Columba
Columba | |
---|---|
Apostle of the Picts | |
Born | 7 December 521 AD Gartan, Tyrconnell, Gaelic Ireland |
Died | 9 June 597 AD (aged 75) Iona, Dál Riata |
Venerated in | Catholic Church Eastern Orthodox Church Anglicanism floods, bookbinders, poets , Ireland, and Scotland. |
Columba (/kəˈlʌmbəˌ ˈkɒlʌmbə/) or Colmcille[a] (7 December 521 – 9 June 597 AD) was an Irish abbot and missionary evangelist credited with spreading Christianity in what is today Scotland at the start of the Hiberno-Scottish mission.[3][4] He founded the important abbey on Iona, which became a dominant religious and political institution in the region for centuries.[5] He is the patron saint of Derry. He was highly regarded by both the Gaels of Dál Riata and the Picts, and is remembered today as a Catholic saint and one of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland.[6]
Columba studied under some of Ireland's most prominent church figures and founded several monasteries in the country. Around 563 AD he and his twelve companions crossed to Dunaverty near Southend, Argyll, in Kintyre before settling in Iona in Scotland, then part of the Ulster kingdom of Dál Riata, where they founded a new abbey as a base for spreading Celtic Christianity among the pagan Northern Pictish kingdoms.[7][8] He remained active in Irish politics, though he spent most of the remainder of his life in Scotland. Three surviving early medieval Latin hymns are attributed to him.[4]
Early life in Ireland
Columba was born to Fedlimid and Eithne of the
Columba lived in the remote district of what is now Glencolmcille for roughly 5 years, which was named after him. It is not known for sure if his name at birth was Colmcille or if he adopted this name later in life; Adomnán (Eunan) of Iona thought it was his birth name but other Irish sources have claimed his name at birth was Crimthann (meaning 'fox').[12] In the Irish language his name means 'dove', which is the same name as the Prophet Jonah (Jonah in Hebrew is also 'dove'), which Adomnán of Iona, as well as other early Irish writers, were aware of, although it is not clear if he was deliberately named after Jonah or not. Columba is also Latin for dove. (See also the bird genus Columba.)
When sufficiently advanced in letters he entered the monastic school of Movilla, at Newtownards, under Finnian of Movilla who had studied at Ninian's "Magnum Monasterium" on the shores of Galloway. He was about twenty, and a deacon when, having completed his training at Movilla, he travelled southwards into Leinster, where he became a pupil of an aged bard named Gemman. On leaving him, Columba entered the monastery of Clonard, governed at that time by Finnian, noted for sanctity and learning. Here he imbibed the traditions of the Welsh Church, for Finnian had been trained in the schools of David.[13]
In early Christian Ireland, the druidic tradition collapsed due to the spread of the new Christian faith.[citation needed] The study of Latin learning and Christian theology in monasteries flourished. Columba became a pupil at the monastic school at Clonard Abbey, situated on the River Boyne in modern County Meath. During the sixth century, some of the most significant names in the history of Celtic Christianity studied at the Clonard monastery. The average number of scholars under instruction at Clonard was said to be 300.[6] Columba was one of twelve students of Finnian of Clonard who became known as the Twelve Apostles of Ireland. He became a monk and eventually was ordained a priest.[14]
Another preceptor of Columba was
The foundation of several important monasteries marked the following years:
Some traditions assert that sometime around 560 Columba became involved in a quarrel with
Prince Curnan of Connacht, who had fatally injured a rival in a hurling match and had taken refuge with Columba, was dragged from his protector's arms and slain by Diarmaid's men, in defiance of the rights of sanctuary.[15]
A
Columba's copy of the psalter has been traditionally associated with the Cathach of St. Columba. In 574/575, during his return for the Synod of Drum Ceat, he founded the monastery of Drumcliff in Cairbre, now County Sligo, near the battlefield.[citation needed]
Scotland
In 563, he travelled to
There are also many stories of miracles which he performed during his work to
, winning Bridei's respect, although not his conversion. He subsequently played a major role in the politics of the country.He was also very energetic in his work as a missionary, and, in addition to founding several churches in the
According to traditional sources, Columba died in Iona on Sunday, 9 June 597, and was buried by his monks in the abbey he created. However, Dr. Daniel P. Mc Carthy disputes this and assigns a date of 593 to Columba's death.[23] The Annals record the first raid made upon Iona in 795, with further raids occurring in 802, 806, and 825.[24] Columba's relics were finally removed in 849 and divided between Scotland and Ireland.[25]
Legacy
Ireland
In Ireland, the saint is commonly known as Colmcille.
Colmcille is one of the three patron saints of Ireland, after Patrick and Brigid of Kildare.[26]
Colmcille is the patron saint of the city of
St. Columba's National School in Drumcondra is a girls' school named after the saint.[27]
St. Colmcille's Primary School[28] and St. Colmcille's Community School[29] are two schools in Knocklyon, Dublin, named after him, with the former having an annual day dedicated to the saint on 9 June.[30]
The town of Swords, Dublin was reputedly founded by Colmcille in 560 AD.[16] St Colmcille's Boys' National School and St. Colmcille's Girls' National School, both located in the town of Swords, are also named after the Saint as is one of the local gaelic teams, Naomh Colmcille.[31]
The Columba Press, a religious and spiritual book company based in Dublin, is named after Colmcille.[32]
Aer Lingus, Ireland's national flag carrier has named one of its Airbus A330 aircraft in commemoration of the saint (reg: EI-DUO).[26]
Scotland
Columba is credited as being a leading figure in the revitalisation of
The cathedral of the Catholic Diocese of Argyll and the Isles is placed under the patronage of Saint Columba,[35] as are numerous Catholic schools and parishes throughout the nation. The Scottish Episcopal Church,[36] the Church of Scotland,[37] and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of England[38] also have parishes dedicated to him. The village of Kilmacolm in Renfrewshire is also derived from Colmcille's name.[39]
St Columba's Hospice, a prominent hospice in Edinburgh, is named after the saint.[40]
Poetry
Columba currently has two poems attributed to him: "Adiutor Laborantium" and "
The shorter of the two poems, "Adiutor Laborantium" consists of twenty-seven lines of eight syllables each, with each line following the format of an
"
Other
As of 2011, Canadians who are of
Throughout the US there are numerous parishes within the
In Bangor, Pennsylvania, there is a megalith park called Columcille, which is open to the public.
There are at least four
St. Columba's School, one of the most prominent English-Medium schools in India, run by the Irish Christian Brothers, is also named after the saint.[52]
The Munich
Saint Columba's Feast Day, 9 June, has been designated as International Celtic Art Day. The Book of Kells and the Book of Durrow, great medieval masterpieces of Celtic art, are associated with Columba.[54]
Benjamin Britten composed A Hymn of St Columba for choir and organ in 1962, setting a poem by the saint, on the occasion of the 1,400th anniversary of his voyage to Iona.[55]
Columba is honored in the Anglican communion as well, including the
Sources
The main source of information about Columba's life is the
Through the reputation of its venerable founder and its position as a major European centre of learning, Columba's Iona became a place of pilgrimage. Columba is historically revered as a warrior saint and was often invoked for victory in battle. Some of his relics were removed in 849 and divided between Alba and Ireland. Relics of Columba were carried before Scottish armies in the reliquary made at Iona in the mid-8th century, called the Brecbennoch. Legend has it that the Brecbennoch was carried to the Battle of Bannockburn (24 June 1314) by the vastly outnumbered Scots army and the intercession of Columba helped them to victory. Since the 19th century the "Brecbennoch of St. Columba" has been identified with the Monymusk Reliquary, although this is now doubted by scholars.[58]
In the
See also
- Catholic Church in Ireland
- Catholic Church in Scotland
- Celtic Christianity
- Columba College
- Early Christian Ireland
- List of people on stamps of Ireland
- List of saints
- Old High St Stephen's, Inverness
- St Columb's College
- St. Columba's School (disambiguation)
- Sainte-Colombe
- Saint Columba, patron saint archive
- Scoil Colmcille
- Scotland in the Early Middle Ages
References
Notes
Citations
- ISBN 9781582976495, archivedfrom the original on 30 April 2016, retrieved 16 October 2015.
- ^ Columba (PDF) (in Norwegian), NO: Keltiskfromhet, archived (PDF) from the original on 19 October 2013, retrieved 30 August 2009
- ^ Columba Edmonds (1908). "St. Columba, Abbot of Iona". In Catholic Encyclopedia. 4. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
- ^ a b Quiggin, Edmund Crosby (1911). . In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 6 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 737.
- ^ MacDonald, Aidan D. S. (2013) Iona and the Shrine of Columba, c.800-1200, CORA, University College Cork: Cork Open Research Archive, https://hdl.handle.net/10468/15058
- ^ a b Gratton-Flood, W.H. (1907). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. New York: Robert Appleton Company. . In Herbermann, Charles (ed.).
- ^ Charles-Edwards 2000, p. 303.
- ^ Wagner & Konstam 2012, p. 14: states the Northern Pictish nations were still pagan while the southern Pictish kingdoms were Catholic
- ^ Reeves 1850, p. 82.
- ^ Munn 1985.
- ^ Ordnance Survey Memoirs for the Parishes of Desertmartin and Kilcronaghan, Ballinascreen Historical Society, 1986.
- ^ Adomnan of Iona 1995.
- ^ a b c Edmonds, Columba (1908). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 4. New York: Robert Appleton Company. . In Herbermann, Charles (ed.).
- ^ "St Columba and the Isle of Iona". Historic UK. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
- ^ a b c Crawley, John J (1954). "Saint Columba, Abbot and Confessor—521-597 AD". Lives of the Saints. John J. Crawley & Co. Archived from the original on 8 August 2013. Retrieved 25 July 2013 – via EWTN.
- ^ a b Sidwell 1995, p. 70.
- ^ "Islands of Ireland: Sands of time on Inishkea". Irish Examiner. 18 February 2018. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
- ^ "Inishkea Islands Monastic Sites". Our Irish Heritage. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
- ^ "Oh, to be on Inishkea". The Mayo News. Archived from the original on 8 August 2022. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
- ^ "Stroove". Go Visit Inishowen. 2023. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
- ^ Fletcher 1989, pp. 23–24.
- ^ "Who is St. Columba?". St. Columba Retreat House. Archived from the original on 13 January 2009. Retrieved 6 October 2008.
- ^ Mc Carthy, Daniel P.,'The Chronology of Saint Columba's Life’, in Moran, P. & Warntjes, I. (eds), Early Medieval Ireland and Europe: Chronology, Contacts, Scholarship - Festschrift for Dáibhí Ó Cróinín, (Turnhout, Belgium: Brepols, 2015), pp. 3–32
- ^ Jennings, Andrew (1988). "Iona and the Vikings: Survival and Continuity". Northern Studies. 33: 34–54., see pp. 37-38.
- ^ "Scotland's History – Columba". BBC. 1 January 1970. Archived from the original on 16 February 2012. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
- ^ a b c d Lonergan, Aidan (9 June 2017). "11 facts about St Colmcille – the Irish patron saint who was banished from Ireland for starting a tribal war". The Irish Post. Archived from the original on 23 May 2019. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
- ^ "Iona road St Columbas school Glasnevin Dublin".
- ^ "St Colmcilles". Archived from the original on 12 May 2014. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
- ^ "St. Colmcille's Community School". 8 May 2014. Archived from the original on 13 May 2014. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
- ^ "Events". ST. COLMCILLE'S S.N.S. Archived from the original on 9 June 2020. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
- ^ "St. Colmcille's Girls' N.S. - Fáilte chuig suíomh idirlíon Scoil Cholmcille na gCailíní". stcolmcillesgns.scoilnet.ie. Archived from the original on 6 August 2018. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
- ^ "Who We Are". Columba Books. Archived from the original on 25 January 2021. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
- ^ Moncreiffe of that Ilk, Sir Iain. The Highland Clans. London: Barrie & Rockliff, 1967. pp. 70–71.
- ^ Clan Donald & Iona Abbey 1200-1500 by Ian Ross Macdonnell, 2012, beginning at p. 49.
- ^ "Saint Columba". Diocese of Argyll & the Isles. 10 February 2016. Archived from the original on 23 May 2019. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
- ^ "St Columba's Scottish Episcopal Church. Largs".
- ^ "St Columba's Church of Scotland, London".
- ^ "St Columba's Evangelical Lutheran Church, East Kilbride". 30 November 2015.
- ^ The Editors of the Gazetteer for Scotland. "Kilmacolm history, Gazetteer for Scotland". University of Edinburgh. Archived from the original on 3 June 2012. Retrieved 13 June 2009.
- ^ "St Columba's Hospice, Palliative Care in Edinburgh". www.stcolumbashospice.org.uk. Archived from the original on 29 July 2021. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
- ^ Moore, T.M. (23 August 2014). "Helper of Workers". The Fellowship of Ailbe. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
- ^ Clancy & Gilbert 1995, p. 73.
- JSTOR 20557197.
- ^ "History". Saint Columba Cathedral. Archived from the original on 23 May 2019. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
- ^ "Catholic Heritage". Iona College. Archived from the original on 23 May 2019. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
- ^ "History and the Presentation Sisters". Iona Presentation College. Archived from the original on 23 May 2019. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
- ^ "Welcome to Iona College Geelong". Iona College Geelong. 2 January 2019. Archived from the original on 23 May 2019. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
- Facebook
- ^ "colmcillepipeband.com". colmcillepipeband.com. Archived from the original on 17 May 2014. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
- ^ "stcolumcille.com". stcolumcille.com. Archived from the original on 8 August 2014. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
- ^ "capecodpipesanddrums.com". capecodpipesanddrums.com. Archived from the original on 17 May 2014. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
- ^ "About School". St. Columba's School, New Delhi. Archived from the original on 23 May 2019. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
- ^ "munichgaa.de". munichgaa.de. Archived from the original on 14 February 2014. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
- ^ "Why June 9". International Day of Celtic Art. Archived from the original on 23 May 2019. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
- ^ Spicer, Paul. "A Hymn of St Columba" (PDF). Britten Choral Guide. Boosey & Hawkes. pp. 8–9. Archived (PDF) from the original on 8 November 2020. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
- ^ "The Calendar". The Church of England. Archived from the original on 9 March 2021. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
- ISBN 978-1-64065-235-4.
- ^ The Monymusk Reliquary Archived 2014-07-14 at the Wayback Machine at the National Museum of Scotland
- ^ Gillespie 2016, p. 133.
Sources
- Adomnán (1874) [c. 700]. Reeves, William (ed.). Life of Saint Columba, Founder of Hy. Edinburgh: Edmonston and Douglas. Archived from the original on 6 October 2010. Retrieved 14 September 2008.
- ISBN 978-0-14-190741-3.
- Anderson, Alan Orr; Anderson, Marjorie Ogilvie, eds. (1991). Adomnan's Life of Columba. Clarendon Press.
- Charles-Edwards, T. M. (2000). Early Christian Ireland. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-36395-2.
- Clancy, Thomas Owen; Gilbert, Márkus (1995). Iona: The earliest poetry of a Celtic monastery. Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 978-0748605316.
- Father Colgan (1844). The Saintly Triad, Or The Lives of St. Patrick, St. Columbkille, and St. Bridget. Dublin.
- Dowley, Tim, ed. (1977). Eerdman's handbook to the history of Christianity. Eerdmans. ISBN 978-0-8028-3450-8.
- Fletcher, Richard A. (1989). Who's who in Roman Britain and Anglo-Saxon England. Shepheard-Walwyn. ISBN 978-0-85683-089-1.
- Fraser, James Earle (2009). From Caledonia to Pictland: Scotland to 795. Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 978-0-7486-1232-1. Archivedfrom the original on 26 September 2021. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
- Gillespie, Donald S. (2016). Lochaber Lights. Holy Fire Publishing. ISBN 9781603835121. Archivedfrom the original on 26 September 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
- Munn, Alfred Moore (1985). Notes on the Place Names of the Parishes and Townlands of the County of Londonderry. Ballinascreen Historical Society. Archived from the original on 12 August 2020. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
- Sidwell, Keith (1995). Reading Medieval Latin. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-44747-8. Archivedfrom the original on 26 September 2021. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
- Reeves, William (1850). Acts of Archbishop Colton in His Metropolitan Visitation of the Diocese of Derry, A.D. 1397; With a Rental of the See Estates at that Time; Edited, from the Original Roll Preserved in the Archiepiscopal Record Closet of Armagh. Irish Archaeological Society. p. 82.
- Wagner, Paul; Konstam, Angus (2012). Pictish Warrior AD 297-841. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-78200-216-1. Archivedfrom the original on 26 September 2021. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
Further reading
- Broun, Dauvit (1999), Thomas, Owen Clancy (ed.), Spes Scotorum, Hope of Scots: Saint Columba, Iona and Scotland, T&T Clark, ISBN 0-567-08682-8
- Bullough, Donald A. "Columba, Adomnan, and the Achievement of Iona," Scottish Historical Review 43, 44 (1964–65): 111–30, 17–33.
- Campbell, George F (2006), The First and Lost Iona, Glasgow: Candlemas Hill, ISBN 1-873586-13-2, archived from the originalon 14 June 2010, retrieved 3 March 2010
- Finlay, Ian, Columba London: Gollancz, 1979.
- Forbes, Andrew ; Henley, David (2012). Pages from the Book of Kells. Chiang Mai: Cognoscenti Books. ASIN: B00AN4JVI0
- Lewis, James (2007), Paths of Exile: Narratives of St. Columba and the Praxis of Iona, Cloverdale, ISBN 978-1-929569-24-3, retrieved 14 September 2008
- Healy, John (1892). . The ancient Irish church (1 ed.). London: Religious Tract Society. pp. 52–69.
- Herbert, Máire (1996), Iona, Kells, and Derry: The History and Hagiography of the Monastic "Familia" of Columba., Four Courts Press, ISBN 978-1851822447
- Magnusson (1990), The Cambridge Biographical Dictionary, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-39518-6, retrieved 14 September 2008
- McLean, Scott A. "Columba 521–597," in Reader's Guide to British History (London: Routledge, 2003) online at Credo Reference. Historiography
- ISBN 0-340-40699-2, retrieved 14 September 2008
External links
- CELT: On the Life of Saint Columba (Betha Choluim Chille) (tr. W. Stokes)
- CELT: The Life of Columba, written by Adamnan (tr. W. Reeves)
- "St. Columba". Catholic Encyclopedia. 1913.
- BBC: St Columba
- The Church of St Michael and All Angels website: St Columba of Iona, Apostle to the Picts
- St Columba on SaintsAlive
- Photo of the birthplace of Columcille at Gartan
- Coláiste Choilm
- St Columba's Church of Ireland in Portadown
- The Life of Saint Columba Apostle of Scotland public domain audiobook at LibriVox
- http://foundationsirishculture.ie/record/?id=52