Nature in Columba’s Day

The island Columba and his fellow monks arrived on in 563 shows signs of deciduous woodland before that time – birch, hazel, willow, alder – with heath and grassland.  There is some evidence of small scale occupation and pastoral activity at some time, with people’s diet ranging from animals they kept – cattle, sheep, and pigs – to wild animals, deer and seal. 

Over the following century, the monastic community had a marked impact on the landscape. The monks are likely to have brought with them the latest agricultural knowledge and innovations to improve productivity and give reliable support to a growing community. Woodland was cleared, arable and pastoral farming extended.  Wood was sourced both from the island and from the western mainland.  Adomnán, the ninth abbot, describes transporting bundles of withies by boat to build a guest house, and oak and pine being used to build a long ship, a ‘great house’, and for repairs. Smaller objects – bowls, stakes, pegs and so on – were made from local woods. Other local materials were used – the veined marble from Pilgrimage Bay for the altar, for example.

Adomnán’s account and the archaeological evidence point to the importance and success of their development of arable farming, mainly on the western side of the island, where sand and shell fragments, blown by the wind, formed the fertile "machair".  Adomnán mentions barley being grown, a baker at work in a bakery, a threshing floor and a kiln for drying, and a barn which could hold enough grain for a year.  Pastoral farming was also an important source of food and materials.  Cattle were the main livestock, for the usual uses, with calves’ skins also being vital for the scriptorium.  The monks kept pigs, sheep, goats, horses and domesticated fowl.  Surrounded by sea, fishing, sea birds and eggs and seals were also a ready source of food for the community, as well as deer on land. 

The natural resources of the island and its surrounding waters were essential for the existence of the monastic community.  Their impact can be roughly assessed by the changes evidenced in e.g. pollen counts on the island before and after the monks’ arrival – and before and after the Viking attacks in the late 8th century, when pollen counts suggest the severe impact on the community’s activities.  They worked the land and its resources well and thoroughly.  But at the same time, there is a constant sense of respect for nature and a delight in its beauty, as God’s creation.  The sense of being fellow creatures, deserving equal love and respect, shines out in Adomnán’s stories of the storm-driven heron being given hospitality on Columba’s instructions; and the loyal old white workhorse, coming to lay his head on Columba’s chest to weep in mourning and be blessed by the saint on the last day of his life.  The intricate and beautiful animals of the Book of Kells, with their layers of symbolism, speak to the wonder the monks found in creation.  

Exploring Further

Adomnán of Iona, Life of St. Columba, trs. R. Sharpe (Penguin Classics 1995)

S.E. Jones et al., ‘Identifying Social Transformations and Crisis during the Pre-Monastic to Post-Viking era on Iona: New Insights from a Palynological and Palaeoentomological Perspective’ View online here