Celtic Christianity: Scotland
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Celtic Christianity: Scotland How did Christianity come to Celtic Scotland, and what can we learn from this history? Introduction Celtic Christianity can be understood as the Christian- ity that fl owered in Celtic lands from the sixth to the eighth centuries and whose literature and traditions persisted in some form at least through the nineteenth century. This study will focus on Scotland and its rich history of saints, controversy, and conversion. We will get a very brief crash course on Scotland’s beginnings. Then we will look at Columba, “a wanderer for Christ,” who is credited with spreading Christianity throughout northern Britain. We will examine an event in England that had an important role to play in the evo- the fi fth century. In time, they established the kingdom lution of all of Celtic Christianity: the Synod of Whitby. of Dál Riata in Argyll (southwestern coast and islands Finally, the Christian folk traditions of nineteenth- north of the Forth in Scotland—the Forth line is an century Scottish farmers will give us a glimpse into imaginary line that links the Firth of Forth near Edin- the continued signifi cance of saints in Celtic Christi- burgh in the east and the Firth of Clyde near modern anity. While some of this may seem remote from your Glasgow in the west). experience, there are connections between Columba’s People called the Picts inhabited the land north of the tight-knit clusters of monasteries and our modern Forth for the fi rst half of the fi rst millennium. Who denominations; the controversy at Whitby relates to were the Picts? The Latin Picti means “painted ones,” contemporary ecumenical dialogue; and the simple so it is thought that their people were often tattooed. story of a farmer sheds light on the communion of The traditions of the Picts are still a mystery to schol- saints. Our journey covers about two thousand years, ars because the groups who conquered or assimilated and we will touch only a small part of the rich tapestry them wiped out much of their culture and language. of Celtic Christianity in Scotland. Perhaps you’ll fi nd a They spoke two languages, Celtic and another that is thread you want to follow further and weave into your not fully understood. By the ninth century, the Picts’ own fabric of faith. cultural impact had ended, and other than some met- Who Were the Ancient Scots? alwork and carved stones, little remains to tell us about their history and culture. It makes sense to assume that the Scots were the origi- nal inhabitants of what we now call Scotland (north- ern Britain). Yet, things are rarely that straightforward Scotland Becomes a Nation when we are talking about the history of ancient cul- In 843, Kenneth MacAlpin of the Scottish Dál Riata con- tures. Irish raiders, many from the northern Irish tribal quered a vital part of Pictish territory, creating a new dynasty Dál Riata, attacked the west of Britain before kingdom known by ca. 900 as Alba (from the Irish word 1 Copyright © 2006 www.TheThoughtfulChristian.com Celtic Christianity: Scotland Permission given to copy this page for use in class. year later Columba was excommunicated by a gather- THE SCOTTI ing of Irish clergy from the region that was defeated in the battle. The name for Scotland actually comes from Irish people called the Scotti. The word stems from the It is hard to say if he was fl eeing or simply following Irish word for “raiders.” the call of God, but in 563 Columba set out from Ire- land with twelve companions in a small wood-framed leather boat called a coracle. Guided by God and the waves, they were wanderers for Christ, peregrini, in for Britain) or Scotia. Kenneth is considered the fi rst king keeping with the Irish Christian tradition of “white of the united kingdom of “Scotland.” By the end of the martyrdom.” Unlike “red martyrdom,” which was wars of independence against England (1296–1328), Scot- about bloodshed, this was about the self-denial of leav- land’s geographical boundaries and national identity ing home and kin for God—a very painful sacrifi ce for were developed. There was still diversity, however. The a people so focused on family and tribe. We may be able Lowlands (the south, from just north of the Forth) were to relate to giving ourselves to God’s directing hand, largely English speaking, and the Highlands and Islands but for most of us, this is a metaphor. For Columba and to the north and west were Gaelic speaking. There is, of other Celtic monks who traveled for Christ, it was a course, much more worth exploring about the history of physical journey where they let God lead their coracle Scotland, but for our purposes, we will stop here. to the place God wanted. Who Brought Christianity In Columba’s case, the journey led to the small isle of Iona to Scotland? (off the larger island of Mull on the west coast of Scot- land). Though later tradition holds that Columba and Although many look to a sixth-century man called his friends came straight from Ireland to Iona, reliable Columba as the missionary to Scotland, tradition holds written sources say that they fi rst stopped at the court that a bishop named Ninian founded a small church at of the king of Dál Riata in Scotland. The king apparently Whithorn (southwest Scotland) early in the fi fth cen- gave the island of Iona to Columba for the foundation tury. It is important to pause and think about how early of a monastery. Does this mean that Columba did not let this is in Christian history. Only about a hundred years God steer, or is it possible that God led him to the king? earlier, Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity, In either case, Columba’s political and familial connec- and the canon (the offi cial books) of the Christian Bible tions helped him to identify and then solidify Iona as a was decided. Ninian’s work seems to have infl uenced monastic center and to reach out in mission. territory south of the Forth, which was heavily British or Anglo-Saxon until the end of the fi rst millennium. After establishing the Iona monastery, Columba Also, Whithorn lacked the infl uence of Columba’s Iona returned to Ireland numerous times, where he founded as a center of missionary, artistic, liturgical, and schol- a monastery at Durrow, among others. Even if they arly activity. So, it’s understandable that Columba is were separated by hundreds of miles, monasteries more customarily credited with spreading Christianity founded by the same person or his or her successors through Scotland and northern England. continued to be bound to one another. These group- ings of monasteries are called familia, and they served Columba as the hierarchical structure of early Celtic Christian- Columba was born around 521 in County Donegal in ity rather than geographical regions such as dioceses. the northwest of Ireland. Yes, Columba was Irish, not When Columba died on June 9, 597, his successor as Scottish in the modern sense of the word. Also known leader (abbot) was his cousin, and the pattern of close as Colum Cille, meaning “dove of the church,” he was a ties with Columba’s branch of the Uí Néill clan appears monk and priest from a “good family” in Ireland—part to continue for generations. Some of what we know of the Uí Néill royal house. Whether he prayed for the about Columba comes from a saint’s life written about wrong side or instigated the tragic, bloody encounter, eighty-fi ve years after Columba’s death by the ninth something happened concerning a battle in 561, and a abbot of Iona, Adamnan. 2 Copyright © 2006 www.TheThoughtfulChristian.com Celtic Christianity: Scotland Permission given to copy this page for use in class. While the one-mile by three-mile island of Iona may Some point to the decision to follow the Roman seem insignifi cant and remote today, its location was an way as the end of Celtic Christianity. But it would be asset to Columba. The lack of good roads at that time almost fi fty years before the Iona monastery would meant that the island had relatively easy access by sea to date Easter according to the Roman method. Yes, it was Ireland, the coastal mainland of what we now call Scot- a change, but Christians in Ireland and Scotland con- land, and even on to Europe. These geographical and tinued to express distinctive beliefs and practices for political connections proved fruitful when the king of centuries. Northumbria helped make possible the founding of a monastery of the Columban familia on the tidal island of In today’s disputes not only within Catholicism but in Lindisfarne in 635. Iona sent Aidan (who was Irish) to most religious traditions, the question arises of who serve as the fi rst bishop, and “the Holy Island of Lindis- gets to decide which beliefs and practices are accept- farne” became a strong center of scholarship, theologi- able—orthodoxy and orthopraxis. How far can one cal infl uence, and artistic achievement in its own right. congregation or individual go before it gets pulled back Even so, it continued to look to the authority of the into conformity with, or thrown out of, its denomina- Columban familia for centuries. tion? Much depends on the theology and governance of a tradition. “Free” or congregational traditions (for The Synod of Whitby in 664: Big example, Baptists, United Church of Christ) often have a high tolerance for congregational beliefs and practices Changes in Celtic Christianity? in their denominations.