The Voyage of Bran (IrishMyths StoryTime Ep. 4)

Welcome everybody to another episode of the IrishMyths StoryTime podcast.

Let me say right off the mast that I’ve already steeped this episode in controversy by giving it the title The Voyage of Bran.

That title, of course, is a direct translation of the Irish Immram Brain, with the word Immram identifying the story as a “voyage” tale.

And therein lies the problem.

Because while there are three well-established voyage tales in Irish mythology, The Voyage of Snedgus and Mac Riagla, The Voyage of the Uí Chorra, and perhaps most famously The Voyage of Máel Dúin, The Voyage of Bran was not originally classified as such.

Instead, in an 11th-century list of Irish tales, the title Echtra Bran—The Adventure of Bran—is given.

And while Irish adventure tales (Echtrai) and Irish voyage tales (Immrama) both involve expeditions to a Celtic Otherworld, the former—the adventures—are typically set in pre-Christian Ireland and feature pagan protagonists, while the latter—the voyages—are typically set in post-pagan Ireland and feature Christian protagonists.

And while Bran’s story, like all early Irish myths, was first recorded by Christian scribes, in this case perhaps as early as the 7th century CE, and certainly no later than the 8th century, as it appeared in the codex Cín Dromma Snechtai, Bran is not a Christian.

The Voyage or should I say Adventure of Bran is set in pagan Ireland.

Now, some scholars argue that this classification confusion stems from the fact that the story was conflated with the Latin text Navigatio Sancti Brendani Abbatis (or Voyage of Saint Brendan the Abbot), which dates to around the same time, and, as the title betrays, features a Christian protagonist.

Pssst. I explore the potential historicity of St. Brendan the Navigator’s voyage in my article/video “Did the Celts Reach the Americas Before the Vikings?”.

But let’s get back to Bran’s story.

I will be reading Lady Gregory’s retelling of the tale, featured in her 1902 work Gods and Fighting Men, which is diplomatically titled “His Call to Bran.”

The “his” here refers to the Irish sea-god Manannán mac Lir who has a habit in the myths of calling characters to adventure.

And while I’m tempted to go into exhausting detail about how Manannán would later be reimagined as a rolling giant as well as a flesh-and-blood seafarer, that’s not what I do here on this podcast.

If you want to journey down rabbit holes (whirlpools?), check out my article/video “Manannán mac Lir: God, Merchant, or Three-Legged Monster?”.

This is StoryTime. And now, your story.

Want to learn about the darker side of Irish and Celtic mythology? Check out…

Samhain in Your Pocket

---

Irish Monsters in Your Pocket

---

Neon Druid: An Anthology of Urban Celtic Fantasy

---