Iona Abbey facts for kids
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| Established | 563 AD |
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| Location | Isle of Iona PA76 6SQ, United Kingdom |
Iona Abbey is an old and famous abbey located on the island of Iona. This small island is just off the Isle of Mull on the west coast of Scotland.
It is one of the oldest Christian religious places in Western Europe. The abbey was very important for spreading Christianity across Scotland. It was founded by St. Columba in 563 AD. At that time, Iona was part of the Kingdom of Dál Riata. Saint Aidan was a monk here before he helped bring Christianity back to Northumberland, on the island of Lindisfarne.
In the 12th century, the Macdonald lords of Clan Donald became very important to Iona. They made Iona the main religious center for their family. They supported the abbey, church, and nunnery for many years. Two Macdonalds even became Bishops of the Isles, with their main church at Iona. St. Oran's chapel was a burial place for these lords.
The Macdonald family played a huge role in Iona Abbey's growth and fame from 1207 to 1493. The abbey you see today was mostly rebuilt in the 20th century. But its design and importance come from the 15th-century Clan Donald Lords of the Isles.
Today, Iona Abbey is the spiritual home of the Iona Community. This is a Christian group that welcomes people from different churches. Their main office is in Glasgow. The Abbey is still a popular place for Christian pilgrimage today.
Contents
History of Iona Abbey
How Iona Abbey Began
In 563 AD, a man named Columba came to Iona from Ireland. He brought twelve friends with him and started a monastery. This monastery became a very important place. It helped spread Christianity among the Picts and Scots people.
Back then, the island and the abbey were called "Hy" or "Hii." The name "Iona" only started being used much later, around the 14th century. It came from a mistake when writing the Latin name "Ioua."
Life in the Early Monastery
The main goal of Columba's monastery was to be a perfect Christian community. Columba wanted it to show the best Christian values for others to follow. The monks prayed and worked every day. They followed the rules and ways of Celtic Christianity. They also managed the monastery's resources and were involved with the local community.
Building the First Abbey
Like other Celtic Christian monasteries, Columba's first monastery was made of wood and thatch. It had a central church, a dining hall, a library, and small rooms for the monks. There was also a guesthouse for visitors and pilgrims. People believe that around 800 AD, the first wooden chapel was replaced with a stone one.
Columba's monastery was surrounded by a ditch and an earth wall. Some of this wall might have been there before Columba arrived. You can still see parts of it today, northwest of the current abbey buildings.
St. Columba's Workroom
A writer named Adomnán described a building on a small hill called Torr an Aba. This was where St. Columba worked and wrote. Scientists have found burnt wood from this spot. There is also a place where a cross was later put up.
Making Books and Manuscripts
Creating Christian books and records was a very important activity at Iona. The Chronicle of Ireland included records made on Iona up to about 740 AD. The famous Book of Kells, a beautiful illuminated manuscript, is thought to have been made by the monks of Iona around 800 AD.
Stone Crosses
Stone crosses were used at Iona to mark graves. Large stone crosses were also put up. These might have been used to share important Christian messages, especially between 800 and 1000 AD. Their designs looked like crosses made from precious metals. Some were carved from stone brought by boat from Loch Sween, which was 50 miles away.
Viking Attacks and Changes
Viking raiders attacked Iona Abbey for the first time in 795 AD. More attacks happened in 802, 806, and 825. During the 806 attack, 68 monks were killed in a place now called Martyrs' Bay. Because of these dangers, many monks moved to a new monastery in Ireland called Abbey of Kells.
The building at Kells was finished in 814 AD. In that year, Cellach, the Abbot of Iona, moved to Kells. However, Iona still remained an important place for the monks for many years, even with the Viking raids.
In 825, St. Blathmac and the monks who stayed at Iona were killed in another Viking raid. The Abbey was burned. But it wasn't until 878 that the main holy items, including Columba's special shrine, were moved to Ireland. Kells then became the main home for the monks. The Book of Kells might have moved to Kells at this time too. However, Iona Abbey was probably not empty. Its importance continued, as shown by the death there in 980 of Amlaíb Cuarán, a retired King of Dublin.
St. Columba started several monasteries in Britain and Ireland, but Iona was his main base. Other monks from Iona also moved to Europe. They started monasteries in Belgium, France, and Switzerland.
The Benedictine Abbey
In 1114, the King of Norway took control of Iona for 50 years. Then, Somerled recaptured it. In 1164, he invited Irish monks to return. This led to the building of the central part of the cathedral. Ranald, Somerled's son, invited the Benedictine order to build a new monastery in 1203. He also invited the Augustinian order to build a Nunnery. These new buildings were on the same spot as Columba's original monastery.
The next year, in 1204, Irish bishops raided the site. They were upset because they were losing their connection to this important place founded by St. Columba.
The Iona Nunnery was built south of the abbey. It was for Augustinian nuns, and was one of only two such nunneries in Scotland. Graves of some early nuns are still there. One is for a special leader named Anna Maclean, who died in 1543. You can see her special pleated robe, which shows she was an Augustinian nun. The nunnery buildings were rebuilt in the 1400s. They fell apart after the Scottish Reformation.
The abbey church was made much bigger in the 1400s by the Macdonald Lords of the Isles. They saw it as their spiritual home and their main church. After the Scottish Reformation, Iona Abbey, like many others in Britain, was closed down. Its monks and libraries were scattered.
The Modern Abbey
In 1899, the Duke of Argyll gave the ruined abbey and nunnery to the Iona Cathedral Trust. This group started to restore the abbey church. In 1938, Reverend George MacLeod was inspired to rebuild the abbey. He started the Iona Community. The rebuilding was done by architect Ian Gordon Lindsay. The buildings around the abbey were also rebuilt in the 20th century by the Iona Community. This Christian community still uses the site today.
A simple square font (a basin for holy water) was added in 1908. It was dedicated to the memory of Theodore Marshall, a church leader.
In 2000, the Iona Cathedral Trust gave the care of the Abbey, Nunnery, and other sites to Historic Scotland.
In June 2021, the abbey reopened after a big renovation. The Iona Community raised £3.75 million for it. The improvements included a new energy system and fast internet.
Interesting Facts About Iona Abbey
Many early Scottish kings are said to be buried in the Abbey graveyard. Some stories say 48 kings in total, from Scotland, Ireland, Norway, and France, are buried there. However, modern experts are not sure if these stories are true. They were probably told to make Iona seem more important. Many important people from the Hebrides, like the Lord of the Isles and leaders of other Scottish clans, were buried on Iona. This includes several Maclean and MacLeod chiefs. John Smith, a leader of the Labour Party in the 20th century, loved Iona. He was buried there after he died in 1994.
Several tall high crosses are found on Iona. St. Martin's Cross, which is from the 8th century, still stands by the road. A copy of St. John's Cross is by the abbey doorway. The real St. John's Cross is in the Infirmary Museum behind the abbey.
A sculptor named Christopher Hall worked for many years on the carvings in the abbey's cloisters. These carvings show birds, plants, and animals that live on the island. He also carved John Smith's gravestone.
Images for kids
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St. John's Cross in the Abbey museum.
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St. Martin's Cross outside the abbey.
See also
In Spanish: Abadía de Iona para niños
- Abbot of Iona, for a list of abbots
- Inchcolm Abbey, sometimes called the "Iona of the east"
- Dunkeld Cathedral, a main center for the followers of Columba in later medieval Scotland
