This is a study of the history and documentary records of one of Ireland's most important early monastic communities, the familia of St. Columba, between the 6th and 12th centuries.  Focusing on three major hagiographies--the Vita Columbae of Adomnán, the Life of Adomnán, and an Irish life of Colum Cille--Herbert combines historical, linguistic, and literary analysis to trace the internal developments and external relations of the familia through the centuries,  and demonstrate how detailed analysis of saints' lives can illuminate contemporary concerns, attitudes, and events.

Iona, Kells, and Derry: The History and Hagiography of the Monastic Familia of Columba

Religion & Spirituality

Herbert, Máire

Other Religions, Practices & Sacred Texts

Oxford University Press

Catalogue of Irish Manuscripts in Cambridge Libraries

Originally published in 1986, this book gives a detailed account of the manuscripts in Cambridge written wholly or partly in the Irish language. Most are in the Cambridge University Library, but relevant works in the libraries of Corpus Christi, Emmanuel, St John's and Trinity Colleges and in the Fitzwilliam Museum have also been included. Few of these have been described in print before. In addition, the catalogue contains descriptions of three manuscripts which have ninth-, tenth- and eleventh-century Irish glosses, and of eight stray items written in Irish. Apart from the glosses, these documents date from the fifteenth to nineteenth centuries. The text also contains a highly informative introduction. This comprehensive, rigorously researched volume will be of value to anyone with an interest in Irish manuscripts and bibliography in general.

Reference

Brún, Pádraig de

Catalogs & Directories

Cambridge University Press

Encyclopedias & Subject Guides

The Corpous Apocryphum Hiberniae is organised by a number of distinguished specialists, including Father Martin McNamara, MSC. Some of the Apocrypha are preserved only in Old Irish. To focus research on the Apocrypha Hiberniae is to bring into view the milieu of Old Ireland, its links with the Holy Land, and the complex and creative traditions that enlivened the earliest Christians who endeavoured to imagine the lives of Jesus, his family, and his earliest followers. Most of this information has only recently become more widely known, making this work a fascinating and invaluable resource.

Irish Biblical Apocrypha (Academic Paperback)

McNamara, Martin J.

Christian Books & Bibles

T&T Clark

<p>This is a study of the history and documentary records of one of Ireland's most important early monastic communities, the familia of St. Columba, between the sixth and twelfth centuries. The federation of Columban, monasteries left three major hagiographical works: the Vita Columbae of Adomnan, the Life of Adomnan, and an Irish Life of Colum Cille.\nThe conventional literary settings in which the Columban texts are presented has tended to obscure the valuable information they contain about the circumstances and prevailing attitudes of the time. Approaching the texts from three points of view, historical, linguistic, and literary, Maire Herbert makes clear how the hagiography reflected, and responded to, significant events. Iona, Kells and Derry gives a unique insight into the aims and attitudes of the Columban monastic federation at critical stages in its history.</p>

Iona Kells and Derry: The History and Hagiography of the Monastic Family of Columba

Literature & Fiction

History & Criticism

Four Courts Pr Ltd

In Search of Colmcille: The Legacy of St Columba in Ireland and Scotland (English and Multilingual Edition)

Islands Book Trust

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