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The Voyage of Bran Son of Febal to the Land of the Living
Book Description:
"This is Kuno Meyer's translation of the old Irish saga, the Voyage of Bran. In this magical odyssey to the limits of reality, Bran takes a characteristically time-dilated journey to a distant isle of luxury. On return, he learns that ages have passed and he and his expedition have already passed into myth. He can never again touch the soil of his homeland and sails off again. The text references ancient Celtic gods and also contains quasi-prophetic passages added at a later date by Christian scribes.
The appendices contain extracts from other Irish texts about Mongan, who is mentioned in the Bran saga, the son of Manannan mac Lir, the Celtic sea-god. This is of interest because of the descriptions of the training of bards, and lore of human visits to the Sidhe, the fairies." (Quote from sacred-texts.com)
Table of Contents:
Publisher's Preface; Introduction; The Voyage Of Bran; Notes; The Conception Of MongÁn; A Story From Which It Is Inferred That MongÁn Was Find Mac Cumaill, And The Cause Of The Death Of Fothad Airgdech ; A Story Of MongÁn; These Are The Events That Brought About The Telling Of 'mongan's Frenzy' ; The Conception Of MongÁn And Dub-lacha's Love For MongÁn; From The Annals; Irische Texte iii. Page 89; Irische Texte iii. P. 87; From Gilla Modutu's Poem Senchas Ban, Written A.d. 1141, Book Of Leinster, P. 140 A, 29; From Ms. Laud 613, P. 21; From Ms. Laud 615, P. 18
About the Publisher:
Forgotten Books is a publisher of historical writings, such as: Philosophy, Classics, Science, Religion, Esoteric and Mythology. www.forgottenbooks.org
Forgotten Books is about sharing information, not about making money. All books are priced at wholesale prices. We are also the only publisher we know of to print in large sans-serif font, which is proven to make the text easier to read and put less strain on your eyes.
"This is Kuno Meyer's translation of the old Irish saga, the Voyage of Bran. In this magical odyssey to the limits of reality, Bran takes a characteristically time-dilated journey to a distant isle of luxury. On return, he learns that ages have passed and he and his expedition have already passed into myth. He can never again touch the soil of his homeland and sails off again. The text references ancient Celtic gods and also contains quasi-prophetic passages added at a later date by Christian scribes.
The appendices contain extracts from other Irish texts about Mongan, who is mentioned in the Bran saga, the son of Manannan mac Lir, the Celtic sea-god. This is of interest because of the descriptions of the training of bards, and lore of human visits to the Sidhe, the fairies." (Quote from sacred-texts.com)
Table of Contents:
Publisher's Preface; Introduction; The Voyage Of Bran; Notes; The Conception Of MongÁn; A Story From Which It Is Inferred That MongÁn Was Find Mac Cumaill, And The Cause Of The Death Of Fothad Airgdech ; A Story Of MongÁn; These Are The Events That Brought About The Telling Of 'mongan's Frenzy' ; The Conception Of MongÁn And Dub-lacha's Love For MongÁn; From The Annals; Irische Texte iii. Page 89; Irische Texte iii. P. 87; From Gilla Modutu's Poem Senchas Ban, Written A.d. 1141, Book Of Leinster, P. 140 A, 29; From Ms. Laud 613, P. 21; From Ms. Laud 615, P. 18
About the Publisher:
Forgotten Books is a publisher of historical writings, such as: Philosophy, Classics, Science, Religion, Esoteric and Mythology. www.forgottenbooks.org
Forgotten Books is about sharing information, not about making money. All books are priced at wholesale prices. We are also the only publisher we know of to print in large sans-serif font, which is proven to make the text easier to read and put less strain on your eyes.
331 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1106
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 26, 2025
Pretty much like The Voyage of Malduin but mostly in verse and much much more condensed. This gains points for clarity and nice language but loses points for not having as interesting of a plot.
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September 27, 2021The first full book I read for my class on Celtic literature. I was actually surprised how positive my reading experience was. Meyer's translation feels very idiomatic, which made reading and understanding the tale quite easy. Of course, as I do not know Old/Middle Irish, I cannot vouch for the accuracy of this translation, but I can say that Meyer makes it a point to mention whenever something is unclear. Moreover, there is a detailed introduction that mentions the difficulties one encounters when dealing with this text and all its transcriptions and translations. All in all, I am very glad my professor picked this particular edition for us to read.
February 19, 2011
I'd never heard this tale until I came across an online version of this public domain book. Kuno Meyer is presumably attempting to translate as literally as possible, and consequently, the whimsical, rhyming, nature of the original gaelic text is lost.
The fault belongs to no one other than the passage of time, but a lot of the words used within the text are fairly difficult to understand. I'm pretty thankful the book was available online, as in many instances, I found myself having to google words to determine whether they referenced places or things.
After the actual voyage, the appendixes give you a look at what is probably the basis for the bulk of Arthurian legend. This book is worth reading, but if you can find a more up to date version of the stories of Bran and Mongan, get it.
The fault belongs to no one other than the passage of time, but a lot of the words used within the text are fairly difficult to understand. I'm pretty thankful the book was available online, as in many instances, I found myself having to google words to determine whether they referenced places or things.
After the actual voyage, the appendixes give you a look at what is probably the basis for the bulk of Arthurian legend. This book is worth reading, but if you can find a more up to date version of the stories of Bran and Mongan, get it.
Read
April 17, 2022late 7th / early 8th - survive first c. 1100 Lebor na hUidre (old Irish?) http://www.yorku.ca/inpar/bran_meyer.pdf
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews