Prominent in the literature of early Ireland are the tales known as 'echtrai' (adventures) and 'immrama' (voyages), stories telling of journeys to the Otherworld of Celtic legend. These tales have long held a fascination for both scholars and general readers, but there is no satisfactory, comprehensive treatment of them in print. This anthology presents a selection of the most important studies of the subject, to which is added a number of new essays representing the current state of scholarship. A general introduction is provided and an extensive bibliography. Containing the most important critical materials for an understanding of the Irish Otherworld Voyage legends, this anthology will be of interest and use to teachers and students of early Irish history and literature, comparative literature and mythology.
Author(s): Jonathan M. Wooding (ed.)
Publisher: Four Courts Press
Year: 2000
Language: English
Pages: 318
City: Dublin
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS vii
PREFACE ix
INTRODUCTION xi
Some New Light on the Brendan Legend / CHARLES PLUMMER 1
Clerical Sea Pilgrimages and the 'Imrama' / WILLIAM FLINT THRALL 15
On the Punishment of Sending Adrift / MARY E. BYRNE 22
An Apocryphal 'Book of Enoch and Elias' as a Possible Source of the 'Navigatio Sancti Brendani' / MARIO ESPOSITO 27
Review of 'Navigatio sancti Brendani Abbatis' / JAMES CARNEY 42
The Sinless Otherworld of 'Immram Brain' / PROINSIAS MAC CANA 52
The Earliest Bran Material / JAMES CARNEY 73
Two Observations Concerning the 'Navigatio Brendani' / LUDWIG BIELER 91
The Social Background to Irish 'Peregrinatio' / THOMAS CHARLES-EDWARDS 94
In the Wake of the Saint: 'The Brendan Voyage', an Epic Crossing of the Atlantic by Leather Boat / J. J. O’MEARA 109
The Location of the Otherworld in Irish Tradition / JOHN CAREY 113
Two Approaches to the Dating of 'Nauigatio Sancti Brendani' / DAVID N. DUMVILLE 120
Ireland and the Antipodes: The Heterodoxy of Virgil of Salzburg / JOHN CAREY 133
Some Analogues of the Old English 'Seafarer' from Hiberno-Latin Sources / COLIN A. IRELAND 143
Contributions to a Study of the Voyages of St. Brendan and St. Malo / SÉAMUS MAC MATHÚNA 157
Allegory in 'Navigatio Sancti Brendani' / DOROTHY ANN BRAY 175
The Role of the 'Cuilebad' in 'Immram Snédgusa 7 Maic Riagla' / KEVIN MURRAY 187
Subversion at Sea: Structure, Style and Intent in the 'Immrama' / THOMAS OWEN CLANCY 194
Monastic Voyaging and the 'Nauigatio' / JONATHAN M. WOODING 220
APPENDIX 246
BIBLIOGRAPHY 251
INDEX 279
