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When
Monks Were Magicians!
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It seems, from
the sparse records that we have from the early Dark Ages and from
legend and subsequent story-telling, that the early pioneers of
monasticism in Scotland were often believed to have magical, miracle-working
powers.
The Island of Iona, in the Gaelic west of Scotland, has always been
particularly steeped in this kind of legend, primarily due to the influence
of its monastic founder Saint Columba and his successor and biographer,
Adomnan.
There are stories of St Columba venturing into pagan Pictland and
meeting King Bridei at his castle near Inverness. There, according to legend, Columba became involved in a contest with the king's Druid - the
Saint's miracles against the Druid's magic.
An even more incredible story of miracle-working is ascribed to
Adomnan, the ninth Abbot of Iona, involving another, more famous
Pictish King named Bridei - the same King Bridei who defeated the
Angles at the Battle of Dunnichen. Eight years after the battle
the King passed away on Iona with Adomnan praying at his bedside.
The legend states that Adomnan prayed all night for the King, who
miraculously rose from the dead the next morning. Upon witnessing
the miracle one of the monks pointed out to Adomnan that he had
worked so great a miracle that all of his successors as Abbot of
Iona would be under pressure to equal it, ‘...there may indeed
be implications’, said Adomnan. He prayed once again to God,
whereupon Bridei promptly expired. He was buried on Iona as so many
great kings were.
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