Navigatio Brendani

A view of the interior, taken from outside the one small window facing the door.

Navigatio Brendani 2.1:

conclūsit sē in ūnō ōrātōriō 

The oratory at Brendan's monastery in Clonfert was probably as simple as the famous Gallarus Oratory, on the Dingle Penninsula, though early churches were not all made from stone.  The date and purpose of the Gallarus Oratory have been disputed, but Tomaás Ó Carragáin, Churches in Early Medieval Ireland: Architecture (2010) considers it one of a number of drystone churches built sometime between 700 and 1100.

The oratory at Brendan's monastery in Clonfert was probably as simple as the famous Gallarus Oratory, on the Dingle Peninsula, though early churches were not all made from stone.  The date and purpose of the Gallarus Oratory have been disputed, but Tomaás Ó Carragáin, Churches in Early Medieval Ireland: Architecture (2010) considers it one of a number of drystone churches built sometime between 700 and 1100.

Navigatio Brendani 2.1:

conclūsit sē in ūnō ōrātōriō.

Iceland is well-known for its volcanos, many of which are on the south coast and could have been seen by Irish sailors  The volcano Litli-Hrútur, near the south west coast of Iceland, erupted in July 2023.

Navigatio Brendani 23.3:

audiērunt sonitūs follium sufflantium quasi tonitruum, atque malleōrum collīsiōnēs contrā ferrum et cūdēs

Gannets, sea-birds (Morus bassanus) on Burra Stack, Hermaness.

Navigatio Brendani 11.8: 

arbor mīrae lātitūdinis in gīrum, nōn nimis altitūdinis, cooperta avibus candidissimīs

We may assume that our author exaggerates the spreading branches of the tree and the number and whiteness of the birds. And sea birds do not sit in trees.

A leaf from The Book of Kells, an illuminated Gospel Book (c. 800 AD), roughly contemporary with our text of the Navigatio. Image © The Board of Trinity College Dublin, University of Dublin.

Navigatio Brendani 12.42:

Erat enim quadrāta, tam longitūdinis quam lātitūdinis

Most churches in real life were rectangular, but a square shape was thought of as an ideal reflection of the Temple in Jerusalem.  In this page from the 9th century Book of Kells the Four Evangalists are in the corners.  Christ is represented as an aniconic lozenge at the center of the CHI (X), and an integral part of the (almost) square Temple. See Tomás Ó Carragáin, Churches in Early Medieval Ireland (2010), pp. 40–41.

The inlet and village of Saksun are north, on the west coast of the island.

The village of Saksun, on the island of Streymoy, is situated on a narrow inlet surrounded by steep cliffs. 

Navigatio Brendani 11.3–5:

Porrō nāvigantibus contrā merīdiānam plāgam eiusdem īnsulae, invēnērunt rīvulum vergentem in mare. ... Erat autem illud flūmen tam lātum sīcut et lātitūdō illīus nāvis.

Streymoy (Danish: Strømø) is the largest and most populated island of the Faroe Islands. The name means "island of currents."

Navigatio Brendani 11.2:

vīdērunt aliam īnsulam, prope sibi iūnctam, interveniente fretō nōn magnō. 

The "other island" is perhaps Streymoy, separated from Vágar by only a narrow strait.

Streymoy (Danish: Strømø) is the largest and most populated island of the Faroe Islands. The name means "island of currents."

Navigatio Brendani 9.15: 

vigiliās vērō et missās crās in illā īnsulā, quam vōs vidētis, prōposuit vōbīs Deus celebrāre suae resurrēctiōnis.

From a hill on the island of Sandoy (perhaps) the stranger points out an island in the distance, perhaps Streymoy in the north. 

Work on Magnus Cathedral began c. 1300 and may never have been completed.  It has been suggested that the site was originally settled by Irish monks; the evidence is unclear, but the name of the village. Kirkjubøur, has been thought to contain the Gaelic word for church.