St Columba

At Scottish Heirloom Jewelry we try and provide insight into a variety of topics regarding Scotland. Recently we published an article on Iona. This article is a continuation of sorts, it deals with St Columba, the man behind the establishment of Iona as the religious center in early Scottish History.

The man who became known as St Columba was born on the 7th of December 521, in Gartan, near Lough Gartan, Donegal. During his early life, Columba became involved with the church. He joined a monastery in at Moville. He was ordained as a priest by Etchen, the bishop of Clonfald, after studying under a bard named Gemman.

St Columba entered a monastery in Mobhi Clarainech, which later had to be disbanded due to an outbreak of diseases’. He formed a different monastery in Derry. St Columba continued across Ireland forming various monasteries. Sometime around 560, he copied a Psalter (prayer book) belonging to St Finnian. This came to a dispute, as the Psalter was copied without permission. This escalated to a hearing in front of High King Dermott, in which the king ordered that St Columba hand over the Psalter, he refused. In 561, the forces of Dermot attacked that of St Columba. Many lives were lost, although the side of St Columba won.

St Columba then sent himself into voluntary exile and further vowed to convert the number of people to Christianity, as lives were lost in the battle.

In 563, St Columba landed in Kintyre, but being still insight of Ireland, he moved further north. He came to Iona, where he set up his monastery. St Columba and his monastery came to be seen as a religious and diplomatic figurehead to local tribes.

Furthermore, many stories exist to a number of miracles performed by St Columba in his attempts to convert the Picts. Perhaps one of the more interesting amongst these also comes as the first recorded reference to the Loch Ness Monster. It is said that, St Columba witnessed the burial of a man killed by the monster. He is also said to have saved the life of a swimmer in the Loch, by making the sign of the cross to the monster and yelling “You will go no further".

Through his perseverance and stories of incredible feats, St Columba achieved an incredibly high standing and honor for his monasteries and teachings. To the point of still being recognized and honored today.