La importancia de la Biblia en la redacción de la Navigatio Sancti Brendani

Abstract

This paper intens to show that the influence of the Bible on christianized but unromanized territories was of crucial importance for the writings produced during the first medieval centuries. We shall focus on the rhetoric devices used in the Nauigatio Sancti Brendani, a text deeply rooted in Irish traditions, which contains a peculiar biblical symbolism. This ranges from the more subconscious aspects (as the very title reveals) to more realistic descriptions. Behind its suggested reality, the metaphoric quality the author was longing for stands, trying to reach medieval audiences throughout allegory. We emphazise the persistent and thorough task of the author to weave the fruit and chaff in his work avoiding therefore any interference of chance in the final texture.