Columba," Additional clan
esteemed
him as their Patron Saint.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v6
Columba's church, at Iona, Cape Breton ; in the Prefecture Apostolic of St.
George's, West Newfoundland, there is a church of St.
Columkille, and at Highlands, a district in Bay of St.
George ; in the Arch- diocese of Toronto, a church at Mara, Uptergrove, P.
O.
, is also dedicated to this great saint.
There is every reason to believe, that a few centuries ago, various fine memorials of its decayed grandeur were preserved on St. Columba's Island. 512 These were allowed to crumble away, or they had been recklessly destroyed ; but of late years, owing to the Duke of Argyll, most creditable efforts have been made to preserve and restore—so far as possibly could be done—those
510 There, as tradition states, the saintly
Dr. O'Gallagher, while Bishop of Raphoe, and
while composing his celebrated Irish ser-
mons, was wont to celebrate Mass: tures are still to be seen in Donegal.
The scallauns were shed-like structures, 5 " For a more minute description and de- usually on some bleak mountain side, where tails, the reader is referred to the Irish room was found only for the altar and the Builder, of October 15th, 1887, vol. xxix. , priest, the congregation being obliged to No. 688, p. 281.
kneel in the open air, exposed to storms of sleet and rain in winter, and to the greatest heats of summer. Several of these struc-
5 68 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [June 9.
ancient buildings and relics of the past. Among the ecclesiastical ruins on Iona, none date back to the time of St. Columba, since the least and the most inconspicuous, but the most venerable and ancient of them all, is known as St. Odhrain's chapel 513 and this is probably the same building, which
;
Queen Margaret of Scotland is known to have erected 5I4 in memory of the
5 ' 5 and to have dedicated it to one of the most famous Columba's among
saint,
earlycompanions. 516 Itis builtofredgranite,5'7butitisrooflessandnowfast
It has no east window, but there are two narrow lights in the side walls near the eastern angles, that in the north being two feet high, while that in the south is three feet. In all probability, this chapel marks the site of thatstillhumblerchurchofwoodandwattlesinwhichColumbaworshipped. 518 Here, too, was the chief cemetery on the Island. 510 The most elegant and imposing of the buildings on Iona is that called in Gaelic the Eaclus Mor, or Great Church, which consists of nave, transepts and choir, in the Gothic
called the — House is the portion Chapter
decaying.
style.
usually
cloister
buildings,
called the Cathedral. It had a on the north sacristy
520 It is
side of the choir, and it had side chapels on the south. The capitals of some columns 5 " on the interior have bas-reliefs very similar to specimens found in Ireland. North of this abbey church are the ruins of the conventual or
and of these the
most ancient and the most remarkable. —The library 522 of which some
524 Near the west entrance, and seemingly beside the adjacent angle of the clois-
literary fragments have been preserved 523 was over the Chapter House.
ter,
popularly
a small chamber 525 called St. Columb's tomb is shown but,
;
s 12 The Rev. Dr. J. F. S. Gordon has pub- with stane and lyme. Into this sanctuary
lished a valuable work, "Iona," illustrating the various antiquities and objects of interest for the information of tourists to that Island. Introduction, pp. i. to xxviii. , and pp. I to 108. Glasgow, 1885, cr. 8vo.
there is three tombes of stane formit like little chapels, with ane braid gray marble or quhin stane in the gavill of ilk ane of the tombes. " Theseslabsofmarble,hetellsus, bore respectively the inscriptions Tumulus
RegumScotie, TumulusRegumHibcrnie,aud r
513 According to Fordun, this place
existed as a cemetery even before St. Co- Tumulus Regum A oi~we-ie : while in these
"
lumba came to Iona. See Scotichroni- tombs were buried 48 Scotch, 4 Irish, and 8
con," vol. i. , lib. iii. , cap. xxiv. , p. 128, Norwegian Kings. Of these tombs nothing
Goodall's edition,
s14 " Queen Margaret died in A. D. 1092,
and therefore any building which she erected must date very nearly five hundred years after Columba's death ; that is to say, the most ancient building which exists upon Iona must be separated in age from Co- lumba's time by as many centuries as those w—hich now separate us from Edward III. "
" Iona," by the Duke of Argyll, chap, ii. ,
pp. 84, 85.
s'S It was called "the larger Columcille
chapel. "
5' 6 See the " Ulster Journal of Archaeo-
now remains, but supposed vestiges, and these are locally denominated Iomaire-nan-Rig/i,
"
or the Ridge of the Kings. "
520 In Graham's "Antiquities of Iona," there are views of the East and West fronts,
plates 30, 31.
5" Drawings of some of these bas-reliefs may
logy*" vol. i. , p. 831. " 5'7 See Cosmo Innes'
523 In several were 1525, Manuscripts
brought from Iona to Aberdeen, and although these were much injured and
almost illegible, they appeared to have been fragments of Sallust, and also of some Scot-
Origines Paro- chiales Scotiae," vol. ii. , part i. , p. 298.
5 lS See "Iona," by the Duke of Argyll, chap, ii. , p. 85.
tish Chronicles. See Father Sacra," pp. 487, 488.
Hay's
According
Description
which we learn :
"
one sanctuary also or kirkzaird callit in Erische Religoran, quhilk is a very fair kirkzaird and weill biggit about
the cloister, may be seen.
526 See Rev. Dr. Reeves' Adamnan's
Colmkill, there is
be seen in the work just quoted, plates40, 42. 522 It is stated, that in 1460, Pope Pius V. proposed to visit the library of Iona. See Cosmo Innes' " Parochiales Sco-
Origines tke," vol. ii. , part i. , p. 300.
" Scotia of the
525Atthewestendofthepresentruinsof the Abbey church, the foundations of a quad- Within this Isle of rangular cell, attached to the west wall of
to Donald Munro, Arch-
524 See Martin's "
Western Isles of Scotland," p. 258.
S*8
deacon of the Isles, and who made a tour of themin1549. Hehasleftusaninteresting "Description of the Western Isles," from
"
Life of St. Columba," Additional Notes
June 9. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 569 this must be a vulgar error, as the patron's grave could hardly have been
from the chief back to the twelfth
26
The
Nunnery,5
27 which is
supposed
to date
apart
cemetery. * 28
now
retains evidence of its former elegance; but, its peculiar style of Irish
Romanesque architecture was not older than the thirteenth century. The walls of its—church were 60 feet by 20. 530 Another church is called Tempul
"
45, Goodall's edition.
Scotichronicon,"vol. i. , lib. ii. , cap. x. , p.
«
vol. ii. , part i. , p. 297.
530 gee
Origines Parochiales Scotiae,"
"
Description of the Western Isles
Martin's
of Scotland," p. 262.
century,5 although
itseems— fromaSt. Ronan532 wh a probable
Ronan 53»
the Island of Rona 533 and it was called the parish church.
the Nunnery enclosure. It is first mentioned a. d. 1561, in the Rental of the Bishopric. In a. d. 1795, it was still entire, but in a tottering condition. 534 There was a small chapel denominated Cill-Chamnich, or the church of Cain- nech,533dedicatedtothatintimatefriendofSt. Columba. Itstoodcloseto the site of the present parish church, but the foundations have been removed some years ago, and nothing now remains but a few tombstones to mark the
A
short distance from the cathedral, and to the south-east of it. 538 Dr. Samuel Johnson539andJamesBoswell54°makeallusiontoitintheyear1773. Near the Chapter House of the cathedral, and to the north-east, there is a nameless chapel, measuring $5 feet by 16. 54 1 In the centre of the Island, and behind Cnocmor, there is a remarkable valley, called Gleann-an-Teampull, or u Glen of the Church,"S42 and it inclines towards the south-west, opening out on the north of the Machar. This glen has a level floor, and a well-defined range of hill, walled in on either side. 543
O, p. 416, and nn. (k, 1). size as St. Oran's chapel.
527 This was dedicated to the Blessed 538 The interior was used for burial in Pen-
"
Virgin Mary. Its nuns were Augustinians, nant's time. See Tour in Scotland and
and they wore a white gown, with a rochet of Voyage to the Hebrides," vol. ii. , p. 254. fine linen. See Reg. Sec. Sig. , vol. iii. , fol. 209. Several tombstones have been found in it,
528 The Macdonald Manuscript, which but without any inscription.
cemetery.
ruin,53
6 called Caibeal Muire or 53? is situate a Mary's Chapel,
seem to have borrowed from an earlier authority, states, that Beatrix, the only daughter of Sommerlid, who died in 1 164, was prioress of Icollumkille. "Collectanea," p. 287.
s 29 Foidun speaks of this nunnery, in his
'' 539SeeArthurMurphy's WorksofSamuel
Johnson, LL. D. , vol. viii. , A Journey to the
Western Islands of Scotland," pp. 392 to
394-
5*° In his "Journal," or relation of his
voyage with Johnson, p. 266. Carruthers' edition. This work was published in 1785. 5+1 This is marked in Graham's "Anti- quities of Iona," on the ground-plan of the
cathedral, plate 32.
5 * 2 No ecclesiastical ruins can be there ob-
served. See Rev. Dr. J. F. S. Gordon's
"Iona," pp. 25 to 34.
5*3 In the Irish Annals at 1203, we read,
that a monastery had been erected by Ceal-
lach, without any legal right, and despite the family of Hy, in the middle of Cro-Hy, and it did much damage to the town. The clergy of the north of Ireland passed over into Hy, and, in accordance with the law of the Church, they pulled down the aforesaid monastery. See account of this transaction, in Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the Four Masters," vol. iii. , pp. 134 to 137, and nn. (b, c, d). The Rev. Dr. Reeves thinks, that this record has referrence to the place in the middle of Cro-Hy. See his Adam-
" the church Ronad, —in
53' It is
which several prioresses are buried. "
styled
532 His feast-day does not appear to be known exactly, but he was probably com- memorated at St. Ronan's of Ness in Lewis.
533 it is situated about fifty miles north of
the Butt of Lewis. Also, Port Ronan, the
principal landing place in Iona, is named after him.
"
Old Statistical Account of Scot- land, "vol. xiv. , p. 202.
53* See
535 The patron of Kilkenny, and whose
feast occurs on the nth of October. From
him the neighbouring Island, called Inch
Kenzies derives its name, and it was for-
merly dependent on Iona. The Mackensie nan's "Life of St.
Columba," Additional clan esteemed him as their Patron Saint.
536 The
Notes P, p. 417.
5«* In Mr. Drummond read 1870, James
a paper before the Society of Antiquaries of
have fallen.
537 Jt seems to have been about the same
gables
529 still greatly dilapidated, yet
i
so
name to It lies inside
gives
570 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [June 9.
Of late years, vandalic depredations have been perpetrated on the monu-
ments at Iona. 544 Not alone the ignorant villagers, but well-dressed tourists,
have been known to chip off fragments of richly-traced tombs, and even
the carved heads of 5 * 5 however, the Duke of who is owner of figures ; Argyll,
theIsland,hassinceinterferedtopreservetheruinsandmonuments. The
old cemeteries of Iona, are, the Reilig Odhrain, or burial-ground of Odhran,546 the most ancient place of Christian sepulture on the Island ; the cathedral enclosure 5*7 Cladh Ronain,548 or the burial-ground of Ronan ;
;
Kilchainnich,S49 now disused ; Cill-ma-Gobhannain,55° also called Cill-ma-
Neachdain ;55i Cladh-an-Diseart S52 or burial-ground of the Desert 5 " Cladh- ;
that a journeyman blacksmith from the Island of Mull had removed thither a slab, which marked the resting place of four Priors, and it was held by archaeologists to have been the finest specimen of Celtic work in the cemetery.
distance to the north-east of the cathedral,
and in the low ground near the water's
edge.
553 Near it on the south is Port-an-Diseart,
or Port of the Desert.
554 This is near the Free Church, at
of the Druids sss Cladh-na-Meirghe;556
nan-Druineach554 or
and a nameless cemetery,547 at Culbhuirg, on the north-west side of the Island.
It is said, that formerly, there were no less than 360 crosses to be seen on
this Island, which were all destroyed by a provincial assembly, held on the place a little after the Reformation, and that their foundations were to be seen so late as i693. S58 Sacheverell,559 as cited by Pennant,56° states, that " the synod ordered 60 crosses to be thrown into the sea. " It is alleged, likewise, that numbers of them were carried away to different parts of western Scotland, and among these were the two beautiful crosses of Inverary and of Campbeltown. These statements have been called in question by later writers, and among: them are Mr. David Lainsj 561 and the Rev. Dr. William
Scotland in Edinburgh, relating his experi- ss* It is sometimes called Cladh Iain, or ences of a recent visit to Iona. lie found John's Burial-ground. It is situated some
burial-ground ;
S45 It is said, that the stewards of two Martyr's Bay. It was an oblong enclosure, yachts, lying in the Sound of Mull, had bounded by a stone dyke, in the time of
landed at nightfall, and they deliberately smashed the beautiful figure of M'Lean of Ross on his tombstone ; and this was done in revenge, because they were refused per- mission to see the cathedral on a Sunday. See The Daily Telegraph of December 19th,
1870.
s*s His festival has been assigned to the
27th of October, where notices of him may be found.
S4? On the south of it are two tombstones and other sepulchral remains.
548 This cemetery is attached to the church
within the nunnery precincts.
549 Some tombstones yet mark its site.
S5° This is a small, unenclosed, triangular space. It lies at the northern extremity of an old green bank, north of the cathedral. Here murderers and children that died be- fore baptism are said to have been buried.
of the Western
551 Bishop Pocock stated, that here he had seen two stones, each seven feet in height, with a third laid across their tops, and that it was evidently a Cromlech. See Pennant's " Tour in Scotland, and Voyage
Pennant, who alludes to it in his " Tour in Scotland, and Voyage to the Hebrides," vol. iii. , p. 245.
555 In the last century, a cottager who was planting potatoes here unearthed human re- mains, which the islanders immediately con- cluded to be the bones of the Druids. See " Old Statistical Account of Scotland," vol. xiv. , p. 199.
556 This is at Cnoc-na-Meirghe, at the
head of Gleann-an-Teampull, where un- baptized children used to be buried.
557 This was only exposed in the present century, and no tradition of it remained. In it, layers of bones were found mixed with charcoal.
See Martin's "
559 He lived in 168S. In the " Transac- "
Description Isles of Scotland," p. 258.
tions of the Camden Society," his Voyage to Icolmbkill "has been published.
to the vol. Hebrides,"
iii. , p. 258.
560 See his "Tour in Scotland, and Voyage to the Hebrides,'' vol. iii. , p. 251.
501 See a letter by David Laing, Esq. ,
F. S. A. . Scotland, to the Hon. Lord Murray,
1 ' On the state of the Ruins of Iona present
558 Such is the statement of an anonymous writer, who wrote in that year. See u New Statistical Account of Scotland," vol. vii. , part ii. , p. 314.
June 9. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 57i
Reeves. 563 However, there can be no doubt, but that a pillage of Iona's crosses went on for generations back j and in the adjacent Islands, numbers of different shapes and sizes have been erected to mark as head-stones the gravesofthehumbleandundistinguishedpersonsthereinterred. 563 Ofthose crosses remaining, are to be seen St. Martin's cross,56* opposite the west door of the cathedral,565 Maclean's cross,566 St. John's cross,'& St. Matthew's cross,568 St. Adamnan's cross,569 St. Brandon's cross,570 that of Torr Abb,5? 1 and those crosses, that are traditionally known to have been at a spot on the left of that walk running northwards from the cathedral, and yet called Na Crossan Mor, or the " Great Crosses. " Besides the above-named, some fragments of others serve as tombstones in Relig Odhrain. 572
Other antiquities on Iona are the Cobhan Cuildich,5" interpreted the Culdee's Cell or Couch, which stood in a hollow between Dunii and Dun-
574 '* foundations " or " ruins 575 Dun- meaning ;
the
bhuirg,5? 6 a well-defined, abrupt, rocky eminence in the north-western part of the Island; Garadh-Eachain Oig,577 or "Garden of young Hector;""8
bhuirg ;
Laithrichean,
and their preservation. " This was written
in 1854, and it may be found, in " Proceed-
ings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scot- land," vol. ii. , pp. 7 to 12.
562 See Adamnan's " Life of St. Columba," Additional Note? P, p. 420.
563 This information the writer is enabled
to communicate, on the authority of Rev. Dr. J. F. S. Gordon, the learned Scottish eccle- siastical historian and author of the " Scoti- chronicon," as also of other admirable his- torical and antiquarian works, who has affirmed the facts stated in the text, in a letter from 8 Stonefield Terrace, Glasgow, and dated Feast of the Holy Trinity,
1888.
564 This is a noble monument, fourteen
feet in height. Martin has described it, in
570 This stood a little way east of the Free Church Manse, near Tobar Orain, but no trace of it now remains.
571 Opposite the west entrance to the cathedral, and on the top of this eminence, the socket of a cross is said to have been ob- served.
572 Mr. Huband Smith, when he visited
Iona, was unable to discover the remains of
more than fifteen or twenty crosses. See
"
Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy," vol. vi. , p. 392.
his " of the Western Isles of a walk ascends to a small hillock. The Description
Scotland," p. 259. It is drawn in Graham's
"
Antiquities of Iona," plate 39, represent- ing the east face.
foundation is not quite circular, but it mea- sures about 16 by 14 feet.
574 A small bay, lying west of Port-a- churraich derives its name, Port Laith- richean, from several circular foundations of very ancient buildings scattered over it. That sequestered spot forms a beautiful re- cess, enclosed by high rock all round, and only open to the sea. There, the inclina- tion of the ground towards the water is re- medied by an artificial terrace, made across
"
563 Pennant has an account of it, in his Tour in Scotland, and Voyage to the He-
brides," vol. iii. , p. 254.
566 This is on the way-side, proceeding from the nunnery towards the cathedral.
The shaft is 10 feet, 4 inches, in height, but
the name is thought to be a vulgar mis-
nomer. There is a drawing of it, in Gra-
ham's " of the mouth of the little and the Antiquities Iona," plate 43. bay, bringing
567 It stood in the cathedral ground, north of St. Martin's cross. It appears to be of ancient date, and it is formed of one stone, nearly eight feet high and twenty inches broad. It is "set on a pedestal of granite. " —" New Statistical Account of Scotland," vol. vii. , part ii. , p. 335. Only a portion of this cross remains, of which Graham gives
level of the floor to an elevation of seventy or eighty feet over the sea. The circular en- closures spoken of rise over the sward.
575 These are thought to be traces of by far
the oldest buildings on Iona. One of those
circles is thirty yards in circumference, and another is thirteen.
576 On the top are the traces of a wall, en- closingthesummit. This,oneoftheCeltic duns, gives denomination to the hill.
577 Here in a valley are vestiges of numer- ous little buildings, apparently very ancient. They are found especially on the east side, near the stream which runs down from Loch Staonaig.
a drawing, in his plate 40.
"
Antiquities of Iona,"
568 There is only a fragments of this, in the same enclosure.
569 This no longer exists, but a spot at the north end of the village bears such a name, and opposite to Port a Chrossain.
"
573 It is spelled Cothan Cuildich, in the
Old Statistical Account of Scotland," vol. xiv. , p. 200. It is said to have been the foundation of a small circular house upon a declining plain. Only faint vestiges of it now remain, and from the door of the house
572 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [June 9.
the Teach an
andBarn,581 near the cathedral. 582
Epscoip,579
or " House 58° as ais0 tbe sites of the Mill Bishop's ;
The other features of most interest on the Island are as follows : a green
embankment,583 called the Bishop's walk,58* north of the cathedral, and close
to the Lochan Mor,585 on the east 586 the Cnoc-na-n Aingel s8? or Angel's ;
Hill, 588 but more commonly called at present Sithean Mor, 58 ? or the Great
Fairy Mount 59° the Port-an-Churaich,5? 1 or " Port of the Currach ;"592 the ;
EalaMound,5^oppositethecentreofMartyr'sBay; theTorrAbb,5? 4orthe
"Abbot's turret 595 while at Port-a-curach, on the western side, where the ;
shore is covered with small boulders,5^6 are several cairns formed of these
stones, which are either for penitential stations or for sepulchral mounds, but most probably for the former purpose. The two chief lakes on the Island were the Lochan Mor w—now dried up—and the Loch Staonaig 5? 8 towards
s? 8 It is said to take name from Hector M'Lean, one of the Duairt family. It is situated near the head of Port-a-chuirraich. There, traces said to be of his house are shown.
Voyage to the Hebrides," vol. ii. , p. 258.
5 '° On the feast of St. Michael, the natives brought their horses thither, and coursed
around it.
591 This is on the south side of the Island,
579 This is a small ruinous building, and greatly exposed to the swell of the situated north-east of the cathedral. In western Atlantic billows, except in fine Sacheverell's time it was in good preserva- weather. Its name is derived from a long,
tion.
s80 It is mentioned in Pennant's " Tour
in Scotland, and a Voyage to the Hebrides,"
;
but on a place adjoining the gardens of the abbey, and surrounded by small hills, there
low, narrow mound, which runs across the bay at high water mark.
vol. ii. , p. 293. <i
581 There is no lake of any consequence
Columbus's Boat called Curich. " Description of the Western Isles of Scot-
" swan's mound," but why, they cannot tell. See Graham's "Antiquities oflona," p. 3. However, they appear to have been misled up, and where there are the marks of a by the sound, for the word really is
are vestiges of a large piece of artificial water, which has consisted of several acres, and been contrived both for pleasure and utility. At a place where it has been dammed
sluice, the ruins of a mill are still to be seen, which serve—d the inhabitants for grinding their corn. " "New Statistical Account of
Scotland," vol. vii. , part ii. , p. 317. "
eAlacpom, "a coffin. " Funeral parties on landing were formerly accustomed to lay the remains on this mound, while they thrice performed a deisiol, or right-wise circuit,
582 See Pennant's Tour in Scotland, round the spot.
and Voyage to the Hebribes," vol. iii. ,
p. 362.
583 This is evidently very ancient.
s8+ See Graham's "Antiquities oflona,"
p. 4.
s8s It may have been intended to confine
and deepen the waters of the lake, or it may
have been a portion of the vallum surround-
ingtheoriginalmonastery. Pennantstates "
594 This rocky eminence was opposite the west entrance to the cathedral and outside the enclosure. Martin seems to indicate, that it had been crowned with some artifi- cial stone-work, in the shape of a bastion, which was pretty high, and it was denomi- nated Dun Ni Manich, or Monk's Fort. " From the eminence the monks had a view of all the families in the Isle, an—d at the same
that the whole of their religious buildings time enjoy'd the free air. " "Descrip-
were covered on the north side by dykes. "
— " Tour in Scotland, and Voyage to the
tion of the Western Isles of Scotland,"
P- 259-
595 Ihe artificial part of it no longer
Hebrides," vol. iii. , p. 258.
There is every reason to believe, that a few centuries ago, various fine memorials of its decayed grandeur were preserved on St. Columba's Island. 512 These were allowed to crumble away, or they had been recklessly destroyed ; but of late years, owing to the Duke of Argyll, most creditable efforts have been made to preserve and restore—so far as possibly could be done—those
510 There, as tradition states, the saintly
Dr. O'Gallagher, while Bishop of Raphoe, and
while composing his celebrated Irish ser-
mons, was wont to celebrate Mass: tures are still to be seen in Donegal.
The scallauns were shed-like structures, 5 " For a more minute description and de- usually on some bleak mountain side, where tails, the reader is referred to the Irish room was found only for the altar and the Builder, of October 15th, 1887, vol. xxix. , priest, the congregation being obliged to No. 688, p. 281.
kneel in the open air, exposed to storms of sleet and rain in winter, and to the greatest heats of summer. Several of these struc-
5 68 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [June 9.
ancient buildings and relics of the past. Among the ecclesiastical ruins on Iona, none date back to the time of St. Columba, since the least and the most inconspicuous, but the most venerable and ancient of them all, is known as St. Odhrain's chapel 513 and this is probably the same building, which
;
Queen Margaret of Scotland is known to have erected 5I4 in memory of the
5 ' 5 and to have dedicated it to one of the most famous Columba's among
saint,
earlycompanions. 516 Itis builtofredgranite,5'7butitisrooflessandnowfast
It has no east window, but there are two narrow lights in the side walls near the eastern angles, that in the north being two feet high, while that in the south is three feet. In all probability, this chapel marks the site of thatstillhumblerchurchofwoodandwattlesinwhichColumbaworshipped. 518 Here, too, was the chief cemetery on the Island. 510 The most elegant and imposing of the buildings on Iona is that called in Gaelic the Eaclus Mor, or Great Church, which consists of nave, transepts and choir, in the Gothic
called the — House is the portion Chapter
decaying.
style.
usually
cloister
buildings,
called the Cathedral. It had a on the north sacristy
520 It is
side of the choir, and it had side chapels on the south. The capitals of some columns 5 " on the interior have bas-reliefs very similar to specimens found in Ireland. North of this abbey church are the ruins of the conventual or
and of these the
most ancient and the most remarkable. —The library 522 of which some
524 Near the west entrance, and seemingly beside the adjacent angle of the clois-
literary fragments have been preserved 523 was over the Chapter House.
ter,
popularly
a small chamber 525 called St. Columb's tomb is shown but,
;
s 12 The Rev. Dr. J. F. S. Gordon has pub- with stane and lyme. Into this sanctuary
lished a valuable work, "Iona," illustrating the various antiquities and objects of interest for the information of tourists to that Island. Introduction, pp. i. to xxviii. , and pp. I to 108. Glasgow, 1885, cr. 8vo.
there is three tombes of stane formit like little chapels, with ane braid gray marble or quhin stane in the gavill of ilk ane of the tombes. " Theseslabsofmarble,hetellsus, bore respectively the inscriptions Tumulus
RegumScotie, TumulusRegumHibcrnie,aud r
513 According to Fordun, this place
existed as a cemetery even before St. Co- Tumulus Regum A oi~we-ie : while in these
"
lumba came to Iona. See Scotichroni- tombs were buried 48 Scotch, 4 Irish, and 8
con," vol. i. , lib. iii. , cap. xxiv. , p. 128, Norwegian Kings. Of these tombs nothing
Goodall's edition,
s14 " Queen Margaret died in A. D. 1092,
and therefore any building which she erected must date very nearly five hundred years after Columba's death ; that is to say, the most ancient building which exists upon Iona must be separated in age from Co- lumba's time by as many centuries as those w—hich now separate us from Edward III. "
" Iona," by the Duke of Argyll, chap, ii. ,
pp. 84, 85.
s'S It was called "the larger Columcille
chapel. "
5' 6 See the " Ulster Journal of Archaeo-
now remains, but supposed vestiges, and these are locally denominated Iomaire-nan-Rig/i,
"
or the Ridge of the Kings. "
520 In Graham's "Antiquities of Iona," there are views of the East and West fronts,
plates 30, 31.
5" Drawings of some of these bas-reliefs may
logy*" vol. i. , p. 831. " 5'7 See Cosmo Innes'
523 In several were 1525, Manuscripts
brought from Iona to Aberdeen, and although these were much injured and
almost illegible, they appeared to have been fragments of Sallust, and also of some Scot-
Origines Paro- chiales Scotiae," vol. ii. , part i. , p. 298.
5 lS See "Iona," by the Duke of Argyll, chap, ii. , p. 85.
tish Chronicles. See Father Sacra," pp. 487, 488.
Hay's
According
Description
which we learn :
"
one sanctuary also or kirkzaird callit in Erische Religoran, quhilk is a very fair kirkzaird and weill biggit about
the cloister, may be seen.
526 See Rev. Dr. Reeves' Adamnan's
Colmkill, there is
be seen in the work just quoted, plates40, 42. 522 It is stated, that in 1460, Pope Pius V. proposed to visit the library of Iona. See Cosmo Innes' " Parochiales Sco-
Origines tke," vol. ii. , part i. , p. 300.
" Scotia of the
525Atthewestendofthepresentruinsof the Abbey church, the foundations of a quad- Within this Isle of rangular cell, attached to the west wall of
to Donald Munro, Arch-
524 See Martin's "
Western Isles of Scotland," p. 258.
S*8
deacon of the Isles, and who made a tour of themin1549. Hehasleftusaninteresting "Description of the Western Isles," from
"
Life of St. Columba," Additional Notes
June 9. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 569 this must be a vulgar error, as the patron's grave could hardly have been
from the chief back to the twelfth
26
The
Nunnery,5
27 which is
supposed
to date
apart
cemetery. * 28
now
retains evidence of its former elegance; but, its peculiar style of Irish
Romanesque architecture was not older than the thirteenth century. The walls of its—church were 60 feet by 20. 530 Another church is called Tempul
"
45, Goodall's edition.
Scotichronicon,"vol. i. , lib. ii. , cap. x. , p.
«
vol. ii. , part i. , p. 297.
530 gee
Origines Parochiales Scotiae,"
"
Description of the Western Isles
Martin's
of Scotland," p. 262.
century,5 although
itseems— fromaSt. Ronan532 wh a probable
Ronan 53»
the Island of Rona 533 and it was called the parish church.
the Nunnery enclosure. It is first mentioned a. d. 1561, in the Rental of the Bishopric. In a. d. 1795, it was still entire, but in a tottering condition. 534 There was a small chapel denominated Cill-Chamnich, or the church of Cain- nech,533dedicatedtothatintimatefriendofSt. Columba. Itstoodcloseto the site of the present parish church, but the foundations have been removed some years ago, and nothing now remains but a few tombstones to mark the
A
short distance from the cathedral, and to the south-east of it. 538 Dr. Samuel Johnson539andJamesBoswell54°makeallusiontoitintheyear1773. Near the Chapter House of the cathedral, and to the north-east, there is a nameless chapel, measuring $5 feet by 16. 54 1 In the centre of the Island, and behind Cnocmor, there is a remarkable valley, called Gleann-an-Teampull, or u Glen of the Church,"S42 and it inclines towards the south-west, opening out on the north of the Machar. This glen has a level floor, and a well-defined range of hill, walled in on either side. 543
O, p. 416, and nn. (k, 1). size as St. Oran's chapel.
527 This was dedicated to the Blessed 538 The interior was used for burial in Pen-
"
Virgin Mary. Its nuns were Augustinians, nant's time. See Tour in Scotland and
and they wore a white gown, with a rochet of Voyage to the Hebrides," vol. ii. , p. 254. fine linen. See Reg. Sec. Sig. , vol. iii. , fol. 209. Several tombstones have been found in it,
528 The Macdonald Manuscript, which but without any inscription.
cemetery.
ruin,53
6 called Caibeal Muire or 53? is situate a Mary's Chapel,
seem to have borrowed from an earlier authority, states, that Beatrix, the only daughter of Sommerlid, who died in 1 164, was prioress of Icollumkille. "Collectanea," p. 287.
s 29 Foidun speaks of this nunnery, in his
'' 539SeeArthurMurphy's WorksofSamuel
Johnson, LL. D. , vol. viii. , A Journey to the
Western Islands of Scotland," pp. 392 to
394-
5*° In his "Journal," or relation of his
voyage with Johnson, p. 266. Carruthers' edition. This work was published in 1785. 5+1 This is marked in Graham's "Anti- quities of Iona," on the ground-plan of the
cathedral, plate 32.
5 * 2 No ecclesiastical ruins can be there ob-
served. See Rev. Dr. J. F. S. Gordon's
"Iona," pp. 25 to 34.
5*3 In the Irish Annals at 1203, we read,
that a monastery had been erected by Ceal-
lach, without any legal right, and despite the family of Hy, in the middle of Cro-Hy, and it did much damage to the town. The clergy of the north of Ireland passed over into Hy, and, in accordance with the law of the Church, they pulled down the aforesaid monastery. See account of this transaction, in Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the Four Masters," vol. iii. , pp. 134 to 137, and nn. (b, c, d). The Rev. Dr. Reeves thinks, that this record has referrence to the place in the middle of Cro-Hy. See his Adam-
" the church Ronad, —in
53' It is
which several prioresses are buried. "
styled
532 His feast-day does not appear to be known exactly, but he was probably com- memorated at St. Ronan's of Ness in Lewis.
533 it is situated about fifty miles north of
the Butt of Lewis. Also, Port Ronan, the
principal landing place in Iona, is named after him.
"
Old Statistical Account of Scot- land, "vol. xiv. , p. 202.
53* See
535 The patron of Kilkenny, and whose
feast occurs on the nth of October. From
him the neighbouring Island, called Inch
Kenzies derives its name, and it was for-
merly dependent on Iona. The Mackensie nan's "Life of St.
Columba," Additional clan esteemed him as their Patron Saint.
536 The
Notes P, p. 417.
5«* In Mr. Drummond read 1870, James
a paper before the Society of Antiquaries of
have fallen.
537 Jt seems to have been about the same
gables
529 still greatly dilapidated, yet
i
so
name to It lies inside
gives
570 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [June 9.
Of late years, vandalic depredations have been perpetrated on the monu-
ments at Iona. 544 Not alone the ignorant villagers, but well-dressed tourists,
have been known to chip off fragments of richly-traced tombs, and even
the carved heads of 5 * 5 however, the Duke of who is owner of figures ; Argyll,
theIsland,hassinceinterferedtopreservetheruinsandmonuments. The
old cemeteries of Iona, are, the Reilig Odhrain, or burial-ground of Odhran,546 the most ancient place of Christian sepulture on the Island ; the cathedral enclosure 5*7 Cladh Ronain,548 or the burial-ground of Ronan ;
;
Kilchainnich,S49 now disused ; Cill-ma-Gobhannain,55° also called Cill-ma-
Neachdain ;55i Cladh-an-Diseart S52 or burial-ground of the Desert 5 " Cladh- ;
that a journeyman blacksmith from the Island of Mull had removed thither a slab, which marked the resting place of four Priors, and it was held by archaeologists to have been the finest specimen of Celtic work in the cemetery.
distance to the north-east of the cathedral,
and in the low ground near the water's
edge.
553 Near it on the south is Port-an-Diseart,
or Port of the Desert.
554 This is near the Free Church, at
of the Druids sss Cladh-na-Meirghe;556
nan-Druineach554 or
and a nameless cemetery,547 at Culbhuirg, on the north-west side of the Island.
It is said, that formerly, there were no less than 360 crosses to be seen on
this Island, which were all destroyed by a provincial assembly, held on the place a little after the Reformation, and that their foundations were to be seen so late as i693. S58 Sacheverell,559 as cited by Pennant,56° states, that " the synod ordered 60 crosses to be thrown into the sea. " It is alleged, likewise, that numbers of them were carried away to different parts of western Scotland, and among these were the two beautiful crosses of Inverary and of Campbeltown. These statements have been called in question by later writers, and among: them are Mr. David Lainsj 561 and the Rev. Dr. William
Scotland in Edinburgh, relating his experi- ss* It is sometimes called Cladh Iain, or ences of a recent visit to Iona. lie found John's Burial-ground. It is situated some
burial-ground ;
S45 It is said, that the stewards of two Martyr's Bay. It was an oblong enclosure, yachts, lying in the Sound of Mull, had bounded by a stone dyke, in the time of
landed at nightfall, and they deliberately smashed the beautiful figure of M'Lean of Ross on his tombstone ; and this was done in revenge, because they were refused per- mission to see the cathedral on a Sunday. See The Daily Telegraph of December 19th,
1870.
s*s His festival has been assigned to the
27th of October, where notices of him may be found.
S4? On the south of it are two tombstones and other sepulchral remains.
548 This cemetery is attached to the church
within the nunnery precincts.
549 Some tombstones yet mark its site.
S5° This is a small, unenclosed, triangular space. It lies at the northern extremity of an old green bank, north of the cathedral. Here murderers and children that died be- fore baptism are said to have been buried.
of the Western
551 Bishop Pocock stated, that here he had seen two stones, each seven feet in height, with a third laid across their tops, and that it was evidently a Cromlech. See Pennant's " Tour in Scotland, and Voyage
Pennant, who alludes to it in his " Tour in Scotland, and Voyage to the Hebrides," vol. iii. , p. 245.
555 In the last century, a cottager who was planting potatoes here unearthed human re- mains, which the islanders immediately con- cluded to be the bones of the Druids. See " Old Statistical Account of Scotland," vol. xiv. , p. 199.
556 This is at Cnoc-na-Meirghe, at the
head of Gleann-an-Teampull, where un- baptized children used to be buried.
557 This was only exposed in the present century, and no tradition of it remained. In it, layers of bones were found mixed with charcoal.
See Martin's "
559 He lived in 168S. In the " Transac- "
Description Isles of Scotland," p. 258.
tions of the Camden Society," his Voyage to Icolmbkill "has been published.
to the vol. Hebrides,"
iii. , p. 258.
560 See his "Tour in Scotland, and Voyage to the Hebrides,'' vol. iii. , p. 251.
501 See a letter by David Laing, Esq. ,
F. S. A. . Scotland, to the Hon. Lord Murray,
1 ' On the state of the Ruins of Iona present
558 Such is the statement of an anonymous writer, who wrote in that year. See u New Statistical Account of Scotland," vol. vii. , part ii. , p. 314.
June 9. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 57i
Reeves. 563 However, there can be no doubt, but that a pillage of Iona's crosses went on for generations back j and in the adjacent Islands, numbers of different shapes and sizes have been erected to mark as head-stones the gravesofthehumbleandundistinguishedpersonsthereinterred. 563 Ofthose crosses remaining, are to be seen St. Martin's cross,56* opposite the west door of the cathedral,565 Maclean's cross,566 St. John's cross,'& St. Matthew's cross,568 St. Adamnan's cross,569 St. Brandon's cross,570 that of Torr Abb,5? 1 and those crosses, that are traditionally known to have been at a spot on the left of that walk running northwards from the cathedral, and yet called Na Crossan Mor, or the " Great Crosses. " Besides the above-named, some fragments of others serve as tombstones in Relig Odhrain. 572
Other antiquities on Iona are the Cobhan Cuildich,5" interpreted the Culdee's Cell or Couch, which stood in a hollow between Dunii and Dun-
574 '* foundations " or " ruins 575 Dun- meaning ;
the
bhuirg,5? 6 a well-defined, abrupt, rocky eminence in the north-western part of the Island; Garadh-Eachain Oig,577 or "Garden of young Hector;""8
bhuirg ;
Laithrichean,
and their preservation. " This was written
in 1854, and it may be found, in " Proceed-
ings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scot- land," vol. ii. , pp. 7 to 12.
562 See Adamnan's " Life of St. Columba," Additional Note? P, p. 420.
563 This information the writer is enabled
to communicate, on the authority of Rev. Dr. J. F. S. Gordon, the learned Scottish eccle- siastical historian and author of the " Scoti- chronicon," as also of other admirable his- torical and antiquarian works, who has affirmed the facts stated in the text, in a letter from 8 Stonefield Terrace, Glasgow, and dated Feast of the Holy Trinity,
1888.
564 This is a noble monument, fourteen
feet in height. Martin has described it, in
570 This stood a little way east of the Free Church Manse, near Tobar Orain, but no trace of it now remains.
571 Opposite the west entrance to the cathedral, and on the top of this eminence, the socket of a cross is said to have been ob- served.
572 Mr. Huband Smith, when he visited
Iona, was unable to discover the remains of
more than fifteen or twenty crosses. See
"
Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy," vol. vi. , p. 392.
his " of the Western Isles of a walk ascends to a small hillock. The Description
Scotland," p. 259. It is drawn in Graham's
"
Antiquities of Iona," plate 39, represent- ing the east face.
foundation is not quite circular, but it mea- sures about 16 by 14 feet.
574 A small bay, lying west of Port-a- churraich derives its name, Port Laith- richean, from several circular foundations of very ancient buildings scattered over it. That sequestered spot forms a beautiful re- cess, enclosed by high rock all round, and only open to the sea. There, the inclina- tion of the ground towards the water is re- medied by an artificial terrace, made across
"
563 Pennant has an account of it, in his Tour in Scotland, and Voyage to the He-
brides," vol. iii. , p. 254.
566 This is on the way-side, proceeding from the nunnery towards the cathedral.
The shaft is 10 feet, 4 inches, in height, but
the name is thought to be a vulgar mis-
nomer. There is a drawing of it, in Gra-
ham's " of the mouth of the little and the Antiquities Iona," plate 43. bay, bringing
567 It stood in the cathedral ground, north of St. Martin's cross. It appears to be of ancient date, and it is formed of one stone, nearly eight feet high and twenty inches broad. It is "set on a pedestal of granite. " —" New Statistical Account of Scotland," vol. vii. , part ii. , p. 335. Only a portion of this cross remains, of which Graham gives
level of the floor to an elevation of seventy or eighty feet over the sea. The circular en- closures spoken of rise over the sward.
575 These are thought to be traces of by far
the oldest buildings on Iona. One of those
circles is thirty yards in circumference, and another is thirteen.
576 On the top are the traces of a wall, en- closingthesummit. This,oneoftheCeltic duns, gives denomination to the hill.
577 Here in a valley are vestiges of numer- ous little buildings, apparently very ancient. They are found especially on the east side, near the stream which runs down from Loch Staonaig.
a drawing, in his plate 40.
"
Antiquities of Iona,"
568 There is only a fragments of this, in the same enclosure.
569 This no longer exists, but a spot at the north end of the village bears such a name, and opposite to Port a Chrossain.
"
573 It is spelled Cothan Cuildich, in the
Old Statistical Account of Scotland," vol. xiv. , p. 200. It is said to have been the foundation of a small circular house upon a declining plain. Only faint vestiges of it now remain, and from the door of the house
572 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [June 9.
the Teach an
andBarn,581 near the cathedral. 582
Epscoip,579
or " House 58° as ais0 tbe sites of the Mill Bishop's ;
The other features of most interest on the Island are as follows : a green
embankment,583 called the Bishop's walk,58* north of the cathedral, and close
to the Lochan Mor,585 on the east 586 the Cnoc-na-n Aingel s8? or Angel's ;
Hill, 588 but more commonly called at present Sithean Mor, 58 ? or the Great
Fairy Mount 59° the Port-an-Churaich,5? 1 or " Port of the Currach ;"592 the ;
EalaMound,5^oppositethecentreofMartyr'sBay; theTorrAbb,5? 4orthe
"Abbot's turret 595 while at Port-a-curach, on the western side, where the ;
shore is covered with small boulders,5^6 are several cairns formed of these
stones, which are either for penitential stations or for sepulchral mounds, but most probably for the former purpose. The two chief lakes on the Island were the Lochan Mor w—now dried up—and the Loch Staonaig 5? 8 towards
s? 8 It is said to take name from Hector M'Lean, one of the Duairt family. It is situated near the head of Port-a-chuirraich. There, traces said to be of his house are shown.
Voyage to the Hebrides," vol. ii. , p. 258.
5 '° On the feast of St. Michael, the natives brought their horses thither, and coursed
around it.
591 This is on the south side of the Island,
579 This is a small ruinous building, and greatly exposed to the swell of the situated north-east of the cathedral. In western Atlantic billows, except in fine Sacheverell's time it was in good preserva- weather. Its name is derived from a long,
tion.
s80 It is mentioned in Pennant's " Tour
in Scotland, and a Voyage to the Hebrides,"
;
but on a place adjoining the gardens of the abbey, and surrounded by small hills, there
low, narrow mound, which runs across the bay at high water mark.
vol. ii. , p. 293. <i
581 There is no lake of any consequence
Columbus's Boat called Curich. " Description of the Western Isles of Scot-
" swan's mound," but why, they cannot tell. See Graham's "Antiquities oflona," p. 3. However, they appear to have been misled up, and where there are the marks of a by the sound, for the word really is
are vestiges of a large piece of artificial water, which has consisted of several acres, and been contrived both for pleasure and utility. At a place where it has been dammed
sluice, the ruins of a mill are still to be seen, which serve—d the inhabitants for grinding their corn. " "New Statistical Account of
Scotland," vol. vii. , part ii. , p. 317. "
eAlacpom, "a coffin. " Funeral parties on landing were formerly accustomed to lay the remains on this mound, while they thrice performed a deisiol, or right-wise circuit,
582 See Pennant's Tour in Scotland, round the spot.
and Voyage to the Hebribes," vol. iii. ,
p. 362.
583 This is evidently very ancient.
s8+ See Graham's "Antiquities oflona,"
p. 4.
s8s It may have been intended to confine
and deepen the waters of the lake, or it may
have been a portion of the vallum surround-
ingtheoriginalmonastery. Pennantstates "
594 This rocky eminence was opposite the west entrance to the cathedral and outside the enclosure. Martin seems to indicate, that it had been crowned with some artifi- cial stone-work, in the shape of a bastion, which was pretty high, and it was denomi- nated Dun Ni Manich, or Monk's Fort. " From the eminence the monks had a view of all the families in the Isle, an—d at the same
that the whole of their religious buildings time enjoy'd the free air. " "Descrip-
were covered on the north side by dykes. "
— " Tour in Scotland, and Voyage to the
tion of the Western Isles of Scotland,"
P- 259-
595 Ihe artificial part of it no longer
Hebrides," vol. iii. , p. 258.
