The Legend of St. Brendan: A Critical Bibliography

by Glyn S. Burgess (Editor), Clara Strijbosch (Editor)

St Brendan, also known as Brendan the Navigator and Brendan of Clonfert, was born in County Kerry, Ireland. The Annals of Inisfallen record his birth as being in the year 486, and he is thought to have died in 575. He is best known through the seafaring tale Navigatio sancti Brendani (The Voyage of St Brendan), which has been preserved in a large number of manuscripts and given rise to a wide variety of vernacular versions. In addition, Vita Brendani / Betha Br nainn (The Life of Brendan) has survived in five Latin manuscript versions and two principal Irish ones. A large number of other historical Brendan texts, or allusions to him in other works, have also survived, and there is no lack of modern versions of his life and adventures. Brendan still figures high on the list of possible discoverers of America, and the search for the mythical St Brendan's Isle, which was certainly one of the factors that inspired the voyages of Christopher Columbus, is alluded to in many studies of medieval maps and in works on the discovery of the New World. This volume presents the surviving Brendan texts and the scholarly work inspired by the real and the legendary St Brendan in the form of a critical bibliography. It is divided into two principal parts. Part One lists primary material, mainly manuscripts, editions and translations. Allusions to Brendan in a number of medieval texts are included, as are some examples of modern literary treatments of the legend. Part Two lists secondary material, studies of the Brendan legend in the form of books, articles and chapters or sections of books.

Unknown Binding

Published January 1, 2000

About the author

Glyn Sheridan Burgess is a British scholar of medieval language and literature, Em. Prof. at the University of Liverpool. He has published on Marie de France, besides other topics, and is the translator of the Penguin edition of the Lays of Marie de France and the Song of Roland. He was awarded a knighthood in the Ordre des Palmes Académiques in 1998.