ying
off the west coast of the Isle of Mull the tiny Isle of Iona, barely
three miles long by one mile wide, has had an influence out of all
proportion to its size to the establishment of Christianity in Scotland,
England and throughout mainland Europe.
Iona's place in history was
secured when in 563 AD St. Columba arrived on its white sandy beaches
with 12 followers, built his first Celtic church and established a
monastic community.
Once settled, the Irish monk set
about converting most of pagan Scotland and northern England to the
Christian faith. Iona's fame as a missionary centre and outstanding
place of learning eventually spread throughout Europe turning it into a
place Pilgrimage for several centuries to come. Iona became a sacred
isle where kings of Scotland (48), Ireland (4) and Norway (8) were
buried.
So
who was St. Columba or Colum Cille in Gaelic…born of royal blood
in 521 AD in Ireland or Scotia as it was then called, he was the
grandson of the Irish King Niall. He left Ireland for Scotland not as
missionary but as an act of self-imposed penance for a bloody mess he
had caused at home. He had upset the king of Ireland by refusing to hand
over a copy of the Gospels he had illegally copied, this led to a
Pitched battle in which Columba's warrior family prevailed. Full of
remorse for his actions and the deaths he had ultimately caused he fled,
finally setting on Iona as the first place he found from where he
couldn't see his native Ireland. One of the features on the island is
even called "The Hill with its back to Ireland".
St. Columba however, was not the
shy retiring type and set about building Iona's original abbey from clay
and wood. In this endeavour he displayed some strange idiosyncrasies,
including banishing women and cows from the island, claiming that "where
there is a cow there is a woman, and where there is a woman there is
mischief". The abbey builders had to leave their wives, daughters, etc.,
on the nearby Eilean nam Ban (Woman's Island). Stranger still, he also
banished frogs and snakes from Iona, how he accomplished this feat is
not as well documented.
Strangest claim of all however
is that Columba was prevented from completing the building of the
original chapel until a living person had been buried in the
foundations. His friend Oran volunteered for the job and was duly
buried. It is said that Columba later requested for the Oran's face to
be uncovered so he could bid a final farewell to his friend. Oran's face
was uncovered and he was found to be still alive but uttering such
blasphemous descriptions of Heaven and Hell that Columbus ordered that
he be covered up immediately!
Over the centuries the monks of
Iona produced countless elaborate carvings, manuscripts and Celtic
crosses. Perhaps their greatest work was the exquisite Book of Kells,
which dates from 800 AD, currently on display in Trinity College,
Dublin. Shortly after this in 806 came the first of the Viking raids
when many of the monks were slaughtered and their work destroyed.
