Founding father of the famous monastery on the island of Iona, a site of pilgrimage ever since his death in 597, St Columba was born into one of the ruling families in Ireland at a time of immense expansion for the Irish Church. This account of his life, written by Adomnán - the ninth abbot of Iona, and a distant relative of St Columba - describes his travels from Ireland to Scotland and his mission in the cause of Celtic Christianity there. Written 100 years after St Columba's death, it draws on written and oral traditions to depict a wise abbot among his monks, who like Christ was capable of turning water into wine, controlling sea-storms and raising the dead. An engaging account of one of the central figures in the 'Age of Saints', this is a major work of early Irish and Scottish history.

Saint Columban: His Life, Rule, and Legacy contains a new English translation of a commentary on the entire Rule of Columban. Columban was a sixth-century Irish monk who compiled a written rule of life for the three monasteries he founded in France: Anegray, Luxeuil, and Fontaines. This volume also includes the first English translation of the Regula cuiusdam Patris ad Virgines, or the Rule of Walbert, compiled by the seventh-century Count Walbert from various earlier rules designed for women, including those of Columban, Benedict, Cassian, and Basil. This book begins with an extensive introduction to the history of Columban and his monks, as well as various indices and notes, which will be of interest to students and enthusiasts of monastic studies.

The story of the life of Columban, his travels from Ireland, his many adventures, his life in the Inner Hebrides, on the island of Iona in Scotland and beyond; suitable as a class reader. -- From publisher description.

Examines the life, character and achievements of St Columba, and the distinctive nature and current relevance of Columban Christianity and its key strands - pilgrimage, penitence and politics. This saint's message has never been more timely than now, 1400 years after his death.

Jonas of Bobbio was an Italian monk, author, and abbot, active in Lombard Italy and Merovingian Gaul during the seventh century. He is best known as the author of the Life of Columbanus and His Disciples, one of the most important works of hagiography from the early medieval period, that charts the remarkable journey of the Irish exile and monastic founder, Columbanus (d. 615), through Western Europe, as well as the monastic movement initiated by him and his Frankish successors in the Merovingian kingdoms. In the years following Columbanus’s death numerous new monasteries were built by his successors and their elite patrons in Francia that decisively transformed the inter-relationship between monasteries and secular authorities in the Early Middle Ages. Jonas also wrote two other, occasional works set in the late fifth and sixth centuries: the Life of John, the abbot and founder of the monastery of Réomé in Burgundy, and the Life of Vedast, the first bishop of Arras and a contemporary of Clovis. Both works provide perspectives on how the past Gallic monastic tradition, the role of bishops, and the Christianization of the Franks were perceived in Jonas’s time. Jonas’s hagiography also provides important evidence for the reception of classical and late antique texts as well as the works of Gregory the Great and Gregory of Tours.This volume presents the first complete English translation of all of Jonas of Bobbio’s saints’ Lives with detailed notes and scholarly introduction that will be of value to all those interested in this period.

A classic guide to the spiritual life that has had a direct influence on several Popes, generations of priests and religious, and countless members of the laity. In clear, inspiring language, the author discusses every aspect of our journey to Christ: 'the source of all light, all grace, all holiness - the true Life of our life'. Written for Christians in every walk of life, here are pages of practical knowledge and timeless wisdom: a 'how-to' guide filled with rich insight, spiritual refereshment, inspiration and encouragement. Blessed Columba Marmion was born in Ireland, and served as a priest in Dublin for several years before finding a vocation to the monastery. He eventually became Abbot of Maredsous Abbey, Belgium.