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Irish Missionary

Saint Brendan. (The Granger Collection, Ltd. Reproduced with permission.)

One of the most puzzling figures from the history of medieval exploration was the Irish monk St. Brendan. Some claim that Brendan, who in about 522 sailed with a group of some 60 men for what he called the "Land of Promise," actually reached North America. Others have maintained that he at least visited the Canary Islands or Madeira, and still others hold that the entire story of Brendan's journey was a legend.

Known variously as St. Brendan of Ardfert and Clonfert, or as Brendan the Voyager, he was born near the present-day city of Tralee in Ireland's County Kerry. Educated under several clerics who like Brendan himself were destined for canonization or sainthood, he received his ordination as a priest in 512, and promptly began building monastic centers in a number of towns around Ireland.

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