The Voyage of Bran for the modern era
I’m an non-verbal autistic parent of neurodivergent children. Two of my children reached the age when children typically go off to college during the pandemic. One just turned 18 and graduated from high school. All three will depart from the house in which they grew up within the next year and go off to college.
Change for autistic people can be difficult. For the non-verbal, explaining such complex topics such as the perils of leaving home are quite challenging. In America, we don’t have a single culture that frames such discussions. We have norms and expectations, but no classic stories that we tell to help us frame the feelings with words we’ll all understand.
Thinking about this, and writing the chapter in my latest book that deals with the history of literacy in the world, I was recalling an old story that I encountered as a child - the Voyage of Bran. The Voyage of Bran is an ancient Irish legend dating back to at least the 8th century AD. It tells the story of Bran mac Febal, who is lured to the Otherworld by a beautiful woman. She sings to him of a wondrous land free from death, disease, and old age. Bran gathers a group of men and sets sail to find this Otherworld, having many adventures along the way. The tale mixes pagan Irish mythology with early Christian elements. It's considered one of the earliest examples of immram literature, a genre of Irish voyage tales about fantastic journeys to islands or places beyond the edges of the known world.
I thought about it in terms of the voyage away from home into the unknown. There’s an element to the story about how the voyage changes Bran and what he encounters when he goes home that always stuck with me - that of how the voyage changes us in ways we can’t imagine before our departure. I guess the Solitary Forager in my really connected with the genre.
I began to reimagine the tale in the modern age. Instead of going to sea in search of riches or unattainable women, Bran goes off to college. Instead of the dark ending, essentially warning against leaving, here the ending is positive. After all, kids do leave the home and make their own way here in the US, don’t they. Here’s what it might look like.
— begin —
The Departure
Siobhan stood on the shore, watching the ferry approach that would take her away from home for the first time. She was filled with equal parts excitement and dread. This journey reminded her of the old Irish legend of the Voyage of Bran - when he sailed off into the unknown at the urging of a beautiful, mystical woman.
Like Bran, Siobhan had been enticed to leave by the promise of adventure, gaining knowledge and wisdom. She was eager to start college and learn more about the world beyond her small hometown. The university brochures made it seem like an enchanted isle full of new experiences. But now doubts were creeping in as the time came to leave the familiarity of home.
As Siobhan boarded the crowded ferry, she worried she was unprepared for life alone. She would miss her siblings, her family's warm embrace, and her mother's cooking. What if she failed her classes or couldn't make new friends? The ship sailed further out to sea, the shoreline fading from view. There was no turning back now.
The days that followed were a blur of dorm rooms, orientation events, and strange new faces. Siobhan was overwhelmed navigating a vast campus instead of her little village. She got lost finding classes multiple times. At night, homesickness washed over her like waves in a storm. She wasn't sure she belonged in this Unknown World.
But slowly, the clouds began to clear. Siobhan made a few friends in her hall. She learned the best study spots in the library. She even managed to ace her first English paper. This new world was becoming less strange and scary. Siobhan realized that with time and courage, she could chart her own course.
After her first year, Siobhan returned home for the summer. But like Bran, she soon realized that whilst her hometown looked the same, she was forever changed by her voyage. Her old friends seemed juvenile, her room foreign - now occupied by her younger brother. Siobhan no longer fit into the narrow confines of her former life. She had outgrown the familiar shores of home.
Siobhan still had three more years of college ahead. Like Bran's epic journey, there were perils waiting as she charted new waters. But she was resilient, and each day was bringing new discoveries. She had embarked on this voyage for a reason. As hard as it was to leave home, she now understood you sometimes have to sail into the unknown to find yourself.
— end —
I chose to name the protagonist Siobhan for a reason. The name Siobhan is an anglicized form of the old Irish name Síobhán, which is derived from the Gaelic word “shee” meaning “fairy” or “sprite.” So the name Síobhán essentially means “fairy maiden” or “graceful girl” in Irish.
It's a lovely and lyrical Gaelic name that has spread in popularity beyond Ireland. But the original Gaelic spelling Síobhán and its etymological meaning connect it back to ancient Irish folklore and mythology, where magical female fairy creatures were thought to inhabit the emerald hills and forests of the isle.
So by using the name Siobhan in this short story, it links the protagonist back to the mystical and mythological themes from ancient Irish legends like the Voyage of Bran. It helps reinforce the idea of an “ordinary girl” going on an extraordinary journey of discovery, just as Bran ventured into magical realms beyond the edges of his own world.
I grew up with my Scottish grandmother hearing about such fantastical things as the Voyage of Bran. Now, you might think, why would a Scottish woman be sharing Irish tales. It’s simple, actually. My Scottish family are “Westies.”
Westies, in Scottish terms, are people from the west of Scotland - Glasgow and the coast. My gran’s dad was born in Glasgow and his family traces back in the west for countless generations. He and his brother served in the Argyle and Sutherland Highlanders. Argyle means “Coast of the Gaels.”
This ties back to the olf Dál Riata. Dál Riata was an ancient Gaelic kingdom that encompassed parts of western Scotland and northeastern Ireland during the Middle Ages. It’s origins date back to the 6th century AD when the Irish kingdom of Dál Riata was founded by the Scoti people from Ireland who migrated and colonized the western coast of Scotland.
The kingdom straddled both sides of the North Channel and the Irish Sea, with its power base centered in Antrim in Ireland and Argyll in Scotland. For a time, it was suggested Dál Riata was unified under one king but later medieval histories indicate it was comprised of multiple factions and kin groups on both sides of the water.
Dál Riata in Scotland came to dominate and the kingdom expanded well beyond its Argyll heartland during the 7th-8th centuries, spreading Gaelic language and culture. Traditional accounts say the Scoti conquered the Pictish kingdom and united Scotland north of the Forth-Clyde. This fusion laid the foundations for the Kingdom of Alba, the genesis of modern Scotland.
Dál Riata fostered close cultural and political ties between Gaelic Ireland and Scotland that continued for centuries, influencing language, arts, religion, and other aspects of society. The kingdom declined after Viking raids disrupted power structures in the 9th century. But Dál Riata's legacy lived on in both Irish and Scottish dynasties and culture.
As Dál Riata lost prominence, stories like the Voyage of Bran may have risen in popularity as mythologized nostalgia for when Gaels freely sailed and settled distant lands. The wondrous islands Bran discovered mirrored real islands settled by Dál Riata's seafaring warriors in earlier eras. The tales evoked this adventurous Gaelic past. With Dál Riata's end, its legacy lived on through myths and legends that resonated with later medieval Gaelic audiences. These stories recalled a mythical age of exploration and magic. The Voyage of Bran survives today thanks to monks recording these oral tales as Dál Riata faded. Other lost legends likely recalled its former glory before the chaos of the Viking Age.
Perhaps, as the West declines, my mind is thinking more about these types of tales, connecting with my ancient ancestors, and wondering what will be next for my family as the seas of change whip up.
Who knows what will become of us. But, I’m going through what most parents do - the emotions of children leaving home for the first time. My Gestalt Language Processing is probably just looking to anchor these feelings in comforting words.