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St.
Adomnan, Vita Sancti Columbae c. 690 AD
By
courtesy of Stadtbibliothek, Schaffliausen.
Translations
by Anderson and Anderson 1961
Adomnan was the ninth Abbot of Iona from 679 until his death in 704. Since Columba died in 597
AD, the accounts were written nearly a hundred years later.
The
following account is attributed to the year 565 AD
"Concerning a certain water
beast driven away by
the power of the blessed man's prayer.
Also at another time, when
the blessed man was for a lumber of days in the province
of the Picts, he had to cross the river Nes [Ness]. When
lie reached its bank, he saw a poor fellow being buried
by other inhabitants; and the buriers said that, while swimming not long before, he had been seized and
most savagely bitten by a water beast. Some men, going
to his rescue in a wooden boat, though too late, had put
out hooks and caught hold of his wretched corpse. When
the blessed man heard this, he ordered notwithstanding
that one of his companions should swim out and bring back
to him, by sailing, a boat that stood on the opposite
bank. Hearing this order of the holy and memorable man,
Lugne mocu‑Min obeyed without delay, and putting
off his clothes, excepting his tunic, plunged into the
water. But the monster, whose appetite had earlier been
not so much sated as whetted for prey, lurked in the depth
of the river. Feeling the water above disturbed by Lugne's
swimming, it suddenly swam up to the surface, and with
gaping mouth and with great roaring rushed towards the
man swimming in the middle of the stream. While all that
were there, barbarians and even the brothers, were struck
down with extreme terror, the blessed man, who was watching,
raised his holy hand and drew the saving sign of the cross
in the empty air; and then, invoking the name of God,
he commanded the savage beast, and said: "You will go
no further. Do not touch the man; turn back speedily".
Then, hearing this command of the saint, the beast, as
if pulled back with ropes, fled terrified in swift retreat;
although it had before approached so close to Lugne as
he swam that there was no more than the length of one
short pole between man and beast.Then seeing that the
beast had withdrawn and that their fellow- soldier Lugne
had returned to them unharmed and safe, in the boat, the
brothers with great amazement glorified God in the blessed
man. And also the pagan barbarians who were there at the
time, impelled by the magnitude of this miracle that they
themselves had seen, magnified the God of the Christians."
Another
account, pointed out by J. Gratton, relates to an incident while Columba was living
on the island of Iona. It may describe an "acid rain"
episode including the deposition of fluorine caused by
an Icelandic volcanic eruption.
While the saint was living
in the island of lo.he saw a heavy rain cloud that had
risen from the sea in the north, on a clear day. Watching
it as it rose, the saint said to one of his monks "This
cloud will be very hurtful to men and beasts; and on this
day it will quickly move across and in the evening drop
pestiferous rain upon Ireland from the stream that is
called Ailbine to Ath‑cliath (Dublin) and it will
cause severe and festering
sores to form on human bodies
and the udders of animals. Men and cattle who suffer from
them, afflicted with that poisonous disease will be sick
even to death". Following the saint's instruction
SiInan arrived, with the Lord's help, at the place aforesaid;
and found the people of that district devastated by the
pestiferous rain falling upon them from the cloud.'
This account, pointed out by S.A. Thorpe, may have
possible relevance to the remarkably dynamic physical
properties of Loch Ness.
"On the appointed day
as he had intended the Saint came to the long lake of
the river Ness, followed by a large crowd. Then the magicians
began to exalt, because they saw a great mist brought
up, and a stormy adverse wind ... so our Columba, seeing
that the elements were being roused to fury against him,
called upon Christ the Lord. He entered the boat, and
while the sailors hesitated, he himself, more steadfast,
ordered the sail to be raised against the wind. When this
was done, and with the whole crowd looking on, the ship
moved with extraordinary speed, sailing against the contrary
wind"
AJS
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