Tour Scotland 4K short travel video clip, with Scottish music, of the Cloisters of the Abbey on ancestry, genealogy, family history visit to Isle of Iona, Inner Hebrides, Britain, United Kingdom. The cloister was an important part of a medieval monastery, it was where the monks would have meditated, studied and exercised. At the centre of the cloister sits the large bronze sculpture The Descent of the Spirit by Lithuanian Sculptor Jacques Lipchitz. This is one of the oldest and most important religious centres in Western Europe. The abbey was a focal point for the spread of Christianity throughout Scotland and marks the foundation of a monastic community by Saint Columba. Columba came to Iona from Dal Riata, the ancient Gaelic realm that took in much of what is now western Scotland. He arrived with a dozen followers, landing at Columba's Bay on the island's southern tip. In AD 795 a fleet of Norse ships descended upon Iona. The Vikings killed the monks and bore away the abbey's treasures. The monks tried to rebuild, but the Vikings returned again and again, and in AD 830 they killed 68 monks. Some of the Vikings settled in western Scotland and became Christian, and so even Viking chiefs are buried at Iona. One notable Norse king, Olaf Sihtricsson of Dublin, became a monk at Iona. By the middle of the 12th century, Iona formed part of the lordship of the Isles, ruled by Somerled, the first king of the Isles. It was probably Somerled who founded St Oran's Chapel. Just before he died, Somerled tried to re-found Iona at the head of a chain of monasteries stretching through Ireland. It was left to Somerled's younger son, Ranald, to re-establish the abbey, however. In 1200 AD Ranald brought in Benedictine monks, and at the same time established an Augustinian nunnery a short distance from the abbey. Ranald's descendant John MacDonald became the first official MacDonald Lord of the Isles in 1354. Subsequent lords of the Isles lavished gifts on Iona, and four of them were buried at St Oran's Chapel. The Benedictines built a grand new church on the site of Columba's original church, with a cloister and living quarters attached. The abbey flourished throughout the medieval period, and once more welcomed pilgrims from across Europe to St Columba's shrine. In fact, in 1428 the abbot sought permission from the Pope to grant an indulgence of 3 years in Purgatory for any pilgrim visiting Iona on Columba's feast day on June 9th. In 1494 the crown finally crushed the Lordship of the Isles, so Iona lost its most important patrons. Then the Reformation took hold, and the abbey was dissolved, and the abbey church was allowed to decay. But the Scottish Crown did not forget the importance of Iona; in 1609 King James VI gathered 9 Highland clan chiefs to the island and forced them to sign the Statutes of Iona, effectively ending Gaelic separation from the Lowlands of Scotland. James's son, King Charles I, made the abbey a cathedral for a new diocese of the Scottish islands, but this was a short respite, and the abbey fell into ruin by the end of the 17th century. Finally, in 1874 the 8th Duke of Argyll took a hand and commissioned architect Robert Anderson to repair the decrepit abbey ruins. In 1899 the abbey, nunnery, and St Oran's Chapel and burial ground were transferred to a new organisation, the Iona Cathedral Trust. Restoration began in 1902, and was completed in 1910. Another transformation of Iona took place in 1938, when Rev George MacLeod established the Iona Community, bringing ministers in training together with unemployed craftsmen from Glasgow to work together on restoring the abbey cloister. Many early Scottish kings and chiefs, as well as kings from Ireland, Norway and France are buried in the Abbey graveyard. There are thought to be 48 kings there. These include Duncan, the victim of Macbeth. Of interest to folks with ancestry, genealogy or Scottish Family Roots in Scotland who may wish to visit one day. Find things to see and do in Scotland where you are always welcome.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
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