts of Leinster, especially at Dysart (Co. Kilkenny), Killiney (Tubberboe), and Brandon Hill. He established churches at Inchiquin, County Galway and at Inishglora, County Mayo. This article is about the country. ... Iona is a small island, in the Inner Hebrides, Scotland. ... This article is about the country. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      This article... is the 136th day of the year (137th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

His most celebrated foundation was Clonfert, in 557, over which he appointed St. Moinenn as Prior and Head Master. Brendan was interred in Clonfert. The Diocese of Clonfert is a small diocese in Ireland, mainly situated in the eastern part of County Galway. ...

Modern re-enactment

In 1976, Irish explorer Tim Severin built an ox leather curragh and over two summers sailed her from Ireland via the Hebrides, Faroe Islands and Iceland to Newfoundland to demonstrate that the saint's purported voyage was feasible. On his voyage, he encountered various sights such as icebergs and sea animals such as whales and porpoises which he suggests are factual counterparts to the fantastic sights from the legends of Brendan. See The Brendan Voyage, ISBN 0-349-10707-6. Year 1976 Pick up sticks(MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Tim Severin was born in India in 1940. ... Modern leather-working tools Leather is a material created through the tanning of hides and skins of animals, primarily cattlehide. ... A Currach or Curach is a type of boat with a wooden frame, over which is stretched animal skins or hides. ... This article is about the Hebrides islands in Scotland. ... Newfoundland —   IPA: [nuw fÉ™n lænd] (French: , Irish: ) is a large island off the east coast of North America, and the most populous part of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. ... For other uses, see Iceberg (disambiguation). ...

Appearances in popular culture

The Brendan Voyage is an orchestral suite for uillean pipes, written by Irish composer Shaun Davey in 1983 and based on Tim Severin's book of the same name. The Uilleann pipes are a unique form of bagpipes originating in Ireland. ... Shaun Davey is an Irish composer. ... Tim Severin was born in India in 1940. ...

Novelist Patricia Kennealy-Morrison features St. Brendan in her book "The Deers Cry", retelling his story with a science fiction twist.

Novelist Frederick Buechner retold the story of Brendan's travels in his 1987 novel Brendan. Frederick Buechner as photographed in 1950 by Carl Van Vechten Frederick Buechner (born July 11, 1926) is a Presbyterian minister and an American author. ...

Jimmie Driftwood composed the folk song "Saint Brendan's Voyage," also known as "Saint Brendan's Fair(e) Isle" which has since been covered by such bands as the Bedlam Bards and Brendan Nolan. Jimmy Driftwood (1917-1998) was a prolific United States folk songwriter and musician, most famous for his songs The Battle of New Orleans and Tennessee Stud. ... Folk music can have a number of different meanings, including: Traditional music: The original meaning of the term folk music was synonymous with the term Traditional music, also often including World Music and Roots music; the term Traditional music was given its more specific meaning to distinguish it from the...

The cream liqueur Saint Brendan's is named after him. A cream liqueur (not be confused with a crème liqueur) is a liqueur that includes dairy cream among its ingredients. ... Saint Brendans is a cream liqueur named after Saint Brendan. ...

The Canadian band The Lowest of the Low wrote a song titled "St. Brendan's Way" that appears on their album Shakespeare My Butt. The Lowest of the Low were a Canadian alternative rock group in the early 1990s. ... Shakespeare My Butt is a 1991 album by The Lowest of the Low. ...

The celtic band Iona made an entire album inspired by the voyage of Saint Brendan called Beyond These Shores. Celtic rock is a genre of folk rock which incorporates Celtic music, instrumentation and themes. ... Iona is the name of an Scottish Celtic rock band, which was formed in the late 1980s by lead vocalist Joanne Hogg, multi-instrumentalists David Fitzgerald and Dave Bainbridge. ... Beyond These Shores is a progressive rock album by Iona. ...

In the 2005 film Beowulf & Grendel, a travelling monk named Brendan the Celt sails to Denmark circa 521 A.D. Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Beowulf & Grendel is a 2005 movie adaptation of the Old English epic Beowulf; filmed in Iceland and directed by Sturla Gunnarsson, it stars Gerard Butler as Beowulf, Stellan Skarsgard as Hrothgar, Ingvar Sigurdsson as Grendel and Sarah Polley as the witch Selma. ...

Singer songwriter Sarana VerLin wrote an instrumental song titled "St. Brendan's Reel" that appears on the albums Amadon Crest and GutterPups Live in the Red Lantern District.

Kansas City, Missouri based celtic rock band The Elders wrote and recorded a song titled "Saint Brendan Had a Boat" that appears on the album Racing the Tide. Nickname: Location in Jackson, Clay, Platte, and Cass Counties in the state of Missouri. ... Celtic rock is a genre of folk rock which incorporates Celtic music, instrumentation and themes. ... The Elders is a six-piece Irish American folk rock band, that formed in Kansas City. ... Racing the Tide is the fourth studio album by The Elders. ...

Science fiction author James White featured Brendan in his alternative history novel The Silent Stars Go By. James White (April 7, 1928 - August 23, 1999) was a prolific Northern Irish author of science fiction novellas, short stories, and novels. ... Alternative history or alternate history develops out of historiography to identify historical points of view that have been ignored, overlooked, or unseeable. ...

Singer songwriter Warwick Lobban wrote in his song St. Brendan's Fire about the breaking heart of a person in love with St. Brendan while they watch his boat sail away.

List of Places Associated with St. Brendan and their General Location

• Ardfert, Kerry
• Mount Brandon, Kerry
• Brandon Hill, Co. Kilkenny
• Faroe Islands
• Bristol, Gloucestershire.
• Iona Island, Scotland
• Gallarus Oratory, Kerry
• Clonfert
• Killadysert, Co. Clare
• Dysart, Co. Kilkenny
• Killbrandon, near Oban, Scotland
• Kilbrennan Sound
• Killiney
• Inchiquin, Co. Galway
• Inishglora, Co. Mayo.
• Hebrides
• Iceland
• Newfoundland
• Canary Islands

Ardfert (Ard Fhearta in Irish) is a parish in the barony of Clanmaurice, County Kerry, Ireland, anciently in the territory of Ui Fearba/Hy Ferba. ... Mount Brandon or the Brandon Mountain (Irish: Sliabh Bhreandáin) is a mountain on the Dingle Peninsula, in Co. ... Headline text BRANDON HILL A.K.A KINGBold text--KING52 00:48, 15 May 2006 (UTC) ... This article is about the English city. ... Iona is a small island, in the Inner Hebrides, Scotland. ... The Diocese of Clonfert is a small diocese in Ireland, mainly situated in the eastern part of County Galway. ... Killadysert (Irish: Cill an Disirt) is a village in south County Clare, Ireland. ... Pan Ha, Dysart Dysart is a small town in Fife, Scotland found on the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. ... For other uses, see Oban (disambiguation). ... WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: 53. ... This article is about the Hebrides islands in Scotland. ... Newfoundland —   IPA: [nuw fÉ™n lænd] (French: , Irish: ) is a large island off the east coast of North America, and the most populous part of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. ... Anthem: Arrorró Capital Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Santa Cruz de Tenerife Official language(s) Spanish Area  â€“ Total  â€“ % of Spain Ranked 13th  7,447 km²  1. ...

References

• Donnchadha, Gearóid Ó. St Brendan of Kerry, the Navigator. His Life & Voyages. OPEN AIR ISBN 1-85182-871-0
• Meijer, Reinder. Literature of the Low Countries: A Short History of Dutch Literature in the Netherlands and Belgium. New York: Twayne Publishers, Inc., 1971.

Saint Malo is said to have accompanied St. ... Categories: France geography stubs | Communes of Ille-et-Vilaine ...

See also

• List of people on stamps of Ireland
• Saint Amaro, a semi-legendary Spanish navigator and saint
• Timeline of pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact
• Brandane

This is a list of people on the postage stamps of the Republic of Ireland, including the years when they appeared on a stamp. ... According to Christian tradition, Saint Amaro or Amarus the Pilgrim ( San Amaro) was an abbot and sailor who sailed across the Atlantic to an earthly paradise. ... This is a Timeline of contacts between the Americas and the rest of the world, both legendary and historically based. ...

External links

• Catholic Encyclopedia St. Brendan
• Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
• Biography from A Little Book of Celtic Saints Saint Brendan the Navigator
• Navigatio sancti Brendani abbatis (Latin)
• The Voyage of Beyond the Sea Simon Young writes about St Brendan's journey in Fortean Times
• Wall Street Journal: "Of Sainted Memory"
• Faroestamps.fo - Faroese stamp edition (English, German, French, Danish, Faroese)
• Brendan's Fabulous Voyage - 1893 lecture by John Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute, available from Project Gutenberg