New-York tribune., 1894-06-13
CELTIC VOYAGES.
poNANCEs THAT BEAR ON EARLY
NORTHERN CIVILIZATION

That the Norsemen knew the coast oi NeW-nn
land seems all but demonstrated Ihat the Cei'
nae beforehand with the scandinavian IN ms
matter may well be believed. But the su""ee
narratives Of adventure al sea whlch loi"i 80
marked a feature in Celtic folklore seem - Oe
Eastern rather than Western in their character
There are certain details that recur ailKe III
nearly all Of them. For example the rdPin 'u0-
cession of island adventures gives the impression
that the talc-tellers were thinking OF an aIcni-
rn,oco rather than of a wide land beyond the
Atlantic Ocean. This is the case WIN 'ne o'o''
which DR. Jovcs has translated under the title Of
"Tbe Voyage Of the Sons Of O'Corra.' The way
farers continually find new islands; and the same
a. truo of the vovagers in The Quest for the
Eric-hne" and of the hero in The Voyage OF
Maildeen." other stories translated by Dr. joyce.
T. &c above all true Of the most famous among
oil tho Celtic Odysseys the legend Of St Bran
dan. which is still pored over by some who can
not give up the possibility of a geographical
truth hidden in the mazes Of its fiction II speaks
volumes for the influence of the Celtic magma
tio, that after centuries Of search WHO TO-
nance can still be taken seriously. The pious
exploits Of coistered fancy were celeDra'eu III
every language Of Europe. and were muIuPleu
by every translator. They not only met with
favor among the people who delighted IN marNeIS'
they were generally held in the early times OF 'he
Aga If Discovery. even by intelligent men. to be
true descriptions Of real places. The Island OF
ST. Brandan was designated on maps. and men
toned in geographical treatises, and finally be-
came an object of international negotiation II
was gravely ceded by the King Of Portugal to the
King Of Spain. Spain renewed the search Tor II
at intervals until the first quarter OF 'he elsh-
teenth century was gone.
The legend Of ST. Brandan is the prototype or
Celtic sea-wanderings, and the form of these
tales has not much changed. deserves the pres
ent purpose 10 note that Dr.. Joyce dates IT from
the sixth century. for it was about the same
period. apparently that the marvellous legend Of
Alexander the Great began to be known in West
ern Europe. after having 1oated about the Hell
]enic world for at least three hundred years.
The seventh century witnessed the composition
of "Barlaam and Josaphat." a romance Of ascetl-
cism which first in the East and afterward IN
the West acted on the whole Christian world. IL
IS not material whether these Greek novels were
known to Irish monks. They indicate. when
placed beside the story Of Brandan, that the
literary tendencies Of West and East in those
DAYS were practically identical. This must be
ACKNOWLEDGED whether the reality Of Brandans
VOYAGE be asserted or not. or even II all COM
anunication between Orient and Occident be de-
MED THE Voyage Of the Sons Of OCorra'
which almost rivals the tale Of Brandan in an
tiouity. helps. with other stories Of the kind' 10
make the connection between West and East
more probable. The very first island which the
travellers discovered was graced with an orchard
which bore golden apples. and these apples cured
them of all diseases and wounds The story
teller was perhaps thinking Of the Garden or the
Hesperides which in another romance or Dr'
Joyces collection was called the Garden or HIS
berna. and was said to be "in the east or the
world"-a very clear indication not OF the gar
den's proper place. but Of the quarter whence 'le
fancy had come to Ireland. The second lslano
had been divided by the common consent OF llS
inhabitants into four parts. One division was
occupied by the old men. another by princes ule
third by warriors and the fourth by servants
They were all handsome and merry ana lher
influence On those who visited them was IKE
that of the lotus-eaters of Homeric fancy IN that
the newcomers forgot their past and wished to
remain on this island forever The same was
true of the Isle Of Laughing, which figures IN
"Tbe VOYAGE of Maildun," another Of DR.. joyce
rornances Maildun also visited the island win
four divisions: but he found these occupied re-
snectiyely by kings, queens. youths and maldens
The boundary lines were walls Of gold, OF silver
of conner and of crystal. That such fances as
this marked the beginnings Of those minute as
tinctions in the World Of the Dead perfected Dy
Dante seems to be shown by short fiction OF
the eighth century, that is TO say roughly con-
temporary with the cycle Of Irish Odysseys' 1hi'
was the Vision Of BarOntus who rose from ap
parent death TO tell what he had seen in Para
disc He found that the other world was diVloec
nv gates into four separate places one occupied
by monks, another by maidens and chldreh'
third by the saints and martyrs who live il
hric
which the gate shines with dazzling brightness
There IS passage in the "Punica' OF Sihu'
Italicus which might be used to link Barontus u
an earlier time Thus, vaguely, Barontus an'
tho narticular episode Of the Irish voyages JUS
alluded TO look back 10 antique imaginlngs IN
connection with the Orient is much closer now
ever when IL comes 10 bright-hued sweet-sihelhl
birds that were the souls OF holy men, ana Dro
of divers colors that were permitted TO ny ou
~ He'll every Sunday and black swans that wer
only devils in an unusual form. St Brandai
also found birds which had once been OF ina
party Of angels who, at the time OF the war Il
Heaven d.d not know whether 10 take the arch
angels side or the dragons In the Orient speak
ing birds figured supernaturally In the adventure
of Alexander They conceal the waiting souls o
disembodied Islam and long ago their garment
of feathers clothed the ghosts of Assyra.
The relation Of this particular class OF Celti
romances with classical antiquity Is Illustrate
in the adventures of the Children Of Turenn al
ready mentioned. They look for the Garden 0
Hisberna in the far East; they visit Greece an
carry off, not Jasons golden fleece, but pig
skin which is supposed to serve the same rur
pose; they quarrel with the King Of Persia In
wade Sicily, and otherwise show the same spiri
which inspired Arthur and his knights in thei
suppostltious war with Rome. In the voyage
Maildun as DR.. Joyce gives it, we have the stor
OF the phenix without the fire But tnroughou
the imitation of antiquity is very rude. IN
geography is impossible for the same reason tina
the geography Of the Odyssey is impossible Tn
tale-tellers describe regions which they kno'
oni., hv hearsav The close dependence of N