90-486: In the modern Gaelic languages , Lochlann ( Irish: [ˈl̪ˠɔxl̪ˠan̪ˠ] ) signifies Scandinavia or, more specifically, Norway . As such it is cognate with the Welsh name for Scandinavia, Llychlyn ( pronounced [ˈɬəχlɨn] ). In both old Gaelic and old Welsh, such names literally mean 'land of lakes' or 'land of swamps'. It may initially have referred to the mythical, undersea otherworldly abode of
180-605: A Viking . All uses of the word Lochlann relate it to Nordic realms of Europe. While the traditional view has identified Laithlind with Norway , some have preferred to locate it in a Norse-dominated part of Scotland, perhaps the Hebrides or the Northern Isles . Donnchadh Ó Corráin states that Laithlinn was the name of Viking Scotland , and that a substantial part of Scotland—the Northern and Western Isles and large areas of
270-571: A sea monster , an adventure he shared with his contemporary Columcille. The most commonly illustrated adventure is his landing on an island which turned out to be a giant sea monster named " Jasconius ". The earliest extant version of the Navigatio Sancti Brendani Abbatis ( Voyage of Saint Brendan the Abbot ) was recorded c. AD 900. There are over 100 manuscripts of the narrative throughout Europe and many translations. The Navigatio
360-503: A Gaelic adaption of the Historia Brittonum perhaps compiled at Abernethy —makes Hengist 's daughter "the fairest of the women of all Lochlann". Hengist was a legendary Anglo-Saxon leader of the 5th century AD. The adventures of Prince Breacan of Lochlann are part of the mythology of the naming of the Gulf of Corryvreckan ( Scottish Gaelic : Coire Bhreacain ), a whirlpool between
450-621: A Heritage Park and the Slí Bhreanainn (the Brendan way) was headed by Fr. Gearóid Ó Donnchadha and completed through the work of the St. Brendan Committee. Brendan the Navigator (Brénainn moccu Alti or Brénainn maccu Alti as he is often known in medieval Irish) is the patron saint of two Irish dioceses, Kerry and Clonfert. He is also a patron saint of boatmen, mariners, travellers, elderly adventurers, whales,
540-586: A chapel of the same dedication and in the same location. The reasons for dedicating a church to Saint Brendan here are still unknown and probably untraceable. However, it is known that the Normans and the many settlers that followed the Norman invasion brought into Sicily the tradition of Saint Brendan; there are documents of the 13th century written in Sicily that refer to him. In 1799 the countryside surrounding Brontë became
630-631: A company from Llychlyn led by March ap Meirchiawn (the King Mark of the Tristan and Iseult legend) appears among Arthur's vividly-depicted host. Bromwich suggests this appearance derives ultimately from a recollection of Welsh Triad 14, which depicts March ap Meirchiawn as one of the "Three Seafarers/Fleet Owners of the Island of Britain" – the Scandinavians being famed for their nautical skills. Lochlann
720-427: A giant fish named Jasconius, which they believe to be an island. But once they light a fire, the island starts to move revealing its true nature. Other places that Brendan and his companions arrive at include the Island of Birds, the Island of Ailbe inhabited by a community of silent monks, and the Island of Strong Men. In some accounts, it is on the Island of Strong Men where the second of the three additional members of
810-502: A great deal of literature survives in it, including the early Irish law texts. Classical Gaelic , otherwise known as Early Modern Irish , covers the period from the 13th to the 18th century, during which time it was used as a literary standard in Ireland and Scotland. This is often called Classical Irish , while Ethnologue gives the name " Hiberno-Scottish Gaelic " to this standardised written language. As long as this written language
900-799: A mast and a sail. He and a small group of monks fasted for 40 days, and after a prayer on the shore, embarked in the name of the Most Holy Trinity . The narrative is characterized by much literary licence, e. g., it refers to Hell where "great demons threw down lumps of fiery slag from an island with rivers of gold fire" and also to "great crystal pillars". Many speculate that these are references to volcanic activity around Iceland and to icebergs . The journey of Brendan first begins when he meets with Saint Barinthus . Saint Barinthus describes The Promised Land for Saints (Terra Repromissionis Sanctorum) . As Saint Barinthus describes his journey to this island, Brendan decides to also visit this island because it
990-777: A mission of three years in Britain he returned to Ireland , and evangelized further in various parts of Leinster , especially at Dysart, County Kilkenny , Killeney near Durrow ( Tubberboe Irish : Tóbar Bó , meaning 'Well of the cow'), and Brandon Hill . He established churches at Inchiquin , County Galway , and Inishglora , County Mayo , and founded Clonfert in Galway c. AD 557. He died c. AD 577 in Annaghdown , while visiting his sister Briga. Fearing that after his death his devotees might take his remains as relics , Brendan had previously arranged to have his body secretly returned to
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#17328444061691080-467: A monastery. He also visited Hinba ( Argyll ), an island off the Scottish coast, where he is said to have met Columcille . On the same voyage he travelled to Wales and finally to Brittany , on the northern coast of France . Between AD 512 and 530 Brendan built monastic cells at Ardfert , and Shanakeel ( Seana Cill , usually translated as the "Old Church"), at the foot of Mount Brandon . From there he
1170-428: A monk from Galway , and his voyage around the world for 9 years. The journey began as a punishment by an angel who saw that Brandaen did not believe in the truth of a book of the miracles of creation and saw Brandaen throw it into a fire . The angel tells him that truth has been destroyed. On his journeys Brandaen encounters the wonders and horrors of the world, such as Judas Iscariot frozen on one side and burning on
1260-729: A new theory arose that the Irish were the first Europeans to encounter the Americas. There is no reliable evidence to indicate that Brendan ever reached Greenland or the Americas . The Saint Brendan Society celebrates the belief that Brendan was the first European to reach North America . Tim Severin demonstrated that it is possible for a leather-clad boat such as the one described in the Navigatio to reach North America. Severin's film The Brendan Voyage of 1978, which documented his team's feat, inspired
1350-491: A number of problems. The demise of Gofraid, King of Lochlann and father of Amlaíb and Imhar (or Ímar) and Auisle seems to be recorded in the Fragmentary Annals in 873: Ég righ Lochlainne .i. Gothfraid do tedmaimm grána opond. Sic quod placuit Deo . (The death of the king of Lochlainn i.e. Gothfraid of a sudden and horrible fit. So it pleased God.) O' Corrain (1998) concludes that: "this much-emended entry appears to be
1440-399: A pilgrimage." Scholars debate whether the Navigatio influenced The Voyage of Máel Dúin or vice versa. Jude Mackley suggests that an early Navigatio influenced an equally early Mael Duin and that inter-borrowing continued as the traditions developed. The Navigatio adapts the immram traditions to a Christian context. A principal similarity between Mael Duin and the Navigatio
1530-591: A pre-existing Gaelic culture on both sides of the North Channel . Dál Riata grew in size and influence, and Gaelic language and culture was eventually adopted by the neighbouring Picts (a group of peoples who may have spoken a Brittonic language ) who lived throughout Scotland . Manx, the language of the Isle of Man , is closely akin to the Gaelic spoken in the Hebrides , the Irish spoken in northeast and eastern Ireland, and
1620-502: A southerly route from the Canary Islands , and eastbound travel by a more northerly route on the return, and hence followed this itinerary on all of his voyages. Brendan travelled to Wales and the holy island of Iona , off the west coast of Scotland ; returning to Ireland , he founded a monastery in Annaghdown , where he spent the rest of his life. He also founded a convent at Annaghdown for his sister Briga. Having established
1710-456: A then-popular literary genre, peculiar to Ireland , denominated an immram . Irish immrama flourished during the seventh and eighth centuries. Typically, an immram is a tale that describes the hero's series of seafaring adventures. Some of these immrams involved the search for, and visits to, Tír na nÓg , an island far to the west, beyond the edges of the world map. There appear to be similarities with The Voyage of Bran written much earlier. In
1800-475: Is an island. After Brendan and the fourteen monks build a small boat for their journey, three people join after Brendan has already chosen his companions. These three extras will not return to Ireland, as Brendan prophesies, since their number is now an unholy one. For a period of seven years, Brendan and his students travel the seas and come across various locations while searching for the Promised Land. One of
1890-655: Is derived from Old Welsh Guoidel meaning "wild men, savages". The medieval mythology of the Lebor Gabála Érenn places its origin in an eponymous ancestor of the Gaels and the inventor of the language, Goídel Glas . The family tree of the Goidelic languages, within the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, is as follows During the historical era, Goidelic
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#17328444061691980-557: Is in the Vita Sancti Columbae (Life of Saint Columba) of Adamnan written between AD 679 and 704. The earliest mention of him as a seafarer appears in the Martyrology of Tallaght of the ninth century. The principal works regarding Brendan and his legend are a "Life of Brendan" in several Latin ( Vita Brendani ) and Irish versions ( Betha Brenainn ) and the better known Navigatio Sancti Brendani Abbatis (Voyage of Saint Brendan
2070-451: Is plainly a Christian narrative, but also narrates natural phenomena and fantastical events and places, which appealed to a broad audience. The Navigatio contains many parallels and inter-textual references to Bran and The Voyage of Máel Dúin . On the Kerry coast, Brendan built a currach -like boat of wattle , covered it with hides tanned in oak bark and softened with butter, and set up
2160-505: Is proposed as the predecessor of Goidelic, which then began to separate into different dialects before splitting during the Middle Irish period into the separate languages of Irish , Manx , and Scottish Gaelic . Irish is one of the Republic of Ireland 's two official languages along with English . Historically the predominant language of the island, it is now mostly spoken in parts of
2250-492: Is sometimes used to refer to Scottish Gaelic, especially in Scotland, and therefore is ambiguous. Irish and Manx are sometimes referred to as Irish Gaelic and Manx Gaelic (as they are Goidelic or Gaelic languages), but the use of the word "Gaelic" is unnecessary because the terms Irish and Manx, when used to denote languages, always refer to those languages. This is in contrast to Scottish Gaelic , for which "Gaelic" distinguishes
2340-520: Is supposed to have embarked on his famous seven-year voyage bound for Paradise . The old Irish calendars assigned a feast for the "egressio familiae Sancti Brendani" . Brendan is primarily renowned for his legendary journey to the Isle of the Blessed as described in the Navigatio Sancti Brendani Abbatis ( Voyage of Saint Brendan the Abbot ) of the ninth century. Many versions exist that narrate how he set out on
2430-559: Is the Old Irish representation of the Old Norse name Oláfr – the question of Amlaíb's immediate origins is debated. In 871 he "went from Erin to Lochlann to wage war on the Lochlanns" to assist his father Goffridh who had "come for him". Hona, who the annalists believed was a druid and Tomrir Torra were "two noble chiefs", "of great fame among their own people", and "of the best race of
2520-399: Is the introduction in both of 3 additional passengers. Mael Dúin is joined by his foster brothers, and Brendan by 3 additional monks. Both additions upset the equilibrium of the voyages, and only when the additional persons are no longer on board can each voyage be completed. The Anglo-Norman Voyage of Saint Brendan is the earliest surviving narrative text of Anglo-Norman literature . It
2610-797: Is the land of the Fomorians in the Irish Lebor Gabála Érenn . In the Lebor na hUidre and the Book of Leinster the "huge and ugly" Fomorians are sea demons that battled with the Tuatha De Danann . A Scandinavian Lochlann appears in later Irish tales, generally concerning the King of Lochlann—sometimes called Colgán—or his sons, such as in the tales of Lugh and the Fenian Cycle . The Lebor Bretnach –
2700-743: The Gaeltachtaí are primarily found in Counties Cork , Donegal , Mayo , Galway , Kerry , and, to a lesser extent, in Waterford and Meath . In the Republic of Ireland 1,774,437 (41.4% of the population aged three years and over) regard themselves as able to speak Irish to some degree. Of these, 77,185 (1.8%) speak Irish on a daily basis outside school. Irish is also undergoing a revival in Northern Ireland and has been accorded some legal status there under
2790-675: The Antrim coast. W.H. Murray corroborates the view that the original story may have referred to this latter location, quoting the 10th century Glossary of Cormac who describes the tale of "Brecan, son of Maine, son of Nial Naoighhiallach". The same story is associated with the Bealach a' Choin Ghlais (pass of the grey dog), a tidal race further north between Scarba and Lunga . The prince's dog managed to swim to land and went in search of his master. Failing to find him on Jura or Scarba he tried to leap across
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2880-669: The Canadian Gaelic dialect in Nova Scotia . Its historical range was much larger. For example, it was the everyday language of most of the rest of the Scottish Highlands until little more than a century ago. Galloway was once also a Gaelic-speaking region, but the Galwegian dialect has been extinct there for approximately three centuries. It is believed to have been home to dialects that were transitional between Scottish Gaelic and
2970-602: The European Union . Ireland's national language was the twenty-third to be given such recognition by the EU and previously had the status of a treaty language. Some people in the north and west of mainland Scotland and most people in the Hebrides still speak Scottish Gaelic, but the language has been in decline. There are now believed to be approximately 60,000 native speakers of Scottish Gaelic in Scotland , plus around 1,000 speakers of
3060-445: The Fomorians of Irish mythology. At times it may have referred to an early Norse settlement in Scotland . Classical Gaelic literature and other sources from early medieval Ireland first featured the name, in earlier forms like Laithlind and Lothlend . In Irish , the adjectival noun Lochlannach ( IPA: [ˈl̪ˠɔxl̪ˠən̪ˠəx] , 'person belonging to Lochlann') has an additional sense of 'raider' or, more specifically,
3150-540: The Navigatio tells the story of Brendan, who, with some companion monks, sets out to find the terra repromissionis sanctorum , ("Promised Land of the Saints"), i. e., the Earthly Paradise. Jude S. Mackley holds that efforts to identify possible, actual locations referenced in the Navigatio distract from the author's purpose of presenting a legend of "salvation, monastic obedience and the faith required to undertake such
3240-570: The Navigatio , this style of storytelling accorded with a religious ascetic tradition in which Irish monks travelled alone in boats, in a similar way to that in which their desert brothers isolated themselves in caves. Brendan's voyages were one of the most remarkable and enduring of European legends. With many of the facts of Brendan's journeys coming from the Navigatio , it has been difficult for scholars to distinguish fact and folklore. The narrative of Brendan's voyage, developed during this time, shares some characteristics with immrams. Like an immram,
3330-612: The Twelve Apostles of Ireland . He is also referred to as Brendan the Navigator, Brendan the Voyager, Brendan the Anchorite, and Brendan the Bold. The Irish translation of his name is Naomh Bréanainn or Naomh Breandán. He is mainly known for his legendary voyage to find the "Isle of the Blessed" which is sometimes referred to as "Saint Brendan’s Island". The written narrative of his journey comes from
3420-645: The United States Navy , and also of portaging canoes. St Brendan's activities as a churchman, however, were developed in Western Ireland, where his most important foundations are found, i.e., Ardfert (County Kerry), Inishdadroum (County Clare), Annaghdown (County Galway), and Clonfert (County Galway). His name is perpetuated in numerous place names and landmarks along the Irish coast (e.g., Brandon Hill, Brandon Point, Mount Brendan, Brandon Well, Brandon Bay, Brandon Head). Brendan's most celebrated foundation
3510-455: The Welsh language Llychlyn , which appears as a name for Scandinavia in the prose tales Culhwch and Olwen and The Dream of Rhonabwy , and in some versions of Welsh Triad 35. In these versions of Triad 35 Llychlyn is the destination of the otherwise unattested Yrp of the Hosts, who depleted Britain's armies by demanding that each of the island's chief fortresses provide him with twice
3600-492: The immram Navigatio Sancti Brendani Abbatis (Voyage of Saint Brendan the Abbot). Saint Brendan's feast day is celebrated on 16 May by Catholics , Anglicans , and Orthodox Christians . There is very little secure information concerning Brendan's life, although at least the approximate dates of his birth and death, and accounts of some events in his life, are found in Irish annals and genealogies. The earliest mention of Brendan
3690-572: The " tanist of the king of Lochlann" fell in the Battle of [Sciath Nechtain] Error: {{Lang}}: invalid parameter: |itailc= ( help ) (near modern Castledermot ) in 848. In 851 Zain, also identified as the "half-king of the Lochlanns" and Iargna "the two chiefs of the fleet of the Lochlanns" are recorded as fighting against the Danes in Carlingford Lough . The same source notes that in the sixth year of
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3780-499: The 15th century, Scottis in Scottish English (or Scots Inglis ) was used to refer only to Gaelic, and the speakers of this language who were identified as Scots . As the ruling elite became Scots Inglis/English-speaking, Scottis was gradually associated with the land rather than the people, and the word Erse ('Irish') was gradually used more and more as an act of culturo-political disassociation, with an overt implication that
3870-611: The 1607 Flight of the Earls (and the disappearance of much of the Gaelic nobility), Irish was spoken by the majority of the population until the later 18th century, with a huge impact from the Great Famine of the 1840s. Disproportionately affecting the classes among whom Irish was the primary spoken language, famine and emigration precipitated a steep decline in native speakers, which only recently has begun to reverse. The Irish language has been recognised as an official and working language of
3960-494: The 1998 Good Friday Agreement but its official usage remains divisive to certain parts of the population. The 2001 census in Northern Ireland showed that 167,487 (10.4%) people "had some knowledge of Irish". Combined, this means that around one in three people ( c. 1.85 million ) on the island of Ireland can understand Irish at some level. Despite the ascent in Ireland of the English and Anglicised ruling classes following
4050-480: The 19th and early 20th centuries. The Scottish Parliament has afforded the language a secure statutory status and "equal respect" (but not full equality in legal status under Scots law ) with English, sparking hopes that Scottish Gaelic can be saved from extinction and perhaps even revitalised. Long the everyday language of most of the Isle of Man , Manx began to decline sharply in the 19th century. The last monolingual Manx speakers are believed to have died around
4140-409: The 20th century, recording their speech and learning from them. In the 2011 United Kingdom census , there were 1,823 Manx speakers on the island, representing 2.27% of the population of 80,398, and a steady increase in the number of speakers. Today Manx is the sole medium for teaching at five of the island's pre-schools by a company named Mooinjer veggey ("little people"), which also operates
4230-504: The Abbot). Unfortunately, the versions of the Vita and the Navigatio provide little reliable information of his life and travels; they do, however, attest to the development of devotion to him in the centuries after his death. An additional problem is that the precise relationship between the Vita and the Navigatio traditions is uncertain. The date when the Vita tradition began is uncertain. The earliest surviving copies are no earlier than
4320-555: The Atlantic Ocean with sixteen monks (although other versions record fourteen monks and three unbelievers who joined in the last minute) to search for the Garden of Eden . One of these companions is said to have been Malo . The voyage is dated to AD 512–530, before his travel to the island of Great Britain . On his trip, Brendan is supposed to have seen Saint Brendan's Island , a blessed island covered with vegetation. He also encountered
4410-541: The Irish composer Shaun Davey to write his orchestral suite " The Brendan Voyage ". The Navigatio was known widely in Europe throughout the Middle Ages. Maps of Christopher Columbus' time often included an island denominated Saint Brendan's Isle that was placed in the western Atlantic Ocean. Paul Chapman argues that Christopher Columbus learned from the Navigatio that the currents and winds would favour westbound travel by
4500-501: The Lochlanns", although their careers appear to have been otherwise unrecorded. They died whilst fighting the men of Munster in 860. Gnimbeolu, chief of the Galls of Cork , was killed in 865, possibly the same person as Gnim Cinnsiolla, chief of the Lochlanns who is recorded as dying in similar circumstances. In 869 Tomrark the Earl is described as a "fierce, rough, cruel man of the Lochlanns" and
4590-513: The annalist notes, perhaps with some satisfaction, that this "enemy of Brenann " died of madness at Port-Mannan (possibly the harbour of the Isle of Man ) in the same year. Also in 869 the Picts were attacked by the Lochlanns and internal strife in Lochlann was recorded because: the sons of Albdan, King of Lochlann, expelled the eldest son, Raghnall, son of Albdan, because they feared that he would take
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#17328444061694680-409: The bishopric of Ardfert , Brendan proceeded to Thomond , and founded a monastery at Inis-da-druim (currently Coney Island), in the present parish of Killadysert, County Clare , c. AD 550. He then journeyed to Wales and studied under Gildas at Llancarfan , and thence to Iona , for he is said to have left traces of his apostolic zeal at Kil- brandon (near Oban ) and Kil- brennan Sound. After
4770-535: The brother of Harald Finehair (although the Norse sagas claim that Halfdan was Raghnall/Rognvald's grandfather). The "Lochlanns" may thus have been a generic description for both Norwegian-based warriors and insular forces of Norse descent based in the Norðreyjar or Suðreyjar . Other Lochlannachs mentioned in the texts for dates during the early 10th century are Hingamund (or Ingimund) and Otter, son of Iargna, who
4860-545: The coastal mainland from Caithness and Sutherland to Argyll —was conquered by the Vikings in the first quarter of the ninth century and a Viking kingdom was set up there earlier than the middle of the century. The Fragmentary Annals of Ireland contain numerous reference to the Lochlanns , who are clearly Vikings and feared and distrusted by the writers. However relatively few named individuals are identified from amongst their number and their relationships with one another are largely obscure. Jarl Tomrair , described as
4950-401: The death notice of Gøðrøðr, king of the Vikings in Scotland" and although other interpreters believed this entry referred to the death of his son Ímar it is clearly about one of the other. Who then is "Albdan"? The name is probably a corruption of the Norse Halden, or Halfdane, and this may be a reference to Halfdan the Black . This would make Raghnall Rognvald Eysteinsson of More in Norway and
5040-411: The earliest extant written versions of Brendan's legend is the Dutch De Reis van Sinte Brandaen (Mediaeval Dutch for The Voyage of Saint Brendan ) of the twelfth century. Scholars believe it is derived from a now lost Middle High German text combined with Gaelic elements from Ireland and that it combines Christian and fairy tale elements. De Reis van Sinte Brandaen describes "Brandaen",
5130-420: The end of the twelfth century, but scholars suggest that a version of the Vita was composed before AD 1000. The Navigatio was probably written earlier than the Vita , perhaps in the second half of the eighth century. Aengus the Culdee , in his Litany , composed in the end of the eighth century, invoked "the sixty who accompanied St. Brendan in his quest for the Land of Promise". Any attempt to reconstruct
5220-460: The facts of the life of Brendan or to understand the nature of his legend must be based principally on Irish annals and genealogies and on the various versions of the Vita Brendani . Brendan was born in AD 484 in Tralee , in County Kerry , in the province of Munster , in the south-west of Ireland. He was born among the Altraige, an Irish clan originally centred around Tralee Bay , to parents called Finnlug and Cara. Tradition has it that he
5310-410: The first islands that Brendan and his companions come across is an unnamed and uninhabited island. It is on this island that the first of the three supernumerary monks who accompanied Brendan on his travels dies. After the death of their companion, Brendan and his men leave and continue their journey to the Island of Sheep. After a short stay on the Island of Sheep, Brendan and his crew land on the back of
5400-450: The group leaves it, remaining on the island instead of continuing his journey with Brendan and his men. The third of the three is dragged away by demons. After travelling for seven years, visiting some of the same places over and over again, the wanderers finally arrive in the Promised Land for Saints. They are welcomed and allowed to enter briefly. Awed by what they have seen, they return to Ireland rejoicing. The Navigatio fits in with
5490-473: The islands of Jura and Scarba on the west coast of Scotland . The story goes that the tidal race was named after this Norse Prince "said to be son to the King of Denmark" who was shipwrecked there with a fleet of fifty ships. Breacan is reputed to be buried in a cave at Bagh nam Muc (bay of the swine) at the north-western tip of Jura. According to Haswell-Smith (2004) Adomnan 's Life of St Columba suggests this calamity occurred between Rathlin Island and
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#17328444061695580-436: The kingdom of Lochlann after their father; and Raghnall came with his three sons to Innsi Orc and Raghnall tarried there with his youngest son. But his elder sons, with a great host, which they collected from every quarter, came on to the British Isles, being elated with pride and ambition, to attack the Franks and Saxons. They thought that their father had returned to Lochlann immediately after setting out. This entry provides
5670-454: The language from the Germanic language known as Scots . In English, it is common to have distinct pronunciations of the word, with Scottish Gaelic pronounced / ˈ ɡ æ l ɪ k / compared to Irish and Manx Gaelic pronounced / ˈ ɡ eɪ l ɪ k / . The endonyms ( Gaeilge , Gaelic and Gaolainn in Irish, Gaelg in Manx and Gàidhlig in Scottish Gaelic) are derived from Old Irish Goídelc , which in turn
5760-410: The language was not really Scottish, and therefore foreign. This was something of a propaganda label, as Gaelic has been in Scotland for at least as long as English, if not longer. In the early 16th century the dialects of northern Middle English , also known as Early Scots , which had developed in Lothian and had come to be spoken elsewhere in the Kingdom of Scotland , themselves later appropriated
5850-463: The men he brought; though he began with only two men he left with many thousands. The same versions also give Llychlyn as the destination of the army led by Elen of the Hosts and Maxen Wledig , the Welsh version of the historical Roman usurper Magnus Maximus . However, Rachel Bromwich suggests that Llychlyn in this case might be a corruption of Llydaw , or Armorica , Maxen's usual destination in other sources. In The Dream of Rhonabwy ,
5940-422: The middle of the 19th century; in 1874 around 30% of the population were estimated to speak Manx, decreasing to 9.1% in 1901 and 1.1% in 1921. The last native speaker of Manx, Ned Maddrell , died in 1974. At the end of the 19th century a revival of Manx began, headed by the Manx Language Society ( Yn Çheshaght Ghailckagh ). Both linguists and language enthusiasts searched out the last native speakers during
6030-413: The monastery he founded in Clonfert , concealed in a luggage cart. He was interred in Clonfert Cathedral . Brendan was recognised as a saint by the Catholic Church. His feast day is celebrated on 16 May. As the legend of the seven years voyage spread, crowds of pilgrims and students flocked to Ardfert. Religious houses were formed at Gallerus, Kilmalchedor, Brandon Hill, and the Blasket Islands , to meet
6120-433: The name Scots . By the 17th century Gaelic speakers were restricted largely to the Highlands and the Hebrides. Furthermore, the culturally repressive measures taken against the rebellious Highland communities by The Crown following the second Jacobite Rebellion of 1746 caused still further decline in the language's use – to a large extent by enforced emigration (e.g. the Highland Clearances ). Even more decline followed in
6210-428: The now-extinct Galwegian Gaelic of Galloway (in southwest Scotland), with some influence from Old Norse through the Viking invasions and from the previous British inhabitants. The oldest written Goidelic language is Primitive Irish , which is attested in Ogham inscriptions from about the 4th century. The forms of this speech are very close, and often identical, to the forms of Gaulish recorded before and during
6300-459: The other; people with swine heads, dog legs, and wolf teeth carrying bows and arrows; and an enormous fish that encircles Brandaen's ship by holding its tail in its mouth . The English poem the Life of Saint Brandan is a later derivation from the Dutch version. While the narrative is often assumed to be a religious allegory, there has been considerable discussion as to whether the legends are based on fact. There have been many interpretations of
6390-426: The plain but solid Danhliag of the seventh or eighth century to some late and most ornate examples of medieval Gothic. Following the Reformation, the cathedral was finally dismantled in A.D. 1641. In the Sicilian town of Brontë there is a church dedicated to Saint Brendan, whose name in the local dialect is "San Brandanu" . Since 1574, the " Chiesa di San Blandano " ("Church of Saint Brendan") has replaced
6480-400: The possible geographical location of Saint Brendan's Island . Various pre-Columbian sea charts indicated it everywhere from the southern part of Ireland to the Canary Islands , Faroes , or Azores ; to the island of Madeira ; to a point 60 degrees west of the first meridian and very near the equator . Belief in the existence of Saint Brendan's Island was almost completely abandoned until
6570-455: The reign of Maelsechlainn , circa 852 Amlaíb "the son of the King of Lochlann, came to Erin, and he brought with him commands from his father for many rents and tributes, but he left suddenly. Imhar, his younger brother, came after him to levy the same rents." Amlaíb is also called the "son of the king of Laithlind" by the Annals of Ulster in 853. While certainly of Scandinavian origin – Amlaíb
6660-572: The sole Manx-medium primary school, the Bunscoill Ghaelgagh . Manx is taught as a second language at all of the island's primary and secondary schools and also at the University College Isle of Man and Centre for Manx Studies . Comparison of Goidelic numbers, including Old Irish. Welsh numbers have been included for a comparison between Goidelic and Brythonic branches. * un and daa are no longer used in counting. Instead
6750-490: The south, west, and northwest. The legally defined Irish-speaking areas are called the Gaeltacht ; all government institutions of the Republic, in particular the parliament ( Oireachtas ), its upper house ( Seanad ) and lower house ( Dáil ), and the prime minister ( Taoiseach ) have official names in this language, and some are only officially referred to by their Irish names even in English. At present,
6840-493: The strait to Lunga, but missed his footing on Eilean a' Bhealaich which sits in the middle of the channel between the two islands. He slipped into the raging current and drowned as well, giving his own name in turn to the strait where he fell. Gaelic languages The Goidelic ( / ɡ ɔɪ ˈ d ɛ l ɪ k / goy- DEL -ik ) or Gaelic languages ( Irish : teangacha Gaelacha ; Scottish Gaelic : cànanan Goidhealach ; Manx : çhengaghyn Gaelgagh ) form one of
6930-460: The suppletive forms nane and jees are normally used for counting but for comparative purposes, the historic forms are listed in the table above There are several languages that show Goidelic influence, although they are not Goidelic languages themselves: Brendan the Navigator Brendan of Clonfert (c. AD 484 – c. 577) is one of the early Irish monastic saints and one of
7020-469: The time of the Roman Empire . The next stage, Old Irish , is found in glosses (i.e. annotations) to Latin manuscripts —mainly religious and grammatical—from the 6th to the 10th century, as well as in archaic texts copied or recorded in Middle Irish texts. Middle Irish, the immediate predecessor of the modern Goidelic languages, is the term for the language as recorded from the 10th to the 12th century;
7110-526: The two groups of Insular Celtic languages , the other being the Brittonic languages . Goidelic languages historically formed a dialect continuum stretching from Ireland through the Isle of Man to Scotland . There are three modern Goidelic languages: Irish ( Gaeilge ), Scottish Gaelic ( Gàidhlig ), and Manx ( Gaelg ). Manx died out as a first language in the 20th century but has since been revived to some degree. Gaelic , by itself,
7200-566: The two other Goidelic languages. While Gaelic was spoken across the Scottish Borders and Lothian during the early High Middle Ages it does not seem to have been spoken by the majority and was likely the language of the ruling elite, land-owners and religious clerics. Some other parts of the Scottish Lowlands spoke Cumbric , and others Scots Inglis , the only exceptions being the Northern Isles of Orkney and Shetland where Norse
7290-526: The wants of those who came for spiritual guidance from Brendan. Brendan is the patron saint of sailors and travellers. At the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland , a large stained glass window commemorates Brendan's achievements. At Fenit Harbour , Tralee , a substantial bronze sculpture by Tighe O'Donoghue/Ross was erected to honour the memory of Brendan. The project, including
7380-513: Was Clonfert Cathedral , in the year 563, over which he appointed Moinenn as Prior and Head Master. Brendan was interred in Clonfert. The group of ecclesiastical remains at Ardfert is one of the most interesting and instructive now existing in Ireland. The ruins of the ancient Cathedral of St Brendan, and of its annexed chantries and detached chapels, form a very complete reliquary of Irish ecclesiastical architecture, in its various orders and ages, from
7470-459: Was born in the Kilfenora/Fenit area on the north side of the bay. He was baptised at Tubrid, near Ardfert , by Erc of Slane , and was originally to be called "Mobhí" but signs and portents attending his birth and baptism led to him being christened 'Broen-finn' or 'fair-drop'. For five years he was both educated and given in fosterage to St. Íte of Killeedy , "The Brigid of Munster". When he
7560-436: Was described as a place of those who lived a certain lifestyle and embraced true faith of Christianity. Brendan assembles a group of fourteen monks who pray together with him in his community to leave with him on his journey. Before departing, Brendan and the fourteen monks fast at three-day intervals for forty nights and set out on the voyage that was described to him by Saint Barinthus. They first embark towards Saint Edna, which
7650-449: Was killed by the Scots. Whatever the meaning of Laithlind and Lochlann in Ireland in the ninth and tenth centuries, it may have referred to Norway later. In 1058 Magnus Haraldsson is called "the son of the king of Lochlann", and his nephew Magnus Barefoot is the "king of Lochlann" in the Irish πreports of the great western expedition four decades later. The Irish Lochlann has a cognate in
7740-420: Was probably translated around 1121 by a cleric called Benedeit at the commission of Adeliza of Louvain , the second wife of Henry I of England . In its use of octosyllabic couplets to recount a quest narrative drawn from Celtic sources, it has been described as a precursor of later Old French romances . Benedeit's version of the legend was itself retranslated several times into Latin prose and verse. One of
7830-445: Was restricted to Ireland and, possibly, the west coast of Scotland . Medieval Gaelic literature tells us that the kingdom of Dál Riata emerged in western Scotland during the 6th century. The mainstream view is that Dál Riata was founded by Irish migrants, but this is not universally accepted. Archaeologist Ewan Campbell says there is no archaeological evidence for a migration or invasion, and suggests strong sea links helped maintain
7920-459: Was six he was sent to Jarlath 's monastery school at Tuam to further his education. Brendan is considered one of the "Twelve Apostles of Ireland", one of those said to have been tutored by the great teacher, Finnian of Clonard . At age 26, Brendan was ordained a priest by Erc. Afterward, he founded a number of monasteries. Brendan's first voyage took him to the Aran Islands , where he founded
8010-575: Was spoken. Scottish Gaelic was introduced across North America with Gaelic settlers. Their numbers necessitated North American Gaelic publications and print media from Cape Breton Island to California. Scotland takes its name from the Latin word for 'Gael', Scotus , plural Scoti (of uncertain etymology). Scotland originally meant Land of the Gaels in a cultural and social sense. (In early Old English texts, Scotland referred to Ireland.) Until late in
8100-507: Was the norm, Ireland was considered the Gaelic homeland to the Scottish literati . Later orthographic divergence has resulted in standardised pluricentristic orthographies. Manx orthography, which was introduced in the 16th and 17th centuries, was based loosely on English and Welsh orthography, and so never formed part of this literary standard. Proto-Goidelic, or Proto-Gaelic, is the proposed proto-language for all branches of Goidelic. It
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