'-^ At a period, even before the introduc- tion of Christianity among the Saxons, the unknown author of " Beowulf " described the "fire-drake," full fifty measured feet in length, winged, and breathing flame and poisonous vapour, and
reposing
all day on his " horde " of century buried wealth.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v5
175.
:
May 1 6. ]
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
427
them, and to lead them to the old port," saying : " Admirable in his saints istheGodofIsrael; hewillgivehispeoplefortitudeandcourage,blessed be He. " At the same time, the good man kissed the feet of St. Brendan, andofallhismonks; thenhavingfinishedtheversicle,andtakenallthings from the ship, he pitched a tent and prepared a bath for them. It was now the Feast of Holy Thursday; and all prepared to celebrate it, according to thecustom. TheyalsospentGoodFridayandHolySaturdaythere,observ- ing the usual religious ceremonies. Having finished these celebrations and sacrifices, with the customary prayers, the angelic procurator then said: "Go on board your ship, so that you may observe the Feast of our Lord's Resur- rection, where you have celebrated it last year, and remain until the sixth hour of that day. Then, sail to that Island, known as the Paradise of Birds, wherefromEastertotheOctaveofPentecost}'ouremainedlastyear. Take with )'ou the necessary food and drink, and I shall again visit you, when the Sundaycomesround. " Thisorderoftheprocurator,thebrothersobserved.
In due time, St. Brendan bestowed his blessing on their benefactor, who had even provided them with new clothes. All went on board, and so they sailed for another Island. When they approached the place for debarkation, and were about to leave the ship, lo ! that cauldron, which they had left behind them last year on the Jascon's back when flying away from it, now appeared to their full view. Wherefore, Brendan, going out from the vessel to the shore, began to sing the Hymn of tlie Three Children, from the beginning to the end. Having finished this hymn, St. Brendan gave an admonition to his brethren : " O my sons, watch and pray, that you enter not into temptation. Consider how the Almighty sunk the huge monster under us, without any difficulty. " Then, the monks severally kept watch on that Island, to the hour for Matins. Afterwards, all the priests sang their several Masses to the third hour. But, blessed Brendan and his monks, going on board the ship, immolated the Immaculate Lamb to God, and then said to his brethren : "The year before, we celebrated here the Feast of our Lord's Resurrection.
So, the Lord willing it, I desire to observe it this year. " Thence departing, the voyagers next visited that Island, called the Paradise of Birds. 97 When approaching the port of that Island, all the birds appeared, and they began to sing out, as if with one voice : " Salus Deo nostro sedenti super thronum et agno. " And again : " Deus Doniinus illuxit nobis. Constituite diem solemnemincondempsisusqueadcornualtaris. " Withthenotes,theirwin^s also made music, until the holy father and his mariner monks were in the tent, pitched to receive them on shore. There again did the crew celebrate their Eastertide, until the octave of Pentecost. And, as he had promised during the octave 9^ of our Lord's Resurrection, the procurator appeared, bringing the provisions necessary for their sustenance. Rejoicing, the monks gavethankstoGod. Whentheysatdownattable,thebird,whichwehave already alluded to, perched on the prow of their ship, extended and agitated
his wings, so that their sound resembled the swelling of a great organ. Brendan knew, that the bird wished to communicate some message, and he heard these words : "The Almighty and clement Lord liad predestined for you four places, for four different solemnities, until the seven years of your pilgrimage be spent. First, each year, on the Feast of our Lord's Supper,
you shall be with your procurator, who is now present. Secondly, you shall be on the back of the monster, celebrating the Vigils of the Pasch. Thirdly, you shall be with us, during the Paschal festival, to the octave of Pentecost.
9' " Where birds are fresh, and every tree
Is vocal with the notes of love. " —Braiiiaid, Poetical Works.
9^ The vigil would seem to accord more with the previous narrative.
"» See Most Rev. Patrick F. Moran's " Acta Sancti Breudani," Navigatio Sancti
Then,
! ———
428 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [May 1 6.
And, lastly, you shall remain on the Island of Albeus, from the Nativity of our LordtothePurificationoftheBlessedVirginMary. Aftersevenyears,under- going many and great dangers, you shall find the Land of Promise of the Saints, which you seek, and there you shall remain for forty days, before the Lord shall conduct you to the land of your birth. " On hearing these words, St. Brendan poured forth many tears, prostrating liimself with his monks on the earth, giving praise and thanks to the Creator of all things. The bird returned to his own place, and the meal being finished, the procurator said : " God assisting me, I shall come the day for the Descent of the Holy Ghost upon the Apostles, with aidforyou. " Then,receivingabenediction,herepairedtohishome. 99
That graceful fiction, known as introducing the Paradise of Birds, finds a place in the different versions of St. Brendan's voyage. '°° There, this venerable father remained with his monks, for that destined time; and, after- wards, he ordered them to fill all their vessels from the fountain, and to pre- parefortheirvoyage. Whentheshipsailedoutontheocean,theaforesaid man met it, in his own bark, which was loaded with food. Having put this on board St. Brendan's sliip, their benefactor received the kiss of peace from the voyagers. Then, he returned to his place. For forty days, the Christian Ulysses ^°' and his monks sailed over the ocean. One day, as they continued their voyage, they beheld an immense and a monstrous beast appear. With foaming nostrils, it hastened its rapid course, through the waves, as if to de- vour them. The terror-struck brethren cried out : " O Lord, who hath created man, deliver us thy servants. " And, to holy Brendan, they cried: " Deliver us, O father, the beast will devour us. " Brendan encouraged them, and he prayed: "Deliver thy servants, O Lord, so that he spare us. " To them, he said: "Fear not, men of lirtle faith; God is ever our defender; he will de- liverusfromthemonster'smouth,andfromallotherdangers. " Thesea- monster now approached, waves of prodigious size rolling before him on to the very shij). Seeing terror increase in the hearts of the brethren, Brendan raised his hands to heaven, and cried, " Lord, save thy servants, as thou didst thy servant David, from the hands Goliatli, the giant, and Jonas from the belly of the great whale. " At that same instant, another beast, coming from the west- ward, passed them, and rushed on the sea-monster, vomiting flames. A great struggle ensued between them,^°^ and while it lasted, Brendan said to
Breiiiliini, cap. vii. , pp. 107 to III.
'"" In Caxton's edition of the Golden Le- gend, they are represented as inhabiting Paradise, and so beguiling the time, by the sweetness of their songs, that years fleet away unperceived. See Blackwood's "Edinburgh Magazine,'' vol. xxxix. , No. ccxlviii. , p.
809.
'"' Such is the designation applied to him,
in the Preface of Thomas Wright's " St. Brandon : A Mediaeval Legend of the Sea,"
With murd'rous teeth each otlier biting,
Like trenchant swords each otlier smiting.
Sjjouted tlie blood, and gaping wide
Were teeth prints in each monster's
side
And huge and deadly deep each
wound
And blood-tinged all the waves
around,
And all a-seething was the sea.
And still the fight raged furiously. The first now fought with failing
might,
The second triumj^hed in the figbf. With stronger teeth he overbore him. And into three huge pieces toie
him
And then, the victory gained, he
goes
Back to the place from whence he
rose. "
P-
V.
'"- In the metrical legend, we find this
strange contest thus described :
" And now they close in deadly fight,
With Inigc heads rcar'd, a fearful sight
While from thcirnoslrils flames spout high,
As are the clouds in the upper sky ; Blows with their fins each gives his
brother,
Li'-'' rloshing shields on one ano-
ther:—
;
May i6. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
429
his monks : "See, my sons, the wonderful ways of our Redeemer. See the obedience, which the creature renders to its Creator. Meantime, look for the final issue. This battle bodes no evil for us. The rather shall it redound to God's glory. " So it happened, and the beast that pursued the servants of God remaineddead,torninthreeparts. Themonsterwhichwasvictoriousreturned to where he had come from ; and, on the day following, the voyagers saw another Island, full of grass and very large. While approaching the shore, the monks found the hindmost part of that monster, whicli had been killed, when they were about to land. Then, Brendan said to his monks : " Behold him, who wished to devour us. Now, you shall feed on him, and be satisfied with his flesh. For, indeed, you shall dwell a long time on this Island. Draw the vessel further into the port, and seek a suitable place for your tent. " Then, their venerable superior showed them a spot, convenient for their dwelling. When the monks had religiously observed his directions, they brought all their commodities into the tent, and he said to them : " Take you a sufficient number of slices from the flesh of this animal, to serve us for three months, because to-night the remainder shall be devoured by beasts. " By Brendan's order, the brethren took their portion, and it served them for food. Having obeyed their superior, in all his commands, the monks now say to him : " Abba, how can we live here without water? " He replied: "Is it more difficult for the Almighty to give you drink, rather than food? Go ye, there- fore,tothesouthernpartofthisIsland. There,youshallfindalimpidfoun- tain, with abundance of herbs and roots ; take thence the quantity required for your use. " As the holy man predicted, they found all fulfilled.
There, Brendan remained for three months, asagreatstorm ploughed the sea- waves, and a violent wind, with changes of temperature, brought hail and rain. The monks went to see what had become of the monster's remains, and when they arrived at that spot, where his carcass lay, only bones were to be found. TheyreturnedtothemanofGodsaying: "Abba,it isasyouhavesaid. " He replied : " I know, my sons, you wished to find out, whether or not I spoke the truth. " The brothers answered: " Certainly, father, it is so. " He then said : "I shall give you another token. A portion of a fish, which has escaped the fisher's net, shall float here to-night, and to-morrow you shall eat it. " Next day, the monks went to the place where it lay, as the servant of Christ had predicted, and they brought of it so much as they could carry. The venerable superior said to them : " This carefully keep, and salt it, for it shall be required to satisfy your wants. The Lord gives us a calm to-day and to-morrow; after the third day, we shall set out from this place, when the turbulence of the sea and of the waves shall subside. '°3 The time having now come, St. Brendan ordered them to load the ship, and to fill their bottles and vessels from the fountain. They were also directed, to gather roots and herbs. After discharging the office of his priesthood, the saint fasted, as the spirit of life was strong within him. Having loaded their vessels, th-e monks now sailed towards the north. There, they came in sight of a certain Island; and Brendan, pointmg it out to the crew, began to explain what they were now about to experience. " There are here, so to say," said Brendan, " three nations—the children, the young, and the old ; and, here must remain one of the brethren, who joined us at the moment of our departure. " Then, they asked him, which it should be but, he felt unwilling to tell them. However,
;
he saw, that they felt sorrowful, and anxious to know about him, who should
there remain. Then, he pointed out to them that monk, who had followed
-—Blackwood's "Edinburgh Magazine," vol. xxxix. , No. ccxlviii. , p. 8ii.
'°3 See Most Rev. Patrick F. Moian's
" Acta Sancti Brendani," Navigatio Sancti Brendani, cap. viii. , pp. into I13.
'"^ These are said to have been : " Deus
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [May i6.
him from the monastery, and regarding whom he had prophesied, before they left their own country in the ship. By degrees, they approached the shore. This Island was a plain, wonderfully smooth, like the sea ; hardly a tree was to be seen, and nought that the wind could agitate. It was vast, however, and covered with white and purple fruit. There, they beheld three troops, each separated from the other two, by about a sling's cast ; they were constantly walking,sometimesinonedirection,andsometimesinanother. Onestopped and sang : " The saints shall go from virtue to virtue, and the God of gods shall be seen in Sion. " When that verse finished, another stopped and sang, and the third in turn, and so on without ceasing. The first, thatofchildren, wore robes of dazzling white ; the second were arrayed, in garments of hyacinth ; the third, in purple dalmatics. At Sext, they sang a hymn, with other psalms, to the end ,^°^ and others again at Nones ;'°5 and, at Vespers, '°^ they sang again. '°7 When the chant was over, a cloud enveloped the island ; it was bright, yet the isle was veiled. Only the chant of hymns was heard, continu- ing till morning, at the hour of the Nocturns, when the new psalms began. '°^
When day dawned, that Island was uncovered from the haze. Then three other psalms were sung. '°9 At Tierce, also, three other psalms were en- toned. "" Then, they immolated the spotless Lamb, and all went to Holy Communion, saying : " Take ye this Holy Body of our Lord, and the Blood of our Saviour, to eternal life. " Then, two young men approached with a basket full of fruit, and these laid it on the ship, saying : " Behold fruits of the Isle of the Strong;'" take them and give us our brother; then go in peace. " Brendan, calling him, said : " Embrace thy brethren, and go with those who claim thee. Happy was the moment when thy mother conceived thee, since thou hast merited to live in this company. " Then kissing him, with all his monks, Brendan said to him: "Remember the good things which
go, and pray for us. " When he had departed with his new companions, to the schools of the saints, other holy men began to sing this versicle, " Ecce quam bonura," and again, with a loud voice the " Te Deum laudamus" resounded. When all had embraced the monk, he became one of the band. The brethren resumed their way, over the ocean ; and, at meal time, Brendan took a fruit ; it was of marvel- lous size, and full of abundant juice. This he poured into a vessel, and it weighed about one pound ; he divided this again into twelve ounces, each one of which was destined to give sustenance, for twelve whole days, to one monk. Thus, he divided that wonderful juice among the brethren, and its taste was that of delicious honey. After that, by St. Brendan's order, they fasted three days. Then, behold, a bird of prodigious size came flying towards thein, and bearing in his beak a branch of an unknown tree. The branch fell on Brendan's knees. It bore a cluster of enormous size, of a bright pur- ple hue ; the grapes were like apples, and that branch fed all the brethren for
430
the Lord hath bestowed upon thee in this life
;
four days.
misereatur nostri," " Deus in adjutorium," " Credidi propter," and a prayer.
'°5 These psalms were : " De profundis. " "Ecce quam bonum," and " Lauda Jeru- . salem. "
crelis," then " Cantate Domino," and next, " Laudate Dominum in Sanctis ejus. " Afterwards, they sang twelve psalms, in the order of the psaltery, to "Dixit insi- piens. "
"* The psalms then sung were: "Te
decet," "Beneiiic anima mea," and " Lau- Domine refugimti," and "Deus Deus
date pueri Dominum. "
'"' 'I'hc Navigatio Sancti Brendani adds :
"et quiiidccim psahnos graduum cantave- runt sedendo. "
"* These, were : " Laudate Dominum de
meus.
""These were : " Omnes gentes," " Deus
in nomine," and " Dilexi quoniam," with Alleluia,
'"It is remarkable, that St. Brendan'
"
'°9 These were : "Miserere mei Deus,"
cruise was from Island to Island, in the great Atlantic. Now, according to Sir Alexander Mackenzie's Arctic Voyages, a tribe of North American Indians have tradi- tions, that their ancestors crossed a great lake full of Islands.
"^ Quite differently is this adventure re- lated, in the metrical legend :
" A flaming griffin in the sky,
With fearful hearts they now espy, With crooked claws to seize I ween, And flaming wings and talons keen And o'er the ship he hovereth low, And vainly may the strong wind
blow
More swift is he, than barque more
strong,
And fierce he chaseth them along. But lo ! a dragon takes his flight, With outstretched neck, and wings
of might,
A flaming dragon he, and grim, And toward the griffin beareth him. And now the battle furiously
In mid air rageth fell to see,
Spavks from their teeth fly thick
around,
And blows, and flames, and many a wound
Is given. The pilgrims anxiously Gaze up, O which shall victor be ? The griffin's huge—the dragon slight, But far more lightsome for the fight And lo ! the griffin in the sea Fallsdead. Thedragonvictory Hath won—O then they joyed out-
right.
And thanked the God of power and
might. "
—Blackwood's "Edinburgh Magazine," vol. xxxix. . No. ccxlxiii. The Anglo-Nor- manTrouveres, p. 812.
'-^ At a period, even before the introduc- tion of Christianity among the Saxons, the unknown author of " Beowulf " described the "fire-drake," full fifty measured feet in length, winged, and breathing flame and poisonous vapour, and reposing all day on his " horde " of century buried wealth.
"•* In a Saxon geographical work, the griffins are mentioned, as employing their tremendous claws, for the very useful pur- pose of " digging up gold ! "
"^ Huet and Warton derive the dragons,
;
—
May 1 6. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 431
After another three days' fast, they perceived an Island, all covered with tufted trees, laden with fruit, like that brought by the bird, and of the same colour. The branches, loaded with their fruit, bend to the very earth. There were no other trees in the island, when the monks had touched the shore \ and, the whole country was perfumed, like a hall filled with oranges. St. Brendan disembarked, and began to walk around that Island, while the monks awaited his return in their vessel. The scent from shore was so deli- cious, as to make them forget they were fasting. Then, the holy senior found six flowing fountains, with green herbs and roots of every description. Afterwards, Brendan returned to his monks, bearing with him specimens of the fruits of that Island, and he said : " Go out from your ship, and erect a tent on the shore, so that you may be consoled and refreshed with the deli- cious fruits of this land, which the Lord hath showed us. " On grapes, herbs, and water-cresses, they continued to feed. They stopped there forty days.
The foregoing accounts seem to relate a voyage, among the West Indian Islands, where the fruits are of so delicious a flavour, and of large size, while they are unlike anything to be found in northern climes. These circum- stances of narrative, however, are sufficiently mingled with the marvellous
; because, they relate to what had been beyond the range of experience to those Celts, who poured out the exuberance of imagination in compositions, proba- bly based upon facts, yet still strangely distorted in tradition, and shadowy as dealing with the unknown. Going afterwards on board, the monks took with them the fruits of that Island. The sails were loosed, and the ship went before the wind. Directly against their course was seen a griffin flying; and, when the monks saw it stretching out its claws to seize them, they prayed St. Brendan to save them, from being devoured by that creature. But, he said : " Fear it not, for the Lord is our protector. " Then, a bird in rapid flight came to meet the griffin ; and, for a time, both engaged in conflict. "^ Thus, the dra- gons, the fire-drakes,"3 the griffins,"4 and the sea-serpents of huge dimen- sions, were described by the Celtic and Teutonic bards ; so that, we have no occasion, to seek for those monsters, through eastern sources. ^'5 At last,
;
;
432
—"—
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [May i6.
the griffin's eyes were torn out, he was vanquished and killed, so that his body fell into the sea. Seeing this, the monks praised God. The victorious bird returned to his former quarter.
Again, in the Island of Ailbe, the religious voyagers from Erin cele-
bratedourLord'sNativity. Havingfinishedthosefestivedays,St. Brendan,
receiving a benediction from the father of the monastery, circumnavigated the
ocean for a considerable time ; and only, at the Festival of Easter and of the
Nativity, had they rest in their allotted places. "^ There is a religious
legend,"7regardingthreeyoungclerics, whowentoutonthewesternocean,
in a vessel, and wIto landed on an unknown island, where they built a church,
and continued to reside, until two of them died. During his navigation, St.
Brendan found the survivor, and prepared him for death ;"^ but, this
account is not to be found, in the usual narratives of his voyage. Another
time, while celebrating the Festival of St. Peter in their vessel, the navigators
saw all the sea lighted up ; it vvas so transparent, that they could fathom its
abyss, see various animals of the deep, as if beneath their hands, and distin-
guishwhatwasatthedepths,ingreatnumbers. Theywerelikecattleina
pasture crowded together ; or, as if a densely-peopled city lay beneath the
waters, appeared the multitude of heads and tails. The brethren pray their
Abbot to sing tlie Mass lower, and thus to avoid attracting those monsters of
the deep. They say to him : " So clear is each wave, where the sea is deepest,
that we see as though upon earth, both fishes innumerable, as also fishes great
and cruel, so that we scarcely dare to speak of them, for if the noise disturbed
them, know you that killed we shall be. " But, their holy father pleasantly
replied: " I greatly wonder at your folly. Why fear you those animals? Hath
not the greatest monster of all been devoured . '* For you both sat and sang
on his back you have also cut wood, and kindled a fire, and cooked his ;
flesh. Why, therefore, do you fear these? For our God is the Lord Jesus Christ, who can subdue every creature. " Saying these words, Brendan sang in a higher tone, while the monks beheld the monsters surging here and there, in great numbers,butapartfromtheirvessel. WhentheservantofGodhadfinishedthe Mass, all those fishes swam away, in different directions through the ocean. "9
With a favouring wind for eight days, and with sails spread, once more the voyagers careered over a clear sea. One day, after the celebration of three Masses, the crew witnessed another miraculous appearance, the material of which they could not surmise. They also beheld a tower, reared from the
sea, and reaching above the clouds. '^°
asalsoothermon<-,terswhichfigureinlegend and romance, from Oriental accounts, and it has been thought the Crusaders brought suchfictionsbackfromPalestine,tofurnish materials for mediceval northern romance. This, however, is a supposition, now easily disproved.
"* See Most Rev. Patrick F. Moran's "Acta Sancti Brendani," Navigatio Sancti Brendani, cap. ix. , pp. 11410 117.
"7 This Irish Tract is in vol. xxii. of the O'Longan MSS. , belonging to the Royal Irish Academy, at pp. 322 to 325. This a small 4to.
"^ There is no further account, concerning this cleric, nor are the companions, who left Ireland with him, specially designated.
"' " He sang more high, more loudly clear
The salvage fishes, him to hear,
It required three days' sai ling to reach
Leaptfromthesea, aroundthey wait,
As they the feast would celebrate ; Thussanghetill thecloseofday, And then each monster went his
way.
—Blackwood's "Edinburgh Magazine," vol. xxxix. , No. ccxlviii. . pp. Si2, 1813.
"° Thus opens this description—which suggests the idea of icebergs having been seen—in " Les Voyages Merveilleux de Saint Ikandan a la Recherche du Paradis Terres-
tre, '
edited by Francisque- Michel :
'* Quant curent e veient cler, En mer halt un grant piler ; De naturel fud jargunce, D'altre marem n'i out unce, De jargunce fud saphire : Riches estreit ki'n fust sire. "
See 11. 1064 to 1069, p. 52.
J ——;
May 1 6. LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 433
thisstrangeobject. Itwascoveredbyatransparentpavilion,withopeningsso
solarge,thatthevesselcouldpassthrough. Thiscanopyorpavilionhadthe
whitenessofsilver,andthehardnessofmarble. Thetowerwasapparentlyof
the most brilliant crystal. Then, the man of God said to his monks : " Bring
the oars and rudder within the ship, as also the spars and sails ; meantime,
let some of you hold on to the braces of the column. " For the distance
between the canopy and the column was about one mile, and so both ex-
tended out into the deep. The command was obeyed, and then the saint said
to them : " Steer the ship inwards through some opening, that we may care-
fullyexaminethewondrousworksofourgreatCreator. " Whentheyentered
that pavilion, the sea itself seemed to be of crystal, so clear and transparent
was it to its very depths. '-^ They could see the base of the column, and also
the summit of the canopy, over the sea-level. The light of the sun was not
less brilliant within and without. The extent of this pile was calculated by
Brendan himself, during the four days he spent near it. Then, the holy Abbot
measured the distance between four of the canopies, and he found it to be
four cubits. For a whole day, the mariners sailed near to one side of that
tower j and, the shadow cast by the sun, with its heat, was noticed by them,
beyond the ninth hour. The tower was thirteen or fourteen hundred cubits,
on each side ; and the fourth day, the crew found, on the southern ledge of
one among the openings, a chalice of the same material as the pavilion, and a
patera of that composing tlie tower. The man of God took these vessels,
saying : " They are presents of Christ, who has shown us these wonders, and
they are two in number, to be exhibited to many believers. " Then, the holy
man ordered the monks to recite their Divine office, so that afterwards, they
mighttastefood for,whileremainingthere,insightofthegreattower,they ;
had not taken any nourishment. That night, however, they left it, and steered northwards. When they had passed through an opening, the mast was raised, and the sails were spread. Some of the brothers held the braces of the canopy, until all things were set to rights, on board of the vessel. The sails being now loose, a prosperous wind arose behind them, so that the brothers had no need to row; they only steered their ship, and held the ropes. '^^
They sailed eight days more towards the north, when they beheld a rocky and rugged Isle ; not a tree nor a blade of grass was on it, and on all sides were forges and iron-workers. "Brethren," said Brendan, "my soul is in pain for this Island, for I would not touch it, nor approach it, and yet the wind drives us straight upon it. '^s Approaching within a stone's cast, they
^' In Blackwood's " Edinburgh Maga- zine," vol. xxix. , No. ccxlviii. , The Anglo- Norman Trouveres, p. 812, we find the fol- lowing description, in English verse :
"Right in iheir course, they clearly see
A pillar rising in mid sea
A wondrous building round appeared, Not as a common structure reared, But founded all of sapphire stone (Nought with more brightness ever
shone),
And to the clouds upreared high While in the deep ye might descry Its base, and round about outspread A fair pavilion, to the sea Descending, while clear overhead, Like dazzling gold, the canopy Shone ; ne'er on earth was such a
sight I"
'" See Most Rev. Patrick F. Moran's " Acta Sancti Brendani," Navigatio Sancti Brendani, cap. x. , pp. 118 to 120.
^^^ The following lines are to be found, in " Les Voyages Merveiileux de Saint Brandan a la Recherche du Paradis Ter-
" restre :
" Mult s'esforcent de ailurs tendre ; Mais 9a estout lur curs prendre, Quar li venz la les emmeinet,
E li abes bien les enseignet
E dist lur : ' Bien sachez
Que a enfern estes caches. N'oustes mester unc mais si grant Cum or avez de Deu guarant. ' Brandans ad fait surcals la cruz. Bien set pres est d'enfern li puz. "
;
—See 11. 11 12 to 1121, p. 54.
I£
434
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [May i6.
soon heard the mighty panting of the bellows, wliich made a noise like thun- der, and the formidable blows of the sledges on the anvils, at the depth of the echoing workshops. Then said the holy man, signing himself with the cross : " O Lord Jesus Christ, deliver us from this evil Island. " One of the work- men, as if to do something, then came out, by chance ; he was hairy and horrible-looking, and, as it were, besmeared with fire and darkness. At the sight of the servants of God, he returned to his companions, crying out, " Alas ! alas I alas ! " Then making a sign of the cross, Brendan cried : " Hoist the sail and put off, my brethren, let us fly with all haste from this Island. " Already, he who had seen them returned towards the shore, and bearing in his enormous tongs an immense mass of burning and seething iron.
He hurled it with violence, against the servants of Christ. It did no harm to the
saints, for it passed over their heads, and it fell more than a stadium beyond ;
and where it fell, the sea boiled up as though a mountain of fire had entered its bosom ; while the smoke poured up as from a heated oven. All the men of the island then flocked on the shore, when the saint had sailed about a mile from where that mass fell into the sen. They were armed with like molten masses, andtheyhurledthemall,oneafteranother,againsttheservantsofChrist. Then, they returned to their lairs. All their workshops at once burst into flames, and that whole Island seemed on fire. The sea, around the siiips, and afar, was heated. Vexed and seethed was the space around them, like to water in a vessel, over a raging fire. The howls on that Island, and its fetid odour, reached the brethren, when it could no longer be seen. Brendan said, "SoldiersofChrist,letusrelyonourfaithandspiritualarms watchandbe
;
men ; for we are now on the borders of hell. ""4
The next day, while pursuing their course of sailing, they saw,
towards the north, as if through a transparent haze, a lofty mountain, rising from the ocean ; its summit was lost in a dense smoke. A rapid wind drew them on. The shore seemed steep as a wall, and of vast height, so that its top could scarcely be distinguished. The soil was black as coal. Then, the survivor of the three brothers, who had followed Brendan, sprang out of the boat, and walked to the shore, saying, "Woe to me! lam lost, father; I cannot return to you. ""5 The crew, struck with terror, turned the vessel from that land, and cried aloud to the Lord, saying : " Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us. " A sad fate was to happen their lost brother. A crowd of devils had already seized him, and these were dragging him off. He was a prey to the tortures and flames that devoured him. Brendan cried out : "Woe to thee, unfortunate man, the end of thy life is an eternal death. " A fresh wind arose, which wafted them southwards. At that moment, the mountain top was descried; it foamed and boiled, breathing in and out fire and flames, which were seen to ascend towards the height of heaven, and to descendagain into thedeep bowels of the mountain. The whole mountain, to its very base, and even to the sea itself, was like a flaming pyre. A favouring gale sprung up, however, and forsevendays,themarinerswerebornetowardsthesouth. Whencometothe opensea,averydarkcloudsurroundedthem. Atlast,theyfindanakedrock, and upon it a man seemed "^ to be fixed. Some thought he was a bird. He had a cloth tied about his head, and holding a javelin in his hand,"? he seemed
"* See Most Rev. Patrick F. Moran's —"Les Voyages Merveilleux de Saint
"Acta Sancti Brendani," Navigatio Sancti Brendani, cap. xi. , p[). 120, I2i.
"5 See L. Tachet de Barneval's "His- toire Legenilaire de I'lrlande," chap, xxiii. , pp. 261 to 267.
ia6 << jviult ert periz, c detirez, Delacherez, e descirez. "
Brandan a la Recherche du Paradis Terres- trc," edited by Francisque-Michel, 11. 1224, 1225, p. 59.
"'" And tightly grappled be the stone Which hove the waves he sat upon, For they were beating vehemently, As he might overwhelm'd be. "
——"
May i6. ] LIVES OF 2'HE IRISH SAINTS.
hanging between two iron forceps, and tossed about by the waves, hke a vessel labouring in a storm. He cried bitterly for assistance. '^** Brendan de- sired the crew to cease discussing the matter, but to direct their vessel towards that place. When reaching it, the waves formed a circle, as if they had been frozen. They found that man sitting on a rock, deformed and wretched, and when the tides flowed towards him, they reached to where he sat, when they receded, only tlie naked rock appeared. The cloth, which hung before when the winds blew, flapped against his eyes and forehead. Then, the holy man asked, who he was, what crime he had committed, or why he had merited such a punishment. He declared to Brendan, that he was the unhappy Judas, who betrayed our Lord Jesus Christ, Brendan learns that there is an occasional respite to his sufferings, and that had been accorded him, through the ineffable mercy of the Saviour. He declared, also, that no penitence could now avail him ; but, on each Sunday,"9 he was allowed to sit on that naked rock, which seemed a Paradise to him, as compared with those tortures he must endure, when the day had passed. " When I am tor- tured," he added, " I burn like lead melted in hot oil, both day and night, in the middle of that mountain you have seen ; there is the Leviathan with his satellites, and I was there, when he took away your brother ; and, therefore, doth hell rejoice, and pour out great flames, and as it always does, when it devours the souls of the damned. That you may know the greatness of God's mercy towards me, I shall relate to you the nature of my solace. Here, I find a respite every Sunday, from evening to evening ; from the Nativity of our Lord to the Epiphany ; from Easter to Pentecost ; on the feast of the Purifi- cation of the Blessed Virgin Mary ; as also, on the day of her Holy Assump- tion. But, on all other days, I am tortured with Herod and Pilate, with Anna and Caipha ; and, therefore, I adjure you, through the Redeemer of the world, that you deign to intercede for me, that I may remain here, even to sun-rise on to-morrow, so that the devils may not torture me, in honour of your arrival, and drag me to the evil inheritance, I have bought for my- self. " Then, the holy Brendan said : " Be the will of God done. For this night, the demons shall not disturb you, nor until the morrow. " Next, Brandan asks Judas the meaning of the cloth which is tied around his head. Judas replies, that although in a great measure an impediment to him, yet he re- ceives great benefit from it, since it shelters his head and face from the cutting winds,andpreventsthefishfrombitingthem; and,thisadvantageheobtained, because once, when on earth, he gave a piece of cloth to a beggar,^3° or to a leper. ^31 The benefit of that single deed of charity still remained to him,'^* as his only solace. When the hour of evening came, the fiends appeared, and they loudly cried out : " O man of God, retire from us, for we cannot approachourcompanion,unlessyouwithdrawfromhim. Wedarenotsee
—Blackwood's "Edinburgh Magazine," vol. xxxix. . No. ccxlviii. The Anglo-Norman Trouveres, p. 814.
128
EventilltheSabbath'spastaway
I have.
:
May 1 6. ]
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
427
them, and to lead them to the old port," saying : " Admirable in his saints istheGodofIsrael; hewillgivehispeoplefortitudeandcourage,blessed be He. " At the same time, the good man kissed the feet of St. Brendan, andofallhismonks; thenhavingfinishedtheversicle,andtakenallthings from the ship, he pitched a tent and prepared a bath for them. It was now the Feast of Holy Thursday; and all prepared to celebrate it, according to thecustom. TheyalsospentGoodFridayandHolySaturdaythere,observ- ing the usual religious ceremonies. Having finished these celebrations and sacrifices, with the customary prayers, the angelic procurator then said: "Go on board your ship, so that you may observe the Feast of our Lord's Resur- rection, where you have celebrated it last year, and remain until the sixth hour of that day. Then, sail to that Island, known as the Paradise of Birds, wherefromEastertotheOctaveofPentecost}'ouremainedlastyear. Take with )'ou the necessary food and drink, and I shall again visit you, when the Sundaycomesround. " Thisorderoftheprocurator,thebrothersobserved.
In due time, St. Brendan bestowed his blessing on their benefactor, who had even provided them with new clothes. All went on board, and so they sailed for another Island. When they approached the place for debarkation, and were about to leave the ship, lo ! that cauldron, which they had left behind them last year on the Jascon's back when flying away from it, now appeared to their full view. Wherefore, Brendan, going out from the vessel to the shore, began to sing the Hymn of tlie Three Children, from the beginning to the end. Having finished this hymn, St. Brendan gave an admonition to his brethren : " O my sons, watch and pray, that you enter not into temptation. Consider how the Almighty sunk the huge monster under us, without any difficulty. " Then, the monks severally kept watch on that Island, to the hour for Matins. Afterwards, all the priests sang their several Masses to the third hour. But, blessed Brendan and his monks, going on board the ship, immolated the Immaculate Lamb to God, and then said to his brethren : "The year before, we celebrated here the Feast of our Lord's Resurrection.
So, the Lord willing it, I desire to observe it this year. " Thence departing, the voyagers next visited that Island, called the Paradise of Birds. 97 When approaching the port of that Island, all the birds appeared, and they began to sing out, as if with one voice : " Salus Deo nostro sedenti super thronum et agno. " And again : " Deus Doniinus illuxit nobis. Constituite diem solemnemincondempsisusqueadcornualtaris. " Withthenotes,theirwin^s also made music, until the holy father and his mariner monks were in the tent, pitched to receive them on shore. There again did the crew celebrate their Eastertide, until the octave of Pentecost. And, as he had promised during the octave 9^ of our Lord's Resurrection, the procurator appeared, bringing the provisions necessary for their sustenance. Rejoicing, the monks gavethankstoGod. Whentheysatdownattable,thebird,whichwehave already alluded to, perched on the prow of their ship, extended and agitated
his wings, so that their sound resembled the swelling of a great organ. Brendan knew, that the bird wished to communicate some message, and he heard these words : "The Almighty and clement Lord liad predestined for you four places, for four different solemnities, until the seven years of your pilgrimage be spent. First, each year, on the Feast of our Lord's Supper,
you shall be with your procurator, who is now present. Secondly, you shall be on the back of the monster, celebrating the Vigils of the Pasch. Thirdly, you shall be with us, during the Paschal festival, to the octave of Pentecost.
9' " Where birds are fresh, and every tree
Is vocal with the notes of love. " —Braiiiaid, Poetical Works.
9^ The vigil would seem to accord more with the previous narrative.
"» See Most Rev. Patrick F. Moran's " Acta Sancti Breudani," Navigatio Sancti
Then,
! ———
428 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [May 1 6.
And, lastly, you shall remain on the Island of Albeus, from the Nativity of our LordtothePurificationoftheBlessedVirginMary. Aftersevenyears,under- going many and great dangers, you shall find the Land of Promise of the Saints, which you seek, and there you shall remain for forty days, before the Lord shall conduct you to the land of your birth. " On hearing these words, St. Brendan poured forth many tears, prostrating liimself with his monks on the earth, giving praise and thanks to the Creator of all things. The bird returned to his own place, and the meal being finished, the procurator said : " God assisting me, I shall come the day for the Descent of the Holy Ghost upon the Apostles, with aidforyou. " Then,receivingabenediction,herepairedtohishome. 99
That graceful fiction, known as introducing the Paradise of Birds, finds a place in the different versions of St. Brendan's voyage. '°° There, this venerable father remained with his monks, for that destined time; and, after- wards, he ordered them to fill all their vessels from the fountain, and to pre- parefortheirvoyage. Whentheshipsailedoutontheocean,theaforesaid man met it, in his own bark, which was loaded with food. Having put this on board St. Brendan's sliip, their benefactor received the kiss of peace from the voyagers. Then, he returned to his place. For forty days, the Christian Ulysses ^°' and his monks sailed over the ocean. One day, as they continued their voyage, they beheld an immense and a monstrous beast appear. With foaming nostrils, it hastened its rapid course, through the waves, as if to de- vour them. The terror-struck brethren cried out : " O Lord, who hath created man, deliver us thy servants. " And, to holy Brendan, they cried: " Deliver us, O father, the beast will devour us. " Brendan encouraged them, and he prayed: "Deliver thy servants, O Lord, so that he spare us. " To them, he said: "Fear not, men of lirtle faith; God is ever our defender; he will de- liverusfromthemonster'smouth,andfromallotherdangers. " Thesea- monster now approached, waves of prodigious size rolling before him on to the very shij). Seeing terror increase in the hearts of the brethren, Brendan raised his hands to heaven, and cried, " Lord, save thy servants, as thou didst thy servant David, from the hands Goliatli, the giant, and Jonas from the belly of the great whale. " At that same instant, another beast, coming from the west- ward, passed them, and rushed on the sea-monster, vomiting flames. A great struggle ensued between them,^°^ and while it lasted, Brendan said to
Breiiiliini, cap. vii. , pp. 107 to III.
'"" In Caxton's edition of the Golden Le- gend, they are represented as inhabiting Paradise, and so beguiling the time, by the sweetness of their songs, that years fleet away unperceived. See Blackwood's "Edinburgh Magazine,'' vol. xxxix. , No. ccxlviii. , p.
809.
'"' Such is the designation applied to him,
in the Preface of Thomas Wright's " St. Brandon : A Mediaeval Legend of the Sea,"
With murd'rous teeth each otlier biting,
Like trenchant swords each otlier smiting.
Sjjouted tlie blood, and gaping wide
Were teeth prints in each monster's
side
And huge and deadly deep each
wound
And blood-tinged all the waves
around,
And all a-seething was the sea.
And still the fight raged furiously. The first now fought with failing
might,
The second triumj^hed in the figbf. With stronger teeth he overbore him. And into three huge pieces toie
him
And then, the victory gained, he
goes
Back to the place from whence he
rose. "
P-
V.
'"- In the metrical legend, we find this
strange contest thus described :
" And now they close in deadly fight,
With Inigc heads rcar'd, a fearful sight
While from thcirnoslrils flames spout high,
As are the clouds in the upper sky ; Blows with their fins each gives his
brother,
Li'-'' rloshing shields on one ano-
ther:—
;
May i6. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
429
his monks : "See, my sons, the wonderful ways of our Redeemer. See the obedience, which the creature renders to its Creator. Meantime, look for the final issue. This battle bodes no evil for us. The rather shall it redound to God's glory. " So it happened, and the beast that pursued the servants of God remaineddead,torninthreeparts. Themonsterwhichwasvictoriousreturned to where he had come from ; and, on the day following, the voyagers saw another Island, full of grass and very large. While approaching the shore, the monks found the hindmost part of that monster, whicli had been killed, when they were about to land. Then, Brendan said to his monks : " Behold him, who wished to devour us. Now, you shall feed on him, and be satisfied with his flesh. For, indeed, you shall dwell a long time on this Island. Draw the vessel further into the port, and seek a suitable place for your tent. " Then, their venerable superior showed them a spot, convenient for their dwelling. When the monks had religiously observed his directions, they brought all their commodities into the tent, and he said to them : " Take you a sufficient number of slices from the flesh of this animal, to serve us for three months, because to-night the remainder shall be devoured by beasts. " By Brendan's order, the brethren took their portion, and it served them for food. Having obeyed their superior, in all his commands, the monks now say to him : " Abba, how can we live here without water? " He replied: "Is it more difficult for the Almighty to give you drink, rather than food? Go ye, there- fore,tothesouthernpartofthisIsland. There,youshallfindalimpidfoun- tain, with abundance of herbs and roots ; take thence the quantity required for your use. " As the holy man predicted, they found all fulfilled.
There, Brendan remained for three months, asagreatstorm ploughed the sea- waves, and a violent wind, with changes of temperature, brought hail and rain. The monks went to see what had become of the monster's remains, and when they arrived at that spot, where his carcass lay, only bones were to be found. TheyreturnedtothemanofGodsaying: "Abba,it isasyouhavesaid. " He replied : " I know, my sons, you wished to find out, whether or not I spoke the truth. " The brothers answered: " Certainly, father, it is so. " He then said : "I shall give you another token. A portion of a fish, which has escaped the fisher's net, shall float here to-night, and to-morrow you shall eat it. " Next day, the monks went to the place where it lay, as the servant of Christ had predicted, and they brought of it so much as they could carry. The venerable superior said to them : " This carefully keep, and salt it, for it shall be required to satisfy your wants. The Lord gives us a calm to-day and to-morrow; after the third day, we shall set out from this place, when the turbulence of the sea and of the waves shall subside. '°3 The time having now come, St. Brendan ordered them to load the ship, and to fill their bottles and vessels from the fountain. They were also directed, to gather roots and herbs. After discharging the office of his priesthood, the saint fasted, as the spirit of life was strong within him. Having loaded their vessels, th-e monks now sailed towards the north. There, they came in sight of a certain Island; and Brendan, pointmg it out to the crew, began to explain what they were now about to experience. " There are here, so to say," said Brendan, " three nations—the children, the young, and the old ; and, here must remain one of the brethren, who joined us at the moment of our departure. " Then, they asked him, which it should be but, he felt unwilling to tell them. However,
;
he saw, that they felt sorrowful, and anxious to know about him, who should
there remain. Then, he pointed out to them that monk, who had followed
-—Blackwood's "Edinburgh Magazine," vol. xxxix. , No. ccxlviii. , p. 8ii.
'°3 See Most Rev. Patrick F. Moian's
" Acta Sancti Brendani," Navigatio Sancti Brendani, cap. viii. , pp. into I13.
'"^ These are said to have been : " Deus
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [May i6.
him from the monastery, and regarding whom he had prophesied, before they left their own country in the ship. By degrees, they approached the shore. This Island was a plain, wonderfully smooth, like the sea ; hardly a tree was to be seen, and nought that the wind could agitate. It was vast, however, and covered with white and purple fruit. There, they beheld three troops, each separated from the other two, by about a sling's cast ; they were constantly walking,sometimesinonedirection,andsometimesinanother. Onestopped and sang : " The saints shall go from virtue to virtue, and the God of gods shall be seen in Sion. " When that verse finished, another stopped and sang, and the third in turn, and so on without ceasing. The first, thatofchildren, wore robes of dazzling white ; the second were arrayed, in garments of hyacinth ; the third, in purple dalmatics. At Sext, they sang a hymn, with other psalms, to the end ,^°^ and others again at Nones ;'°5 and, at Vespers, '°^ they sang again. '°7 When the chant was over, a cloud enveloped the island ; it was bright, yet the isle was veiled. Only the chant of hymns was heard, continu- ing till morning, at the hour of the Nocturns, when the new psalms began. '°^
When day dawned, that Island was uncovered from the haze. Then three other psalms were sung. '°9 At Tierce, also, three other psalms were en- toned. "" Then, they immolated the spotless Lamb, and all went to Holy Communion, saying : " Take ye this Holy Body of our Lord, and the Blood of our Saviour, to eternal life. " Then, two young men approached with a basket full of fruit, and these laid it on the ship, saying : " Behold fruits of the Isle of the Strong;'" take them and give us our brother; then go in peace. " Brendan, calling him, said : " Embrace thy brethren, and go with those who claim thee. Happy was the moment when thy mother conceived thee, since thou hast merited to live in this company. " Then kissing him, with all his monks, Brendan said to him: "Remember the good things which
go, and pray for us. " When he had departed with his new companions, to the schools of the saints, other holy men began to sing this versicle, " Ecce quam bonura," and again, with a loud voice the " Te Deum laudamus" resounded. When all had embraced the monk, he became one of the band. The brethren resumed their way, over the ocean ; and, at meal time, Brendan took a fruit ; it was of marvel- lous size, and full of abundant juice. This he poured into a vessel, and it weighed about one pound ; he divided this again into twelve ounces, each one of which was destined to give sustenance, for twelve whole days, to one monk. Thus, he divided that wonderful juice among the brethren, and its taste was that of delicious honey. After that, by St. Brendan's order, they fasted three days. Then, behold, a bird of prodigious size came flying towards thein, and bearing in his beak a branch of an unknown tree. The branch fell on Brendan's knees. It bore a cluster of enormous size, of a bright pur- ple hue ; the grapes were like apples, and that branch fed all the brethren for
430
the Lord hath bestowed upon thee in this life
;
four days.
misereatur nostri," " Deus in adjutorium," " Credidi propter," and a prayer.
'°5 These psalms were : " De profundis. " "Ecce quam bonum," and " Lauda Jeru- . salem. "
crelis," then " Cantate Domino," and next, " Laudate Dominum in Sanctis ejus. " Afterwards, they sang twelve psalms, in the order of the psaltery, to "Dixit insi- piens. "
"* The psalms then sung were: "Te
decet," "Beneiiic anima mea," and " Lau- Domine refugimti," and "Deus Deus
date pueri Dominum. "
'"' 'I'hc Navigatio Sancti Brendani adds :
"et quiiidccim psahnos graduum cantave- runt sedendo. "
"* These, were : " Laudate Dominum de
meus.
""These were : " Omnes gentes," " Deus
in nomine," and " Dilexi quoniam," with Alleluia,
'"It is remarkable, that St. Brendan'
"
'°9 These were : "Miserere mei Deus,"
cruise was from Island to Island, in the great Atlantic. Now, according to Sir Alexander Mackenzie's Arctic Voyages, a tribe of North American Indians have tradi- tions, that their ancestors crossed a great lake full of Islands.
"^ Quite differently is this adventure re- lated, in the metrical legend :
" A flaming griffin in the sky,
With fearful hearts they now espy, With crooked claws to seize I ween, And flaming wings and talons keen And o'er the ship he hovereth low, And vainly may the strong wind
blow
More swift is he, than barque more
strong,
And fierce he chaseth them along. But lo ! a dragon takes his flight, With outstretched neck, and wings
of might,
A flaming dragon he, and grim, And toward the griffin beareth him. And now the battle furiously
In mid air rageth fell to see,
Spavks from their teeth fly thick
around,
And blows, and flames, and many a wound
Is given. The pilgrims anxiously Gaze up, O which shall victor be ? The griffin's huge—the dragon slight, But far more lightsome for the fight And lo ! the griffin in the sea Fallsdead. Thedragonvictory Hath won—O then they joyed out-
right.
And thanked the God of power and
might. "
—Blackwood's "Edinburgh Magazine," vol. xxxix. . No. ccxlxiii. The Anglo-Nor- manTrouveres, p. 812.
'-^ At a period, even before the introduc- tion of Christianity among the Saxons, the unknown author of " Beowulf " described the "fire-drake," full fifty measured feet in length, winged, and breathing flame and poisonous vapour, and reposing all day on his " horde " of century buried wealth.
"•* In a Saxon geographical work, the griffins are mentioned, as employing their tremendous claws, for the very useful pur- pose of " digging up gold ! "
"^ Huet and Warton derive the dragons,
;
—
May 1 6. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 431
After another three days' fast, they perceived an Island, all covered with tufted trees, laden with fruit, like that brought by the bird, and of the same colour. The branches, loaded with their fruit, bend to the very earth. There were no other trees in the island, when the monks had touched the shore \ and, the whole country was perfumed, like a hall filled with oranges. St. Brendan disembarked, and began to walk around that Island, while the monks awaited his return in their vessel. The scent from shore was so deli- cious, as to make them forget they were fasting. Then, the holy senior found six flowing fountains, with green herbs and roots of every description. Afterwards, Brendan returned to his monks, bearing with him specimens of the fruits of that Island, and he said : " Go out from your ship, and erect a tent on the shore, so that you may be consoled and refreshed with the deli- cious fruits of this land, which the Lord hath showed us. " On grapes, herbs, and water-cresses, they continued to feed. They stopped there forty days.
The foregoing accounts seem to relate a voyage, among the West Indian Islands, where the fruits are of so delicious a flavour, and of large size, while they are unlike anything to be found in northern climes. These circum- stances of narrative, however, are sufficiently mingled with the marvellous
; because, they relate to what had been beyond the range of experience to those Celts, who poured out the exuberance of imagination in compositions, proba- bly based upon facts, yet still strangely distorted in tradition, and shadowy as dealing with the unknown. Going afterwards on board, the monks took with them the fruits of that Island. The sails were loosed, and the ship went before the wind. Directly against their course was seen a griffin flying; and, when the monks saw it stretching out its claws to seize them, they prayed St. Brendan to save them, from being devoured by that creature. But, he said : " Fear it not, for the Lord is our protector. " Then, a bird in rapid flight came to meet the griffin ; and, for a time, both engaged in conflict. "^ Thus, the dra- gons, the fire-drakes,"3 the griffins,"4 and the sea-serpents of huge dimen- sions, were described by the Celtic and Teutonic bards ; so that, we have no occasion, to seek for those monsters, through eastern sources. ^'5 At last,
;
;
432
—"—
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [May i6.
the griffin's eyes were torn out, he was vanquished and killed, so that his body fell into the sea. Seeing this, the monks praised God. The victorious bird returned to his former quarter.
Again, in the Island of Ailbe, the religious voyagers from Erin cele-
bratedourLord'sNativity. Havingfinishedthosefestivedays,St. Brendan,
receiving a benediction from the father of the monastery, circumnavigated the
ocean for a considerable time ; and only, at the Festival of Easter and of the
Nativity, had they rest in their allotted places. "^ There is a religious
legend,"7regardingthreeyoungclerics, whowentoutonthewesternocean,
in a vessel, and wIto landed on an unknown island, where they built a church,
and continued to reside, until two of them died. During his navigation, St.
Brendan found the survivor, and prepared him for death ;"^ but, this
account is not to be found, in the usual narratives of his voyage. Another
time, while celebrating the Festival of St. Peter in their vessel, the navigators
saw all the sea lighted up ; it vvas so transparent, that they could fathom its
abyss, see various animals of the deep, as if beneath their hands, and distin-
guishwhatwasatthedepths,ingreatnumbers. Theywerelikecattleina
pasture crowded together ; or, as if a densely-peopled city lay beneath the
waters, appeared the multitude of heads and tails. The brethren pray their
Abbot to sing tlie Mass lower, and thus to avoid attracting those monsters of
the deep. They say to him : " So clear is each wave, where the sea is deepest,
that we see as though upon earth, both fishes innumerable, as also fishes great
and cruel, so that we scarcely dare to speak of them, for if the noise disturbed
them, know you that killed we shall be. " But, their holy father pleasantly
replied: " I greatly wonder at your folly. Why fear you those animals? Hath
not the greatest monster of all been devoured . '* For you both sat and sang
on his back you have also cut wood, and kindled a fire, and cooked his ;
flesh. Why, therefore, do you fear these? For our God is the Lord Jesus Christ, who can subdue every creature. " Saying these words, Brendan sang in a higher tone, while the monks beheld the monsters surging here and there, in great numbers,butapartfromtheirvessel. WhentheservantofGodhadfinishedthe Mass, all those fishes swam away, in different directions through the ocean. "9
With a favouring wind for eight days, and with sails spread, once more the voyagers careered over a clear sea. One day, after the celebration of three Masses, the crew witnessed another miraculous appearance, the material of which they could not surmise. They also beheld a tower, reared from the
sea, and reaching above the clouds. '^°
asalsoothermon<-,terswhichfigureinlegend and romance, from Oriental accounts, and it has been thought the Crusaders brought suchfictionsbackfromPalestine,tofurnish materials for mediceval northern romance. This, however, is a supposition, now easily disproved.
"* See Most Rev. Patrick F. Moran's "Acta Sancti Brendani," Navigatio Sancti Brendani, cap. ix. , pp. 11410 117.
"7 This Irish Tract is in vol. xxii. of the O'Longan MSS. , belonging to the Royal Irish Academy, at pp. 322 to 325. This a small 4to.
"^ There is no further account, concerning this cleric, nor are the companions, who left Ireland with him, specially designated.
"' " He sang more high, more loudly clear
The salvage fishes, him to hear,
It required three days' sai ling to reach
Leaptfromthesea, aroundthey wait,
As they the feast would celebrate ; Thussanghetill thecloseofday, And then each monster went his
way.
—Blackwood's "Edinburgh Magazine," vol. xxxix. , No. ccxlviii. . pp. Si2, 1813.
"° Thus opens this description—which suggests the idea of icebergs having been seen—in " Les Voyages Merveilleux de Saint Ikandan a la Recherche du Paradis Terres-
tre, '
edited by Francisque- Michel :
'* Quant curent e veient cler, En mer halt un grant piler ; De naturel fud jargunce, D'altre marem n'i out unce, De jargunce fud saphire : Riches estreit ki'n fust sire. "
See 11. 1064 to 1069, p. 52.
J ——;
May 1 6. LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 433
thisstrangeobject. Itwascoveredbyatransparentpavilion,withopeningsso
solarge,thatthevesselcouldpassthrough. Thiscanopyorpavilionhadthe
whitenessofsilver,andthehardnessofmarble. Thetowerwasapparentlyof
the most brilliant crystal. Then, the man of God said to his monks : " Bring
the oars and rudder within the ship, as also the spars and sails ; meantime,
let some of you hold on to the braces of the column. " For the distance
between the canopy and the column was about one mile, and so both ex-
tended out into the deep. The command was obeyed, and then the saint said
to them : " Steer the ship inwards through some opening, that we may care-
fullyexaminethewondrousworksofourgreatCreator. " Whentheyentered
that pavilion, the sea itself seemed to be of crystal, so clear and transparent
was it to its very depths. '-^ They could see the base of the column, and also
the summit of the canopy, over the sea-level. The light of the sun was not
less brilliant within and without. The extent of this pile was calculated by
Brendan himself, during the four days he spent near it. Then, the holy Abbot
measured the distance between four of the canopies, and he found it to be
four cubits. For a whole day, the mariners sailed near to one side of that
tower j and, the shadow cast by the sun, with its heat, was noticed by them,
beyond the ninth hour. The tower was thirteen or fourteen hundred cubits,
on each side ; and the fourth day, the crew found, on the southern ledge of
one among the openings, a chalice of the same material as the pavilion, and a
patera of that composing tlie tower. The man of God took these vessels,
saying : " They are presents of Christ, who has shown us these wonders, and
they are two in number, to be exhibited to many believers. " Then, the holy
man ordered the monks to recite their Divine office, so that afterwards, they
mighttastefood for,whileremainingthere,insightofthegreattower,they ;
had not taken any nourishment. That night, however, they left it, and steered northwards. When they had passed through an opening, the mast was raised, and the sails were spread. Some of the brothers held the braces of the canopy, until all things were set to rights, on board of the vessel. The sails being now loose, a prosperous wind arose behind them, so that the brothers had no need to row; they only steered their ship, and held the ropes. '^^
They sailed eight days more towards the north, when they beheld a rocky and rugged Isle ; not a tree nor a blade of grass was on it, and on all sides were forges and iron-workers. "Brethren," said Brendan, "my soul is in pain for this Island, for I would not touch it, nor approach it, and yet the wind drives us straight upon it. '^s Approaching within a stone's cast, they
^' In Blackwood's " Edinburgh Maga- zine," vol. xxix. , No. ccxlviii. , The Anglo- Norman Trouveres, p. 812, we find the fol- lowing description, in English verse :
"Right in iheir course, they clearly see
A pillar rising in mid sea
A wondrous building round appeared, Not as a common structure reared, But founded all of sapphire stone (Nought with more brightness ever
shone),
And to the clouds upreared high While in the deep ye might descry Its base, and round about outspread A fair pavilion, to the sea Descending, while clear overhead, Like dazzling gold, the canopy Shone ; ne'er on earth was such a
sight I"
'" See Most Rev. Patrick F. Moran's " Acta Sancti Brendani," Navigatio Sancti Brendani, cap. x. , pp. 118 to 120.
^^^ The following lines are to be found, in " Les Voyages Merveiileux de Saint Brandan a la Recherche du Paradis Ter-
" restre :
" Mult s'esforcent de ailurs tendre ; Mais 9a estout lur curs prendre, Quar li venz la les emmeinet,
E li abes bien les enseignet
E dist lur : ' Bien sachez
Que a enfern estes caches. N'oustes mester unc mais si grant Cum or avez de Deu guarant. ' Brandans ad fait surcals la cruz. Bien set pres est d'enfern li puz. "
;
—See 11. 11 12 to 1121, p. 54.
I£
434
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [May i6.
soon heard the mighty panting of the bellows, wliich made a noise like thun- der, and the formidable blows of the sledges on the anvils, at the depth of the echoing workshops. Then said the holy man, signing himself with the cross : " O Lord Jesus Christ, deliver us from this evil Island. " One of the work- men, as if to do something, then came out, by chance ; he was hairy and horrible-looking, and, as it were, besmeared with fire and darkness. At the sight of the servants of God, he returned to his companions, crying out, " Alas ! alas I alas ! " Then making a sign of the cross, Brendan cried : " Hoist the sail and put off, my brethren, let us fly with all haste from this Island. " Already, he who had seen them returned towards the shore, and bearing in his enormous tongs an immense mass of burning and seething iron.
He hurled it with violence, against the servants of Christ. It did no harm to the
saints, for it passed over their heads, and it fell more than a stadium beyond ;
and where it fell, the sea boiled up as though a mountain of fire had entered its bosom ; while the smoke poured up as from a heated oven. All the men of the island then flocked on the shore, when the saint had sailed about a mile from where that mass fell into the sen. They were armed with like molten masses, andtheyhurledthemall,oneafteranother,againsttheservantsofChrist. Then, they returned to their lairs. All their workshops at once burst into flames, and that whole Island seemed on fire. The sea, around the siiips, and afar, was heated. Vexed and seethed was the space around them, like to water in a vessel, over a raging fire. The howls on that Island, and its fetid odour, reached the brethren, when it could no longer be seen. Brendan said, "SoldiersofChrist,letusrelyonourfaithandspiritualarms watchandbe
;
men ; for we are now on the borders of hell. ""4
The next day, while pursuing their course of sailing, they saw,
towards the north, as if through a transparent haze, a lofty mountain, rising from the ocean ; its summit was lost in a dense smoke. A rapid wind drew them on. The shore seemed steep as a wall, and of vast height, so that its top could scarcely be distinguished. The soil was black as coal. Then, the survivor of the three brothers, who had followed Brendan, sprang out of the boat, and walked to the shore, saying, "Woe to me! lam lost, father; I cannot return to you. ""5 The crew, struck with terror, turned the vessel from that land, and cried aloud to the Lord, saying : " Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us. " A sad fate was to happen their lost brother. A crowd of devils had already seized him, and these were dragging him off. He was a prey to the tortures and flames that devoured him. Brendan cried out : "Woe to thee, unfortunate man, the end of thy life is an eternal death. " A fresh wind arose, which wafted them southwards. At that moment, the mountain top was descried; it foamed and boiled, breathing in and out fire and flames, which were seen to ascend towards the height of heaven, and to descendagain into thedeep bowels of the mountain. The whole mountain, to its very base, and even to the sea itself, was like a flaming pyre. A favouring gale sprung up, however, and forsevendays,themarinerswerebornetowardsthesouth. Whencometothe opensea,averydarkcloudsurroundedthem. Atlast,theyfindanakedrock, and upon it a man seemed "^ to be fixed. Some thought he was a bird. He had a cloth tied about his head, and holding a javelin in his hand,"? he seemed
"* See Most Rev. Patrick F. Moran's —"Les Voyages Merveilleux de Saint
"Acta Sancti Brendani," Navigatio Sancti Brendani, cap. xi. , p[). 120, I2i.
"5 See L. Tachet de Barneval's "His- toire Legenilaire de I'lrlande," chap, xxiii. , pp. 261 to 267.
ia6 << jviult ert periz, c detirez, Delacherez, e descirez. "
Brandan a la Recherche du Paradis Terres- trc," edited by Francisque-Michel, 11. 1224, 1225, p. 59.
"'" And tightly grappled be the stone Which hove the waves he sat upon, For they were beating vehemently, As he might overwhelm'd be. "
——"
May i6. ] LIVES OF 2'HE IRISH SAINTS.
hanging between two iron forceps, and tossed about by the waves, hke a vessel labouring in a storm. He cried bitterly for assistance. '^** Brendan de- sired the crew to cease discussing the matter, but to direct their vessel towards that place. When reaching it, the waves formed a circle, as if they had been frozen. They found that man sitting on a rock, deformed and wretched, and when the tides flowed towards him, they reached to where he sat, when they receded, only tlie naked rock appeared. The cloth, which hung before when the winds blew, flapped against his eyes and forehead. Then, the holy man asked, who he was, what crime he had committed, or why he had merited such a punishment. He declared to Brendan, that he was the unhappy Judas, who betrayed our Lord Jesus Christ, Brendan learns that there is an occasional respite to his sufferings, and that had been accorded him, through the ineffable mercy of the Saviour. He declared, also, that no penitence could now avail him ; but, on each Sunday,"9 he was allowed to sit on that naked rock, which seemed a Paradise to him, as compared with those tortures he must endure, when the day had passed. " When I am tor- tured," he added, " I burn like lead melted in hot oil, both day and night, in the middle of that mountain you have seen ; there is the Leviathan with his satellites, and I was there, when he took away your brother ; and, therefore, doth hell rejoice, and pour out great flames, and as it always does, when it devours the souls of the damned. That you may know the greatness of God's mercy towards me, I shall relate to you the nature of my solace. Here, I find a respite every Sunday, from evening to evening ; from the Nativity of our Lord to the Epiphany ; from Easter to Pentecost ; on the feast of the Purifi- cation of the Blessed Virgin Mary ; as also, on the day of her Holy Assump- tion. But, on all other days, I am tortured with Herod and Pilate, with Anna and Caipha ; and, therefore, I adjure you, through the Redeemer of the world, that you deign to intercede for me, that I may remain here, even to sun-rise on to-morrow, so that the devils may not torture me, in honour of your arrival, and drag me to the evil inheritance, I have bought for my- self. " Then, the holy Brendan said : " Be the will of God done. For this night, the demons shall not disturb you, nor until the morrow. " Next, Brandan asks Judas the meaning of the cloth which is tied around his head. Judas replies, that although in a great measure an impediment to him, yet he re- ceives great benefit from it, since it shelters his head and face from the cutting winds,andpreventsthefishfrombitingthem; and,thisadvantageheobtained, because once, when on earth, he gave a piece of cloth to a beggar,^3° or to a leper. ^31 The benefit of that single deed of charity still remained to him,'^* as his only solace. When the hour of evening came, the fiends appeared, and they loudly cried out : " O man of God, retire from us, for we cannot approachourcompanion,unlessyouwithdrawfromhim. Wedarenotsee
—Blackwood's "Edinburgh Magazine," vol. xxxix. . No. ccxlviii. The Anglo-Norman Trouveres, p. 814.
128
EventilltheSabbath'spastaway
I have.
