Scene 1

On the morning of the seventh day when the wind has driven their boat to the west, an isle appears in the ocean. It is of rare beauty, a glow and shimmer seems to emanate from it. In the north of the land mass high mountains rise to the sky, while in the south the country stretches out languid and lovely.

Drechent lur nef icele part,
E n'i at nul de nager se tart.
Lascent cordes, metant veil jus;
Ariverent e sailent sus.

(«They align their ship and all are eager to row. They cut the sheets, gather the sail, get to shore, and jump to land.»)

On land, they discover that the island is marked by completely different weather conditions – the place has the heat of the Deep South as well as the cool and clear air of the North. They know that their ship will not carry them back to their own country. So, they come to the decision that this world shall now serve as their home.

Quote and transcription from «De fortunata insula», an undated manuscript, preserved in single sheets only, written by a Pater Somhairle. Penned partly in Latin, partly in an Anglo-Norman dialect, the text describes the adventures of a group of monks whose boat that is on its voyage from Ireland to France is driven by storms far out into the Atlantic Ocean. The sheets are preserved in the National Archives of Santa Lemusa. According to Fleur Bardan, who is editing the manuscript scientifically, it is a text from the first half of the 12th Century, which also quotes from several older texts. (Transcription by Fleur Bardan.)

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