The Voyage of Saint Brendan Representative Versions of the Legend in English Translation with Indexes of Themes and Motifs from the Stories

"The story of the voyage of the sixth-century Irish saint, Brendan the Navigator, 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." "But Brendan's reach goes far beyond his medieval and monastic context. He is frequently cited as a discoverer of the New World - the search for the mythical St. Brendan's Isle was an important motif behind the voyages of Columbus. Brendan's story also has much in common with the Irish seafaring tales we know as immrama, and his voyage contributes to our understanding of the history of quest and travel literature, containing as it does echoes of the Odyssey and the Aeneid, Sinbad the Sailor and the quest for the Holy Grail." "This volume collects the most important versions of the voyage from a variety of cultures and presents them in modern English translations together with contextual introduction, explanatory commentaries and bibliography. The indexes in this new paperback edition allow easy comparison between the different versions." --Book Jacket.