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Saint
Columba
Life
of St.Columba (Penguin Classics)
Founding father of the famous monastery on the island of Iona,
a site of pilgrimage ever since his death in 597, St Columba
was born into one of the ruling families in Ireland at a time
of immense expansion for the Irish Church. This account of his
life, written by Adomnan the ninth abbot of Iona, and a distant
relative of St Columba describes his travels from Ireland to
Scotland and his mission in the cause of Celtic Christianity
there. Written 100 years after St Columba's death, it draws
on written and oral traditions to depict a wise abbot among
his monks, who like Christ was capable of turning water into
wine, controlling sea-storms and raising the dead. An engaging
account of one of the central figures in the Age of Saints',
this is a major work of early Irish and Scottish history. Saint
Columba.
The
Life of Columba: An Abridged Translation of Adamnan's Vita
The great sixth century saint and founder abbot of Iona, St
Columba, left a mark on history that endures to this day far
beyond Celtic lands. An account of his life and deeds has come
down to us in the writings of Adamnan, ninth abbot of Iona,
who drew on the living memories of the saint's contemporaries.
Selections from Adamnan's authoritative Life, recounting the
prophecies, miracles and mystical visions concerning Columba,
are here presented with the moving account of his death. The
text is accompanied by an atmospheric photographic portrait
of the landscape in which Columba lived and his spirit still
thrives.
In
563, St. Columba, an Irish monk, took a mission to Scotland.
Columba was of royal descent, and being a prince of the royal
house of Tirconaill, he had strong ties with the powerful factions
in Ireland. In order to maintain those contacts, he made his
base on Iona, in what had been a Druidic shrine. His primary
mission was to Christianize the masses in Scotland. However,
his missions in Scotland were not purely spiritual. He took
it upon himself to strengthen the monarchy by replacing Adrian
the False, the rightful king. He also effectively dealt with
the Pictish king - Brude, and the Druids who were loyal to the
Pictish court. Legend has it that Columba even quelled the monster
which threatened Scotland at Loch Ness.
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