Cline

Brendan the Navigator

Many are the discoverers of the New World, and few are the stories or legends remembered in modern history. Arguably the first discoverer of America arrived hundreds of years before the Vikings and nearly a millennium before Columbus. Born in County Kerry, Ireland around 484 AD, Brendan the Navigator is a forgotten discoverer of the New World. Throughout his early life he made many journeys across northwestern Europe founding monasteries before setting out on his seven year voyage to America and back.

This journey was full of danger as the sea was the edge of the known world.

Brendan traveled across the Atlantic in a small, though seaworthy, boat encountering sea monsters, giant crystals, flaming-rock-throwing island inhabitants, and islands covered in sheep and birds. His journey was recorded in his book, Navigatio

Although the fantastic imagery and poetic place descriptions have led some to doubt the journey ever happened, there are many discoveries showing otherwise. When the Vikings rediscovered America, landing south of the Chesapeake Bay, they called the land “Irland ed mikla” which means “Greater (ie “Larger”) Ireland”. There are also stone carvings dated between 500 and 1000 AD written in the Old Irish Ogham alphabet. These are the oldest of their kind in the world and include early Christian symbols, pointing towards the presence of Irish monks, such as Brendan, who were well known for seafaring at the time. Columbus even records his hopes of reaching Brendan’s land in his journal before leaving on his discovery journey. For this reason, the second location of the monument is the Chesapeake

Perhaps the greatest research concerning the validity of the legend was the journey of Tim Severin. From 1976 to 1977, Severin and a crew of explorers made the journey of Brendan the Navigator in a currach, or coracle, made using authentic materials and methods to the greatest extent possible. When finished, the boat, named ‘Brendan’, was 36 feet and was nearly impossible to capsize, even when the team tried capsizing it on purpose during pre-travel experimentation.

This journey provided authentication to many of Brendan’s descriptions, such as the “Island of Sheep” on the island chain called “Paradise of Birds”. In this case, Severin noted the large number of seabirds on the Faeroe Islands, as well as the fact that the word “Faeroe” means “sheep”. The “giant crystals that rose up to the sky” were most likely a description of icebergs and the “flaming, foul smelling rocks” hurled at them when they landed in present-day Iceland were very likely from a volcano.

Even the friendly sea monsters which surrounded the corrach appeared in the form of friendly whales, which even bumped Severin’s corrach from beneath and swam alongside. Severin completed his 4,500 mile journey in only thirteen months. While it took Brendan seven years in contrast, this is because Severin did not travel back to Ireland as Brendan did, but ended the journey in Newfoundland. Based on the stone inscriptions found in the Chesapeake Bay area, it is likely that Brendan continued to Virginia before traveling back to Ireland against the current. This would have greatly increased the length of the journey.

View of the Monument from the Air

A Cross-Section, with seated outline

Individual Details

The monument would be a large circular pool of water about two feet deep, dug into the ground so that it is only about half a foot above the ground at the base although the sculpting would be higher. The edges would be shaped like the edges of the earth as shown on a map with sculpting showing mountains and forests on various shorelines. This would span the entire circumference. The entrance would be between two mountains and unseen from inside. The bottom of the pond would have a mosaic of sea-colored designs. Some sculptures of sea creatures would be entirely submerged, although not at the bottom. It would be hard to tell if they were mythical or real. The icebergs would be made of cut glass. A volcano would be made covered with shiny red and jet black stones. The water would be pumped with hidden jets to sound and look like small waves.

In the middle of the pond would be a smaller scaled replica of the corrach in which students could sit to study. One of the ends would include a flat area to be used as a desk. This would be reached by stepping on various island or whale stepping stones.

The islands with specific characteristics, such as large flocks of sheep or birds, would be designed with this in mind. While seated somewhat lower than ground level, they would see the world almost as though the mountains and forests were real but far away.

Location at George Mason

Mason Pond, behind the Confucius Statue

A monument of Brendan the Navigator would not only commemorate his dangerous and often uncredited voyage, but also would commemorate the memory of a world full of wonder and discovery, reminding people that their surroundings truly are fantastic and mystery is not always lessened by knowledge. Although we know that icebergs are not giant crystals but large blocks of ice, has their appearance ever been described more accurately? By showing Brendan the Navigator’s inspiration to look upon the new worlds with his eyes, this monument would inspire people to look upon their world with new eyes.