Editing Columbanus (section)

==Biography and early life==

Columbanus (the Latinised form of ''Colmán'', meaning ''little dove'') was born in [[Leinster]], Ireland in 543.<ref name=":0" /> After his conception, his mother was said to have had a vision of her child's "remarkable genius".<ref name=":0" />

He was first educated under Abbot Sinell of [[Civil parish of Arney|Cluaninis]], whose monastery was on an island of the [[Lough Erne|River Erne]], in modern [[County Fermanagh]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Saint Columbanus |url=https://www.worldhistory.org/Saint_Columbanus/ |access-date=2022-08-08 |website=World History Encyclopedia |language=en}}</ref> Under Sinell's instruction, Columbanus composed a commentary on the [[Psalms]].

Columbanus then moved to [[Bangor Abbey]] where he studied to become a teacher of the Bible.<ref name=":0" /> He was well-educated in the areas of grammar, rhetoric, geometry, and the Holy Scriptures.<ref name=":0" /> Abbot [[Comgall]] taught him Greek and Latin.<ref name=":1" /> He stayed at Bangor until c. 590,<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Saint Columban {{!}} Christian missionary |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Columban |access-date=2022-08-08 |website=Encyclopædia Britannica |language=en}}</ref> when Comgall reluctantly gave him permission to travel to the continent.<ref name="wallace">Wallace 1995, p. 43.</ref><ref name=":0" />

===Frankish Gaul (c. 590 – 610)===
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  {{Location map~ | France
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  {{Location map~ | France
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  {{Location map~ | France
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| caption = Columbanus in Frankish Gaul
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Columbanus set sail with twelve companions: [[Saint Attala|Attala]], Columbanus the Younger, [[Saint Gall|Gallus]],<ref name=":2" /> [[Deicolus|Domgal]],<ref name=":1" /> Cummain, Eogain, Eunan, Gurgano,<ref name=":0" /> Libran, Lua, Sigisbert and Waldoleno.<ref name="edmonds"/> They crossed the [[English Channel|channel]] via [[Cornwall]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Columbanus |url=http://www.monasticireland.com/storiesofsaints/columbanus.htm |access-date=2022-08-08 |website=Monastic Ireland}}</ref> and landed in [[Saint-Malo]], Brittany.<ref name=":1" />

Columbanus then entered Burgundian France. Jonas writes that:<blockquote>At that time, either because of the numerous enemies from without, or on account of the carelessness of the bishops, the Christian faith had almost departed from that country. The creed alone remained. But the saving grace of penance and the longing to root out the lusts of the flesh were to be found only in a few. Everywhere that he went the noble man [Columbanus] preached the Gospel. And it pleased the people because his teaching was adorned by eloquence and enforced by examples of virtue.<ref name=":0" /></blockquote>Columbanus and his companions were welcomed by [[Guntram|King Guntram of Burgundy]],<ref name=":1" /> who granted them land at [[La Voivre, Haute-Saône|Anegray]], where they converted a ruined Roman fortress into a school.<ref name=":0" /> Despite its remote location in the [[Vosges Mountains]], the school rapidly attracted so many students that they moved to a new site at [[Luxeuil Abbey|Luxeuil]] and then established a second school at [[Fontaine-lès-Luxeuil|Fontaines]].<ref name=":0" /> These schools remained under Columbanus' authority, and their rules of life reflected the [[Celtic Christianity|Celtic]] tradition in which he had been educated.

As these communities expanded and drew more pilgrims, Columbanus sought greater solitude. Often he would withdraw to a cave seven miles away, with a single companion who acted as messenger between himself and his companions.<ref name=":0" />

==== Conflict with Frankish Bishops ====
Tensions arose in 603 CE when St. Columbanus and his followers argued with Frankish bishops over the exact date of Easter. (St. Columbanus celebrated Easter according to Celtic rites and the Celtic Christian calendar.)<ref name=":1" />

The Frankish bishops may have feared his growing influence. During the first half of the sixth century, the councils of Gaul had given to bishops absolute authority over religious communities. Celtic Christians, Columbanus and his monks used the Irish Easter calculation, a version of [[Bishop Augustalis]]'s 84-year {{lang|la|[[computus]]}} for determining the date of Easter ([[quartodecimanism]]), whereas the [[Franks]] had adopted the [[Victorius of Aquitaine|Victorian]] cycle of 532 years. The bishops objected to the newcomers' continued observance of their own dating, which – among other issues – caused the end of [[Lent]] to differ. They also complained about the distinct [[Celtic Christianity#Monastic tonsure|Irish tonsure]].

In 602,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Saint Columbanus – Irish Biography |url=https://www.libraryireland.com/biography/SaintColumbanus.php#ftn119 |access-date=2022-08-08 |website=Library Ireland}}</ref> the bishops assembled to judge Columbanus, but he did not appear before them as requested. Instead, he sent a letter to the prelates – a strange mixture of freedom, reverence, and charity – admonishing them to hold synods more frequently, and advising them to pay more attention to matters of equal importance to that of the date of Easter. In defence of his following his traditional paschal cycle, he wrote:

{{blockquote|I am not the author of this divergence. I came as a poor stranger into these parts for the cause of Christ, Our Saviour. One thing alone I ask of you, holy Fathers, permit me to live in silence in these forests, near the bones of seventeen of my brethren now dead.<ref name="smith"/>}}

When the bishops refused to abandon the matter, Columbanus appealed directly to [[Pope Gregory I]]. In the third and only surviving letter, he asks "the holy Pope, his Father" to provide "the strong support of his authority" and to render a "verdict of his favour", apologising for "presuming to argue as it were, with him who sits in the chair of Peter, Apostle and Bearer of the Keys". None of the letters were answered, most likely due to the pope's death in 604.<ref name="edmonds"/>

Columbanus then sent a letter to Gregory's successor, [[Pope Boniface IV]], asking him to confirm the tradition of his elders – if it was not contrary to the Faith – so that he and his monks could follow the rites of their ancestors. Before Boniface responded, Columbanus moved outside the jurisdiction of the Frankish bishops. As the Easter issue appears to end around that time, Columbanus may have stopped celebrating the Irish date of Easter after moving to Italy.<ref name="edmonds"/>

==== Conflict with Brunhilda of Austrasia ====
Columbanus was also involved in a dispute with members of the Burgundian dynasty. Upon the death of King Guntram of Burgundy, the succession passed to his nephew, [[Childebert II]], the son of his brother [[Sigebert I|Sigebert]] and Sigebert's wife [[Brunhilda of Austrasia]]. When Childebert II died, his territories were divided between his two sons: [[Theuderic II]] inherited the Kingdom of [[Burgundy]] and [[Theudebert II]] inherited the Kingdom of [[Austrasia]]. Both were minors and Brunhilda, their grandmother, ruled as their regents.<ref name=":0" />

Theuderic II "very often visited" Columbanus, but when Columbanus rebuked him for having a concubine,<ref name=":0" /> Brunhilda became his bitterest foe because she feared the loss of her influence if Theuderic II married.<ref name="cusack">Cusack 2002, p. 173.</ref> Brunhilda incited the court and Catholic bishops against Columbanus and Theuderic II confronted Columbanus at Luxeuil, accusing him of violating the "common customs" and "not allowing all Christians" in the monastery. Columbanus asserted his independence to run the monastery without interference and was imprisoned at [[Free Imperial City of Besançon|Besançon]] for [[Capital punishment|execution]].<ref name=":0" />

Columbanus escaped and returned to Luxeuil. When the king and his grandmother found out, they sent soldiers to drive him back to Ireland by force,<ref name=":0" /> separating him from his monks by insisting that only those from Ireland could accompany him into exile.<ref name="edmonds" />

Columbanus was taken to [[Nevers]], then travelled by boat down the [[Loire]] river to the coast. At [[Tours]] he visited the tomb of [[Martin of Tours]], and sent a message to Theuderic II indicating that within three years he and his children would perish.<ref name=":0" /> When he arrived at [[Nantes]], he wrote a letter before embarkation to his fellow monks at Luxeuil monastery. The letter urged his brethren to obey [[Saint Attala|Attala]], who stayed behind as abbot of the monastic community.<ref name="edmonds" />

The letter concludes:

{{blockquote|They come to tell me the ship is ready. The end of my parchment compels me to finish my letter. Love is not orderly; it is this which has made it confused. Farewell, dear hearts of mine; pray for me that I may live in God.<ref name="edmonds"/>}}

Soon after the ship set sail from Nantes, a severe storm drove the vessel back ashore. Convinced that his holy passenger caused the tempest, the captain refused further attempts to transport the monk.<ref name="edmonds" /> Columbanus found sanctuary with [[Chlothar II]] of [[Neustria]] at [[Soissons]], who gave him an escort to the court of King [[Theudebert II]] of [[Austrasia]].<ref name=":0" />

===The Alps (611–612)===
Columbanus arrived at Theudebert II's court in [[Metz]] in 611, where members of the Luxeuil school met him and Theudebert II granted them land at [[Bregenz]].<ref name=":0" /> They travelled up the [[Rhine]] via [[Mainz]] to the lands of the [[Suebi]] and [[Alemanni]] in the northern Alps, intending to preach the Gospel to these people. He followed the Rhine river and its tributaries, the [[Aar]] and the [[Limmat]], and then on to [[Lake Zurich]]. Columbanus chose the village of [[Tuggen]] as his initial community, but the work was not successful.<ref name="edmonds"/> He continued north-east by way of Arbon to [[Bregenz]] on [[Lake Constance]]. Here he found an [[Oratory (worship)|oratory]] dedicated to [[Aurelia of Strasbourg]] containing three brass images of their tutelary deities. Columbanus commanded [[Saint Gall|Gallus]], who knew the local language, to preach to the inhabitants, and many were converted. The three brass images were destroyed, and Columbanus blessed the little church, placing the relics of Aurelia beneath the altar. A monastery was erected, [[Wettingen-Mehrerau Abbey|Mehrerau Abbey]], and the brethren observed their regular life. Columbanus stayed in Bregenz for about one year.<ref name="edmonds"/>

In the spring of 612, war broke out between Austrasia and Burgundy and Theudebert II was resoundingly beaten by Theuderic II. Austrasia was subsumed under the kingdom of Burgundy and Columbanus was again vulnerable to Theuderic II's opprobrium.<ref name=":1" /> When Columbanus' students began to be murdered in the woods, Columbanus decided to cross the Alps into Lombardy.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Columbanus |website=Monastic Ireland |url=http://www.monasticireland.com/storiesofsaints/columbanus.htm |access-date=2022-08-08}}</ref>

Gallus remained in this area until his death in 646. About seventy years later at the place of Gallus' cell the [[Abbey of St Gall|Abbey of Saint Gall]] was founded. The city of [[St. Gallen]] originated as an adjoining settlement of the abbey.

===Lombardy (612–615)===
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  {{Location map~ | Alps
    | label = Bobbio
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| caption = Columbanus in the Alps and Italy
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Columbanus arrived in [[Milan]] in 612 and was welcomed by King [[Agilulf]] and Queen [[Theodelinda]] of the [[Lombards]]. He immediately began refuting the teachings of [[Arianism]], which had enjoyed a degree of acceptance in Italy. He wrote a treatise against Arianism,<ref name=":0" /> which has since been lost. In 614, Agilulf granted Columbanus land for a school at the site of a ruined church at [[Bobbio Abbey|Bobbio]].<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />

At the king's request, Columbanus wrote a letter to [[Pope Boniface IV]] on the controversy over the ''[[Three-Chapter Controversy|Three Chapters]]'' – writings by Syrian bishops suspected of [[Nestorianism]], which had been condemned in the fifth century as [[heresy]].<ref>[https://celt.ucc.ie/published/T201054/text005.html Letter 5] (English translation)</ref>{{full citation needed|date=October 2023}} [[Pope Gregory I]] had tolerated in Lombardy those persons who defended the ''Three Letters'', among them King Agilulf. Columbanus agreed to take up the issue on behalf of the king. The letter has a diplomatic tone and begins with an apology that a "foolish Scot" ({{lang|la|Scottus}}, Irishman) would be writing for a Lombard king. After acquainting the pope with the imputations brought against him, he entreats the pontiff to prove his orthodoxy and assemble a council. When critiquing Boniface, he writes that his freedom of speech is consistent with the custom of his country.<ref name="edmonds"/> Some of the language used in the letter might now be regarded as disrespectful, but in that time, faith and austerity could be more indulgent.<ref name="montalembert-440">Montalembert 1861, p. 440.</ref> Columbanus was tactful when making critiques, as he begins the letter he expresses with the most affectionate and impassioned devotion to the Holy See.

{{blockquote|We Irish, though dwelling at the far ends of the earth, are all disciples of Saint Peter and Saint Paul&nbsp;... we are bound to the Chair of Peter, and although Rome is great and renowned, through that Chair alone is she looked on as great and illustrious among us&nbsp;... On account of the two Apostles of Christ, you are almost celestial, and Rome is the head of the whole world, and of the Churches.}}

Later, he reveals charges against the Papacy so as to encourage Boniface to make concessions:

{{blockquote|For, as I hear, you are alleged to favour heretics—God forbid men should believe that this has been, is, or shall be true. For they say that Eutyches, Nestorius, and Dioscorus, old heretics as we know, were favoured at some Council, at the fifth, by Vigilius. Here, as they say, is the cause of the whole calumny; if, as is reported, you also favour thus, or if you know that even (Pope) Vigilius himself died under such a taint, why do you repeat his name against your conscience? Already it is your fault if you have erred from the true belief and made your first faith void; justly do your subordinates oppose you, and justly do they hold no communion with you.<ref>Letter 5, Chapter 9</ref>}}

Columbanus' deference towards Rome is sufficiently clear, calling the pope "his Lord and Father in Christ", the "Chosen Watchman", and the "First Pastor, set higher than all mortals",<ref name="allnatt">Allnatt 2007, p. 105.</ref> also asserting that "we Irish, inhabitants of the world’s edge, are disciples of Saints Peter and Paul and of all the disciples"<ref>Letter 5, Chapter 2</ref> and that "the unity of faith has produced in the whole world a unity of power and privilege."<ref>Ibid., Chap. 11</ref>

[[File:Bobbio-abbazia di san colombano-esterno6.jpg|thumb|left|Facade of the Abbey in Bobbio]]
King Agilulf gave Columbanus a tract of land called [[Bobbio]] between Milan and Genoa near the [[Trebbia]] river, situated in a [[defile (geography)|defile]] of the [[Apennine Mountains]], to be used as a base for the conversion of the Lombard people. The area contained a ruined church and wastelands known as ''Ebovium'', which had formed part of the lands of the papacy prior to the Lombard invasion. Columbanus wanted this secluded place, for while enthusiastic in the instruction of the Lombards he preferred solitude for his monks and himself. Next to the little church, which was dedicated to [[Saint Peter|Peter the Apostle]], Columbanus erected a monastery in 614. [[Bobbio Abbey]] at its foundation followed the Rule of Saint Columbanus, based on the monastic practices of [[Celtic Christianity]]. For centuries it remained the stronghold of orthodoxy in northern Italy.<ref name="edmonds"/>{{refn|Bobbio Abbey may have been the model for the monastery in northern Italy in [[Umberto Eco]]'s novel ''[[The Name of the Rose]]''.|group=Note}}

===Death===
[[File:Bobbio bridge.jpg|thumb|Stone bridge over the Trebbia river leading to [[Bobbio Abbey]] in northern Italy]]
During the last year of his life, Columbanus received messages from King [[Chlothar II]], inviting him to return to Burgundy, now that his enemies were dead. Columbanus did not return, but requested that the king should always protect his monks at [[Luxeuil Abbey]].<ref name=":0" /> He prepared for death by retiring to his cave on the mountainside overlooking the Trebbia river, where, according to a tradition, he had dedicated an oratory to Our Lady.<ref name="montalembert-444">Montalembert 1861, p. 444.</ref> Columbanus died at Bobbio on 21 November 615 and is buried there.<ref name=":0" />