The Byzantine Legend of Saint Brendan and the Voyage to the Isle of the Blessed
- Date of account
- Latin Navigatio probably ninth or tenth century; medieval circulation thereafter
- Location
- Irish Atlantic imagined geography; western European manuscript cultures
- Source
- model_recalled_reference
- Record updated
- 2026-10-10
Record summary
The Navigatio Sancti Brendani describes a monastic voyage attributed to Brendan, including islands, marine wonders, fasting, liturgical episodes, and a paradisal destination. Although not East Asian, it is a late antique–medieval comparative lead for otherworld journeys, sacred geography, encounter narratives, and the boundary between pilgrimage literature and folklore. The text exists in many manuscripts and adaptations, with uncertain composition and extensive literary borrowing. Proposed identifications of real Atlantic islands remain speculative and should not be confused with the work’s theological and narrative purposes.
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