> From: [log in to unmask] [SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
>
> What is known about Irish monks in Iceland is that they left, and
> that in the early 12th century, when the first icelandic history was
> written, all that could be said was that "they left behind their
> bells, books, and croziers, and that is how we know that irishmen
> were here." the same source explains their departure as being
> "because they didn't want to be among heathens" suggesting
> that they were peregrini rather than missionaries.
>
Hmm, at face value, this entry suggests that Irish monks willingly
left behind all their ritual paraphernalia and books, but it sounds to me
like there may have been a bit of irony in the author's phrasing--and that
these particular monks found that they didn't want to be among heathens and
made a very hasty exit because the heathens gave them little choice in the
matter.
> furthermore, Iceland doesn't even appear to have been discovered by
> scandinavians until the mid-9th century, 9th c. being the period
> asked about. I'm not sure whether
> yew trees would grow in Iceland, even assuming the temperature was
> warmer then than now.
>
I was not suggesting that yews were necessarily planted in
*Iceland*. I was simply pointing out that Irish monks did tend to travel
around so it was possible that missionaries to Denmark came directly from
Ireland. And, of course, a number of monasteries in Germanic territories
were founded by monks from Irish monasteries who, presumably, continued
doing things just as they had when they were trained.
Francine Nicholson
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
|