The Strange Voyage of Máel Dúin
There is a genre of medieval Irish literature called "Immrams" consisting of tales about seafaring explorers to distant fanciful places.The voyage of Bran and the later,christian narrative of St Brendan are the best known.
My favourite is this lesser known Immram that may go back to the 8th century. It is preserved in part in the "Book of the Dun Cow" and in full in the 14th century "Yellow book of Lecan". It features a wonderful cast of pirates, fiery cats, demons on horseback and a possessive queen who keeps men captive on her island.
sea travel in medieval times was uncomfortable & perilous.
from biblioteca. El Escorial, Madrid.
Máel Dúin was raised by the king and queen of Eoganacht believing he was their son until,one day as a young man, he was told by a jealous courtier that he was adopted. Reluctantly the queen admitted the truth, revealing the awful fact that Máel"s father, the chieftain Ailill Ochair Aghra had been murdered by marauding pirates and his mother, a nun who had been seduced by Ailill was unable to raise the boy herself. He had been given to the royal couple who loved him as much as their own 3 sons.
Máel Dúin determined to avenge his father"s death by finding and killing the pirates and he built a curragh to take himself off on the quest. A druid said 17 companions would be a lucky number. As they set out the 3 royal foster brothers pleaded to join the party.Máel took them aboard but this was now unlucky. They were all unaware that they were embarking on an epic journey.
Almost immediately they sailed into a wild storm that drove them off course, away from the ravaging pirates they sought. The curragh was blown into uncharted waters.
Three days after the storm they approached an island infested with giant ants scuttling about on the beach. The ants saw the boat and salivated at the sight of potential food coming to them. Máel and his crew wisely didnt land but sailed away.
Many more islands were passed, some of which the crew landed upon to stock up on provisions. The weeks went by as they saw many marvels- the island of lamenting men and wailing sorrows. The island of demons riding on horseback. The island of the giant shepherd with his flock of enormous sheep.
When exhausted,hungry & low in morale, miraculously they came upon an island with a single magnificent apple tree whose branches extended out to sea. It supplied them with food & drink for 40 days and nights.
sea-pig. Monsters like it were often seen by voyagers.
The next island seemed to be uninhabited. They wandered through an empty palace to find, surprisingly, that the former occupants had left heaps of treasure, glistening jewels and weapons of silver & gold. In an elegant dining room a table was laid out with an abundance of food and drink. Máel"s men were uneasy for they were being watched- by a multitude of cats. However the men were starving so they all indulged themselves and slept that night in the palace. The cats remained detached. In the morning Máel"s eldest foster brother stole some treasure and headed for the boat. The cats began to glow red like fire; they scampered after him.
The thief ran fast but the cats swarmed over him like molten lava, reducing him to ashes.
The journey continued while the crew grieved for their lost comrade.
The isle of Women had featured in the voyage of Bran. Now it was the port of call for the Máel Dúin party. Many fair maidens cajoled the men to stay in the palace; there Máel met a beautiful queen who became enamoured of the explorer and asked him to remain with her forever. Three months passed living in pleasure, but finally the men were restless. Máel himself wished to stay in this earthly paradise. He reluctantly agreed to go if his companions were decided to return to Ireland.
They sneaked away to their boat while the queen was absent. As the boat pulled away, the queen rode up on her horse and threw a magic ball of thread (clew) towards the boat, holding one end in her hand.
Máel Dúin caught the ball of thread but could not let go- it was fixed in his hand. The queen easily pulled them back to the harbour. She angrily berated them for trying to leave. Nine months passed while the men were held under the queen"s spell. Every time an escape was tried she would throw the ball of thread and every time Máel would catch it and she would reel them in.
Finally they resolved to resist the spell with all their will. Another sailor in the boat caught the magic clew when the queen threw it and up stood one of his companions who quickly sliced off the hand fixed to the clew which fell in to the water. The boat drew away from the island, away from the queen, now distraught.
The Queen of the magic clew.
They returned to Ireland, having first landed at the place where the murderers of Máel"s father were based. In pagan times a hero would have exacted swift and terrible revenge but this epic tale had some christian morality woven in to it and Máel had undergone a profound change after so long at sea that in the end he forgave the killers.
The travels of St Brendan (c486-c575) are inspired by Bran and Máel Dúin. The saint is said to have crossed the Atlantic ocean in a small boat, reaching America before the Vikings and long before Columbus. If he did then its an amazing fact but for me the earlier fanciful voyages are just as impressive in their navigation of the map of imagination.
St Brendan crossing the Atlantic. Mural on the facade of
the Stella Maris mission, Belfast. Artwork by Kinney Design.
The illustration of the Queen with the magic clew is from the "book of Wonder Voyages" by Joseph Jacobs.
My favourite is this lesser known Immram that may go back to the 8th century. It is preserved in part in the "Book of the Dun Cow" and in full in the 14th century "Yellow book of Lecan". It features a wonderful cast of pirates, fiery cats, demons on horseback and a possessive queen who keeps men captive on her island.
from biblioteca. El Escorial, Madrid.
Máel Dúin was raised by the king and queen of Eoganacht believing he was their son until,one day as a young man, he was told by a jealous courtier that he was adopted. Reluctantly the queen admitted the truth, revealing the awful fact that Máel"s father, the chieftain Ailill Ochair Aghra had been murdered by marauding pirates and his mother, a nun who had been seduced by Ailill was unable to raise the boy herself. He had been given to the royal couple who loved him as much as their own 3 sons.
Máel Dúin determined to avenge his father"s death by finding and killing the pirates and he built a curragh to take himself off on the quest. A druid said 17 companions would be a lucky number. As they set out the 3 royal foster brothers pleaded to join the party.Máel took them aboard but this was now unlucky. They were all unaware that they were embarking on an epic journey.
Almost immediately they sailed into a wild storm that drove them off course, away from the ravaging pirates they sought. The curragh was blown into uncharted waters.
Three days after the storm they approached an island infested with giant ants scuttling about on the beach. The ants saw the boat and salivated at the sight of potential food coming to them. Máel and his crew wisely didnt land but sailed away.
Many more islands were passed, some of which the crew landed upon to stock up on provisions. The weeks went by as they saw many marvels- the island of lamenting men and wailing sorrows. The island of demons riding on horseback. The island of the giant shepherd with his flock of enormous sheep.
When exhausted,hungry & low in morale, miraculously they came upon an island with a single magnificent apple tree whose branches extended out to sea. It supplied them with food & drink for 40 days and nights.
The next island seemed to be uninhabited. They wandered through an empty palace to find, surprisingly, that the former occupants had left heaps of treasure, glistening jewels and weapons of silver & gold. In an elegant dining room a table was laid out with an abundance of food and drink. Máel"s men were uneasy for they were being watched- by a multitude of cats. However the men were starving so they all indulged themselves and slept that night in the palace. The cats remained detached. In the morning Máel"s eldest foster brother stole some treasure and headed for the boat. The cats began to glow red like fire; they scampered after him.
The thief ran fast but the cats swarmed over him like molten lava, reducing him to ashes.
The journey continued while the crew grieved for their lost comrade.
The isle of Women had featured in the voyage of Bran. Now it was the port of call for the Máel Dúin party. Many fair maidens cajoled the men to stay in the palace; there Máel met a beautiful queen who became enamoured of the explorer and asked him to remain with her forever. Three months passed living in pleasure, but finally the men were restless. Máel himself wished to stay in this earthly paradise. He reluctantly agreed to go if his companions were decided to return to Ireland.
They sneaked away to their boat while the queen was absent. As the boat pulled away, the queen rode up on her horse and threw a magic ball of thread (clew) towards the boat, holding one end in her hand.
Máel Dúin caught the ball of thread but could not let go- it was fixed in his hand. The queen easily pulled them back to the harbour. She angrily berated them for trying to leave. Nine months passed while the men were held under the queen"s spell. Every time an escape was tried she would throw the ball of thread and every time Máel would catch it and she would reel them in.
Finally they resolved to resist the spell with all their will. Another sailor in the boat caught the magic clew when the queen threw it and up stood one of his companions who quickly sliced off the hand fixed to the clew which fell in to the water. The boat drew away from the island, away from the queen, now distraught.
They returned to Ireland, having first landed at the place where the murderers of Máel"s father were based. In pagan times a hero would have exacted swift and terrible revenge but this epic tale had some christian morality woven in to it and Máel had undergone a profound change after so long at sea that in the end he forgave the killers.
The travels of St Brendan (c486-c575) are inspired by Bran and Máel Dúin. The saint is said to have crossed the Atlantic ocean in a small boat, reaching America before the Vikings and long before Columbus. If he did then its an amazing fact but for me the earlier fanciful voyages are just as impressive in their navigation of the map of imagination.
the Stella Maris mission, Belfast. Artwork by Kinney Design.
The illustration of the Queen with the magic clew is from the "book of Wonder Voyages" by Joseph Jacobs.
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