Founding father of the famous monastery on the island of Iona, a site of pilgrimage ever since his death in 597, St Columba was born into one of the ruling families in Ireland at a time of immense expansion for the Irish Church. This account of his life, written by Adomnán - the ninth abbot of Iona, and a distant relative of St Columba - describes his travels from Ireland to Scotland and his mission in the cause of Celtic Christianity there. Written 100 years after St Columba's death, it draws on written and oral traditions to depict a wise abbot among his monks, who like Christ was capable of turning water into wine, controlling sea-storms and raising the dead. An engaging account of one of the central figures in the 'Age of Saints', this is a major work of early Irish and Scottish history.

Examines the life, character and achievements of St Columba, and the distinctive nature and current relevance of Columban Christianity and its key strands - pilgrimage, penitence and politics. This saint's message has never been more timely than now, 1400 years after his death.

Historically authentic,"The Chronicles of Iona: Exile" plunges the reader into the world of sixth-century Scotland and Ireland, the veritable Dark Ages-a world on the brink of either collapse or creation, poised between myth and history.

Eight rare poems, written at Iona monastery between 563AD and the early 8th century, translated from the original Latin and Gaelic and fully annotated with literary commentary.