[35] “Illīc vērō mānsī duās continuās ebdomadās cum fīliolō meō, sine cibō et pōtū: in tantum habuimus dē satietāte corporālī ut ab aliīs vidērēmur replētī mustō. [36] Post vērō quadrāgintā diēs, acceptā benedictiōne frātrum et abbātis, reversus sum cum sociīs meīs, ut redīrem ad cellam meam, ad quam itūrus erō crās.”
[37] Hīs audītis, sānctus Brendānus cum omnī congregātiōne suā prōstrāvērunt sē ad terram, glōrificantēs Deum atque dīcentēs [38] “‘Iūstus Dominus in omnibus viīs suīs, et sānctus in omnibus operibus suīs,’ quī revēlāvit servīs suīs tanta ac tālia mīrābilia, et benedictus in dōnīs suīs, quī hodiē nōs refēcit dē tālī gustū spīritālī et pōtū.” [39] Hīs fīnītīs sermōnibus, dīxit sānctus Brendānus: “Eāmus ad refectiōnem corporis et ad Mandātum Novum.” [40] Trānsāctā autem illā nocte, acceptā benedictiōne manē frātrum, ad cellam suam sānctus Barindus perrēxit.
notes
Barrind says that he stayed with Mernoc for two weeks, without needing food or drink. After forty days he set out with his monks for his monastic cell; he will continue that journey tomorrow. Brendan thanks God and suggests a ritual washing of the feet. The next morning Barrind sets off.
[35] in tantum habuimus: “we had (up to) so much”
vidērēmur replētī mustō: “we seem to be full of new wine.” New wine was particularly strong, and to be full of it was to be drunk. Those speaking in tongues at the first Pentecost (because visited by the Holy Spirit) were mocked as being “full of new wine” (musto pleni, Acts 2.13). Here the logic seems to be that anyone who has feasted well would also have drunk well.
[36] Post vērō quadrāgintā diēs: again, a symbolic number (see 1.34), perhaps referring to the Lent of Elijah, one of the three extensive fasts celebrated by the Irish church, and the one preceding Advent.
cum sociīs meīs: we learn for the first time that Barrind had companions for his visit to Mernoc.
ad quam itūrus erō crās: Barrind abruptly shifts from the story of his visit to Mernoc to his present plans for immediate departure. Instead of the future tense he uses the first periphrastic conjugation, “I shall be about to go.” (AG § 195). The words form a common medieval acrostic, formed from the first letters of the Great “O” anthems sung at Vespers in the last week of Advent:
O Emmanuel (December 23)
O Rex (December 22)
O Oriens (December 21)
O Clavis (December 20)
O Radix (December 19)
O Adonai (December 18)
O Sapientia (December 17).
[38] Iūstus Dominus: supply est. Cp. Psalm 144.17 (145.17): “The Lord is just in all his ways, and holy in all his works” (Iustus Dominus in omnibus viis suis et sanctus in omnibus operibus suis).
dē tālī gustū spīritālī et pōtū: spīritālis is to be taken with pōtū as well as gustū (hendiadys); gustus here = cibus, by metonymy. Probably a reference to the celebration of Christmas.
[39] ad Mandātum Novum: “the New Commandment,” here apparently the scriptural text recited at Compline. The phrase itself reflects John 13:34: “A new commandment I give unto you, that you also love one another” Mandatum novum do vobis, ut diligatis invicem). See also below at 12.21, referring to the ritual foot-washing mentioned in John.
[40] ad cellam suam: His cell was in Cell Bairfinn (Kilbarron), near Ballyshannon, Donegal.
vocabulary
| continuus –a –um | connected 35 |
| ebdomās –adis (acc. ebdoma) f. | week |
| fīliolus –ī m. | little son, dear son |
| pōtus pōtūs m. | a drinking, a drink |
| satietās –ātis f. | abundance, adequacy |
| corporālis –e | corporeal, pertaining to the body |
| repleō –ēre –plēvī –plētus | to fill up |
| mustum –ī n. | unfermented wine, new wine |
| quādrāginta; quādrāgesimus –a –um |
40; 40th 36 |
| benedictiō –ōnis f. | a blessing |
| abbās –ātis m. | abbot, the head of a monastery |
| revertor revertī reversus sum | to return |
| socius –iī m. | ally, comrade |
| cella cellae f. | a room |
| crās | tomorrow |
| congregātiō –ōnis f. | society, association 37 |
| prostrō prostrāre prostrāvī prostrātum | to fall to one’s knees; fall flat on one’s face (ML; CL prosternō prosternere) |
| glōrificiō –āre | to glorify; worship |
| quia | because; that 38 |
| revēlō –āre | to unveil, uncover |
| mīrābilis –e | wonderful, extraordinary |
| benedictus –a –um | blessed |
| reficiō reficere refēcī refectus | to restore, revive (transitive) (ML) to take food, eat (intransitive) |
| gustus –ūs m. | a tasting of food, a partaking slightly or eating a little of any thing |
| spīritālis –e | spiritual, sacred, religious |
| pōtus pōtūs m. | a drinking, a drink |
| fīniō fīnīre fīnīvī fīnītus | to finish 39 |
| refectiō –ōnis f. | meal (ML; CL restoration) |
| mandātum –ī n. | instruction, order |
| trānsigō trānsigere trānsēgī trānsāctum | to carry through, complete; to spend, pass 40 |
| benedictiō –ōnis f. | a blessing |
| māne (indecl.) | the morning; in the morning; early next day |
| cella cellae f. | a room |
| Barrindus –ī m. | Barrind |