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Iona
Iona. The monastery founded by St Columba in 563 soon became the centre for Celtic Christianity, sending out missionaries to Scotland and Northumbria. Although the ravages of Viking raids before and after 800 made Iona a more dangerous place to live, its prestige continued well into the 9th cent. Following a massacre of its monks in 806, work began apace on the Irish midland monastery of Kells, which was gradually to become the focus of the Columban communities in Ireland. Kells was finished in 814, and not long after (c.818), a new Columban monastery in central Scotland was founded, Dunkeld. It is generally held that in 849 the relics of St Columba were split between the two new monasteries, confirming shifts in patronage and power centres which had been under way for some time. From the end of the 9th cent., we find the head of the Columban communities, the comarba Choluim Chille, based in Kells, and the headship remained there until the 12th cent.
None the less, Iona's importance as a religious centre continued, and began to attract the newly converted Norse settlers of the Hebrides. Two Norse cross slabs are now housed in the Iona museum, one bearing an inscription in Norse runes, another bearing a scene from Norse legend. In 980, the powerful king of Viking Dublin, Olaf Cuarán, died on pilgrimage to the island. This was an up-and-down relationship, however, as six years later, a raiding party from the Northern Isles slaughtered the elders of the monastery and the abbot. The wider influence of Iona monks can be seen as far afield as Carolingian Europe. Dicuil, a cosmographer who wrote a description of the world c.825 in the court of Charles the Bald, probably came from Iona, and he describes other Iona monks ranging as far north as the Faroes and as far south as Egypt. The martyrdom of Blathmac, son of Flann, defending the relics of Columba from Viking raiders in 825 caught the imagination of Walahfrid Strabo, based in the monastery of Reichenau on Lake Constance. One of the 10th-cent. heads of the Columban communities, Mugrón (965–81), who appears to have been partially based in Scotland, was a devotional writer of some skill. The 11th cent. was marred by such incidents as the loss of some of Columba's relics on a journey back to Ireland from Iona (in 1034), and slaying of the abbot by a rival, the son of a former abbot of Kells in 1070. None the less, Scottish kings, according to tradition, continued to be buried there, and Margaret, wife of Malcolm III, king of the Scots, held the monastery in favour. In the next century, it again became the religious hub of a new island-centred power-base. Somerled mac Gille-Brigde, the powerful Argyll sea-lord whose descendants became the Lords of the Isles, attempted in 1164 to lure the head of the Columban communities back to Iona. He failed, but the building of a new Benedictine monastery in 1204, followed by an Augustinian nunnery, spelled the return of Iona's fortunes. Closely linked to the Lords of the Isles from the 14th cent. onwards, and the seat intermittently of the bishop of the Isles, Iona in the later Middle Ages was a great centre of sculpture. The present church on the island dates substantially to the 15th-cent. renewal programme, and displays the skills and patronage then available. Only with the forfeiture of the lordship in 1493 and the Reformation did Iona's decline set in in earnest. Thomas Owen Clancy |
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JOHN CANNON. "Iona." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN CANNON. "Iona." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O110-Iona.html JOHN CANNON. "Iona." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O110-Iona.html |
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Iona
Iona, a small island off the western tip of the Isle of Mull in western Scotland, was the location of St Colum Cille's principal monastic foundation. Established in 563 it remained the centre of the Columban family of churches until the early 9th century. lona played an important part in the Christianization of the Pictish kingdom in eastern Scotland. In the early 7th century it provided a retreat for exiled Northumbrian royalty and thereby became the instrument for introducing Irish clergy into England under Abbot Ségéne (623–52). After the synod at Whitby in 664 the Iona clergy withdrew from Northumbria, though under Abbot Adomnán (679–704) there may have been hopes of a return, and in 717 they were expelled from Pictland. During the 8th century, therefore, lona was more involved with affairs in Ireland than with Britain, though its annals continue to take a close interest in Scottish matters. In this period it flourished as a centre for manuscript art, stone sculpture, and metalwork. Exposure to Scandinavian raids from 795 (see vikings) may have played a part in reducing the importance of Iona within the Columban community, but the migration of the coarb of Colum Cille to Kells in 812 has more to do with increasing links with the southern Uí Néill. After the martyrdom of Bláthmac in Iona in 825, the island monastery declined into obscurity.
Richard Sharpe |
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"Iona." The Oxford Companion to Irish History. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Iona." The Oxford Companion to Irish History. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O245-Iona.html "Iona." The Oxford Companion to Irish History. 2007. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O245-Iona.html |
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Iona
Iona [Irish Ioua =island] or Icolmkill [Irish,=island of Columba of the church], island (1985 est. pop. 267), 3.5 mi (5.6 km) long and 1.5 mi (2.4 km) wide, Argyll and Bute, NW Scotland, one of the Inner Hebrides. Separated from the island Mull by the Sound of Iona, it is hilly, with shell beaches. Farming, livestock grazing, and fishing are carried on, but tourism is the main industry. The island is famous as the early center of Celtic Christianity. St. Columba (see Columba, Saint .), with his companions, landed there from Ireland in 563. They founded a monastery, which was burned by the Danes in the 8th or 9th cent. Iona was a bishopric from 838 to 1098. In 1203 a Benedictine monastery, of which there are remains, was established. The cathedral, formerly the Church of St. Mary, dates from the early 13th cent. The cemetery of St. Oran's Church contains the graves of many monarchs of Scotland, Ireland, Norway, and France. A group called the Iona Community (est. 1938), dedicated to reviving the spirit of Celtic Christianity, has restored many ancient buildings. |
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"Iona." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Iona." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Iona.html "Iona." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Iona.html |
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Iona
Iona. A small island in the Hebrides which was given to St Columba by the local king soon after he came to Scotland in 563. On it Columba founded a monastery from which missionaries were sent to Scotland and N. England. The monastery became famous for its learning and artistic achievement. In 1203 it was reorganized under the Benedictine rule.
The Iona Community was founded in 1938 by G. F. MacLeod to express the theology of the Incarnation in social terms, using the restoration of the conventual buildings of the abbey (completed in 1966) as the symbol of its purpose. Its members, originally drawn mainly from the Church of Scotland, lived in community on Iona for three months in the year in preparation for work in Scottish industrial areas and in the mission field. Nowadays membership of the Community is ecumenical and the period of residence on Iona more flexible. The Community has taken a leading part in the peace movement. |
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E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "Iona." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "Iona." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O95-Iona.html E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "Iona." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O95-Iona.html |
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Iona
Iona The monastery founded by St Columba in 563 soon became the centre for Celtic Christianity, sending out missionaries to Scotland and Northumbria. Although the ravages of Viking raids before and after 800 made Iona a more dangerous place to live, its prestige continued well into the 9th cent. Scottish kings, according to tradition, continued to be buried there, and Margaret, wife of Malcolm III, king of the Scots, held the monastery in favour.
The building of a new Benedictine monastery in 1204, followed by an Augustinian nunnery, spelled the return of Iona's fortunes. Closely linked to the Lords of the Isles from the 14th cent. onwards, and these at intermittently of the bishop of the Isles, Iona in the later Middle Ages was a great centre of sculpture. Only with the forfeiture of the lordship in 1493 and the Reformation did Iona's decline set in in earnest. |
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Cite this article
JOHN CANNON. "Iona." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN CANNON. "Iona." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O43-Iona.html JOHN CANNON. "Iona." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O43-Iona.html |
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Iona
Iona, Canada, UK, USA UK (Scotland): formerly Hiiensis, Ioua insula, and Hiona‐Columcille. An island in the Inner Hebrides with a name meaning ‘(Place of) Yew Trees’ from the Old Irish eo ‘yew tree’. St Columba (c.521–97), known as Colum‐cille, landed in 563 to undertake the conversion of Scotland. By the 8th century Iona was known in Latin as Ioua insula ‘Island of Yew Trees’, being renamed c.1100 after St Columba. It is said that Ioua was miscopied, becoming Iona.
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JOHN EVERETT-HEATH. "Iona." Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN EVERETT-HEATH. "Iona." Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O209-Iona.html JOHN EVERETT-HEATH. "Iona." Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names. 2005. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O209-Iona.html |
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Iona
Iona ♀ From the name of the tiny sacred island in the Hebrides, off the west coast of Mull. In 563 St Columba came from Ireland to found a monastery here. It became the most important centre of Christianity in northern Britain, from which missionaries went out all over Scotland and northern England, and from which the monastery at Lindisfarne was founded. The given name still has a distinctly Scottish flavour, although it is increasingly in general use.
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PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Iona." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Iona." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O41-Iona.html PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Iona." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O41-Iona.html |
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Iona
Iona ♀ (Scottish) Modern coinage from the name of the tiny sacred island in the Hebrides, off the west coast of Mull. Its name is said to be the result of a misreading of Latin Ioua, representing its Gaelic name Ì, from Old Norse ey ‘island’. See also.
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Cite this article
PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Iona." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Iona." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O41-Iona1.html PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Iona." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O41-Iona1.html |
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Iona
Iona (island) Arg. Hiiensis 634, Ioua insula c.700, Hiona-Columcille c.1100. ‘(Place of) yew trees’. OIrish eo. The island is associated with St Columba, Gaelic I Chaluim Chille or simply I.
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A. D. MILLS. "Iona." A Dictionary of British Place-Names. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. A. D. MILLS. "Iona." A Dictionary of British Place-Names. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O40-Iona.html A. D. MILLS. "Iona." A Dictionary of British Place-Names. 2003. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O40-Iona.html |
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Iona
Iona a small island in the Inner Hebrides, off the west coast of Mull. It is the site of a monastery founded by St Columba in about 563, which became the centre for Celtic Christian missions in Scotland.
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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Iona." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Iona." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-Iona.html ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Iona." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-Iona.html |
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Iona
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"Iona." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Iona." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-Iona.html "Iona." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-Iona.html |
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Iona
Iona •belladonna, Connor, donna, goner, gonna, honour (US honor), Maradona, Mashona, O'Connor, Shona, wanna
•corner, fauna, forewarner, Lorna, Morna, mourner, sauna, scorner, suborner, warner
•softener • Faulkner
•downer, uptowner
•sundowner
•Arizona, Barcelona, boner, condoner, corona, Cremona, Desdemona, donor, Fiona, groaner, Iona, Jonah, kroner, Leona, loaner, loner, moaner, Mona, owner, Pamplona, persona, postponer, Ramona, stoner, toner, Valona, Verona, Winona
•landowner • homeowner • shipowner
•coiner, joiner, purloiner
•crooner, harpooner, lacuna, lacunar, lampooner, Luna, lunar, mizuna, Oona, oppugner, Poona, pruner, puna, schooner, spooner, Tristan da Cunha, tuna, tuner, Una, vicuña, yokozuna
•honeymooner • Sunna • Brookner
•koruna
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"Iona." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Iona." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-Iona.html "Iona." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-Iona.html |
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