Blair Collection > Celtic monthly > Volume 4, 1896

172
THE CELTIC MONTHLY.
Duke of Argyll, who is the proprietor
of the island), to the ruius of the Nuuueiy.
Leaving these ruins we walk along what was
then called the Street of the Dead, past the
Established Church and Manse, and '■ M'Lean's
Cross." This cross, supposed to be the oldest
in Scotland, is one of 360 said to have been
standing on the island. Of these only two
now remain entire — it and "St Martin's,"
which we shall see in the grounds of the
Cathedral.
" . . . . . and ill loiias piles.
Where rest from iiuirtal coil the Mighty of the Lsles."
Entering the cemetery, called ReiUg Odhrain
(St. Odhrain's name was given to it probably
because he was the first interred there), we see
the groups of ancient tombstones, most of them
carved in reUef, which are of great historical
and antiqua-
rian interest.
There are said
to be buried on
the island 48
Scottish kings
(including
King Coil of
Ayrshire), 4
Lrish kings, 8
Norwegian
princes, and 3
royal infants,
many Lords of
the Isles,
bishops, ab-
b o t 8, and
priors, The
M'Leod of
M'Leod, also
chiefs of the MacKinnons, Macleans, Macquar-
ries, and other clans. The last king buried at
lona was Duncan I. of Scotland, who began to
reign in 1034 a.d., and was murdered by
Macbeth in the sixth year of his reign.
Kosse — " Where is Duncan's body V "
Macduff^" Carried to Colme's Kill,
The sacred storehouse of his predecessors,
And guardian of their bones."
— Shakespkare.
The first enclosure we visit contains the
tombstones of the kings, the next those of the
chiefs, and later on we see many stones of
equal interest within the Cathedral. We now
enter St. Oran's Chapel, with its fine Norman
doorway and triple arch. It is the most
ancient structure in the island, having probably
been built about the close of the eleventh
century. Approaching the Cathedral, we see,
opposite the west doni-, that noble monument
known as ''The lona Cross." This, the most
perfect of the remaining two, was erected to
the memory of St. Martin of Tours, who lived
in the sixth century. Close to the west
entrance, beside the adjacent angle of the
cloister is a small chamber called St. Columba's
tomb, and here the Saint and his servant
Uiarmid are supposed to be buried, though
Ireland claims that the bones of St. C'olumba
were exhumed and reburied in County Down,
lona Cathedral, dedicated to St. Mary, and
once the Cathedral of the Diocese of the Isles,
was built in the early part of the thirteenth
century and consisted of nave, transepts, and
choir, with sacristy on the north side of choir
and side chapels on the south. The carving
upon the columns and tombs is sharp, well
defined, and of curious purport, and the
capitals exhibit bas-reliefs similar to many
found in Ireland. One of the carvings
represents the
Crucifixion,
another Temp-
tation, and
another Sacri-
fice. Adjoining
the Cathedral
on the north
are the ruins of
the Conventual
buildings, of
which the
portion called
the Chapter
House is the
most ancient
and remark-
able. Over it
is said to
have been the
library. Cloisters of perfect symmetry and
probably of great beauty were enclosed on
three sides by the nave, one of the transepts
and the refectory. The length of the Cathedral
is about 160 feet, and the tower, still accessible
by a winding staircase, is about 70 feet high.
The Monastery lay behind the Cathedral, and
north of the ftlonastery are the remains of the
bishops' house.
When St. Columba landed from his coracle
upon the silver strand on Pentecost Eve, Anno
Domino 563, little could he guess how his
prophecy would be fulfilled. "This place,
small and mean as it appears, shall be honoured
not only by the Kings of the Scots and their
people, but by the rulers of strange nations,
and those subject to them. By the holy men
also of other churches it shall be held in
reverence."
The Duke of Arg^■le has recently had some