An afternoon on Iona

After lunch, I give the workers a break and head off to Iona, which is a small island in  off the Ross of Mull, about five miles from the croft.  It was a centre of monasticism for four centuries and is today renowned for its tranquility and natural beauty. It is a popular tourist destination and a place for retreats.  The ferry takes five or ten minutes, there is Iona in the background on the left.

Iona was the site of a highly important monastry, Iona Abbey during the Early Middle Ages. According to tradition the monastery was founded in 563 by the monk Columba, also known as Colm Cille, who had been exiled from his native Ireland^.  Columba and twelve companions founded hugely successful abbey, and played a crucial role in the conversion to Christianity of the Picts in the late sixth century and of the Anglo Saxon kingdom of Northumbria in 635. Many satellite institutions were founded, and Iona became the centre of one of the most important  monastic systems in the British Isles.  

Iona became a renowned centre of learning, producing highly important documents. The monastery is often associated with the distinctive practices and traditions known as Celtic Christianity.  In particular, Iona was a major supporter of the "Celtic" system for calculating Easter.  This pitted supporters of the Celtic system against those favoring the "Roman" system used elsewhere in Western Christianity. The controversy weakened Iona's ties to Northumbria, which adopted the Roman system in 664, and to Pictland, which followed suit in the early eighth century. Iona itself did not adopt the Roman system until 715, according to the Anglo-Saxon historian Bede. Iona's prominence was further diminished over the next centuries as a result of  Viking raids and the rise of other powerful monasteries in the system, such as the Abbey of Kells.   

The Book of Kells may have been produced or begun on Iona towards the end of the eighth century.  Around this time the island's exemplary high crosses were sculpted; these may be the first such crosses to contain the ring around the intersection that became characteristic of the Celtic Cross.  The series of Viking raids on Iona began in 794 and, after its treasures had been plundered many times, Columba's relics were removed and divided two ways between Scotland and Ireland in 849 as the monastery was abandoned.

 As the Norse domination of the west coast of Scotland advanced, Iona became part of the Kingom of the Isles. Although Iona was never again important to Ireland, it rose to prominence once more in Scotland following the establishment of the Kingdom of Alba      in the late ninth century. The ruling dynasty of Alba traced its origin to Iona, and the island thus became an important spiritual centre of the new kingdom, with many of its early kings buried there.

A  convent for Benedictine nuns was established in about 1208. The present Benedictine abbey, Iona Abbey itself, was built in about 1203. The monastery flourished until the Reformation when buildings were demolished and all but three of the 360 carved crosses destroyed.

Following the 1266 Treaty of Perth the Hebrides were restored to Scottish rule. An Augustine nunnery survives among the thirteenth century ruins, which include a church and cloister. The nunnery continued to be active until the Reformation. By the 1760s little more of the nunnery remained standing than at present, though it is the most complete remnant of a medieval nunnery in Scotland.

Following the union with England and after a visit in 1773, the English writer Samuel Johnson described the island as "fruitful", but backward and impoverished.  He wrote
'The inhabitants are remarkably gross, and remarkably neglected: I know not if they are visited by any minister. The island, which was once the metropolis of learning and piety, now has no school for education, nor temple for worship, only two inhabitants that can speak English, and not one that can write or read.^' 

Oh dear, it seems even then the English expected everyone to speak their language. Samuel estimated the population of the village at 70 families or perhaps 350 inhabitants.

In the 19th century green-streaked marble was commercially mined in the south-east of Iona; the quarry and machinery survive.

I draw nearer.

 

 I can see the Abbey now

On arrival my first stop is the tea shop which I remember from a decade ago.  It's a pretty little house near the new Heritage Centre, and is under new management. I have the same experience I have had in many hosteleries in Northern Scotland.  A very pleasant one.  There has been a sea change in catering. Then to the cathedral.  I discover that arriving later in the day means free entry.  

Iona Abbey, now an ecumenical church, is of particular historical and religious interest to pilgrims and visitors alike. It is the most elaborate and best-preserved ecclesiastical building surviving from the Middle Ages in theWestern Isles.  Though modest in scale in comparison to medieval abbeys elsewhere in Western Europe, it has a wealth of fine architectural detail, and monuments of many periods. The eighth Duke of Argyll presented the sacred buildings and sites of the island to the Iona Cathedral trust in 1899.

In front of the Abbey stands the ninth century St Martin's Cross.  

The ancient burial ground, contains the twelth century chapel, restored at the same time as the Abbey itself. It contains a number of medieval grave monuments. The abbey graveyard contains the graves of many early Scottish Kings, as well as kings from Ireland, Norway and France. John Smith, the Labour politician is buried here.  I remember the day he died in the 90s.  A sad day which paved the way for Tony Blair.  The least said about that the better. 

 

Inside the abbey is restored to it's former simple glory. 


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The island itself, other than the land owned by the Iona Cathedral Trust, was purchased from the Duke of Argyll by Hugh Fraser in 1979 and donated to the National Trust for Scotland.  In 2001 Iona's population was 125 and by 2001 this had grown to 177 usual residents.During the same period Scottish island pulations as a whole grew by 4% to 103,702.  There now more people of 

retirement age moving to the island and in addition it is easier for people to work here due to improve techmology

Baile Mòr viewed from the Sound of Iona

In 1938 George Macleod founded the Iona Community, an ecumenical Christian community of men and women from different walks of life and different traditions in the Christian church committed to seeking new ways of living the Gospel of Jesus in today's world. This community is a leading force in the present Celtic Christian revival.

The Iona Community runs three residential centres on the Isle of Iona and on Mull, where one can live together in community with people of every background from all over the world. Weeks at the centres often follow a programme related to the concerns of the Iona Community.

After my visit  I enjoyed a time of meditation in the nunnery before returning to the ferry.  In the background a group of North Americans were celebrating with cava.  God won't mind. 

I walk back to the ferry

  

I think about a sign I saw in the Abbey.  

And return to Puck who has not a care in the world