Medievalists.net » St. Columba http://www.medievalists.net Where the Middle Ages Begin Mon, 07 Dec 2015 05:01:19 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.9.9 The Afterlife of the Dead: Reform in Attitude Towards Medieval Burials, Corpses and Bones http://www.medievalists.net/2015/07/07/the-afterlife-of-the-dead-reform-in-attitude-towards-medieval-burials-corpses-and-bones/ http://www.medievalists.net/2015/07/07/the-afterlife-of-the-dead-reform-in-attitude-towards-medieval-burials-corpses-and-bones/#comments Wed, 08 Jul 2015 00:11:07 +0000 http://www.medievalists.net/?p=59483 The International Medieval Congress is taking place at the University of Leeds, I’m on hand this week to report on the conference. This blog post reports on my first session.

The post The Afterlife of the Dead: Reform in Attitude Towards Medieval Burials, Corpses and Bones appeared first on Medievalists.net.

]]> http://www.medievalists.net/2015/07/07/the-afterlife-of-the-dead-reform-in-attitude-towards-medieval-burials-corpses-and-bones/feed/ 0 Like a Duck to Water: Representations of Aquatic Animals in Early Anglo-Saxon Literature and Art http://www.medievalists.net/2014/02/04/like-a-duck-to-water-representations-of-aquatic-animals-in-early-anglo-saxon-literature-and-art/ http://www.medievalists.net/2014/02/04/like-a-duck-to-water-representations-of-aquatic-animals-in-early-anglo-saxon-literature-and-art/#comments Tue, 04 Feb 2014 22:41:50 +0000 http://www.medievalists.net/?p=47310 In the second book of his Life of Columba abbot Adomnan of Iona relates some details regarding the second and third voyages of the monk Cormac in search of 'a desert place in the ocean'.

The post Like a Duck to Water: Representations of Aquatic Animals in Early Anglo-Saxon Literature and Art appeared first on Medievalists.net.

]]> http://www.medievalists.net/2014/02/04/like-a-duck-to-water-representations-of-aquatic-animals-in-early-anglo-saxon-literature-and-art/feed/ 0 St. Ninian of Whithorn http://www.medievalists.net/2013/12/09/st-ninian-of-whithorn/ http://www.medievalists.net/2013/12/09/st-ninian-of-whithorn/#comments Tue, 10 Dec 2013 00:40:30 +0000 http://www.medievalists.net/?p=45632 My interest here is in finding usable information regarding the centuries before Bede and in the way in which new data, especially the outstanding recent archaeological discoveries at Whithom in Wigtownshire (which is certainly the site of Candida Casal. might support and add to his picture of St. Ninian and the importance of his church at Candida Casa.

The post St. Ninian of Whithorn appeared first on Medievalists.net.

]]> http://www.medievalists.net/2013/12/09/st-ninian-of-whithorn/feed/ 0 Nessie: Stories of the Scottish Highlands from the Vita Columbae http://www.medievalists.net/2013/07/13/nessie-stories-of-the-scottish-highlands-from-the-vita-columbae/ http://www.medievalists.net/2013/07/13/nessie-stories-of-the-scottish-highlands-from-the-vita-columbae/#comments Sun, 14 Jul 2013 03:41:50 +0000 http://www.medievalists.net/?p=42107 The first story that influenced my decision to use this manuscript was Columba’s encounter with the Loch Ness Monster. It caught my attention that a common folk tale that everyone knows of today was already in existence in the 690s AD.

The post Nessie: Stories of the Scottish Highlands from the Vita Columbae appeared first on Medievalists.net.

]]> http://www.medievalists.net/2013/07/13/nessie-stories-of-the-scottish-highlands-from-the-vita-columbae/feed/ 0 Britain’s Medieval identity Crisis http://www.medievalists.net/2012/11/14/britains-medieval-identity-crisis/ http://www.medievalists.net/2012/11/14/britains-medieval-identity-crisis/#comments Wed, 14 Nov 2012 05:47:54 +0000 http://www.medievalists.net/?p=37138 Clare Downham considers how a set of saints’ lives written by a13th century monk in Cumbria help us understand how national allegiances were understood in medieval Britain.

The post Britain’s Medieval identity Crisis appeared first on Medievalists.net.

]]> http://www.medievalists.net/2012/11/14/britains-medieval-identity-crisis/feed/ 0 The Irish Christian Holy Men: Druids Reinvented? http://www.medievalists.net/2012/03/17/the-irish-christian-holy-men-druids-reinvented/ http://www.medievalists.net/2012/03/17/the-irish-christian-holy-men-druids-reinvented/#comments Sat, 17 Mar 2012 23:24:45 +0000 http://www.medievalists.net/?p=30219 The druids as members of the pagan 'priestly class' were an important, high-status force in Celtic society. This class of druids was one of the most formidable groups that early Christian saints and missionaries had to face and overcome in order to establish firmly the roots of Christianity in pagan Celtic Ireland.

The post The Irish Christian Holy Men: Druids Reinvented? appeared first on Medievalists.net.

]]> http://www.medievalists.net/2012/03/17/the-irish-christian-holy-men-druids-reinvented/feed/ 0 Miracle Stories and the Primary Purpose of Adomnán’s Vita Columbae http://www.medievalists.net/2012/03/06/miracle-stories-and-the-primary-purpose-of-adomnans-vita-columbae/ http://www.medievalists.net/2012/03/06/miracle-stories-and-the-primary-purpose-of-adomnans-vita-columbae/#comments Tue, 06 Mar 2012 18:30:17 +0000 http://www.medievalists.net/?p=29878 Adomnán, the author of the VC, was Columba's ninth successor to the abbacy at Iona. 1 A great deal about his career, concerns and life can be found in contemporary literary evidence.

The post Miracle Stories and the Primary Purpose of Adomnán’s Vita Columbae appeared first on Medievalists.net.

]]> http://www.medievalists.net/2012/03/06/miracle-stories-and-the-primary-purpose-of-adomnans-vita-columbae/feed/ 0 Colmcille and the Battle of the Book: Technology, Law and Access to Knowledge in 6th Century Ireland http://www.medievalists.net/2012/01/29/colmcille-and-the-battle-of-the-book-technology-law-and-access-to-knowledge-in-6th-century-ireland/ http://www.medievalists.net/2012/01/29/colmcille-and-the-battle-of-the-book-technology-law-and-access-to-knowledge-in-6th-century-ireland/#comments Sun, 29 Jan 2012 22:10:55 +0000 http://www.medievalists.net/?p=28898 Nowadays people can get heavily fined or even jailed for copyright infringement7 but it is not generally a capital offence. So how could a holy man, of all people, derive such a sense of righteousness and glory from the carnage of war, especially one apparently triggered by something as innocuous as the copying of a single manuscript?

The post Colmcille and the Battle of the Book: Technology, Law and Access to Knowledge in 6th Century Ireland appeared first on Medievalists.net.

]]> http://www.medievalists.net/2012/01/29/colmcille-and-the-battle-of-the-book-technology-law-and-access-to-knowledge-in-6th-century-ireland/feed/ 0