In 563 St Columba , sailed to Iona from Ireland along with twelve companions, they sailed in a hide-covered boat, and landed at the south end of the island, it was at that time known as the Isle of Druids. He founded the monastery and it became a centre for the spread of Christianity among the Picts and Scots. The original monastery was a timber church, surrounded by huts for the monks to live and work in, and small cells for prayer. Columba was useful to the Gaelic warrior kings. The monasteries provided a place of education. Columba was a close advisor to the king, and acted as a mediator between the English kings and his neighbors the Picts and Ireland. Columba died on the 9th June 597 and is buried below the small, stone chapel shrine, which is attached to the front of the abbey. Columbas tombstone was made from the stone on which he is said to have rested his head as he slept. A stone called St Columbas Pillow was unearthed in 1870 by a crofter. The stone can now be seen in the Iona Abbey museum. The abbey, at its zenith, produced the Book of Kells, a famous illuminated manuscript, described in the Annals of Ulster in 1007 as the most precious object in the western world, was written by the monks of Iona in the years leading up to 800.A.D. A masterpiece of Dark Age European art, the elaborately illuminated book containing the four Gospels was taken from Iona to Kells in Ireland and is now housed in Trinity College, Dublin. The Chronicle of Ireland was also produced at Iona. The massacre of 68 monks 11th \12th January 806 in a Viking attack on Martyrs Bay led Columbas monks to return to Ireland, others of the monks from Iona fled to the Continent, and established Monasteries in Belgium, France, and Switzerland. The influence of Columbas monastery continued to grow, leading to the foundation of new monasteries in Ireland and as far away as Lindisfarne in Northumbria. In Pictland, Columban monks began to spread the word of Christianity in the seventh century. Pilgrimage to Iona increased, the kings of Scotland wished to be buried near to Columba, and a network of Celtic high crosses and processional routes developed around his shrine.
Posted on: Sun, 11 Jan 2015 10:10:43 +0000
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