Editing Dál Riata (section)

==Religion and art==
[[File:St Martins Cross on Iona.jpg|thumb|200px|9th-century St Martin's Cross on [[Iona]].]]
[[File:KellsFol028vPortMatt.jpg|thumb|200px|Saint Matthew, folio 28v in the [[Book of Kells]]]]
No written accounts exist for pre-Christian Dál Riata, and the earliest-known records come from the chroniclers of [[Iona]] and Irish monasteries. During the time of [[Saint Patrick]], Dál Riatan kings thought they were descended from [[Celtic gods]], and pagans in the region viewed certain [[Spring (hydrology)|springs]] and "spirit-inhabited [[Grove (nature)|groves]] of trees" as [[sacred grove]]s.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Schama |first=Simon |title=A History of Britain 1: 3000 BC-AD 1603 At the Edge of the World? |title-link=A History of Britain (TV series)#DVDs and books |publisher=[[BBC Worldwide]] |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-563-48714-2 |edition=Paperback 2003 |location=London |pages=47 |author-link=Simon Schama}}</ref>

[[Adomnán]]'s ''Life of St [[Columba]]'' implies a Christian Dál Riata.<ref>Markus, "Iona"; Markus, "Conversion".</ref> Whether this is true cannot be known. The figure of Columba looms large in any history of Christianity in Dál Riata. Adomnán's ''Life'', although useful as a record, was not intended to serve as history, but rather as [[hagiography]]. Because the writing of the lives of the saints in Adomnán's day had not reached the stylised formulas of the [[High Middle Ages]], the ''Life'' contains a great deal of historically valuable information. It is also a vital linguistic source indicating the distribution of Gaelic and P-Celtic placenames in northern Scotland by the end of the 7th century. It famously notes Columba's need for a translator when conversing with an individual on Skye.<ref>As well as Sharpe's translation of Adomnán's ''Life of St Columba'', Broun & Clancy (eds.), ''Spes Scotorum'', is essential reading on Columba, Iona and Scotland.</ref> This evidence of a non-Gaelic language is supported by a sprinkling of P-Celtic placenames on the remote mainland opposite the island.<ref>W.F.H. Nicolaisen, ''Scottish Placenames: Their study and significance'' (1976).</ref>

Columba's founding Iona within the bounds of Dál Riata ensured that the kingdom would be of great importance in the spread of Christianity in northern Britain, not only to Pictland, but also to Northumbria, via [[Lindisfarne]], to [[Mercia]], and beyond. Although the monastery of Iona belonged to the [[Cenél Conaill]] of the Northern Uí Néill, and not to Dál Riata, it had close ties to the Cenél nGabráin, ties which may make the annals less than entirely impartial.<ref>See, for example, Broun, "Dál Riata"; for the evidence of place-names as an indicator of Ionan influence, see Taylor, "Iona abbots".</ref>

If Iona was the greatest religious centre in Dál Riata, it was far from unique. [[Lismore, Scotland|Lismore]], in the territory of the Cenél Loairn, was sufficiently important for the death of its abbots to be recorded with some frequency. [[Applecross]], probably in Pictish territory for most of the period, and [[Kingarth]] on Bute are also known to have been monastic sites, and many smaller sites, such as on [[Eigg]] and Tiree, are known from the annals.<ref>Clancy, "Church institutions".</ref> In Ireland, [[Armoy]] was the main ecclesiastical centre in early times, associated with [[Saint Patrick]] and with [[Saint Olcán]], said to have been the first bishop at Armoy. An important early centre, Armoy later declined, overshadowed by the monasteries at Movilla ([[Newtownards]]) and [[Bangor, County Down|Bangor]].<ref>Charles-Edwards, ''Early Christian Ireland'', pp. 58–60.</ref>

As well as their primary spiritual importance, the political significance of religious centres cannot be dismissed. The prestige of being associated with the saintly founder was of no small importance. Monasteries represented a source of wealth as well as prestige. Additionally, the learning and literacy found in monasteries served as useful tools for ambitious kings.<ref>Foster, ''Picts, Gaels and Scots'', pp. 42–44, 94–95 & 104–106.</ref>

The [[illuminated manuscript]] [[Book of Kells]] was probably at least begun at Iona, although not by Columba as legend has it, as it dates from about 800.<ref name="Kearney 2016 f700">{{cite web | last=Kearney | first=Martha | title=The Book of Kells: Medieval Europe's greatest treasure? | website=BBC Home | date=April 26, 2016 | url=https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20160425-the-book-of-kells-medieval-europes-greatest-treasure | access-date=March 22, 2024}}</ref><ref name="National Trust for Scotland 2022 q897">{{cite web | title=The Book of Kells | website=National Trust for Scotland | date=May 4, 2022 | url=https://www.nts.org.uk/stories/the-book-of-kells | access-date=March 22, 2024}}</ref> (It may have been commissioned to mark the bicentennial of Columba's death in 597).<ref name="Henry_1988">{{cite book |last=Henry |first=Francoise  |date=1988 |title= The Book of Kells: reproductions from the manuscript in Trinity College, Dublin |url=https://archive.org/details/bookofkellsrepro0000unse/page/220/mode/2up?view=theater&q=Columba |location=New York, USA |publisher=Alfred A. Knopf |page=221 |isbn=0-394-56859-1}}</ref> Whether it was or not, Iona was certainly important in the formation of [[Insular art]], which combined Mediterranean, [[Anglo-Saxon art|Anglo-Saxon]], [[Celtic art|Celtic]] and Pictish elements into a style of which the book of Kells is a late example.{{citation needed|date=May 2015}}

For other arts, a number of sculptures remain to give an impression of Dál Riatan work. The St. Martin's Cross on Iona is the well-preserved [[high cross]], probably inspired by Northumbrian free-standing crosses, such as the [[Ruthwell Cross]], although a similar cross exists in Ireland ([[Ahenny]], [[County Tipperary]]). The [[Kildalton Cross]] on Islay is similar. A sculpted slab at [[Ardchattan]] appears to show strong Pictish influences, while the [[Dupplin Cross]], it has been argued, shows that influences also moved in the opposite direction. Fine [[Hiberno-Saxon]] metalwork such as [[penannular brooches]] is believed to have been created at Dunadd.<ref>Laing & Laing, ''The Picts and the Scots'', pp. 136–137, deals with Dál Riatan arts at greater length; see also Ritchie, "Culture: Picto-Celtic".</ref>

In addition to the monastic sites, a considerable number of churches are attested, not only from archaeological evidence, but also from the evidence of place names. The element "kil", from Gaelic ''cill'', can be shown in many cases to be associated with early churches, such as at Kilmartin by Dunadd.<ref>Markus, "Religious life".</ref>