Full Description
In The Voyage of St Brendan, A.B. Jackson tells the tale of the legendary seafaring Irish abbot in poetry and prose. After burning a book of fantastical stories, Brendan is compelled to sail the ocean with a crew of six monks in a leather-skinned currach; his task, to prove the existence of wonders in the world and create a new book of marvels. Discoveries include Jasconius the island-whale, a troop of Arctic ghosts, a hellmouth of tortured souls, a rock-bound Judas, and the magical castle of the boar-headed Walserands.
Although the roots of this legend lie in early Irish tales and the Latin Voyage of Brendan the Abbot of the ninth century, Jackson has taken the 14th-century Middle Dutch version of Brendan's voyage as the template for this engaging, witty and spirited interpretation, notable for its humour and inventiveness.
The book is beautifully illustrated with a series of black and white linocuts by the American artist Kathleen Neeley, one of which features in colour on the cover.
Contents
11 Brendan
14 The Burning of the Book
15 The Boat
16 Brendan's Meditation
17 The Crew
18 Shore Song
19 The Great Fish
22 The Mermayd
23 Thirsting Souls
24 The Coagulated Sea
26 The Cliff-top Monastery
27 Interlude
28 The Rock Saint
29 Hellmouth
32 The Siren
33 The Stolen Bridle
34 Devils' Mountain
36 Respite
37 Brendan's Vision
39 Many Fish
40 The Turf Rider
42 Judas
43 Burning Birds
44 Multum Bona Terra
47 The Walserands
48 The Sea Leaf
50 The Sea Serpent
52 A World Below
53 The New Book
54 Home
56 Burial
59 Notes
68 Select bibliography
Illustrations by Kathleen Neeley
13 St Brendan
21 Jasconius
31 Hellmouth
46 The Walserands
51 The Sea Serpent
57 Burial
