St Columbanus

Context
Religious men would cast themselves from society; hermitage.
Monastic rules- expectations of behaviour and religious ritual. No standard
at this time.
St Columbanus is amongst the first.
o Benedictine rule is another.
o Daily structure.
o Away from society; asceticism.
Columban monasteries were places of paradise regained.
Mainly for the rich/nobility.
o Hard to be educated enough otherwise.
o Also only the rich could afford to do this.
The life of St Columbanus
Born around 543 in Ireland.
Died in 615 in his last monastery to be founded.
Joined a monastery in Ulster.
Travels to Gaul and preaches.
o Told by god to do this.
o Irish monks had done this before.
o First to have people pay attention to him.
Very holy throughout his life.
Conducts miracles and establishes some monasteries.
o Christianity had lapsed.
o Not holy enough; opposed to Columbanus and his asceticism.
o Takes the monastery out of the city.
o Many noble children flock to him.
o This is seen as the root of his success.
Association with royalty.
o Royal link.
o Annoyed Theoderic the Great of Italy.
o One of first missionary movements.
Conversion of the Wends and Swabians.
o According to Jonas.
Works against the Arian heresy.
o Reason for his founding of monasteries in Italy.
o 100 monasteries after his life.
Columbanus Rule
The Monks Rule.
Of Obedience.
o Always obey superior.
o Fail once, you are deemed to have failed code.
o Should follow orders.
o Even if means own death.
o This is due to something in the Bible which says that Christs
children shall obey always.
Of Silence.
o No idle talking.
o Can only speak with purpose.
o Idle chatter- 50 blows.
Of Food and Drink.
o Monks food must be poor, taken in the evening.

o 1 meal a day, aiming to keep you just about alive.

o Take just enough; be frugal.
o Fast until the meal.
Of Greed.
o Greed is bad, Satan says so.
o Not allowed to want property.
o Have treasures in heaven.
Of Vanity.
o Vanity bad.
o Destroyer of all good things.
Of Chastity.
o No being intimate with women.
o Lusting in mind is just as bad.
o Virgin in body and mind.
Of the choir office.
o Times to sing psalms.
o Chanting.
o No breaking of chants.
Of discretion.
o Be discrete.
Of mortification.
o Not supposed to disagree with superiors or brothers.
o Only act for the good of the monastery.
o Act on orders only.
o Aims to protect the lower monks.
o Literally means the putting to death of something.
Can be literal, but can also be symbolic.
Putting to death sinly desires.
Monks perfection.
o Let the monk live under one father with many, may learn to follow
the rules.
Communal Rule
Confession.
o Have to confess everything.
o Even if all you do is drop something
o Have to accept your failings.
Penance.
o Must atone for sins.
Punishment.
o So many punishments.
Gallic church
Promotion of Columbanus- church needed to be portrayed as bad.
Source criticism.
Wood says Columbanus might not be a missionary.
o Columbanus basically says he shouldnt be a missionary in one of
his letters.

What does Columbanus tell us about the role of the holy man?

Hes a leader.
o Spiritual leader- guiding his flock.
o Administrative leader- conducts the running of the monastery.
Earlier holy men hadnt done this.
Had aimed to remove themselves from society.
o Shift towards a need for communal leadership, replaces imperial
structures.
Bishops are structured on the Roman provinces.
Episcopal structure based on Rome.
Bishops run the shop, the holy men can focus on the spiritual.
Personal faith.
o Penance- public penance in 3rd and 4th centuries.
Fell out of favour; monasteries are the pure life.
Private penance.
o End of the Roman Shabang.
Personal Christianity.
Creating an identity.
Prior Christian notions are deemed to have potentially failed.
Melania the Younger.
o Super rich senatorial family.
o Gives up lands and gives them to the church.
About showing the true faith.
World might be about to end.
People want to show their faith.
Want to go to heaven.
Teaching.
o People want to be saved from the end of the world.
o SHOW THEM HOW!
Miracles.
o YAY YOU SAVED THEM.
o Gather followers?
o Channelling God.
o Barrel full of beer- Columbanus shatters it.
Columbanian successor.
Might have been inserted into the story as another person did
it.

Why Columbanus problematic Gaul?

o Columbanus is problematic as he pisses off the rulers.
Legitimacy is important.
Can influence public view.
Ian Wood.
o Already gained what he needs from the king.
o King cannot touch him as he is a churchman.
o Jonas exaggerates, but his Celtic church opposition to Gallic church
would be a problem.
o Strict obedience as a rule.
King or god superior?
State vs. religion.
o Irish.

Heretics
o Being political.
o Praying bank!
Reforms popular Merovingian aristocracy- why?
Way of showing power of aristocracy.
Unique from king.
Church lands exempt from king.
Listening to god; following columbanian ideals trumps kings power.
o Way to break the power of the king.
Patronise monasteries.
o Family link.
o Saves the family.
o Jobs for family members.
o Mark on the landscape.
o Prevents partible inheritance.
Rural power.
o Shift to rural power; personal spirituality.
o Move to private.
Church is separate from the king.
o New focal points of power outside towns.
o Giving power to the nobility.
Columbanus view of monastic life
Remove separation from worldly life and spiritual life.
Path to salvation.
o Accessible to all in theory.
o Very inclusive.
o Purpose is to be saved.
Benedict is about learning.
o Columbanus gains favour as he can learn quickly.
Power to Columbanus!
Cant be totally slated for now.
May have been genuine and benign.
Prohibition of learning.
o Cant then learn it wrong.
o Accessible.
What does Columbanus tell us about changes of 600?
Kings.
o Monasteries straying from intended practise.