La Navigation de saint Brendan et le merveilleux Propositions pour la définition ­d’un genre

This article seeks to determine if the Navigation de saint Brendan is inscribed in a literary genre. The survey of a vast corpus of narratives with a nautical theme from different eras and cultures reveals less a genre than a recurring narrative structure which is accompanied by a constant rapport with the supernatural: often founded on the beyond, the characteristic marvels of the navigatio are inscribed in a dual space, both maritime and earthy.