Iona Abbey
The Iona Abbey ( German : Kloster Iona ) is a monastery complex on the Scottish Hebridean island of Iona . It is located on the east coast of the island, which is separated from the much larger neighboring island of Mull by a narrow arm of the sea . In 1971 Iona Abbey was included in the Scottish List of Monuments in the highest category A. In addition, the entire facility is designated as a Scheduled Monument .
From MacAlpin , the last king of Dalriada and the first king of Scotland to Macbeth , all but two of the Scottish kings are buried in the monastery cemetery. Irish kings and, after the Christianization of the Vikings, various Viking leaders were buried there. In the literature there are various statements that up to 46 Scottish kings and other kings from Ireland, Norway and France were buried on Iona. From today's perspective, however, these figures should be viewed with skepticism.
history
Early monastery complexes
The Holy Columban began in 563 with the establishment of a monastery on Iona, which developed in the following centuries one of the Christian centers of Scotland. This complex is not to be confused with the Columban monastery on the Eileach on Naoimh . In the years between 797 and 1069 the monastery was exposed to several Viking raids and was partly completely destroyed and rebuilt and finally abandoned.
Iona Abbey
A new church building was probably built in the 12th century not far from the former monastery complex. Its existence is not assured and is derived solely from the foundations of the later monastery. The construction of a Romanesque church building around 1190 is certain. To the north of the church, new monastery complexes were built, the existence of which is evident from a papal entry from 1203. It was probably built by Benedictine monks only a short time before . It is unusual that the monastery is located north of the church. The water supply is probably the background to this rare arrangement. Only a few years later, the Iona Nunnery, an Augustinian nunnery , was built south of the complex . Other buildings were added in the 13th century and around 1420. An extensive renovation was carried out, probably around 1500, during which passages and parts of the building were also expanded. Individual parts were also rebuilt and decorations were added. In 1507 the church was upgraded to a cathedral. In 1561 the complex was cleared and abandoned at the behest of the Synod of Argyll.
reconstruction
In 1588 Hector Maclean of Duart received the former monastery as a gift from Clan MacLean . Exactly a hundred years later it fell to Archibald Campbell , the 10th Earl of Argyll . His descendant George Campbell, 8th Duke of Argyll bequeathed the lands to the Church of Scotland in 1899 . By this time most of the buildings in the medieval monastery had already been partially derelict. Between 1902 and 1910, the reconstruction of the church building was arranged. The Iona Community , established in 1938, began restoring the rest of the facility in 1939.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Listed Building - Entry . In: Historic Scotland .
- ↑ Scheduled Monument - Entry . In: Historic Scotland .
- ↑ a b BBC: Scotland's History: Iona
- ↑ a b c Entry on Iona Abbey in Canmore, the database of Historic Environment Scotland (English)
Web links
- Entry on Iona Abbey in Canmore, Historic Environment Scotland database
Coordinates: 56 ° 20 ′ 6.5 ″ N , 6 ° 23 ′ 29.4 ″ W.