Hall's "Ireland:
nives et grandincs sursum versus c.
nives et grandincs sursum versus c.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v5
47.
'*- See Most Rev. Patrick F. Moran's " Acta Sancti Brendani," Prima Vita, cap. ix. , p. 8.
""^ A castle, in ruins, near Turlogh, indi- '5* His festival occurs, at the 29th of No- cates the site. See John O'Donovan's vembcr. " Genealogies, Tribes, and Customs of Hy- 'S' . \mong the Burgundian MSS. at P^iachrach," Explanatory Index to the Map,
Bruxelles, there is a tract intituled, " S. p. 494.
Brendanus ex Schola Cluainerardensi ivit qujEsitun Terram Promissionis," MSS. , vol. iv. , p. 73
"'' This townland, in the parish of Kilda- commoge, is shown, on the "Ordnance Sur- vey Townland Majis for the County of Mayo," sheets 70, 79.
""5 See Archbishop Ussher's " Britanni- p. 476.
"° The Calendars assign him a feast, at
the nth of February, as also at the 26th of
Dcccmber. ]jut, in the Diocese ofTuam, carum Ecclesiarum Antiquitatcs,"cap. xvii. , his feast hag been observed on the 6th of
June, whert\his Life shall be set forth, in the •** The writer of his Acts adds: " ct ilia
—;
May 1 6. ]
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
405
While in that place, likewise, St. Brendan saw a young man borne to the tomb, his parents, sisters and friends bewailing his demise. To these, Brendan said : " Good friends, weep not, but trust m God, your dead youth shall live, through the power of Christ. " Approaching the coffin, and absorbed in prayer with the Almighty, he commanded the dead to rise. Immediately, the young man revived, and he was restored to his family. The news of this miracle arrived with Brendan himself, where the King of Connaught lived. '^7 The latter said to Brendan : " Servant of the living God, wilt thou dwell on our lands ; and, if so, select a place for building a monastery, and I shall offer it to thee. " But, Brendan declared, that he should not dare to establish a dwelling in any place, without permission of his master Bishop Ere. Then, blessing the king and people there, Brendan returned to that aged Bishop, by whom, when he had spent a sufficient time in oreliminary instruction, he
Ballydavid Head, County of Kerry ; Brandon Mountain in the distance.
was ordained a priest. Afterwards, he received the monastic habit. Then, many persons, attracted by the fame of his sanctity, lett the world, and came toliveunderhisRule,asmonks. Toaidtheirpiousdesires,Brendan,there- upon, founded a few cells and monasteries, before setting out on his cele- brated Voyage, in quest of the Land of Promise. '^^
From his ealiest years, the holy youth's eyes must have been directed along that singularly varied and picturesque line of coast and ocean scenery, which stretches from Fenit out towards the west. There loomed a succession of mountain tops and gorges, closed by a height more towering
usque hodie manet apud successores Sancti of Sligeach, a. d. 537 See Dr. O'Donovan's Brendani. "—Prima Vita, cap. x. See Most "Annals of the four Masters," vol. i. , Rev. Patriclc F. Moran's "Acta Sancti pp. i78toi8i.
Brendani," p. 9.
'*' Who he was, at this period, cannot be known ; but, we read thnt Eoghan Bel, King of Connaugiit, was killed at the battle
"^^ See Most Rev. Patrick F. Moran's "Acta Sancti Brendani," Prima Vita, cap. xi. , pp. 9, 10.
'''^ The accompanying view, in the dis-
—:;
4o6 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [May 1 6.
than the rest. Fancy or inspiration seems early to have urged within him a desire, to make that distant Hmit a site for religious retirement. '^9 AH the Kerry traditions point to the fact, that St, Brendan dwelt for some time, on or under that mountain, which yet bears his name. Here the grand illimit- able views of earth and ocean must have stirred within him holy and sublime aspirations. '7° Nor can it be doubted, that on the remote point of that peninsula, he was the earliest Irish saint, who resolved to make it his home. There, St Brendan's Mountain is regarded as one of the highest in Kerry County, being little inferior in altitude to the Reeks, or Mangerton, at Killarney. When the tops of other mountains are clear from clouds and mists, this is frequently covered with them. Its exposed situation, over the Atlantic Ocean, occasions the interception of vapours, that roll over its sum- mits and down its sides. '? ' Vestiges of numberless ancient religious houses are yet to be seen, in its immediate vicinity. A very probable conjecture may be, that many of these were built—if not in St. Brendan's time—at least, in an age not very remote from his own, and by monks, who drew their rule of life, from the great institute he had there established. The fact, too, that they are often found grouped together, and in the immediate neiglibourhood of old churches, seems to establish for them an early monastic origin.
tance, of Brandon Mountain, was taken on the spot, by William F. Wakeman, from Ballydavid Head. It was transferred by him to the wood, and it was engraved by Mrs, Millard.
'^^ These are best imagined, probably, in the following exquisite reflections, attributed to him, by the Poet, Denis Florence Mac Carthy :
" I grew to manhood by the western wave.
Among the mighty mountains on the shore :
My bed the rock, within some na- tural cave :
My food what'er the sea or seasons bore
My occupation, morn and noon, and night.
The only dream my hasty slumbers gave.
Was Time's unheeding, unreturn- ing flight,
And the great world that lies be- yond the grave.
" And thus, where'er I went, all things to me
Assumed the one deep colour of my
mind
Great nature's prayer rose from the
munifiuring sea.
And sinful man sighed in the
wintry wind.
The thick-veiieil clouds, by shedding
many a tear.
Like penitents, grew jiurificd and
bright.
And, bravely struggling through
earth's atmosphere,
Passed to the regions of eternal light.
" I loved to watch the clouds now dark and dun,
In long procession and funere. il line.
Pass with slow pace across the glo- rious sun,
Like hooded monks before a dazzling shrine.
And now with gentler beauty as they rolled
Along the azure vault of gladsome May,
Gleaming pure white, and edged with 'broidered gold,
Like snowy vestments on the Vir- gin's day.
" And then I saw the mighty sea ex- |-)and
Like Time's unmeasured and un- fathomedwaves,
One with its tide-marks on the ridgy sands,
The otlicr with its line of weedy graves
And, as beyond the outstretched wave of Time,
The eye of Faith a brighter land may meet,
So did I dream of some more sunny clime,
;
Beyond the waste of waters at my feet. "
—"The Voyage of St. Brendan," Part i. The Vocation, stanzas v. , vi. , vii. , viii.
'' VViien the top is visible people regard it as a certain token of tine weather. See Smith's "Natural and Civil History of Kerry," chap, xii. , pp. 193, 194.
May i6. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
407
CHAPTER II.
IRISH AND OTHER TRADITIONS ABOUT A GREAT WESTERN CONTINENT—ST. BARIND AND THE STORY OF HIS VOYAGE—HE VISITS ST. BRENDAN—THIS HOLY ABBOT RESOLVES ON SETTING OUT WITH SOME OF HIS MONKS TO SEEK THE LAND OF PROMISE—PREPARATIONS FOR THEIR DEPARTURE—THEY AT FIRST SAIL WITH FAVOURING WINDS, AND THEN A CALM SUCCEEDS—THEY LAND ON AN ISLAND, WHERE ONE OF HIS MONKS IS BURIED—THEY VISIT SHEEP ISLAND—THEY CELEBRATE EASTER ON THE JASCON'S BACK—THE PARADISE OF BIRDS—THE ISLAND OF ST. AILBE—ST. BRENDAN AND HIS MONKS VISIT OTHER ISLANDS THEY ARE SAVED FROM DANGERS OF THE OCEAN—THE THREE CHOIRS OF SAINTS —THE GRIFFON THREATENS THEM—WONDERS FOUND IN THE OCEAN—AN ISLAND OF FIRE—JUDAS ISCARIOT—THE HERMIT ST. PAUL AND HIS ISLAND—THE LAND OF PROMISE OF THE SAINTS -THE ISLAND OF DELIGHTS—RETURN TO IRELAND OF ST. BRENDAN AND HIS MONKS.
The Celtic people, in the most western part of Europe, from time immemorial believed about the existence of a wonderful land, situated beyond the Atlan- tic's horizon. This had been called by them Hy Breasil, or the Blessed Realm. Duringlaterepochs,thisdistantregionwasmorewidelyknownas Great Ireland. ' It seems to have had some traditional relationship to the Atlantis of Plato ^—a story 3 which he learned from Egyptian priests on the banks of the Nile—and this was quite as large as a continent,• possessed by amixedraceofgodsandofmen. Forages,thedivinenaturedominated among the inhabitants, who lived in a sort of Elysium, until they grew bad and wicked, when Zeus, the god of gods, assembled a council of the deities, andhefinallysubmergedthefabledland. s InearlyChristiantimes,theIrish had a firm belief, that far away over the western ocean lay the Land of Pro- mise. Ithasevenbeenpictured,undervariousdenominations,onoldMapsf and, an opinion has been advanced, that its former existence is not to be altogether disbelieved ; since, although that land has now entirely subsided, Hy Brasil was above the level of the sea, at a comparatively recent period. So late as the year 1634, Tassiu, the geographer of Louis XIlI. ,^ King of
'''I'his celebrated Greek philosopher was born in the 87th or 88th Olympicd, or about 430 years before the Christian era. See "Encyclopedia Britannica," vol. xv. , Art. Plato, p. 37. Dublin edition.
Chapter ii. — ' The assumed situation the river, seven miles north of St. Augustine, of Great Ireland vi^as formerly set down on in Florida, on the west shore of North conjectural Italian charts, as opposite to River, the remains of an ancient submerged Europe and Africa, or lying between the city were disclosed. Several wells, walled South of Ireland and ihe end of Guinea.
3 It is told, in his unfinished Dialogue
Critias, or the Atlantic, in which appears
the earliest known account of the ancient
people of the western hemisphere. See
Arthur James Weise's " Discoveries of Si. Augustine Press, of that period. America to the year 1525," chap, i. , p. 3,
London, 18S4, 8vo,
• It is said, by Plato, in his TimKUS, to
have been greater than all Lybia and Asia combined. See some observations, on this subject, in "Irish Folk Lore," by Lageni- ensis, chap. xv. Hy-Breasail ; or the Blessed Island, pp. 120, 121.
5 It is remarkable, that in the Autumn of 1871, after a gale which lasted four or five days, and drove the water from the bed of
in the Museum, at Constantinople and, ;
from these, it seems probable, other me- direval Maps on the Continent ii. ad been copied.
^ A Mr. Ignatius Donnelly, published a work in London, A. D. 1883, in which this opinion has been advanced about Atlantis, which is confounded with St. Brendan's Pro- mised Land. One of the historical and geographical paradoxes advanced is, that
in with coquiiia, were visible under water, but the foundations of the houses could be only felt with a pole. Further investigations brought to light a coquina quarry on this same site, and, what was most remarkable, the quarry had been found in the midst of a dense hammock. That quarry had been ex-
tensively used, doubtless for the purpose of building that old city, or settlement. The foregoing account has been taken from the
^ Very curious old Maps are yet preserved,
—7
4o8 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [Mav i6.
France, traced a volume of Maps, and among these are two Manuscript charts, one delineating the French and English coasts, the other exhibiting those of Ireland. In this latter is marked, off the west coast, the Island of Hy Brazil. The work of Tassiu is singularly correct, as is shown by the fact, that the Irish coast is delineated with a care and an accuracy, which is wanting in English IMaps, which were published centuries later. 9 Before the time of St. Brendan, however, a beautiful Irish legend or tradition, known as " The Land of Youth," had fired the warm Celtic imagination. It was supposed to have extended out in the Atlantic Ocean, and its inhabitants were thought tobeexemptfromoldageanditsnumerousinfirmities. Thelandabounded in all manner of delights ;'° and, all along the western and northern coasts of Ireland, a variety of traditions prevailed, respecting the existence of that far distant region. "
In the early Irish schools, it is probable, their philosophic masters taught or speculated on tlie doctrine of the world being a globe,'^ and for such an opinion, they miyht quote from the great St. Augustine himself. '^ This Fathfef speaks of four parts of the world,''' in his day; but, it may be questioned, if he alludes to so many continents, and not rather to the cardinal points, east, west, north, and south. Of the earth's actual extent and shape, little then appearstohavebeenknown,withanygreatapproachtoaccuracy yet,some
;
vague and dreamy conception of remote territories existed, in Ireland, but mythic inventions were superadded to any real evidence, that had been obtained, regarding those unexplored lands. The old pagan philosophers seem to have held an opinion, about the sphericity of the earth ; and Plato first applied the term Antipodes to those men, supposed to have been living, at the extreme diameter. However, Lactantius ridicules this notion, in a re- markable passage of his writings. '^ During the early ages of Christianity, the people of the Eastern Hemisphere had no knowledge concerning the races, even then existing in the Western Hemispliere. The aboriginal inhabitants of North America probably belonged to different nations of the old world. '^ It is generally thought, that the great majority of the early colonists crossed
colonies from Iberia and from Ireland had '* He says, " quatuov tempora, et quatuor settled in Atlantis, before it had dis- partes orbis terrse. "—Sermones 197. Da
appeared.
^ lie reigned from a. d. i6ioto 1643. See
an account of his reign, in L—P. Anquetil's " Histoire de France," Blanche des Valois, pp. 450 to 507.
Temporibus.
'^ lie say s: " Quid illi qui esse contraries
vestigiis nostris Antipodes puiantriuni aliquid loquuntur? Aut est quisquam tam ineptus qui credat esse homines quorum vestigia sunt superiora quam capita, aut ibi quae apud
* These facts are stated, by \V. Frazer,
M. D. , in a paper read before the Royal nos jacent universa penderc? frugcs et Dublin Society, January 20th, 1879. Dr. arbores deorsum versus crescere ? pluvias et
. Frnzer believes, that there was actually a small island, at one period, corresponding with the marking on Tassiu's map of Hy Urazil. 'Se. Q Freemati's Journal of January 2ist, 1879.
"• Poetic allusion is made to it, by the author of " The Monks of Kilcrea and other Ballads and Poems," by * * * . See Gleeman's Tale, Canto ii. , sect, xvii. , xviii. , xix. , XX. ])p. 78 to 85.
,
"See Mr. and Mrs.
Hall's "Ireland:
nives et grandincs sursum versus c. idere in- terram, ct miratur aliquis hortos pensilesiu- ter septem mira narrare cum )ihilos()pl)i et
? ''
agios, ct maria. ct monies pcnsilcs faciunt —Lactantius, " Dc Falsa Sapientia rhiloso- phorum'" cnp. 24.
"^ The fullest information regarding the various aboriginal Tribes of North America will be found in a magnificent work, pub- lished by authority of the United States Government, and intituled: "Historical
its Scenery, Character, &c. ,'' vol. iii. , p. and . Statistical Information, respecting the
439.
'"^ At Ic. Tst, this science was taught, in the
eighth century, when St. Virgilius, Bishop of Snlzburgh flourished.
History, Condition and l'ro. specls of the
Indian Tribes of the United Stales, &c. by ,
Henry K. . Schoolcraft. LI. . D. , illustrated by
S. Fast man, Cajit. , U. S. A. Six large 410 '' . See '• Dc Civitatc Dei," lib xvi. , vuls. , with coloured plates, Philadelphia,
cap. ix. 1S51 to 1857.
May 1 6. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 409
over from Eastern Asia through Bhering's Straits, at a very remote era. '7 They musthavearrived,atdifferentperiods; but,hitherto,theresearchesofhistorians and ethnologists have thrown very little light, on their origin and descent. '^ OtheraccountsbringthosesettlersfromEasternEuropeorWesternAsia. Itis stated, that one Eluli flourished in Tyre, about that time, when Romulus had finished his building of Rome, B. C. 753. '^ It is asserted, tliat Eluli was forced by King Sennacherib to quit the country, and that he sailed with an expedi- tion due west, through the Straits of Gibraltar, and that never was he heard of afterwards. Some have imagined, tliat he drifted onwards to the American Continent, that he landed there, and that he was one of the first colonizers
from abroad. We may well relegate to the department of romance, the ad- ventures of voyagers, who passed beyond the seas to a golden mountain, on which a city built of gold had been erected. -" This was inhabited by Angels, while Enoch and Elias served God there, in a church, fashioned with gold. Those travellers believed, they had only spent three years, in this holy city; but, when they returned to their own country, it was discovered, that three centuries and seven generations had passed away, since the adventurers left.
In the age of our saint, there lived a holy man, named Barind,^' Barintus, or Barrindus,^^ who, with some other religious Irishmen, had wandered far over the Atlantic Ocean, and had returned to Ireland, early in the si. xth century, with an account of a distant and beautiful land, tliat had been discovered. TheLegendofSt. Ikendan'sVoyagemakeshimagrandsonofKingNeil, and a near relation to St. Brendan ]iimself. ''3 In the townland Anglicized Barrow,^4 parish of Ardfert, there are the ruins of a very old church, known as Teampul Bariiin. The name of Barrow is Bariiin, in Irish, which is iden- tical with that of Baruintl, Latinized Barinthus. It is possible, this holy man may have given name to that locality, where some church vestiges rise on the mainland shore, and nenr to the Island of Fenit. The walls are now almost level with the ground, except portions of the east and west gables, which re- main about three feet high, with small portions of side-walls adjoining the gables. ^5 The church was built of the rough limestone found in that locality;
'7 However, without presuming to deter- -° From aTract preserved in St. Matthieu's mine tliis question of origin, Hubert Howe Church, " ultra Britanniam in finibus terra;,"
Bancroft, in his very learned work, " The
Native Races of the Pacific States of North
America," states regarding them: "They
are tracked with equal certainty from Scan-
tiinavia, from Ireland, from Iceland, from
Greenland, across Bering Strait, across the
northern Pacific, the southern Pacific, from
tlie Polynesian Islands, from Australia, from
Africa. Venturesome Carthagians were Thomas Wright, for the Percy Society, thrown upon the eastern shore ; Japanese
junks on the western. " —Vol. i. , Wild Tribes, chap, i. . Ethnological Introduction, p. 17, London, 1875, ^vo.
'^ A very fine descriptive work, with 400 beautiful engravings, after original sketches by the author, is George Catlin's "Letters and notes on the Manners, Customs, and Condition of the North American Indians," in two 8vo volumes. London, Third Edi- tion, 1842.
'5 Varro has placed this event in the sixth Olympiad, about 3301 years from the Crea- lion of the World, according to the compu- tatioh of the Rev. Fathers Catrou and J^ouille, in their Roman History, vol. i. , Book i. , p. 23.
vol. xiv. , pp, I, 35.
^- See a further account of him, in Colgan's
we have such an account ; as also, in God- frid de Viterbe's " Great Chronicle," Part the Second.
"^^ The old English Metrical Life of St. Brandan, calls him "Barint, another abbot," while the Prose Life styles him "a holy abbot that hyght Beryne. "—"St. Brandan A Mediceval Legend of the Sea," edited by
:
" Acta Sanctorum Hibernioe," Martii x. xii. De Egressione Familise S. Brendani, pp. 721 to 725.
^3 ggg Miss Mary Frances Cusack's " History of the Kingdom of Kerry," chap, iii. , p. 47.
-• In the barony of Trughanacmy. It is shown, on the "Ordnance Survey Town- land Mnps for the County of Kerry," sheets 20, 28.
^^ The accompanying engraving, by Mrs. Millard, of Barrow old church, is from a ])hotograph, taken by Mr. Daly of Tralee, and kindly procured for the writer, by Rev. Denis O'Donoghue, P. P. The drawing on
4IO LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
[May 1 6.
it is very little hammered, except the door jambs, of which one dressed stone remains, /// situ. There are no vestiges of any windows—but some red sand- stones are scattered about, which are well chiselled, and these may have be- longed to the windows. The church was about 50 feet long, and 26 feet broad exteriorly ; the walls were 3 feet in thickness, and they were built with lime mortar. There are traces of an ancient burial-ground convenient to the ruins. However, it does not appear to have been used for many generations past. About this time, St. Brendan was distinguished for his great virtues and wonderful abstemiousness. While engaged in religious services, at a place, called in Latin Saltus Virtutum^ or Saliiis Virtiitum Bre/idani^ it chanced, that Father Barintus ^^ came to him one evening.
the Lwood was executed, by William F. Wakcman.
*7 According to Colgan, he is called like- wise. ThernocusandMothcrnocus. Hepro- mised to treat more fully al)i>iit him, at the
Ruins of Kilbarrind, County of Kerry.
rogated him, in various ways; but, Barindus only answered in tears, prostra- ting himself upon the earth, and continuing to pray for a long time. Aware of wliat different wonders his guest miglit be able to relate, regarding what he had seen on the ocean ; Brendan raised him from the eartli, and embraced him, asking why his presence should cause sorrow, and not joy, to all the brethren, since his arrival was expected rather for their consolation, (^n being earnestly requested, in the name of God, to begin his narrative, Barintus thus commtnced : " My dear son, Mernoc,^^ procurator for the poor of Christ, and, wishing to lead a solitary life, fled from me. He found an island, which was most delightful, near a mountain of stone. ''^ After a long time
'* Ho is called a "cognitus," or relation
of St. Brendan ; but, as Father John 2nd of July, at the iSth of August, and Coljjan obsci vcs, this relationship was on the at the 3rd of October. See ibiJ. , n. 3, mother's side. . See "Acta Sanctorum P- 725-
Ilibcrnice. " Martii xxii. De Egrcssionc Familix . S. Brcndani, cap. i. , p. 721, and n. 2, pp. 724. 725.
-" The text is "juxta montem lapidis," and here there are various readings, in dilTcrcnt Manuscripts.
Our saint inter-
411
had elapsed, I learned that he had many monks there with him, and that God hadmanifestedwonderfulmiracles,inhisregard. Wherefore,Iwent10visit my dear son, and when I had made a three days' journey, he met me, with . his brethren. For, God had revealed to him my arrival ; and, when we had sailed to that dehghtful Island, the monks came like a swarm of bees from their different cells, to greet us in procession. Their dwellings were apart, but their intercourse was universally founded on Faith, Hope and Charity. One church and one refectory served them, for God's work. No richer food was given to them, than apples, nuts, roots and other herbs. Then, after Complins, the monks retired to their several cells, where they passed the night, until earlycock-crowinginthemorning,oruntilthebellsounded. Whilemyself and my dear son Mernoc were travelling over that Island, he brought me to the sea-shore, facing the west, where a small vessel lay. He then said to me 'Father, let us go on board this ship, and sail away from the eastern point for that Island, which is called the Land of Promise of the Saints, and which God has in reserve for our successors of a later time. ' We went on board, accordingly, but no sooner had we set sail, than a thick fog enveloped us on every side, so that we could scarcely see the prow or poop of our vessel. However, an hour having passed over, a glorious light surrounded us, and land soon appeared. We disembarked, and began to explore the country, but we found it a region without bounds. It was great," said Barind, " full of grass and fruit ; for a fortnight we journeyed there ; every plant hung with flowers, every tree with fruit ; the very stones were precious. On the fifteenth day, we came to a river, flowing from east to west. ^9 We knew not what to do, we wished to reach the opposite shore, and yet we waited the will of heaven. Suddenly, a being in human form, but all radiant, appeared before us. Salu- ting us by name, he said : ' Courage, worthy brethren. The Lord has revealed for you the land that He is about to give to His saints. The river that you see divides it in twain, but you cannot touch the farther shore ; return now whenceyecame. ' Whenheended,weaskedhisname,andwhencehewas.
' Why ask who I am, and whence I come, and not question me as to this island? Such as you see it now has it remained, since the beginning of the world. Do you feel any want of eating, drinking, or clothing ? You have been a year in this country without feeling corporeal want. Sleep has not oppressed you; night has not covered you with its shadows. Here an eter- nal day shines, darkness is unknown, and Christ is our light. '3° On hearing these words, we were affected even to tears, and after a short rest, we con- tinued our journey homewards, while that man accompanied us, until we came to the shore, where our bark lay. Then,goiiig on board, that man was removed from our sight, and we came back to the aforesaid region of dark- ness, and to the Island of Delights. Those monks greatly rejoiced, on again beholding the adventurers arrive, for long they had lamented their absence. The brethren thereupon cried out : ' Why, O fathers, liave you left your sheep straying in this wood without a pastor ? We have often known our Abbot to leave us, for some unknown place, and there to remain for a week or two, or at most a month,' When I heard them lament, in this manner," addedBarind,"Iendeavouredtoconsolethem,bysaying:' Donot,brethren, think about anything, except for good. Doubtless, your mode of living is
=9 Other accounts reverse this course, for et en Poesie Romanes," publiees par A. in one narrative, we read, " invenimus Jubinal.
fluvium vergentem ad orientalem plagam aboccasu,"&c.
^i
The old English Prose Life has it : "We have been in the Londe of Byheest, to-fore the gates of Paradyse, where as is
3° See " S. Brandaine's Legende Latine,
avec une Traduction, inedite en Prose ever daye, and never night. "
:
May i6. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
412 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [May i6.
before the gate of Paradise. Here and very near you is that wonderful Island, which is called the Land of Promise of the Saints, where there is no night, but perpetual day,^' and Abbot Mernoc goes to it, for the Angels of God guard it. Know you not, from the very scent of our garments, tliat we have been in the Lord's Paradise ? ' Immediately, the monks cried out * Father, we know
:
that you have been in God's Paradise, for frequently has it been proved to
us, from the odour of our Abbot's garments, which for nearly forty days has
gratified our sense of smelling. ' Then Barind added, as he spoke to them :
'There I remained two weeks, with my dear little son, and without taking
foodordrink yet,ourbodilyhealthwassotrulypreserved,thatbyothers, ;
we were supposed to have been well nourished. ' Having continued there for forty days, and having received the benediction of Abbot Mernoc and of his monks, I proceeded with my companions to my little cell, to which I am now about to return on to-morrow. "
Hearing the foregoing account from the mouth of Barind, Brendan and all his monks prostrated themselves on the ground, offering praise to God, and saying: " The Lord is just, in all his ways, and holy, in all his works, who hath revealed to his own elect so many and such great miracles, and he is to receive blessings for his gifts, who hath this day refreshed us with spiritual food. " Having thus spoken, Brendan added : " Let us now go for bodily refreshment, and observe the new commandment. "^^ That holy monk's wonderful recital powerfully urged St. Brendan to take his voyage from Ireland, in quest of the Promised Land. The ])ious Barind related, also, that when he had sailed to the distant Island, full of joy and mirlh, and called Paradise, the half-year he was there slipped by, seemingly in a few moments. 33 In Brendan's monastery, Barintus spent that night,34 and having received there a blessing from the monks, the holy visitor returned to his own cell. 35
The storied traditions of Ireland must have awakened Brendan's ima- gination. 3^ Believing that land lay afar off, beyond the traces of the setting sun, and anticipating to find there unregenerated souls, he re- solving upon seeking and bearing to them the evangel of peace, with the love of a true Christian, and with the fervour of Apostolic zeal. 3'/ He had long made it his prayer, that he might behold with his bodily eyes that Paradise, whence Adam had beeu expelled. 3^ As in persons of a lively temperament, and especially of good disposition, to achieve still more for God's glory, his
3' By this is meant, washing the feet of a nevvly-arrived guest, before his meal, as was a universal custom, in the early Irish monas- tcrics.
^s jj^ ^ speech, at Rochdale Reform Asso- ciation, delivered December iSth, 1879, the realistic John Bright, alluding to a book published by the Hon. Charles Sumner,
33 Sec Rev. . S. Baring-Gould's " Curious Senator for the State of Massachusetts, and
Myths of the Middle Ages," P'irst Scries. The Tcrrestial Paradise, pp. 256, 257. Strangely, it is there said, the monk "sailed due east Irom Ireland. "
3^ In the " Navigatio Sancti Brendani," it is stated, that Barinthus, having jiassed the night at St. Brendan's Monastciy, "re- turned to his own little cell, or church. " The Rev. Mr. O'Donoghue would infer, that this cell was WiA far di. -.
'*- See Most Rev. Patrick F. Moran's " Acta Sancti Brendani," Prima Vita, cap. ix. , p. 8.
""^ A castle, in ruins, near Turlogh, indi- '5* His festival occurs, at the 29th of No- cates the site. See John O'Donovan's vembcr. " Genealogies, Tribes, and Customs of Hy- 'S' . \mong the Burgundian MSS. at P^iachrach," Explanatory Index to the Map,
Bruxelles, there is a tract intituled, " S. p. 494.
Brendanus ex Schola Cluainerardensi ivit qujEsitun Terram Promissionis," MSS. , vol. iv. , p. 73
"'' This townland, in the parish of Kilda- commoge, is shown, on the "Ordnance Sur- vey Townland Majis for the County of Mayo," sheets 70, 79.
""5 See Archbishop Ussher's " Britanni- p. 476.
"° The Calendars assign him a feast, at
the nth of February, as also at the 26th of
Dcccmber. ]jut, in the Diocese ofTuam, carum Ecclesiarum Antiquitatcs,"cap. xvii. , his feast hag been observed on the 6th of
June, whert\his Life shall be set forth, in the •** The writer of his Acts adds: " ct ilia
—;
May 1 6. ]
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
405
While in that place, likewise, St. Brendan saw a young man borne to the tomb, his parents, sisters and friends bewailing his demise. To these, Brendan said : " Good friends, weep not, but trust m God, your dead youth shall live, through the power of Christ. " Approaching the coffin, and absorbed in prayer with the Almighty, he commanded the dead to rise. Immediately, the young man revived, and he was restored to his family. The news of this miracle arrived with Brendan himself, where the King of Connaught lived. '^7 The latter said to Brendan : " Servant of the living God, wilt thou dwell on our lands ; and, if so, select a place for building a monastery, and I shall offer it to thee. " But, Brendan declared, that he should not dare to establish a dwelling in any place, without permission of his master Bishop Ere. Then, blessing the king and people there, Brendan returned to that aged Bishop, by whom, when he had spent a sufficient time in oreliminary instruction, he
Ballydavid Head, County of Kerry ; Brandon Mountain in the distance.
was ordained a priest. Afterwards, he received the monastic habit. Then, many persons, attracted by the fame of his sanctity, lett the world, and came toliveunderhisRule,asmonks. Toaidtheirpiousdesires,Brendan,there- upon, founded a few cells and monasteries, before setting out on his cele- brated Voyage, in quest of the Land of Promise. '^^
From his ealiest years, the holy youth's eyes must have been directed along that singularly varied and picturesque line of coast and ocean scenery, which stretches from Fenit out towards the west. There loomed a succession of mountain tops and gorges, closed by a height more towering
usque hodie manet apud successores Sancti of Sligeach, a. d. 537 See Dr. O'Donovan's Brendani. "—Prima Vita, cap. x. See Most "Annals of the four Masters," vol. i. , Rev. Patriclc F. Moran's "Acta Sancti pp. i78toi8i.
Brendani," p. 9.
'*' Who he was, at this period, cannot be known ; but, we read thnt Eoghan Bel, King of Connaugiit, was killed at the battle
"^^ See Most Rev. Patrick F. Moran's "Acta Sancti Brendani," Prima Vita, cap. xi. , pp. 9, 10.
'''^ The accompanying view, in the dis-
—:;
4o6 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [May 1 6.
than the rest. Fancy or inspiration seems early to have urged within him a desire, to make that distant Hmit a site for religious retirement. '^9 AH the Kerry traditions point to the fact, that St, Brendan dwelt for some time, on or under that mountain, which yet bears his name. Here the grand illimit- able views of earth and ocean must have stirred within him holy and sublime aspirations. '7° Nor can it be doubted, that on the remote point of that peninsula, he was the earliest Irish saint, who resolved to make it his home. There, St Brendan's Mountain is regarded as one of the highest in Kerry County, being little inferior in altitude to the Reeks, or Mangerton, at Killarney. When the tops of other mountains are clear from clouds and mists, this is frequently covered with them. Its exposed situation, over the Atlantic Ocean, occasions the interception of vapours, that roll over its sum- mits and down its sides. '? ' Vestiges of numberless ancient religious houses are yet to be seen, in its immediate vicinity. A very probable conjecture may be, that many of these were built—if not in St. Brendan's time—at least, in an age not very remote from his own, and by monks, who drew their rule of life, from the great institute he had there established. The fact, too, that they are often found grouped together, and in the immediate neiglibourhood of old churches, seems to establish for them an early monastic origin.
tance, of Brandon Mountain, was taken on the spot, by William F. Wakeman, from Ballydavid Head. It was transferred by him to the wood, and it was engraved by Mrs, Millard.
'^^ These are best imagined, probably, in the following exquisite reflections, attributed to him, by the Poet, Denis Florence Mac Carthy :
" I grew to manhood by the western wave.
Among the mighty mountains on the shore :
My bed the rock, within some na- tural cave :
My food what'er the sea or seasons bore
My occupation, morn and noon, and night.
The only dream my hasty slumbers gave.
Was Time's unheeding, unreturn- ing flight,
And the great world that lies be- yond the grave.
" And thus, where'er I went, all things to me
Assumed the one deep colour of my
mind
Great nature's prayer rose from the
munifiuring sea.
And sinful man sighed in the
wintry wind.
The thick-veiieil clouds, by shedding
many a tear.
Like penitents, grew jiurificd and
bright.
And, bravely struggling through
earth's atmosphere,
Passed to the regions of eternal light.
" I loved to watch the clouds now dark and dun,
In long procession and funere. il line.
Pass with slow pace across the glo- rious sun,
Like hooded monks before a dazzling shrine.
And now with gentler beauty as they rolled
Along the azure vault of gladsome May,
Gleaming pure white, and edged with 'broidered gold,
Like snowy vestments on the Vir- gin's day.
" And then I saw the mighty sea ex- |-)and
Like Time's unmeasured and un- fathomedwaves,
One with its tide-marks on the ridgy sands,
The otlicr with its line of weedy graves
And, as beyond the outstretched wave of Time,
The eye of Faith a brighter land may meet,
So did I dream of some more sunny clime,
;
Beyond the waste of waters at my feet. "
—"The Voyage of St. Brendan," Part i. The Vocation, stanzas v. , vi. , vii. , viii.
'' VViien the top is visible people regard it as a certain token of tine weather. See Smith's "Natural and Civil History of Kerry," chap, xii. , pp. 193, 194.
May i6. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
407
CHAPTER II.
IRISH AND OTHER TRADITIONS ABOUT A GREAT WESTERN CONTINENT—ST. BARIND AND THE STORY OF HIS VOYAGE—HE VISITS ST. BRENDAN—THIS HOLY ABBOT RESOLVES ON SETTING OUT WITH SOME OF HIS MONKS TO SEEK THE LAND OF PROMISE—PREPARATIONS FOR THEIR DEPARTURE—THEY AT FIRST SAIL WITH FAVOURING WINDS, AND THEN A CALM SUCCEEDS—THEY LAND ON AN ISLAND, WHERE ONE OF HIS MONKS IS BURIED—THEY VISIT SHEEP ISLAND—THEY CELEBRATE EASTER ON THE JASCON'S BACK—THE PARADISE OF BIRDS—THE ISLAND OF ST. AILBE—ST. BRENDAN AND HIS MONKS VISIT OTHER ISLANDS THEY ARE SAVED FROM DANGERS OF THE OCEAN—THE THREE CHOIRS OF SAINTS —THE GRIFFON THREATENS THEM—WONDERS FOUND IN THE OCEAN—AN ISLAND OF FIRE—JUDAS ISCARIOT—THE HERMIT ST. PAUL AND HIS ISLAND—THE LAND OF PROMISE OF THE SAINTS -THE ISLAND OF DELIGHTS—RETURN TO IRELAND OF ST. BRENDAN AND HIS MONKS.
The Celtic people, in the most western part of Europe, from time immemorial believed about the existence of a wonderful land, situated beyond the Atlan- tic's horizon. This had been called by them Hy Breasil, or the Blessed Realm. Duringlaterepochs,thisdistantregionwasmorewidelyknownas Great Ireland. ' It seems to have had some traditional relationship to the Atlantis of Plato ^—a story 3 which he learned from Egyptian priests on the banks of the Nile—and this was quite as large as a continent,• possessed by amixedraceofgodsandofmen. Forages,thedivinenaturedominated among the inhabitants, who lived in a sort of Elysium, until they grew bad and wicked, when Zeus, the god of gods, assembled a council of the deities, andhefinallysubmergedthefabledland. s InearlyChristiantimes,theIrish had a firm belief, that far away over the western ocean lay the Land of Pro- mise. Ithasevenbeenpictured,undervariousdenominations,onoldMapsf and, an opinion has been advanced, that its former existence is not to be altogether disbelieved ; since, although that land has now entirely subsided, Hy Brasil was above the level of the sea, at a comparatively recent period. So late as the year 1634, Tassiu, the geographer of Louis XIlI. ,^ King of
'''I'his celebrated Greek philosopher was born in the 87th or 88th Olympicd, or about 430 years before the Christian era. See "Encyclopedia Britannica," vol. xv. , Art. Plato, p. 37. Dublin edition.
Chapter ii. — ' The assumed situation the river, seven miles north of St. Augustine, of Great Ireland vi^as formerly set down on in Florida, on the west shore of North conjectural Italian charts, as opposite to River, the remains of an ancient submerged Europe and Africa, or lying between the city were disclosed. Several wells, walled South of Ireland and ihe end of Guinea.
3 It is told, in his unfinished Dialogue
Critias, or the Atlantic, in which appears
the earliest known account of the ancient
people of the western hemisphere. See
Arthur James Weise's " Discoveries of Si. Augustine Press, of that period. America to the year 1525," chap, i. , p. 3,
London, 18S4, 8vo,
• It is said, by Plato, in his TimKUS, to
have been greater than all Lybia and Asia combined. See some observations, on this subject, in "Irish Folk Lore," by Lageni- ensis, chap. xv. Hy-Breasail ; or the Blessed Island, pp. 120, 121.
5 It is remarkable, that in the Autumn of 1871, after a gale which lasted four or five days, and drove the water from the bed of
in the Museum, at Constantinople and, ;
from these, it seems probable, other me- direval Maps on the Continent ii. ad been copied.
^ A Mr. Ignatius Donnelly, published a work in London, A. D. 1883, in which this opinion has been advanced about Atlantis, which is confounded with St. Brendan's Pro- mised Land. One of the historical and geographical paradoxes advanced is, that
in with coquiiia, were visible under water, but the foundations of the houses could be only felt with a pole. Further investigations brought to light a coquina quarry on this same site, and, what was most remarkable, the quarry had been found in the midst of a dense hammock. That quarry had been ex-
tensively used, doubtless for the purpose of building that old city, or settlement. The foregoing account has been taken from the
^ Very curious old Maps are yet preserved,
—7
4o8 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [Mav i6.
France, traced a volume of Maps, and among these are two Manuscript charts, one delineating the French and English coasts, the other exhibiting those of Ireland. In this latter is marked, off the west coast, the Island of Hy Brazil. The work of Tassiu is singularly correct, as is shown by the fact, that the Irish coast is delineated with a care and an accuracy, which is wanting in English IMaps, which were published centuries later. 9 Before the time of St. Brendan, however, a beautiful Irish legend or tradition, known as " The Land of Youth," had fired the warm Celtic imagination. It was supposed to have extended out in the Atlantic Ocean, and its inhabitants were thought tobeexemptfromoldageanditsnumerousinfirmities. Thelandabounded in all manner of delights ;'° and, all along the western and northern coasts of Ireland, a variety of traditions prevailed, respecting the existence of that far distant region. "
In the early Irish schools, it is probable, their philosophic masters taught or speculated on tlie doctrine of the world being a globe,'^ and for such an opinion, they miyht quote from the great St. Augustine himself. '^ This Fathfef speaks of four parts of the world,''' in his day; but, it may be questioned, if he alludes to so many continents, and not rather to the cardinal points, east, west, north, and south. Of the earth's actual extent and shape, little then appearstohavebeenknown,withanygreatapproachtoaccuracy yet,some
;
vague and dreamy conception of remote territories existed, in Ireland, but mythic inventions were superadded to any real evidence, that had been obtained, regarding those unexplored lands. The old pagan philosophers seem to have held an opinion, about the sphericity of the earth ; and Plato first applied the term Antipodes to those men, supposed to have been living, at the extreme diameter. However, Lactantius ridicules this notion, in a re- markable passage of his writings. '^ During the early ages of Christianity, the people of the Eastern Hemisphere had no knowledge concerning the races, even then existing in the Western Hemispliere. The aboriginal inhabitants of North America probably belonged to different nations of the old world. '^ It is generally thought, that the great majority of the early colonists crossed
colonies from Iberia and from Ireland had '* He says, " quatuov tempora, et quatuor settled in Atlantis, before it had dis- partes orbis terrse. "—Sermones 197. Da
appeared.
^ lie reigned from a. d. i6ioto 1643. See
an account of his reign, in L—P. Anquetil's " Histoire de France," Blanche des Valois, pp. 450 to 507.
Temporibus.
'^ lie say s: " Quid illi qui esse contraries
vestigiis nostris Antipodes puiantriuni aliquid loquuntur? Aut est quisquam tam ineptus qui credat esse homines quorum vestigia sunt superiora quam capita, aut ibi quae apud
* These facts are stated, by \V. Frazer,
M. D. , in a paper read before the Royal nos jacent universa penderc? frugcs et Dublin Society, January 20th, 1879. Dr. arbores deorsum versus crescere ? pluvias et
. Frnzer believes, that there was actually a small island, at one period, corresponding with the marking on Tassiu's map of Hy Urazil. 'Se. Q Freemati's Journal of January 2ist, 1879.
"• Poetic allusion is made to it, by the author of " The Monks of Kilcrea and other Ballads and Poems," by * * * . See Gleeman's Tale, Canto ii. , sect, xvii. , xviii. , xix. , XX. ])p. 78 to 85.
,
"See Mr. and Mrs.
Hall's "Ireland:
nives et grandincs sursum versus c. idere in- terram, ct miratur aliquis hortos pensilesiu- ter septem mira narrare cum )ihilos()pl)i et
? ''
agios, ct maria. ct monies pcnsilcs faciunt —Lactantius, " Dc Falsa Sapientia rhiloso- phorum'" cnp. 24.
"^ The fullest information regarding the various aboriginal Tribes of North America will be found in a magnificent work, pub- lished by authority of the United States Government, and intituled: "Historical
its Scenery, Character, &c. ,'' vol. iii. , p. and . Statistical Information, respecting the
439.
'"^ At Ic. Tst, this science was taught, in the
eighth century, when St. Virgilius, Bishop of Snlzburgh flourished.
History, Condition and l'ro. specls of the
Indian Tribes of the United Stales, &c. by ,
Henry K. . Schoolcraft. LI. . D. , illustrated by
S. Fast man, Cajit. , U. S. A. Six large 410 '' . See '• Dc Civitatc Dei," lib xvi. , vuls. , with coloured plates, Philadelphia,
cap. ix. 1S51 to 1857.
May 1 6. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 409
over from Eastern Asia through Bhering's Straits, at a very remote era. '7 They musthavearrived,atdifferentperiods; but,hitherto,theresearchesofhistorians and ethnologists have thrown very little light, on their origin and descent. '^ OtheraccountsbringthosesettlersfromEasternEuropeorWesternAsia. Itis stated, that one Eluli flourished in Tyre, about that time, when Romulus had finished his building of Rome, B. C. 753. '^ It is asserted, tliat Eluli was forced by King Sennacherib to quit the country, and that he sailed with an expedi- tion due west, through the Straits of Gibraltar, and that never was he heard of afterwards. Some have imagined, tliat he drifted onwards to the American Continent, that he landed there, and that he was one of the first colonizers
from abroad. We may well relegate to the department of romance, the ad- ventures of voyagers, who passed beyond the seas to a golden mountain, on which a city built of gold had been erected. -" This was inhabited by Angels, while Enoch and Elias served God there, in a church, fashioned with gold. Those travellers believed, they had only spent three years, in this holy city; but, when they returned to their own country, it was discovered, that three centuries and seven generations had passed away, since the adventurers left.
In the age of our saint, there lived a holy man, named Barind,^' Barintus, or Barrindus,^^ who, with some other religious Irishmen, had wandered far over the Atlantic Ocean, and had returned to Ireland, early in the si. xth century, with an account of a distant and beautiful land, tliat had been discovered. TheLegendofSt. Ikendan'sVoyagemakeshimagrandsonofKingNeil, and a near relation to St. Brendan ]iimself. ''3 In the townland Anglicized Barrow,^4 parish of Ardfert, there are the ruins of a very old church, known as Teampul Bariiin. The name of Barrow is Bariiin, in Irish, which is iden- tical with that of Baruintl, Latinized Barinthus. It is possible, this holy man may have given name to that locality, where some church vestiges rise on the mainland shore, and nenr to the Island of Fenit. The walls are now almost level with the ground, except portions of the east and west gables, which re- main about three feet high, with small portions of side-walls adjoining the gables. ^5 The church was built of the rough limestone found in that locality;
'7 However, without presuming to deter- -° From aTract preserved in St. Matthieu's mine tliis question of origin, Hubert Howe Church, " ultra Britanniam in finibus terra;,"
Bancroft, in his very learned work, " The
Native Races of the Pacific States of North
America," states regarding them: "They
are tracked with equal certainty from Scan-
tiinavia, from Ireland, from Iceland, from
Greenland, across Bering Strait, across the
northern Pacific, the southern Pacific, from
tlie Polynesian Islands, from Australia, from
Africa. Venturesome Carthagians were Thomas Wright, for the Percy Society, thrown upon the eastern shore ; Japanese
junks on the western. " —Vol. i. , Wild Tribes, chap, i. . Ethnological Introduction, p. 17, London, 1875, ^vo.
'^ A very fine descriptive work, with 400 beautiful engravings, after original sketches by the author, is George Catlin's "Letters and notes on the Manners, Customs, and Condition of the North American Indians," in two 8vo volumes. London, Third Edi- tion, 1842.
'5 Varro has placed this event in the sixth Olympiad, about 3301 years from the Crea- lion of the World, according to the compu- tatioh of the Rev. Fathers Catrou and J^ouille, in their Roman History, vol. i. , Book i. , p. 23.
vol. xiv. , pp, I, 35.
^- See a further account of him, in Colgan's
we have such an account ; as also, in God- frid de Viterbe's " Great Chronicle," Part the Second.
"^^ The old English Metrical Life of St. Brandan, calls him "Barint, another abbot," while the Prose Life styles him "a holy abbot that hyght Beryne. "—"St. Brandan A Mediceval Legend of the Sea," edited by
:
" Acta Sanctorum Hibernioe," Martii x. xii. De Egressione Familise S. Brendani, pp. 721 to 725.
^3 ggg Miss Mary Frances Cusack's " History of the Kingdom of Kerry," chap, iii. , p. 47.
-• In the barony of Trughanacmy. It is shown, on the "Ordnance Survey Town- land Mnps for the County of Kerry," sheets 20, 28.
^^ The accompanying engraving, by Mrs. Millard, of Barrow old church, is from a ])hotograph, taken by Mr. Daly of Tralee, and kindly procured for the writer, by Rev. Denis O'Donoghue, P. P. The drawing on
4IO LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
[May 1 6.
it is very little hammered, except the door jambs, of which one dressed stone remains, /// situ. There are no vestiges of any windows—but some red sand- stones are scattered about, which are well chiselled, and these may have be- longed to the windows. The church was about 50 feet long, and 26 feet broad exteriorly ; the walls were 3 feet in thickness, and they were built with lime mortar. There are traces of an ancient burial-ground convenient to the ruins. However, it does not appear to have been used for many generations past. About this time, St. Brendan was distinguished for his great virtues and wonderful abstemiousness. While engaged in religious services, at a place, called in Latin Saltus Virtutum^ or Saliiis Virtiitum Bre/idani^ it chanced, that Father Barintus ^^ came to him one evening.
the Lwood was executed, by William F. Wakcman.
*7 According to Colgan, he is called like- wise. ThernocusandMothcrnocus. Hepro- mised to treat more fully al)i>iit him, at the
Ruins of Kilbarrind, County of Kerry.
rogated him, in various ways; but, Barindus only answered in tears, prostra- ting himself upon the earth, and continuing to pray for a long time. Aware of wliat different wonders his guest miglit be able to relate, regarding what he had seen on the ocean ; Brendan raised him from the eartli, and embraced him, asking why his presence should cause sorrow, and not joy, to all the brethren, since his arrival was expected rather for their consolation, (^n being earnestly requested, in the name of God, to begin his narrative, Barintus thus commtnced : " My dear son, Mernoc,^^ procurator for the poor of Christ, and, wishing to lead a solitary life, fled from me. He found an island, which was most delightful, near a mountain of stone. ''^ After a long time
'* Ho is called a "cognitus," or relation
of St. Brendan ; but, as Father John 2nd of July, at the iSth of August, and Coljjan obsci vcs, this relationship was on the at the 3rd of October. See ibiJ. , n. 3, mother's side. . See "Acta Sanctorum P- 725-
Ilibcrnice. " Martii xxii. De Egrcssionc Familix . S. Brcndani, cap. i. , p. 721, and n. 2, pp. 724. 725.
-" The text is "juxta montem lapidis," and here there are various readings, in dilTcrcnt Manuscripts.
Our saint inter-
411
had elapsed, I learned that he had many monks there with him, and that God hadmanifestedwonderfulmiracles,inhisregard. Wherefore,Iwent10visit my dear son, and when I had made a three days' journey, he met me, with . his brethren. For, God had revealed to him my arrival ; and, when we had sailed to that dehghtful Island, the monks came like a swarm of bees from their different cells, to greet us in procession. Their dwellings were apart, but their intercourse was universally founded on Faith, Hope and Charity. One church and one refectory served them, for God's work. No richer food was given to them, than apples, nuts, roots and other herbs. Then, after Complins, the monks retired to their several cells, where they passed the night, until earlycock-crowinginthemorning,oruntilthebellsounded. Whilemyself and my dear son Mernoc were travelling over that Island, he brought me to the sea-shore, facing the west, where a small vessel lay. He then said to me 'Father, let us go on board this ship, and sail away from the eastern point for that Island, which is called the Land of Promise of the Saints, and which God has in reserve for our successors of a later time. ' We went on board, accordingly, but no sooner had we set sail, than a thick fog enveloped us on every side, so that we could scarcely see the prow or poop of our vessel. However, an hour having passed over, a glorious light surrounded us, and land soon appeared. We disembarked, and began to explore the country, but we found it a region without bounds. It was great," said Barind, " full of grass and fruit ; for a fortnight we journeyed there ; every plant hung with flowers, every tree with fruit ; the very stones were precious. On the fifteenth day, we came to a river, flowing from east to west. ^9 We knew not what to do, we wished to reach the opposite shore, and yet we waited the will of heaven. Suddenly, a being in human form, but all radiant, appeared before us. Salu- ting us by name, he said : ' Courage, worthy brethren. The Lord has revealed for you the land that He is about to give to His saints. The river that you see divides it in twain, but you cannot touch the farther shore ; return now whenceyecame. ' Whenheended,weaskedhisname,andwhencehewas.
' Why ask who I am, and whence I come, and not question me as to this island? Such as you see it now has it remained, since the beginning of the world. Do you feel any want of eating, drinking, or clothing ? You have been a year in this country without feeling corporeal want. Sleep has not oppressed you; night has not covered you with its shadows. Here an eter- nal day shines, darkness is unknown, and Christ is our light. '3° On hearing these words, we were affected even to tears, and after a short rest, we con- tinued our journey homewards, while that man accompanied us, until we came to the shore, where our bark lay. Then,goiiig on board, that man was removed from our sight, and we came back to the aforesaid region of dark- ness, and to the Island of Delights. Those monks greatly rejoiced, on again beholding the adventurers arrive, for long they had lamented their absence. The brethren thereupon cried out : ' Why, O fathers, liave you left your sheep straying in this wood without a pastor ? We have often known our Abbot to leave us, for some unknown place, and there to remain for a week or two, or at most a month,' When I heard them lament, in this manner," addedBarind,"Iendeavouredtoconsolethem,bysaying:' Donot,brethren, think about anything, except for good. Doubtless, your mode of living is
=9 Other accounts reverse this course, for et en Poesie Romanes," publiees par A. in one narrative, we read, " invenimus Jubinal.
fluvium vergentem ad orientalem plagam aboccasu,"&c.
^i
The old English Prose Life has it : "We have been in the Londe of Byheest, to-fore the gates of Paradyse, where as is
3° See " S. Brandaine's Legende Latine,
avec une Traduction, inedite en Prose ever daye, and never night. "
:
May i6. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
412 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [May i6.
before the gate of Paradise. Here and very near you is that wonderful Island, which is called the Land of Promise of the Saints, where there is no night, but perpetual day,^' and Abbot Mernoc goes to it, for the Angels of God guard it. Know you not, from the very scent of our garments, tliat we have been in the Lord's Paradise ? ' Immediately, the monks cried out * Father, we know
:
that you have been in God's Paradise, for frequently has it been proved to
us, from the odour of our Abbot's garments, which for nearly forty days has
gratified our sense of smelling. ' Then Barind added, as he spoke to them :
'There I remained two weeks, with my dear little son, and without taking
foodordrink yet,ourbodilyhealthwassotrulypreserved,thatbyothers, ;
we were supposed to have been well nourished. ' Having continued there for forty days, and having received the benediction of Abbot Mernoc and of his monks, I proceeded with my companions to my little cell, to which I am now about to return on to-morrow. "
Hearing the foregoing account from the mouth of Barind, Brendan and all his monks prostrated themselves on the ground, offering praise to God, and saying: " The Lord is just, in all his ways, and holy, in all his works, who hath revealed to his own elect so many and such great miracles, and he is to receive blessings for his gifts, who hath this day refreshed us with spiritual food. " Having thus spoken, Brendan added : " Let us now go for bodily refreshment, and observe the new commandment. "^^ That holy monk's wonderful recital powerfully urged St. Brendan to take his voyage from Ireland, in quest of the Promised Land. The ])ious Barind related, also, that when he had sailed to the distant Island, full of joy and mirlh, and called Paradise, the half-year he was there slipped by, seemingly in a few moments. 33 In Brendan's monastery, Barintus spent that night,34 and having received there a blessing from the monks, the holy visitor returned to his own cell. 35
The storied traditions of Ireland must have awakened Brendan's ima- gination. 3^ Believing that land lay afar off, beyond the traces of the setting sun, and anticipating to find there unregenerated souls, he re- solving upon seeking and bearing to them the evangel of peace, with the love of a true Christian, and with the fervour of Apostolic zeal. 3'/ He had long made it his prayer, that he might behold with his bodily eyes that Paradise, whence Adam had beeu expelled. 3^ As in persons of a lively temperament, and especially of good disposition, to achieve still more for God's glory, his
3' By this is meant, washing the feet of a nevvly-arrived guest, before his meal, as was a universal custom, in the early Irish monas- tcrics.
^s jj^ ^ speech, at Rochdale Reform Asso- ciation, delivered December iSth, 1879, the realistic John Bright, alluding to a book published by the Hon. Charles Sumner,
33 Sec Rev. . S. Baring-Gould's " Curious Senator for the State of Massachusetts, and
Myths of the Middle Ages," P'irst Scries. The Tcrrestial Paradise, pp. 256, 257. Strangely, it is there said, the monk "sailed due east Irom Ireland. "
3^ In the " Navigatio Sancti Brendani," it is stated, that Barinthus, having jiassed the night at St. Brendan's Monastciy, "re- turned to his own little cell, or church. " The Rev. Mr. O'Donoghue would infer, that this cell was WiA far di. -.
