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The Voyage of Bran

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Author
  
Kuno Meyer

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Lebor Gabála Érenn, Togail Bruidne Dá Derga, Book of Leinster, Táin Bó Cúailnge, Acallam na Senórach

Immram Brain (maic Febail) (The Voyage of Bran (son of Febail)) is a medieval Irish narrative.

Contents

Synopsis

Bran mac Febail (modern spelling: Bran mac Feabhail) embarks upon a quest to the Otherworld. One day while Bran is walking, he hears beautiful music, so beautiful, in fact, that it lulls him to sleep. Upon awakening, he sees a beautiful silver branch in white bloom in front of him. He returns to his royal house, and while his company is there, an Otherworld woman appears, and sings to him a poem about the land where the branch had grown. In the song, she identifies the branch to be from an apple tree in Emain, another part of Ireland. In this Otherworld, it is always summer, there is no want of food or water, no sickness or despair ever touches the perfect people, and there is no unhappiness or "no rough or harsh voice." She tells Bran to voyage to the Land of Women across the sea, and the next day he gathers a company of nine men to do so. Each of his foster brothers were put in charge of a group of three men.

After two days, he sees a man on a chariot speeding towards him. The man is Manannan mac Lir, and he tells Bran that he is not sailing upon the ocean, but upon a flowery plain. He also reveals to Bran that there are many men riding in chariots, but that they are invisible. He tells Bran of how he is to beget his son in Ireland, and that his son will become a great warrior. He follows by prophesying the life of the boy and how Manannan mac Lir will be a teacher and a father to him.

Bran leaves Manannan mac Lir, and comes to the Isle of Joy. All the people upon the Isle of Joy laugh and stare at him, but will not answer his calls. When Bran sends a man ashore to see what the matter is, the man starts to laugh and gape just like the others. Bran leaves him and sails farther.

He then reaches the Land of Women, but is hesitant to go ashore. However, the leader of the women throws a magical clew (ball of yarn) at him which sticks to his hand. She then pulls the boat to shore, and each man pairs off with a woman, Bran with the leader. There were three times nine "couches" available for all of them.

For what seems to be one year, although it is in actuality many more, the men feast happily in the Land of Women until Nechtan Mac Collbran feels homesickness stir within him. The leader of the women is reluctant to let them go, and warns them not to step upon the shores of Ireland and to get back the man they left on the Island of Joy.

Bran and his company sail back to Ireland. The people that have gathered on the shores to meet him do not recognize his name except in their legends. Nechtan Mac Collbran, upset, jumps off the boat onto the land. Immediately, Nechtan Mac Collbran turns to ashes.

Bran and his company relate the rest of their story to the Irish, and then sail across the sea, never to be seen again.

Parallels with The Voyage of Máel Dúin

The Voyage of Bran has many parallels to The Voyage of Máel Dúin.

  • In paragraph 61, Bran and company visit the "Island of Joy." After being sent by Bran to investigate the island, one of Bran's men will not speak to the crew, only gaping at them, just like the inhabitants of the island. The man is then abandoned and left on the island. Similarly in chapter 31, of The Voyage of Máel Dúin, one of Máel Dúin's men is sent to investigate, cannot stop laughing , loses the ability to recognize his crew, and is eventually left behind.
  • In paragraph 62, Bran and company reach the "Island of Women." There, they are welcomed by many women, fed well, and one of the women uses a ball of yarn in order to magically ensnare Bran. In chapter 28 of The Voyage of Máel Dúin, the crew reaches an island that is home to seventeen women, who are hospitable to them. When they try to leave, one of the women throws a ball of yarn that magically clings to Diurán's hand.
  • In paragraph 65, one of Bran's men jumps from the coracle after having been magically at sea for hundreds of years. Upon touching dry soil, he is turned into ash. In chapter 11 of The Voyage of Máel Dúin, one of the foster brothers tries to steal a necklet and is burnt to ash by a magical cat.

    • Editions and translations

  • Mac Mathúna, Séamus (ed. and tr.). Bran's Journey to the Land of Women. Tübingen: Niemeyer, 1985. Edition (html) available from CELT.
  • Murphy, Gerard (ed.). "Manannán, God of the Sea, Describes his Kingdom to Bran and Predicts the Birth of Mongán." In Early Irish lyrics, eighth to twelfth century, ed. Gerard Murphy. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1956. pp. 92–100. The poem "Caíni amra laisin m-Bran" as preserved in MS 23 N 10. Edition available from CELT.
  • Hamel, A.G. van (ed.). Immrama. Mediaeval and Modern Irish 10. Dublin, 1941.
  • Meyer, Kuno and Alfred Nutt (ed. and tr.). The Voyage of Bran son of Febal to the land of the living. 2 vols. London, 1895–1897. PDFs available at Internet Archive.

    • References

    The Voyage of Bran Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA


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