Saint Brendan the Navigator

Sometime in the sixth century, according to legend, an Irish abbot named Brendan set out into the Atlantic in a boat of ox hides, searching for the Promised Land of the Saints. The story of his seven-year voyage — with a whale mistaken for an island, a pillar of crystal, and an island that hurled fire — became a medieval bestseller and put Saint Brendan's Island on European maps for centuries. In this episode, we separate the man from the legend, look at the evidence that Irish monks really did reach Iceland, and follow the explorer who sailed a leather boat to Newfoundland in 1977. 🎙️ History Shorts is a daily history podcast hosted by historian and author of Eight Days in August, Peter Zablocki. New episodes every day. ⭐ Leave a review on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/history-shorts/id1717345209?action=write-review 🎵 Follow on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4CnKo8pKZNR63aMyNuRz4D ☕ Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/HistoryShortsPodcast ▶️ Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@HistoryShortsPodcast