The Voyage of St. Brendan tells the tale of the fabled missionary St. Brendan, an Irish legend, and his crew as they set out for the Promised Land. The beginning of the tale describes how an elderly monk named Barinthus makes a visit to the monastery of Ardfert-Brendan and informs the abbot that he intends to spend some time in the Land of Promise of the Saints. This territory is comparable to the sizable island in the western part of the world that God has preserved for His people to reside in. The Land of Promise is fertile, and all crops do incredibly well, and trees bear outstanding fruits that are appealing to the visitors. The land is also full of freshness and plenty with food. However, this land is uninhabited, and thus Brendan decides to go and adventure in the miraculous land. Brendan chooses a group of monks to be his crew. This was after fasting for 40 days. Brendan along with his crew construct a ship which they intend to use in the journey. However, within they are about to finish and embark on their journey, three monks who are sinful and had not purified themselves come to Brendan and beg him to allow them to join the crew for them to go to the journey. Brendan accepts and includes them in the journey. However, it is forbidden that the sinners cannot enter the Promised Land. Due to this, the journey that was to last fewer days ends up taking into seven years of Odyssey.
The story of The Voyage of St. Brendan has gained popularity in the entire region of Europe and significantly attached to the underlining idea of Christianity expansion in Europe. The gospel of Christianity holds that sinful people are not allowed to enter into the kingdom of God. Here, the Promised Land relates to the kingdom of God, and thus one has to repent his or her sins first. Indeed, the story branches out to several variants that modify and expand tale of Christianity in the medieval era. It is critically evident that Christianity required people who are pure in heart and those who were sinful needed to repent in order to undertake the missions of God and get to the Promised Land. Failure to do this results into detrimental repercussions. For example, the sinful people on Brendan’s ship make the journey to take seven years instead of lasting few days to reach the Promised Land.
Life of Cuthbert
The Life of Cuthbert is a story written by Bede and narrates the life experiences of Cuthbert who lived in the years 635-687. He was an early Christian monk who became Prior and Bishop of Lindisfarne. The story started with the miracle of Cuthbert when he was in his youth. It is evident that Cuthbert did suffer in his youth and despite this, he did love pranks and games. Cuthbert embraced the hermit's life and later spent his future life in solitude. However, one day when he was playing his games, a child, three years old, came to him and reprimanded him from getting involved in games when God had a plan for his life. The life of Cuthbert contains a prose of work which is divided into 46 chronological chapters that are significantly informative of the spread of Christianity in the early life. This made Cuthbert give up on his games. Cuthbert did live during the time when Europe was encountering tremendous religious changes. Christianity that was rampantly spreading in the European land and traditions did emerge with various practices which arouse significant disagreements. Therefore, the story highlights that the spread of Christianity was hampered by traditional practices that were practiced in the medieval era. The tale highlights that in 664 the problem was resolved by the Synod of Whitby of the Roman church. Even though Cuthbert was educated in the Irish tradition, he accepted the decision to preach the gospel of God and informing people of its miracles.
The life of Wilfred
Wilfrid was born in 634 and Bede indicates to have “pre destined for holiness and God's glory” (Bede 24). Additionally, Wilfrid was sanctified while still in the womb when a group of men saw a house catching fire. These men ran to the house and attempted to stop the fire. However, the midwife who was attending to the mother of Wilfrid while giving birth calmed the men down and prevented them from stopping the fire. The woman told the men that the light was shining due to the birth of the child. When Wilfrid grows to become a boy, he chooses to follow the ways of God. The Life of Wilfred is a dedication to Bishop, Acca, and his Abbot, Tatberht. Bede comes to learn that the work of biography production is hard, but God helps him to persevere through. Evidently, this story relates to the story of Jesus in the Holy Bible. During the medieval time, it was used to teach people the ways of God and how the baby Jesus was born. Wilfrid was influential in spreading Christianity amongst the local South Saxon people. This tale was important in the conversion of people to Christianity. Furthermore, the tale was central in rescuing people from the slavery of sin and making them give their souls God and believing that he is the only savior and the truth of life.
Work Cited
Bede David Hugh. The Age of Bede. Jarrow, Durham, St. Paul's Church. 2006.
