Why did the Vikings invade Iona?
Why did the Vikings invade Iona? Medieval monasteries and abbeys were frequently the target of Viking raids because they were wealthy landowners, and stored vast amounts of gold and other precious materials. Vikings plundered abbeys, like Iona Abbey, for riches, food, and even their holy texts?which were, at the time, often inscribed with gold leaf.
Who defeated the Vikings?
At the battle of Ashdown in 871, Alfred routed the Viking army in a fiercely fought uphill assault.
What is Iona famous for?
Iona is a holy isle and has been described as the birthplace of Christianity in Scotland. St Columba and 12 companions came here from Ireland in AD 563. The monastery they founded was one of the most important and influential in the British Isles.
Who is buried on Iona?
It's reputed to hold the bones of sixty kings. An inventory of 1549 recorded 48 Scottish kings, eight Norwegian Kings and four Irish Kings buried there. None of the monuments marking the burial places of the kings has survived unlike those of later medieval clan chiefs.
Who attacked the monastery of Iona?
And if you know anything else about Iona, it is probably that the religious community was brought to a sudden and catastrophic end by the Vikings, who subjected the monastery to a series of violent raids from 795 to 825. Despite these attacks, though, the monastery was never abandoned.
Why was Iona set up?
Iona's ancestry dates back to 563, when Columba, a member of the Irish ruling class, gave up the wealth and power afforded to him by birth and became a monk. He founded an island monastery on the Isle of Iona off the coast of Scotland, which became a home to scholars and a center for religious study and learning.
Why did the Vikings raid Iona?
Like other monasteries, Iona was targeted because it was a site where wealth was concentrated. Indeed, Iona was undoubtedly the most important and identifiable centre' of wealth in the Hebrides. Here would have been stored gold and silver in the form of reliquaries, book covers and hanging bowls.