Abbot of Iona

Last updated

Iona's first abbot, Saint Columba, before the fortress of the Pictish king Columba at Bridei's fort.jpg
Iona's first abbot, Saint Columba, before the fortress of the Pictish king

The Abbot of Iona was the head of Iona Abbey during the Middle Ages and the leader of the monastic community of Iona, as well as the overlord of scores of monasteries in both Scotland and Ireland, including Durrow, Kells and, until the Synod of Whitby, Lindisfarne. It was one of the most prestigious clerical positions in Dark Age Europe, and was visited by kings and bishops of the Picts, Franks and English. The Ionan abbots also had the status of Comarba of Colum Cille, i.e. the successors of that Saint, Columba. [1]

Contents

Iona's position as head of the Columban network (familia) of churches declined over time, with abbots based at Derry, Raphoe, Kells and Dunkeld. In Scotland, the abbots of Dunkeld ruled much of central Scotland in the 11th century, and functioned as some of the most important politicians of northern Britain. One of the abbots, Crínán, married Bethóc ingen Maíl Coluim, the daughter of King Máel Coluim II, and became the progenitor of the so-called House of Dunkeld, which ruled Scotland until the later thirteenth century. Dunkeld became a bishopric, and the monks based at Inchcolm Abbey became Augustinians.

At the beginning of the thirteenth century, the monks of Iona adopted the Benedictine rule. Iona was re-endowed in 1203 by Raghnall mac Somhairle, son of Somerled, king of Argyll and the Isles.

List of abbots of Iona to 891

Early abbots of Iona
IncumbentUntilCitation(s)Notes
Colum Cille mac Fedelmtheo Died 9 June 597 [2] [3]
Baithéne mac Brénaind Died 9 June 598 [2] [3]
Lasrén mac Feradaig Died 16 September 605 [2] [3]
Fergno Britt mac Faílbi Died 2 March 623 [2] [3] Known primarily as Virgno [3]
Ségéne mac Fiachnaí Died 12 August 652 [2] [3]
Suibne moccu Fir Thrí Died 11 January 657 [2] [3]
Cumméne Find Died 24 February 669 [2] [3]
Fáilbe mac Pípáin Died 22 March 679 [2] [3]
Adomnán mac Rónáin Died 23 September 704 [2] [3]
Conamail mac Faílbi Deposed(?) 707 [2] [3] Died 11 September 710 [2]
Dúnchad mac Cinn Fáelad Deposed(?) June 713
(restored 713 x 716)
Died 25 May 717
[2] [3]
Dorbbéne mac AltaíniDied 28 October 713 [2] [3] Also called Dorbbéne Foto [2]
Fáelchú mac DorbbéniDeposed/resigned 722 [2] [3] Died 724 [2]
FedelmidDeposed(?) before 722 [2] [3] Died 759 [2]
Cilléne FotaDied 726 [2] [3]
Cilléne DroichtechDied 752 [2] [3]
Sléibíne mac CongaileResigned before 766 [2] [3] Died 767 [2] [3]
SuibneResigned 771 [2] [3] Died 801 [2]
Bresal mac SégéniDied 801 [2] [3]
ConnachtachDied 802 [2] [3]
Cellach mac Congaileresigned 814 [2] [3] Died 815 [2] [3]
Diarmait daltae Daigri Resigned 831 [2] [3] Died in or after 831 [3] Blathmac mac Flainn was martyred on Iona in 825. [3]
Indrechtach ua Fínnachta Resigned before 854 [2] [3] Died 854 [2] [3]
Cellach mac AilelloDied 865 [2] [3] Cellach had been abbot of Kildare since 852 [2]
Feradach mac CormaicDied 880 [2] [3]
Flann mac Maíle DúinDied 20 April 891 [2] [3]

List of comarbai Coluim Cille and abbots of Iona, 8911099

During the abbacies of Diarmait and Indrechtach, almost certainly because of Viking attacks, the relics of Columba were moved to other monastic houses in the Columban familia, such as Kells, Raphoe and Dunkeld. The position of abbot on Iona ceases to have the same significance within the Columban monastic familia, and many comarbai are not based on the island.

Comarbai Coluim Cille to 1099
IncumbentChief monasteryUntilCitation(s)Notes
Máel Brigte mac Tornáin Iona/ArmaghDied 22 February 927 [2] [3] Máel Brigte had been abbot of Armagh from 883, [2] and may not have spent much time on Iona [3]
Dubthach mac DubáinRaphoeDied 938 [2]
CáenchomracIonaDied 947 [4] Was definitely abbot of Iona, but may not have been coarb of Coluim Cille [5]
RobartachRaphoeDied 954 [4]
Dub Dúin ua StepháinunknownDied 959 [4]
Dub Scoile mac CináedaunknownDied 964 [4]
MugrónIonaDied 980/81 [4] Styled "coarb of Colum Cille in Ireland and Scotland" [4]
Máel Ciaráin ua MaigneIonaMartyred 24 December 986 [4] Killed by Vikings [6]
Dúnchad Ua RobacháinRaphoeDied 989 [4]
Dub dá Leithe mac CellaigunknownDied June 998 [4] Dub dá Leithe had been abbot of Armagh from 965 [4]
Máel Brigte mac RímedaIonaDied 1005 [4] Was definitely abbot of Iona, but may not have been coarb of Coluim Cille [7]
Muiredach mac CrícháinRaphoeResigned 1007 [4] Died 1011; [4] Muiredach was also fer léigind of Armagh [4]
FerdomnachKellsDied 1008 [4]
Máel Muire Ua hUchtáinKellsDied 1009 [4]
FlandabraIonaDied 1025 [4] Styled "coarb of Iona" [4]
Máel Eóin Ua ToráinDerryDied 1025 [4] Styled "coarb of Derry" [4]
Máel Muire ua hUchtáinKells/RaphoeDied 1040 [4] Máel Muire was abbot of both Kells and Raphoe [4]
Murchad mac Flainn ua Máel SechlainnKells (?)Deposed (?) 1057 [4] Murchad was abbot of Conard from 1055, as well as briefly king of Mide in 1073; [8] his most likely Columban holding would be Kells. [4]
Robartach mac FerdomnaigKellsDied 1057 [4]
Gilla Críst Ua Maíl DoraidunknownDied 1062 [4] Gilla Críst was called "coarb of Colum Cille in Ireland and Scotland". [4]
Mac meic BáethéneIonaDied 1070 [4]
Domnall mac RobartaigKellsResigned before 1098 [4]
Donnchad mac meic MáenaigIonaDied 1099 [4]

List of comarbai Coluim Cille at Kells and Derry

None of the following comarbai Coluim Cille are based at Iona, but rather Kells and Derry.

Comarbai Coluim Cille from 1099 to the 1220s
IncumbentChief monasteryUntilCitation(s)Notes
Ferdomnach Ua ClucáinKellsDied 1114 [4]
Máel Brigte mac RónáinKellsDied 1117 [4]
Conaing Ua BeigléighinnKellsDied 1128 [4]
Gilla Adamnáin Ua CoirthnénKells [4] Gilla Adamnáin was a priest of Durrow who later became abbot of Kells. [9]
Gilla Meic Liac mac Diarmata DerryArchbishop from 1137 [4] Gilla Meic Liac (Gelasius) had been abbot of Derry since 1121, and was consecrated archbishop of Armagh in 1137; he died on 27 March 1174. [4]
Muiredach Ua ClucáinKellsDied 1154 [4]
Flaithbertach Ua BrolcháinDerryDied 1175 [4]
Gilla Meic Liac Ua BranáinDerryResigned 1198 [4]
Gilla Críst Ua CernaigDerryDied 1210 [4]
Fonachtan Ua BranáinDerryDied 1220 [4]
Flann Ua BrolcháinDerryDeposed 1220 [4]
Muichertach Ua MilliucDerryDied [4]

List of Benedictine abbots of Iona

Panoramic view Iona Abbey. Panorama.jpg
Panoramic view
Abbots of Iona in the Benedictine era
IncumbentPeriodCitation(s)Notes
Cellachfl. 120304 [10]
Amhalgaid Ó Fearghailfl. 1204 [10] c. 1204 the house of Derry installs Amhalgaid in opposition to Cellach [10] [11]
Fionnlaghfl. c. 1320 [10]
PeadarDied or resigned 1357 [10]
Finghuine mac Ghille-Brìghde MacFhionghainc. 13571405 [10]
Eóin mac Gofraidh MacAlasdair1405c.1421 [10]
Dominic mac Ghille-Coinnich14211444 x 1465 [12]
Aonghas mac Aonghaispostulated 1465 [12] Aonghas was son of Aonghas Óg. [12]
Eóin MacFhionghain14671498 [12] Eóin was son of Lachlan MacFhionghain. [12]

List of abbot-commendators

Abbot-commendators of Iona
IncumbentPeriodCitation(s)Notes
Eóin Caimbeul I14991510 [12]
George Hepburn 15101513 [12] Died at the battle of Flodden, 9 September 1513 [12]
Eóin Caimbeul II15141532 [13]
Ailean MacGill-Eathainprovided 1526 [13]
Seumas Sdíbhardcrown nomination 1529 [13] A kinsman of the earl of Lennox, he was abbot of Dryburgh. [14]
Fearchar Mac Eachainn15281544 x 1546 [13]
Ruairidh MacGill-Eathain15441552 x 1553 [13]
Ruairidh MacAlasdair15451546 [13]
Ailean Mac an Toisic1546 [13]
John Haypostulate 1547 [13]
Pádraig MacGill-Eathain15471552 [13]
Alexander Gordon15531562 [15]
Eóin Caimbeul III15571560 x 1562 [15]
Pádraig MacGill-Eathain (again)15601565 [15]
Séon Carsuel 15651572 [16]
Lachlan MacGill-Eathainc. 1567 [16] Despite Scottish Reformation, he was suspected of having received license from Mary, Queen of Scots, to go to the Pope to receive the abbey and the Bishopric of the Isles, but denied the allegation and renounced his claims to Carsuel. [16]
Eóin Caimbeul III (again)15721581 [16]
Alasdair Caimbeul15811615 [16] The abbey was annexed to the bishopric of the Isles on 11 August 1615; Alasdair Caimbeul was still alive on 30 September 1619. [16]

Notes

  1. Some sources refer to earlier abbots as Abbot of Hy. "Hy" being an early name for Iona (see Iona: Etymology and "He considered him as contemporary with Mugron, abbot of Hy (d. 980)..." (Olden, Thomas (1888). "Dubhdalethe"  . In Stephen, Leslie (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography . Vol. 16. London: Smith, Elder & Co. pp. 83–84.))
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 Moody, Martin and Byrne, Maps, Genealogies, Lists, p. 257
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 Charles-Edwards, "Iona, abbots of"
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 Moody, Martin and Byrne, Maps, Genealogies, Lists, p. 258
  5. Moody, Martin and Byrne, Maps, Genealogies, Lists, p. 259, n. 6
  6. Moody, Martin and Byrne, Maps, Genealogies, Lists, p. 259, n. 7
  7. Moody, Martin and Byrne, Maps, Genealogies, Lists, p. 259, n. 8
  8. Moody, Martin and Byrne, Maps, Genealogies, Lists, p. 259, n. 9
  9. Flanagan, Irish Royal Charters, p. 15
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Watt and Shead, Heads of Religious Houses, p. 111
  11. Moody, Martin and Byrne, Maps, Genealogies, Lists, p. 259
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Watt and Shead, Heads of Religious Houses, p. 112
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Watt and Shead, Heads of Religious Houses, p. 113
  14. Watt and Shead, Heads of Religious Houses, pp. 61, 113
  15. 1 2 3 Watt and Shead, Heads of Religious Houses, p. 114
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Watt and Shead, Heads of Religious Houses, p. 115

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Causantín mac Fergusa</span> King of the Picts 789–820

Causantín or Constantín mac Fergusa was king of the Picts, in modern Scotland, from 789 until 820. He was until the Victorian era sometimes counted as Constantine I of Scotland; the title is now generally given to Causantín mac Cináeda. He is credited with having founded the church at Dunkeld which later received relics of St Columba from Iona.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iona Abbey</span> Abbey in Argyll and Bute, Scotland, UK

Iona Abbey is an abbey located on the island of Iona, just off the Isle of Mull on the West Coast of Scotland.

A coarb, from the Old Irish comarbae, meaning "heir" or "successor", was a distinctive office of the medieval Celtic Church among the Gaels of Ireland and Scotland. In this period coarb appears interchangeable with "erenach", denoting the episcopally nominated lay guardian of a parish church and headman of the family in hereditary occupation of church lands. The coarb, however, often had charge of a church which had held comparatively high rank in pre‐Norman Ireland, or one still possessed of relatively extensive termon lands.

The Abbot of Paisley was the head of the Cluniac monastic community of Paisley Abbey and its property. The monastery was founded as a priory at Renfrew in 1163, but moved to Paisley in 1169. It became an abbey in 1219. The founder was Walter fitz Alan, Seneschal (Steward) of Scotland. The line of abbots ended when it was turned into a secular lordship for Lord Claud Hamilton in 1587/1592. The following is a list of abbots and commendators:

Adomnán or Adamnán of Iona, also known as Eunan, was an abbot of Iona Abbey (r. 679–704), hagiographer, statesman, canon jurist, and saint. He was the author of the Life of Columba, probably written between 697 and 700. This biography is by far the most important surviving work written in early-medieval Scotland, and is a vital source for our knowledge of the Picts, and an insight into the life of Iona and the early-medieval Gaelic monk.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abbot of Dunfermline</span>

The Prior, then Abbot and then Commendator of Dunfermline was the head of the Benedictine monastic community of Dunfermline Abbey, Fife, Scotland. The abbey itself was founded in 1128 by King David I of Scotland, but was of earlier origin. King Máel Coluim mac Donnchada had founded a church there with the help of Benedictines from Canterbury. Monks had been sent there in the reign of Étgar mac Maíl Choluim and Anselm had sent a letter requesting that Étgar's brother and successor King Alaxandair mac Maíl Coluim protect these monks. By 1120, when Alaxandair sent a delegation to Canterbury to secure Eadmer for the bishopric of St Andrews, there is a Prior of the Dunfermline monks by the name of Peter leading the delegation. Control of the abbey was secularized in the 16th century and after the accession of James Stewart in 1500, the abbey was held by commendators. In the second half of the 16th century, the abbey's lands were being carved up into lordships and it was finally annexed to the crown in July, 1593.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coupar Angus Abbey</span> Cistercian monastery in Scotland, 1162–1606

Coupar Angus Abbey was a Cistercian monastery near Coupar Angus, in central Scotland, on the boundary between Angus and Gowrie.

The Prior of St Mary's Isle was the head of the Augustinian monastic community of St Mary's Isle Priory, in Kirkcudbrightshire, Galloway. The following is a list of priors and commendators:

William of Binning or William of Binin was a 13th-century Cistercian monk. His name indicates that he came from Binning, in Uphall parish, West Lothian, Scotland; otherwise, his background is obscure. He emerges on 29 November 1243 when he is styled "Prior of Newbattle" and elected to be Abbot of Coupar Angus. According to Alexander Myln's 16th century Vitae Dunkeldensis ecclesiae episcoporum, when William was at Newbattle Abbey he authored a vita of John the Scot, successively Bishop of Dunkeld and Bishop of St Andrews. The vita has failed to survive. William resigned his position as Abbot of Coupar Angus on 29 September 1258. He died at an unknown date afterwards.

Donald Campbell was a 16th-century Scottish noble and churchman. He was the son of Archibald Campbell, 2nd Earl of Argyll and Elizabeth Stewart, daughter of John Stewart, 1st Earl of Lennox. From 1522, he was a student of St Salvator's College, at the University of St Andrews. After graduation, he became a cleric in his home diocese, the diocese of Argyll.

Robert Crichton was a 16th-century Scottish Catholic cleric.

The Bishop of Meath is an episcopal title which takes its name after the ancient Kingdom of Meath. In the Roman Catholic Church it remains as a separate title, but in the Church of Ireland it has been united with another bishopric.

Odo Ydonc was a 13th-century Premonstratensian prelate. The first recorded appearance of Odo was when he witnessed a charter by Donnchadh, Earl of Carrick, on 21 July 1225. In this document he is already Abbot of Dercongal, incidentally the first Abbot of Dercongal to appear on record.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geoffrey of Canterbury</span>

Geoffrey was a 12th-century Anglo-Norman Benedictine monk and abbot. Of Anglo-Norman origin, he became monastic head of the Benedictine priory at Canterbury, before moving to Scotland to be the first Abbot of Dunfermline. As abbot he presided over the construction of the new monastery building, the immigration of English monks and settlers, and the accumulation of enough wealth to make Dunfermline Abbey the richest Benedictine monastic house in the Kingdom of Scotland.

The Bishop of Emly was a separate episcopal title which took its name after the village of Emly in County Tipperary, Republic of Ireland. In both the Catholic Church and the Church of Ireland, it has been united with other sees.

Beccán mac Luigdech was a 7th-century Irish composer of Christian poetry and monk of Iona. He is known for having composed two vernacular poems, Fo réir Choluimb and Tiugraind Beccáin, which were written c. 640 in praise of St Columba, the founder of Iona. Along with Amra Choluim Cille, the fragment of the Life of St Cumméne (Cummian) and Adomnán's Life of Columba, the poems offer a contemporary glimpse of the monastic familia of Iona in the 7th century. Beccán has been identified with the Beccán solitarius who along with Ségéne, abbot of Iona, was addressed in a letter written by Cumméne in c. 632–33 concerning the Easter controversy. He may also be the Beccán of Rùm, whose death is recorded in the entry for 677 in the Annals of Ulster.

The Abbot of Emly was the head of the monastery in Emly, which is in modern-day County Tipperary, Ireland.

The Abbot of Lismore was the head of Lismore Abbey, which is in modern-day County Waterford, Ireland.

The battle of Cúl Dreimhne took place in the 6th century in the túath of Cairbre Drom Cliabh in northwest Ireland. The exact date for the battle varies from 555 AD to 561 AD. 560 AD is regarded as the most likely by modern scholars. The battle is notable for being possibly one of the earliest conflicts over copyright in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Máel Brigte mac Tornáin</span> Abbot of Armagh and Iona

Máel Brigte mac Tornáin, also known as Maelbrigte mac Durnan, was an Irish clergyman who served as abbot of Armagh from 883 and, in his role as Coarb of Colum Cille, as the Abbot of Iona, non-resident from 891, holding both positions until his death. He is likely responsible for commissioning and may have worked on the Mac Durnan Gospels, an illuminated manuscript now held in the Lambeth Palace Library in London.

References