Brief Biography: Saint Adomnan (Adamnan) was born in Drumhome, Donegal, Ireland in 627 CE. Little mention is made about his life until he became the ninth abbot of Iona in 679. Adomnan’s primary academic work was a biography written about Saint Columba, Vita Saint Columbae. Columba was the gentleman who founded the monastery in Iona in 563.
Adomnan also engaged in numerous political activities. When King Oswy died the throne of Northumbria was in dispute and the well being of his son, Aldfrid, was threatened, motivating Adomnan to provide sanctuary for the would-be heir. When Aldfrid finally ascended to the throne, in 686, Adomnan used his friendship with the new king to secure the release of sixty Irish prisoners captured by King Egfrith during his reign (670-685).
After being swayed by the remonstrations of Ceolfirth of Wearmouth in 688, it was Adomnan who championed the earlier decision made by King Egfrith of Northumbria to observe the Roman/English dating system for Easter. The decision was also spearheaded by the Synod of Whitby in 663, but was not accepted by those in today’s United Kingdom. It was Adomnan’s diplomatic abilities that swayed the all but the monasteries of Iona, ironically, to this alternative method of dating Easter by 697.
In that same year, Adomnan’s involvement in the political sphere paid off again with the establishment of the Cai’n Adomna’n or Law of the Innocents. The Council of Birr, which met in County Offaly, accepted the decree. The document stated that women, boys, and clerics were to be exempt from warfare and should be considered innocent bystanders by those who were engaged in war. The law also provided safekeeping for those outside of conflict.
Writing also consumed a fair amount of the saint’s time. Aside from the biography on Columba, mentioned earlier, Adomnan recorded the pilgrimage taken by Bishop Arculf around 680. The work would become known as De Locis Sanctis (Concerning the sacred places). The transcription involved summaries of what the bishop saw in places like Jerusalem, Nazareth, Constantinople, and Alexandria.
Adomnan expired on 23 September 704 from unstated causes. This date remains a feast day in honor of the saint. Twelve years after his death Iona finally relented to the English/Roman method of dating Easter, in part as a tribute to the saint. In 727 Adomnan’s relics were brought back to Ireland in order to facilitate the creation of a peace between the tribes of his father and mother. These relics were then carried around forty different churches that were under the rule of Iona.
Adomnan’s legacy carried on in an Irish story recorded in the tenth or eleventh century. The work was a precursor to Dante’s The Inferno, entitled Fis Adamnain (Vision of Adomnan). In the work, Adomnan is the protagonist who tells the reader about the wonders and beauties of Heaven and the atrocious sufferings that the condemned endure.
Brief Itinerary: The itinerary of Arculf is a rather extensive one, particularly as it pertains to the sights in modern day Israel. Adomnan's transcription of Arculf's words begins with what the latter saw in Jerusalem. The entire first book written by Saint Adomnan is dedicated to Arculf's visit to this city. The narrative begins with the church built over the Lord's Sepulchre and the moves to the church at Golgotha. The trip moves on as Arculf mentions a church called the Anastasis and the basilica of Constantine, which contained the lance that pierced Jesus as he was hanging on the cross. The work continues as a chapel is mentioned that is located between the church at Golgotha and the Martyrium. Inside of this chapel was said to be the cup blessed by the Lord during the Last Supper as well as the sponge that fed our Lord vinegar while he lay on the cross. Jerusalem also held a tall column that served as a marker for the location where a young man was said to have been brought back to life by the touch of the cross on which Jesus expired. The journey then moves to the Church of Saint Mary in the Valley of Jehoshaphat. Within this church is the rock Jesus prayed on before being seized. Arculf conveyed to Adomnan that one could see the impression left by the knees of Christ as he knelt on the rock, as it was like wax at the time. The reader then hears about the Tower of Jehoshaphat and the tombs of Simeon, who prophesized about the Lord as the baby Jesus was in his arms, and Joseph. The Gate of David, on the west end of Jerusalem, is mentioned, as is the fig tree where Judas Iscariot hanged himself, just west of the Gate of David. The church on Mount Sion was next referred to, then Aceldama, a small plot on the southern side of Mount Sion were strangers are either buried or laying in rot. Arculf next reported on the Mount of Olives and the church that was built in the place of the Lord's ascension. Next, Arculf went to Bethany and saw the church built over the tomb of Lazarus before Jesus raised him from the dead. This first book concludes with Arculf's observances at the place where Jesus preached to the disciples on the Wednesday prior to the crucifixion. The second book begins with Arculf's trip to Bethlehem and his observation of the place of the Lord's birth and the church dedicated to Saint Mary that was built in the immediate proximity. The narrative carries on with mention of the church containing the tomb of King David as well as churches containing the tombs of Saint Jerome and those of the shepherds. The tomb of Rachel, six miles west of Jerusalem, is mentioned next. Brief mention is then made of the town of Hebron. The tombs of the Four Patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Adam) are next recounted as they are east of Hebron. The Hill of Mamre is given brief mention, as is the town of Jericho. Arculf next refers to Gilgal and the church therein containing the Twelve Stones retrieved by men selected by Joshua at the command of God. The journey then picks up along the Jordan where Arculf saw the place where John baptized Christ as well as the small church located at the place where Jesus' clothes were when the baptism took place. Nearby was a monastery for monks and a church built in honor of John the Baptist. The Dead Sea was next seen followed by the sources of the Jordan, two adjacent springs named Jor and Dan. These springs are "fed" by a spring in Trachonitis. Next on the trip was the Sea of Galilee and the Well of Samaria, where the Lord met a Samaritan who came to draw water. Arculf next refers to the place on the near side of the Sea of Galilee where the Lord blessed five loaves and two fishes to feed the masses present. Nazareth is then referred to. The town held churches constructed where Jesus was raised and where the angel Gabriel came to the Virgin Mother. Mount Tabor in Galilee is next in the narrative. As Adomnan records Arculf's memories of the place, the author decides to inform the reader that the accounts from earlier in the book are rather short because Arculf's guide, Peter of Burgundy, would allow him to stay in a place no longer than necessary "…for a rapid inspection." The trip continues with the cities of Damascus and Tyre. The reader becomes confused about the actual itinerary as Adomnan records that Arculf then left Jerusalem and traveled forty days to get to Alexandria. Within the Egyptian capital was the church containing the tomb of the Evangelist Mark. It is at this point that the second book concludes. The third book is rather brief but makes quick mention of Arculf's passage by the island of Crete. From there Arculf saw Constantinople and the church containing the tomb of the evangelist Mark. From there the reader learns about Mount Vulganus and its island, located twelve miles east of Sicily. Although the book ends there the reader knows that Arculf's journey continued into a storm that steered the boat of course and into present day Scotland. Washed ashore, Arculf met Saint Adomnan, who recorded the journeys of his new friend at the monastery of Iona near todays Argyll, Scotland.
The History of De Locis Sanctis: De Locis Sanctis ('Concerning the Sacred Places') is Saint Adomnan's writing of the journeys told to him by Bishop Arculf in the year 680. The work would be a major political piece for Adomnan in 688, as he presented the work to King Aldfrid of Northumbria to further facilitate relations between the two. This was Adomnan's second visit to the king in as many years. The written narrative may have very well been a "thank you" gift to the king for the release of sixty Irish prisoners, taken by the former King of Northumbria, Aldfrid's brother, Egfrith. A brief summary of the work was included in the Venerable Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People, written in 731. Mabillon (This is not Jean Mabillion, 1632-1707) wrote his own version of the book in 779. This text was consequently rewritten in 803. The book then wanders into places unknown until Father Gretser edited a new printing of De Locis Sanctis in 1619. Thomas Wright included Adomnan's work as part of his book Early Travels in Palestine. Henry G. Bohn of London published Wright's compilation of pilgrim narratives in 1848. This specific book was republished several times in 1968. The publications relevant to that year include Ktav Publishing House's printing of the books as well as those done by Gregg Publishing of Farnborough, England and another release by the original publishers, Henry G. Bohn. Fifty-one years after Wright included the diary of sorts in his compilation, The Palestine Pilgrims' Text Society had De Locis Sanctis published in English in London. The Society re-published the work in the same language in 1895. This is the version used by AMS Press of New York City in 1971. Another original publication of 'Concerning the Holy Places' took place in 1958. In this instance, The Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies published the narrative. This publication also had a second edition, this time in 1983. There are also a couple of editions of De Locis Sanctis published outside of English. In 1870, Martial Delpit included the writing in his French work, allowing L. Techener to publish Essai sur les Anciens Pelerinages a Jerusalem Suivi du Texte du Pelerinage d'Arculphe. This Paris publication includes the narrative as just part of a lengthy book on pilgrimages of that era. An edition was also published in German by K.B. Hof-u University-Buchdruckerei yon Fr. Junge. This edition, published in 1897, was part of a book put credited to Paul Geyer entitled Die Handschrift liche Uberlieferung der Schrift De Locis Sanctis.
