Archive for the ‘Adomnan of Iona’ Category

Aldfrith, Aldhelm, and Adomnan

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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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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O’Loughlin’s Celtic Theology

Thomas O’Loughlin’s Celtic Theology: Humanity, World, and God in Early Irish Writings, Continuum, 2000.
Going through my backlog of drafts and I just realized that I never came back and finished this book review. Better late than never!
This really is quite a valuable book that dispels some common myths and gives you a real sense for [...]

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