Adomnán had come from Ireland to settle on Iona off the west coast of Scotland where he was abbot for many years. He wrote a biography of St. Columba, and the work excerpted here, namely a book about the Holy Places in and around Jerusalem, for which his source was the account given to him by Arculf who visited him on Iona. Bede wrote a version of this work, and a short passage is included here for the purpose of comparison.

Of the three known offices or historiae for St Columba (Colum Cille), one is Irish and two are Scottish. The Irish office is found in three manuscripts spanning the fifteenth century. Proper processional material is found in a fourth. One full copy of the Scottish office is in the Aberdeen Breviary (1509); the second in the Inchcolm Antiphoner (c. 1400), which, although fragmentary, shares some material with the former. A unique hymn is found in a twelfth-century source now in Vienna. Although few in number, the sources reflect the wide Insular reach of the Columban familia, from Ireland, through Scotland, to Continental Europe, including modern-day France, Switzerland, Germany, and Austria. Columba’s Continental cult waned with the withdrawal of the Irish communities but remains vibrant up to today in the Insular area, particularly in Ireland and Scotland where he is patron of numerous churches. His cult was also strong in Lindisfarne (originally an Iona foundation) and Durham, which held some relics even if no liturgical sources have survived.The texts of the offices highlight Columba’s image as a beloved patron, a learned and holy man, teacher, and physical and spiritual protector of his monks against the forces of nature (in particular the sea and the wind) and from warfare and human attack.

The final chapter examines the role of archaeology in authenticating or challenging modern myths connected with medieval sacred sites. It considers how medieval sacred heritage is used to construct myths connected with nationalist and religious identities and it reflects on medieval sacred landscapes as contested heritage sites which hold multiple meanings to contemporary social groups. Three British case studies are considered: Glastonbury, Walsingham and Iona.