Between the 9th and the 10th century CE, in an unknown European abbey, an anonymous author told the story of an Irish monk and his 14 companions who embarked on a dangerous journey in the 5th century CE. The monk's name was Brendan, and his destination was the Terra repromissionis sanctorum, the Promised Land of the saints. The text, known as Navigatio Sancti Brendani abbatis, is the account of an incredible adventure through fantastic landscapes, but – as many narrative texts set in the “fantastic” – it combines legendary elements with useful details about the author's culture, beliefs, and even mental attitude. This was typical of medieval hagiographic texts, which were meant to narrate the deeds of saints and their miracles, but that nonetheless mirrored the mentalities, anxieties, and longings of the world in which they had been written.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original content at https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1330/in-search-of-the-promised-land--saint-brendans-voy/.