The Otherworld Voyage in Early Irish Literature: An Anthology of Criticism (review)

Despite the indisputable importance of early Irish literature in European medieval thought and literature, its study has too often been restricted to the comparably few Celticists and Hiberno-Latinists. For the scholarly discourse to become truly interdisciplinary, anthologies such as this serve as welcome introductions to neophytes even while advancing our specialized knowledge. The volume presents some of the most stimulating contributions to the study of the immrama: those four early Irish narratives interconnected by common themes (the travel from island to island), common motifs (e.g., that of the latecomers, the supernumeraries), common narrative structures, and a pervasive Christian peregrinatio ideal (pilgrimage overseas). And yet, each work carries its own distinct character, as well as its own philological problems. The most widespread voyage narrative that may have influenced the other four, the legend of St. Brendan, is known both through the Latin Navigatio Sancti Brendani of the late eighth century (if we follow Dumville's dating, p. 131) and the various texts of the Vita Brendani.

The editor of the anthology, Jonathan M. Wooding, not unlike the procurator in the Navigatio, offers "guidance" (p. xxiv) and orientation in the vast sea of immram criticism. The attractively crafted volume contains nineteen reprinted articles, "a representative selection of past and present criticism," that date from 1905 to the end of the century. They are chronologically arranged and vary in length between three and thirty pages. The selection tries to "provide the reader with an impression of the evolving critical discourse concerning a topic," and, further, to make available secondary literature that is "widely scattered and often obscurely published." The latter argument is less persuasive: a good number of articles were culled from leading medieval journals which most North American university libraries would have on their shelves. This volume does not need secondary justification as it fulfills its primary aim admirably by providing an authoritative overview of scholarship on Irish otherworld voyage literature.

Besides seminal articles by some of the greatest celticists of the century, experts such as Ludwig Bieler, James Carney, J. J. O'Meara, John Carey, S. Mac Mathúna, et al., finding lesser-known older contributions as well as three as yet unpublished, recent studies is refreshing. In fact, among the latter, the articles by Thomas Owen Clancy, "Subversion at Sea: Structure, Style and Intent in the Immrama," or J. M. Wooding's "Monastic Voyaging and the Nauigatio" (together with the editor's introduction) are perfectly suited entries into the domain. From there the reader can follow various strands backwards and witness the evolution of views now taken for granted (e.g., understanding the immrama as "penitential quests," p. 197). The editor's practice of providing translations for all Irish or Latin quotations is highly commendable, as are the extensive bibliography and a helpful index. The decision to have the articles re-set rather than to print facsimiles helps to see old arguments in a new light, but can also produce the occasional error (such as p. 158, where St. Brendan is made to stay on the Island of St Ailbe "between Easter and the Epiphany" rather than over the Christmas feast). However, these flaws are few and far in between.

One may regret the editor's policy of including only items written in English. In particular, the study of the St. Brendan legend has lately been advanced by Dutch and German scholars, which would warrant either a reference to their work (scholars such as L. Peeters, W. Haug, et al.), or the inclusion of a translated article by one of them. Even the study of the later, continental reception of Irish voyage literature can shed light on its Irish sources. Brendan studies have recently benefited from G. Burgess' and C. Strijbosch's The...