THE BENEDICTINES WERE NOT THE BUILDERS OF IONA ABBEY 1205-1250. ITS THE KINGS ABBEY AND THE KINGS MASTER MASON. NOT THE ABBOT S. SOMERLED began castle building from 1154. Claig Castle, Heather I. (S/W off Jura). The Normans built castles and added substantially to the number of stone-built abbeys, cathedrals and parish churches. The archaeology of early medieval Ireland; Edwards, Nancy; 1990. p.192 IONA ABBEY CONSTRUCTION Reginald, the son of Somerled, undertook the rebuilding of the monastery * K I N G R E G I N A L D E R E C T E D T H E A B B E Y; .... the likelihood that Reginald's masons
were drawn from Ireland, ** KING REGINALDS MASTER MASON (THE DERRY OBROLCHANS PRIME WRIGHTS OF IRELAND.) * David MacGibbon and Thomas Ross; THE ECCLESIASTICAL ARCHITECTURE OF SCOTLAND; VOL III; pps 48, 49; 1897. (T. Ross was appointed as a founder commissioner of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland, RCAHMS, in 1908.) * * Professor Richard Fawcett, OBE, PhD; SCOTTISH MEDIEVAL CHURCHES. Historic Buildings and Monuments Directorate, Edinburgh. 1985. ITS THE KINGS ABBEY AND THE KINGS MASTER MASON. Donnachadh (OCarrol), King of Airghialla, .provided the territory, land, stone and timber, books, furniture, farming implements and gold for Mellifont Abbey; (Annals 1157) and .according to tradition it was MacDonnell Galloglaigh that commenced the erection of the Armagh monastery. (Annals 1264)
E X A M P L E S F R O M N O R T H E R N I R E L A N D : C O N T E M P O R A R Y, R E G I O N A L LY A N D S O C I O - P O L I T I C A L LY R E L E V A N T. Saint Benedict of Nursia (c. 480543) THE BENEDICTINES WERE NOT THE BUILDERS OF IONA ABBEY 1205-1250. EACH BENEDICTINE ABBEY : KINGS/LORDS OF THE ISLES ABBEY WAS COMPLETELY AUTONOMOUS. AN INDEPENDENT, INDIVIDUAL COMMUNITY. THE BENEDICTINES WERE NOT THE BUILDERS OF IONA ABBEY 1205-1250. EACH BENEDICTINE ABBEY :
WAS COMPLETELY AUTONOMOUS * KINGS/LORDS OF THE ISLES ABBEY The Order of Saint Benedict is a Roman Catholic religious order of independent monastic communities that observe the Rule of Saint Benedict. * SCOTTISH MEDIEVAL CHURCHES. Historic Buildings and Monuments Directorate, Edinburgh. 1985. Professor Richard Fawcett, OBE, PhD, FRSE, FSA, FSA Scot. Most of his career was in the Inspectorate of Ancient Monuments of Historic Scotland, THE BENEDICTINES WERE NOT THE BUILDERS OF IONA ABBEY 1205-1250.
EACH BENEDICTINE ABBEY : KINGS/LORDS OF THE ISLES ABBEY WAS COMPLETELY AUTONOMOUS HAD NO MOTHERHOUSE. NO SUPERIOR (eg, ARCHBISHOP, CELTIC COARB.) NO INSTITUTIONAL FUNDING. Benedictine monasticism is fundamentally different from other Western religious orders insofar as :- its individual communities are not part of a religious order with "Generalates" and "Superiors General. THE BENEDICTINES WERE NOT THE BUILDERS
OF IONA ABBEY 1205-1250. EACH BENEDICTINE ABBEY : KINGS/LORDS OF THE ISLES ABBEY WAS COMPLETELY AUTONOMOUS HAD NO MOTHERHOUSE. NO SUPERIOR (eg, ARCHBISHOP, CELTIC COARB.) ALL THAT WAS CORPORATE WAS THEIR ORDER, LITURGICAL PRACTISE AND ABBEY LAYOUT, FURNISHINGS. NO INSTITUTIONAL FUNDING. Within the order, each individual community
(which may be a monastery, a priory or abbey) maintains its own autonomy. THE BENEDICTINES WERE NOT THE BUILDERS OF IONA ABBEY 1205-1250. EACH BENEDICTINE ABBEY : KINGS/LORDS OF THE ISLES ABBEY WAS COMPLETELY AUTONOMOUS HAD NO MOTHERHOUSE. NO SUPERIOR (eg, ARCHBISHOP, CELTIC COARB.) ALL THAT WAS CORPORATE WAS THEIR ORDER, LITURGICAL PRACTISE AND ABBEY LAYOUT, FURNISHINGS.
NO INSTITUTIONAL FUNDING. THEY WERE NOT PART OF THE FORMAL ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE OF, OR FUNDED BY ROMAN CHURCH. THE BENEDICTINES WERE NOT THE BUILDERS OF IONA ABBEY 1205-1250. EACH BENEDICTINE ABBEY : KINGS/LORDS OF THE ISLES ABBEY WAS COMPLETELY AUTONOMOUS HAD NO MOTHERHOUSE. NO SUPERIOR (eg, ARCHBISHOP, CELTIC COARB.)
ALL THAT WAS CORPORATE WAS THEIR ORDER, LITURGICAL PRACTISE AND ABBEY LAYOUT, FURNISHINGS. NO INSTITUTIONAL FUNDING. THEY WERE NOT PART OF THE FORMAL ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE OF, OR FUNDED BY ROMAN CHURCH. THERE WAS ONLY THE ORIGINAL AND GENERIC BENEDICTINE MONASTIC RULE (RELIGIOUS PRACTICE) THE BENEDICTINES WERE NOT THE BUILDERS OF IONA ABBEY 1205-1250. EACH BENEDICTINE ABBEY : KINGS/LORDS OF THE ISLES ABBEY WAS COMPLETELY AUTONOMOUS NO MOTHERHOUSE. NO SUPERIOR (eg, ARCHBISHOP, CELTIC COARB.)
ALL THAT WAS CORPORATE WAS THEIR ORDER, LITURGICAL PRACTISE AND ABBEY LAYOUT, FURNISHINGS. NO INSTITUTIONAL FUNDING. THEY WERE NOT PART OF THE FORMAL ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE OF, OR FUNDED BY ROMAN CHURCH. THERE WAS ONLY THE ORIGINAL AND GENERIC BENEDICTINE MONASTIC RULE (RELIGIOUS PRACTICE) AS LATE AS 1216 (4TH LATERAN COUNCIL) THEIR STRUCTURE AS AN ORGANISATION WAS NOT EVEN FORMALISED.. AND WITH LIMITED SUCCESS, THE BENEDICTINES WERE NOT THE BUILDERS OF IONA ABBEY 1205-1250. EACH BENEDICTINE ABBEY : WAS COMPLETELY AUTONOMOUS
HAD NO MOTHERHOUSE. NO SUPERIOR (eg, ARCHBISHOP, CELTIC COARB.) ALL THAT WAS CORPORATE WAS THEIR ORDER, LITURGICAL PRACTISE AND ABBEY LAYOUT, FURNISHINGS. KINGS/LORDS OF THE ISLES ABBEY NO INSTITUTIONAL FUNDING. THEY WERE NOT PART OF THE FORMAL ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE OF, OR FUNDED BY ROMAN CHURCH. THERE WAS ONLY THE ORIGINAL AND GENERIC BENEDICTINE MONASTIC RULE (RELIGIOUS PRACTICE) AS LATE AS 1216 (4TH LATERAN COUNCIL) THEIR STRUCTURE AS AN ORGANISATION WAS NOT EVEN FORMALISED, AND WITH LIMITED SUCCESS, 1216 :
THIS WAS AFTER IONA RE-FOUNDED, LET ALONE THEM HAVING CO-ORDINATED NETWORK AND SYSTEMATIC ORGANISATION OF ANY SORT. A THE FIRST ABBOT DID NOT ARRIVE WITH HIS OWN : BAGS OF GOLD, CAPITAL - WEALTH, SOURCE OF REGULAR, RECURRING INCOME, FLEET OF GALLEYS, BARGES,
SOURCE OF, OR ANY CONTROL OF BUILDING RESOURCES TEAMS OF SKILLED ARTISANS OR UNSKILLED LABOUR. At first he had 12 monks : with oaths of poverty, chastity and obedience, who spent the majority of their time on religious and intellectual functions, copying Manuscripts, then hospitality, tending the ill; gardening, cellaring and making medicine. plus normal daily living functions; cooking, eating, washing, cleaning, etc. BUT A MAJOR FLAW WITH HOW
IONA ABBEY SITE IS CURRENTLY INTERPRETED IS THE VIEW THAT :- NONE OF IT, OR VERY LITTLE, HAS ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE EARLY CLAN DONALD. WHY? E A R LY C H R I S TA I N (& VIKING PERIOD) : 56O 1150. ST COLUM CILLE MANY PEOPLE ONLY PERCEIVE THE EXISTING ABBEY AS AN EXTENSION OR REVIVAL OF THE ALL PERVADING, WORLD FAMOUS EARY CHRISTAIN MONASTERY OF ST COLUM CILLE. WHY? EARLY CHRISTAIN (VIKING PERIOD) 56O 1150.
ST COLUM CILLE MANY PEOPLE ONLY PERCEIVE THE EXISTING ABBEY AS AN EXTENSION OR REVIVAL OF THE ALL PERVADING, WORLD FAMOUS EARY CHRISTAIN MONASTERY OF ST COLUM CILLE. MEDIEVAL PERIOD 1200-1500 : I N A D E Q U AT E O F F I C I A L H I S T O R I C A L I N T E R P R E TAT I O N : ( I O N A C O N F E R E N C E 2 0 1 2 - Statement of Cultural Significance ; Research Framework .) 1. HISTORIC SCOTLAND STATE : THE IMPACT OF THE LORDS OF THE ISLES ON IONA ABBEY IS NOT UNDERSTOOD" WITH "MAJOR GAPS IN UNDERSTANDING. THEY SAY :- 2. REGINALD, KING OF THE ISLES, WAS PROBABLY THE FOUNDER OF THE BENEDICTINE ABBEY EARLY 12TH CENTURY; 3. NEVER ONCE MENTIONED CLAN DONALD IN THEIR OFFICIAL 20I2 IONA CONFERENCE PAPERS.
4. ONLY THAT THE LORDS OF ISLES (AND LORDS OF LORN) WERE UNRIVALLED MONASTIC PATRONS AND GENEROUS BENEFACTORS THROUGHOUT. THIS IS NOT A COMPREHENSIVE HISTORY. (2004 Iona Abbey Official Souvenir Guide; pps 38-9.) WHY? EARLY CHRISTAIN (VIKING PERIOD) 56O 1150. MANY PEOPLE ONLY PERCEIVE THE EXISTING ABBEY AS AN EXTENSION OR REVIVAL OF THE ALL PERVADING, WORLD FAMOUS EARY CHRISTAIN MONASTERY OF ST COLUM CILLE. MEDIEVAL 1200-1500 : I N A D E Q U A T E O F F I C I A L H I S T O R I C A L I N T E R P R E T A T I O N : 1. HISTORIC SCOTLAND STATE : THE IMPACT OF THE LORDS OF THE ISLES ON IONA ABBEY IS NOT UNDERSTOOD" WITH "MAJOR GAPS IN UNDERSTANDING. THEY SAY :2. REGINALD, KING OF THE ISLES, WAS PROBABLY THE FOUNDER OF THE BENEDICTINE ABBEY EARLY 12TH CENTURY; 3. THE LORDS OF THE ISLES WERE GENEROUS BENEFACTORS AND WERE FORFEITED 1493. 4. THEY ARE BURIED IN ST ORANS CHAPEL 200 YARDS AWAY. T H E M I ST S O F T I M E & T H E V I C TO R S I N D E L L I B L E P E N : 1 5 0 0 P R E S E N T
1. THE LORDSHIP OF THE ISLES DEFEATED AND DISINTEGRATED; (AND THEY ARE BURIED IN ST ORANS CHAPEL, 200 YARDS AWAY FROM THE ABBEY .) All related and close together 2. THE REFORMATION AND DISSOLUTION OF ABBEYS; 3. DAUNTING OF THE ISLES (READ: DESTRUCTION OF CLAN DONALD *) 4. THE RISE OF THE CAMPBELLS. * The House of Argyll as Agents of the Crown in Subjugating the West Highlands; Cregeen, E R; 1966 (Uni. Edinburgh ; History and Anthropology.) WHY? EARLY CHRISTAIN (VIKING PERIOD) 56O 1150. MANY PEOPLE ONLY PERCEIVE THE EXISTING ABBEY AS AN EXTENSION OR REVIVAL OF THE ALL PERVADING, WORLD FAMOUS EARY CHRISTAIN MONASTERY OF ST COLUM CILLE.
MEDI EVAL 12 00-1 500 : I N A D E Q U A T E O F F I C I A L H I S T O R I C A L I N T E R P R E T A T I O N : 1. HISTORIC SCOTLAND STATE : THE IMPACT OF THE LORDS OF THE ISLES ON IONA ABBEY IS NOT UNDERSTOOD" WITH "MAJOR GAPS IN UNDERSTANDING. THEY SAY :2. REGINALD, KING OF THE ISLES, WAS PROBABLY THE FOUNDER OF THE BENEDICTINE ABBEY EARLY 12 TH CENTURY; 3. THE LORDS OF THE ISLES WERE GENEROUS BENEFACTORS AND WERE FORFEITED 1493. MISTS OF TIME & THE VICTORS INDELLIBLE PEN : 1500 PRESENT 1. THE LORDSHIP OF THE ISLES DEFEATED AND DISINTEGRATED; BURIED 200 YARDS AWAY IN ST ORANS CHAPEL; 2. THE REFORMATION AND DISSOLUTION OF ABBEYS; 3. DAUNTING OF THE ISLES. 4. THE RISE OF THE CAMPBELLS. CURRENT PUBLIC MYTHOLOGY THAT HAS USURPED THE FADED PAST IS THAT :1. THE CAMPBELL EARLS OF ARGYLL RAISED THE ABBEY CHURCH TO CATHEDRAL STATUS, AND THE FICTION THAT :2. AFTER THE TERRIBLE DAMAGE OF THE REFORMATION AND CIVIL WAR, THE 8TH DUKE OF ARGYLL HAD THE VISION AND GREAT GENEROSITY TO RESTORE THE ABBEY AND CATHEDRAL AND RETURN IT ALL TO THE PEOPLE FOR ECUMENICAL WORSHIP !!!!...............
House of Argyll; Tweed J, 1871 This is not a direct criticism of the 8th Duke. It is a statement on others hagiographic (Saintly) gloss on him and their narrowness of cause and affect. They make Irish panegyric (praise) poetry seem reserved.
