Echtrae, Immrama, and Sea Shanties
To begin with there are three main definitions that I want to get out of the way
Immrama - a class of Old Irish tales concerning a hero's sea journey to the Otherworld
Echtrae - a type of Old Irish literature about a hero's adventures in the Otherworld or with otherworldly beings
Sea Shanty - a song originally sung by sailors, especially a rhythmic one forming an accompaniment to work
Now, there is some academic debate over the interchangeability of immram and echtrae - with scholar of Old Irish Literature, H.P.A. Oskamp having said that “a sharp distinction cannot be made between the two genres,” while other scholars, (sometimes in direct response to Oskamp) have argued that this is not the case and that the lack of distinction comes as a result of a misunderstanding of Immram Brain maic Febail (The Voyage of Bran).
As Kuno Meyer asserts- the echtrae only denote expeditions in the otherworld- the common elements found in echtrae (otherworld music, fairy women, journey to the otherworld, the riches of the otherworld, etc.) are also found in contemporary secular literature- in short, echtrae are part of the secular literary tradition.
Conversely, immrama, which are journeys to the otherworld, can be both secular and monastic (some scholars choose to differentiate between secular and monaster immrama and some don’t). It’s important to understand that immrama are frame-texts, which means that the “rowing about” (“immram”) is the vehicle through which all manner of episodes/incidents can be joined into the story. In a frame text, episodes can be added or subtracted so long as the frame itself is not damaged.
Finally, we come to the sea shanty- which is one of my favorite styles of music. Sea Shanties are rhythmic work songs originally sung by sailors. These songs typically tell a story, and the kind of story they tell is something I’ll touch on in a little bit.
The point of this post, is to have somewhere to put my thoughts on the ways in which sea shanties feel like a continuation of the immrama tradition. In most sea shanties and immrama one can find:
a motivation for the events
a conclusion
filler material that links the frame to the secondary story
the voyage to an otherworld
To look further into the similarities- immrama are a "hero's sea journey to the otherworld" and many sea shanties, deal with the death of the narrator and/or their shipmates- discussing the passing onto an otherworld. Sea shanties, while functioning as a work song, could be lengthened or shortened as needed for the task at hand. Obviously not every sea shanty follows in the immram tradition, but I can’t help but make a connection.
