Adomnán
Pre-Congregation | |
---|---|
Feast | 23 September |
Patronage | Roman Catholic Diocese of Raphoe |
Adomnán or Adamnán of Iona (Old Irish: monk.
Adomnán promulgated the
Life
Adomnán was born about 624, a relative on his father's side of Columba.
It is thought that Adomnán may have begun his monastic career at a Columban monastery called Druim Tuamma, but any Columban foundation in northern
In 679, Adomnán became the ninth abbot of Iona after Columba.
Adomnán, in keeping with Ionan tradition, made several more trips to the lands of the English during his abbacy, including one the following year. It is sometimes thought, after the account given by Bede, that it was during his visits to Northumbria, under the influence of Abbot Ceolfrith, that Adomnán decided to adopt the Roman dating of Easter that had been agreed some years before at the Synod of Whitby. Bede implies that this led to a schism at Iona, whereby Adomnán became alienated from the Iona brethren and went to Ireland to convince the Irish of the Roman dating. Jeffrey Wetherill sees Adomnán's long absences from Iona as having led to something of an undermining of his authority; he was thus unable to persuade the monks to adopt the Roman dating of Easter, let alone the tonsure.[2] It is clear that Adomnán did adopt that Roman dating and, moreover, probably did argue the case for it in Ireland.[5]
For many years, the people of Leinster made a triennial tribute payment, called the Borumha, to the Uí Néill. The payment was made largely in cattle. Around 692, the King of Leinster was prepared to go to war over the payment, but first sent a delegation led by
Cáin Adomnáin
It is generally believed that in 697, Adomnán promulgated the Cáin Adomnáin, meaning literally the "Canons" or "Law of Adomnán". The Cáin Adomnáin was promulgated amongst a gathering of Irish, Dál Riatan and Pictish notables at the Synod of Birr in 697.[7] It is a set of laws designed, among other things, to guarantee the safety and immunity of various types of non-combatants in warfare. For this reason it is also known as the Lex Innocentium (Law of Innocents).
Works
Adomnán's most important work, and the one for which he is best known, is the
However, the Vita was not his only work. Adomnán also wrote the treatise
Death
Adomnán died in 704, and became a saint in Scottish and Irish tradition, as well as one of the most important figures in either Scottish or Irish history. His death and
Legacy
In his native Donegal, Adomnán has given his name to several institutions and buildings including:
- The Cathedral of St Eunan and St Columba in Letterkenny, County Donegal; the current seat of the Bishop of Raphoe,
- The Anglican St Eunan's Cathedral in Raphoe, County Donegal,
- St Eunan's NS, a national school in Raphoe,
- St Eunan's College, a secondary school in Letterkenny,
- Laghey, just south of Donegal Town,
- St Eunan's GAA, a GAA club in Letterkenny
In County Sligo, just to the south, he is venerated as the founder of Skreen Abbey, now the site of the Church of Ireland church of Skreen Parish.
See also
- Hagiography
- The Vision of Adamnán, a work of visionary literature written in Middle Irish
- Saint Adamnán, patron saint archive
- Silnán
References
- ^ "St. Adamnan, Kilmaveonaig", The Scottish Episcopal Church
- ^ a b c Wetherill, Jeffrey. "Adomnán, Iona, and the Life of St. Columba: Their Place Among Continental Saints", The Heroic Age, No. 6, Spring 2003
- ^ Sharpe, 1995, p.44.
- ^ ISBN 9780748601004
- ^ a b Grattan-Flood, William. "St. Adamnan." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 11 Mar. 2014
- ^ Healy, John. Irish Ecclesiastical Record, 3rd series, Vol 3 (1882), 408-419
- ^ Annals of Ulster 697.3.
- ^ Butler, Alban. The Lives of the Saints, Vol.IX, 1866. Archived 2012-06-03 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Nilsson, Sara E. Ellis. "Miracle Stories and the Primary Purpose of Adomnán's Vita Columbae", The Heroic Age, No. 10, May 2007
- ^ Bullough, Donald A., "Columba, Adomnán and the achievement of Iona: Part I", The Scottish Historical Review,43, pp. 111–130, 1964
- ^ Picard, Jean-Michel. "The purpose of Adomnán's Vita Columbae", Peritia, 1, pp. 160–177, 1982.
- ^ Annals of Ulster 727.5.
- ^ Annals of Ulster 730.3.
Sources
- Reeves, William, and James Henthorn Todd (eds.). Vita Sancta Columbae: The life of St Columba founder of Hy, written by Adamnan, ninth Abbot of Iona. Dublin: Dublin University Press for the Irish Archaeological and Celtic Association, 1857. Available from CELT
- Sharpe, Richard (tr.). Adomnán of Iona: Life of St. Columba. London, 1995. (43–65)
- ISBN 0-7486-0100-7.
Further reading
Primary sources
- Adomnán, Vita Columbae:
- Anderson, A.O. and M.O. Anderson (eds. and trs.). Adomnán's Life of Columba. 2nd ed. Oxford, 1991. First edition: Edinburgh, 1961.
- Sharpe, Richard (tr.). Adomnán of Iona: Life of St. Columba. London, 1995. (43–65)
- Reeves, William, and James Henthorn Todd (eds.). Vita Sancta Columbae: The life of St Columba founder of Hy, written by Adamnan, ninth Abbot of Iona. Dublin: Dublin University Press for the Irish Archaeological and Celtic Association, 1857. Available from CELT
- Cáin Adamnáin("The Law of Adomnán") or Lex Innocentium ("Law of the Innocents")
- Márkus, Gilbert (tr.), Adomnán's Law of the Innocents – Cáin Adomnáin: A seventh-century law for the protection of non-combatants. Kilmartin, Argyll: Kilmartin House Museum, 2008. ISBN 978-0-9533674-3-6
- Meyer, Kuno (ed.). Cain Adamnain: An Old Irish Treatise on the Law of Adamnan. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1905.
- Ní Dhonnchadha, Máirín (tr.). "The Law of Adomnán: A Translation." Adomnan at Birr, AD 697: Essays in Commemoration of the Law of the Innocents, ed. Thomas O'Louglin. Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2001. 53–68. Translation of §§ 28–53.
- Márkus, Gilbert (tr.), Adomnán's Law of the Innocents – Cáin Adomnáin: A seventh-century law for the protection of non-combatants. Kilmartin, Argyll: Kilmartin House Museum, 2008.
- Adomnán, De Locis Sanctis
- Meehan, D. (ed.). Adomnan's 'De Locis Sanctis'. Scriptores Latini Hiberniae 3. Dublin, 1958. 1–34.
- Anonymous, Betha Adamnáin ("The Life of Adomnán")
- Herbert, Maire and Padraig Ó Riain (eds. and trs.). Betha Adamnáin: The Irish Life of Adamnán. Irish Texts Society 54. 1988. 1–44.
- Anonymous, Fís Adomnáin ("The Vision of Adomnán"), 10–11th century.
- Windisch, Ernst (ed.). "Fís Adamnáin." Irische Texte 1 (1880). 165–96.
- Stokes, W. (ed. and tr.). Fis Adomnáin. Simla, 1870.
- Carey, John (tr.). King of Mysteries: Early Irish Religious Writings. Dublin: Four Courts Press, 1998. 263–74.
Secondary sources
- Herbert, M. Iona, Kells, and Derry: the history and hagiography of the monastic familia of Columba. 1988.
- O'Loughlin, T. "The Exegetical Purpose of Adomnán's De Locis Sanctis", Cambridge Medieval Celtic Studies 24(1992)37–53.
- O'Loughlin, T. "The Library of Iona in the Late Seventh Century: The Evidence from Adomnán's De locis sanctis", Ériu 45(1994)33–52
- O'Loughlin, T."The View from Iona: Adomnán's mental maps", Peritia 10(1996)98–122
- O'Loughlin, T. "Res, tempus, locus, persona: Adomnán's Exegetical Method", Innes Review 48(1997)95–111; re-printed in: D. Broun and T.O. Clancy eds, Spes Scotorum Hope of the Scots: Saint Columba, Iona and Scotland (T. and T. Clark, Edinburgh 1999), pp. 139–158.
- O'Loughlin, T. "Adomnán and Arculf: The Case of an Expert Witness", Journal of Medieval Latin 7(1997)127–146
- O'Loughlin, T. "Adomnán: A Man of Many Parts" in T. O'Loughlin ed., Adomnán at Birr, AD 697: Essays in Commemoration of the Law of the Innocents (Four Courts Press, Dublin 2001), pp. 41–51.
- O'Loughlin, T. "The Tombs of the Saints: their significance for Adomnán", in J. Carey, M. Herbert and P. Ó Riain eds, Studies in Irish Hagiography: Saints and Scholars (Four Courts Press, Dublin 2001), pp. 1–14.
Further reading
- Adomnán at Birr, AD 697: Essays in Commemoration of the Law of the Innocents. Edited by Thomas O'Loughlin. (Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2001)
- Lacey, Brian (2021). Adomnán, Adhamhnán, Eunan : life and afterlife of a Donegal saint. Dublin: Four Courts Press. ISBN 978-1-84682-963-5.
External links
- A Compendium of Irish Biography. Dublin: M. H. Gill & son.
- Adamnan (c. 700), Reeves, William (ed.), The Life of Saint Columba, Edinburgh: Edmonston and Douglas (published 1874), retrieved 9 August 2008
- St. Adamnan (c. 700), Fowler, Joseph Thomas (ed.), Prophecies Miracles and Visions of St. Columba, London: Henry Frowde (published 1895), retrieved 9 August 2008
- Resources for Adomnán
- Bibliography for Adomnán
- http://bill.celt.dias.ie/vol4/browseatsources.php?letter=A#ATS7714
- Texts on Wikisource:
- Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "St. Adamnan". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
- Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Adamnan". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
- "Adamnan, Saint". Encyclopedia Americana. 1920.
- http://foundationsirishculture.ie/record/?id=52