ABSTRACT
The immrama (rowings about; voyages) make up a genre which exemplifies the spirituality of early medieval Irish self-exile and monastic pilgrimage. There are four extant immrama, variously made up of prose and poetry or a mixture thereof: Immram Brain Maic Febuil (Voyage of Bran son of Febal), Immram curaig Maíle Dúin (Voyage of Máel-dúin’s curach), Immram Snédgusa ocus Maic Riagla (Voyage of Snédgus and Mac Riagla), and Immram curaig Úa Corra (Voyage of the Uí Chorra’s curach). The surviving versions of the tales range very widely in date. Immram Brain Maic Febuil, on linguistic grounds datable to the eighth century, stands very early in the development of narrative literature in the Irish language. Immram curaig Úa Corra, in its extant form, is dated near to the end of the middle ages, though there can be little doubt that a much earlier version of this story existed: the Uí Chorra are commemorated in the “Litany of Pilgrim Saints” (c. 800 C.E.) and the tale itself is referred to in medieval lists of titles of Irish tales. The older of the versions of Immram curaig Maíle Dúin (prose) and Immram Snédgusa ocus Maic Riagla (poetry) date from around the ninth and tenth centuries, respectively. The medieval tale lists also imply the past existence of at least one other immram, which is now lost, concerning Muirchertach Mac Erc-whose surviving “deathtale” (aided) includes a dreamvoyage episode.
