Bibliography
  1. Home
  2. Bibliography
  3. McCaughan (Michael) 1998a

McCaughan, Michael, “Voyagers in the vault of heaven: the phenomenon of ships in the sky in medieval Ireland and beyond”, Material Culture Review: Revue de la culture matérielle 48 (Fall, 1998): 170–180.

  • journal article
Citation details
Contributors
Article
“Voyagers in the vault of heaven: the phenomenon of ships in the sky in medieval Ireland and beyond”
Periodical
Volume
48
Pages
170–180
BibTeX
Online resources
Archive
– HTML and PDF resource: journals.lib.unb.ca
Description
Abstract (cited)
This paper explores the phenomenon of ships voyaging in the sky. Such fantastical sightings are considered primarily in an early medieval Irish context, but evidence from places as widely separated in time and place as thirteenth-century England and eighteenth-century Canada is also addressed. The earliest material representation of an Irish currach (skin boat) being rowed heavenwards is on an eighth-century carved stone pillar. By connecting this iconographie evidence to the appearance of ships in the sky above a Celtic monastery, a framework is established from which to investigate the "airship" mirabilia. Understanding the cultural gulf that exists between medieval and modern thinking is central to the concept of "ships in the air." The paper addresses the significance of the ship as an enduring cultural metaphor and religious symbol and affirms these meanings.
Subjects and topics
Headings
medieval Ireland Aerial ships
web page identifiers
Contributors
Dennis Groenewegen
Page created
June 2017, last updated: April 2018
Retrieved from ‘https://codecs.vanhamel.nl/index.php?title=McCaughan_(Michael)_1998a&oldid=134254’