[1] Sānctus Brendānus et quī cum illō erant nāvigāvērunt ad īnsulam prōcūrātōris et ipse cum illīs, ibique sūmpsērunt dispendia quadrāgintā diērum. [2] Erat autem nāvigium eōrum contrā orientālem plāgam quadrāgintā diērum. Porrō ipse prōcūrātor antecēdēbat eōs, et iter illōrum dīrigēbat.
[3] Trānsāctīs vērō diēbus quadrāgintā, vespere imminente, cooperuit eōs cālīgō grandis, ita ut vix alter alterum potuisset vidēre. [4] Prōcūrātor autem ait sānctō Brendānō: “Scītis quae est ista cālīgō?” Sānctus Brendānus ait: “Quae est?” [5] Tunc ait ille: “Ista cālīgō circuit illam īnsulam quam quaeritis per septem annōs.” Post spatium vērō ūnīus hōrae iterum circumfulsit illōs lūx ingēns, et nāvis stetit ad lītus.
notes
The Promised Land. They sail east for forty days, guided by the procurator. They are caught in fog, and the procurator says that the fog surrounds the land they have been searching for seven years. After an hour a light shines and they come to land.
[1] nāvigāvērunt ad īnsulam prōcūrātōris: the Island of Sheep (9.1-7 etc.).
et ipse cum illīs: = prōcūrātor (ipse) nāvigāvit cum illīs.
[2] contrā orientālem plāgam: the text has been suspected: we expect them to sail west, in part because of what Wooding (2014) calls the “America fixation.” But the east was liturgically significant, and the author seems to locate the Promised Land just off the coast of Ireland (4.4).
ipse prōcūrātor illōrum antecēdēbat eōs: he was in the bow of the ship showing them the way.
[3] cālīgō grandis: like the clouds at 1.15 the “great darkness” is presumably metaphorical; compare Exodus 19.18, where God is hidden in a cloud of smoke.
[5] circuit: perfect.
quaeritis: present, where we would expect perfect or imperfect.
per septem annōs: construe with circuit or quaeritis.
vocabulary
| nāvigō nāvigāre nāvigāvī nāvigātus | to go by ship, sail; to row1 |
| prōcūrātor –ōris m. | administrator, steward |
| dispendium –ī n. | provisions, food supplies (ML; CL dispendium –(i)ī n. expenditure) |
| quādrāginta; quādrāgesimus –a –um | 40; 40th |
| nāvigium –iī n. | rowing (ML; CL ship; voyage)2 |
| contrā | against; towards, in the direction of (OLD 14a) |
| orientālis –e | of the east, easterly |
| plaga –ae f. | open expanse, tract; region |
| quādrāginta; quādrāgesimus –a –um | 40; 40th |
| porrō | next |
| prōcūrātor –ōris m. | administrator, steward |
| antecēdō –cēdere –cessī –cessum | to go before |
| dīrigō (dērigō) –ere –rēxī –rēctus | to make straight, direct, guide |
| trānsigō trānsigere trānsēgī trānsāctum | to carry through, complete; to spend, pass3 |
| quādrāginta; quādrāgesimus –a –um | 40; 40th |
| vesper vesperae (abl. vespere) f. | evening |
| immineō imminēre | to be close at hand (OLD 6b) |
| co-operiō –operīre –operuī –opertum |
to cover over |
| cālīgō –inis f. | darkness, mist |
| grandis grandis grande | big, tall |
| prōcūrātor –ōris m. | administrator, steward4 |
| cālīgō –inis f. | darkness, mist |
| cālīgō –inis f. | darkness, mist5 |
| circumeo (circueō ) –īre –iī / –īvī circuitus | to go around |
| per | through; by means of (OLD 14) |
| septem; septimus –a –um | 7; 7th |
| spatium spati(ī) n. | space; expanse (OLD 3) |
| circumfulgeō circumfulgēre circumfulsī — | shine around |
| stō stāre stetī statum | to stand; to stand firm (OLD 3a) |