Continuing my report on Barbara Yorke’s 2009 Jarrow lecture, she spent quite a bit of time on the relationship between Aldfrith and two of his good friends, Adomman and Aldhelm. How remarkable that this half-Irish, half Northumbrian prince had such close contact with two of the greatest scholars of his time. Yorke notes that both [...]
Archive for the ‘Iona’ Category
11 Nov
Phoning in on St Columba
I’ll admit this post is primarily to test out the wordpress ap on the new iPhone. So far it’s slow (my fault not being used to these ‘keys’) and hard to edit.
The real bit of medieval news I heard today is that a Jeremy Irons has signed on to play Columba in a major movie [...]
25 Jul
When Bede Met Adomnan…
One of the events that Bede mentions in the Ecclesiastical History that has always fascinated me is a meeting between Bede and Adomnan in 703. Bede never specifically says that he met Adomnan, but he does report of a visit by Adomnan to Wearmouth-Jarrow in the year before Adomnan’s death. We know that Adomnan died [...]
5 Jul
The 300 (or 303)
When you think of ‘the 300′ you probably think of the recent movie on the famous Spartan-Persian battle of antiquity. Considered by historians all around as a pivotal battle in antiquity, the number 300 either spawned a legend that spread all the way to the British Isles or was such a common symbolic number that [...]
9 May
Kzoo Book Report
One of the highlights of the International Congress on Medieval Studies, better known as Kzoo, is the book exhibit. The book exhibit lived up to its usual reputation. Maybe it was my imagination or the time of day I was there, but it seemed a little thin. I went twice on Friday and then to [...]
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