The Voyage of St Brendan: Representative Versions of the Legend in English Translation

The legend of St Brendan is one of the greatest legends of the Middle Ages. To the nations of medieval Europe the ocean voyage became a metaphor for the perilous journey of the Christian soul in search of the Promised Land, and no spiritual odyssey attracted wider interest than that of the sixth-century Irish saint, Brendan the Navigator. Of the numerous versions in which his voyage was chronicled during the Middle Ages, this volume provides the most important examples from a wide variety of cultures, presented in translation - and, in the case of new or rare editions, facing-page originals - together with a general introduction to the real and legendary Brendan, introductions to the individual texts and explanatory commentaries on each, and an extensive bibliography. The vernacular versions are translated into English, from Anglo-Norman, Dutch, German, Italian (Venetian dialect), Occitan, Catalan, Middle English and Norse. Caxton’s famous version from his Golden Legend is also included.