Spes Scotorum, Hope of Scots [Paperback]

Dauvit Broun (Editor), Thomas Owen Clancy (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1999

Leading scholars in the field appraise St Columba - and the legacy of the man and his monasteries in Scotland and throughout the world.There is a great deal of new research, in chapters for example on the cult of saints in Scotland, the origins of Scottish identity, Columba's biographer Adomnn, and Columba on Iona.Scholarly but highly readable, this book is accessible to anyone interested in Columba, Celtic Christianity and Scottish history in general.

Product Details

• Paperback: 314 pages
• Publisher: T. & T. Clark Publishers (September 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0567086828
• ISBN-13: 978-0567086822
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,988,419 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Gentle Columba - 1400 years on, September 11, 2002

By 

Mark Howells (Puyallup, Washington State, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Spes Scotorum, Hope of Scots (Paperback)

This book is a collection of articles by various authors from the print and seminar publications of the Scottish Catholic Historical Association to commemorate Columba's death in 597 AD.

While published by the SCHA, it is devoid of any pro-Catholic sentiments which usually surround the collective denominational "ownership" of local saints.

The work is divided into three sections: historical analysis of Columba and Iona; the written world of Adomnán, Columba's biographer; and the modern world legacy of Columba including the archæology of Iona.

Perhaps the most interesting historical article is "The Scottish takeover of the Pictland and the relics of Columba" by John Bannerman which attempts to debunk the "union" myth between the Picts and the Dál Raita Scots. For understanding Adomnán the hagiographer, Jennifer O'Reilly's "The wisdom of the scribe and the fear of the Lord in the Life of Columba" is both insightful and accessible to the lay person. The article which summarizes the archæological activity on Iona is disappointingly brief. The final article by Donald E. Meek regarding 21st century interpretations of Columba is fun reading for its ridicule of the modern "Celtic Christianity" movement and the uses to which Columba's memory is now put.

A solid backgrounder on Columba.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Scholarly but unsatisfying, May 21, 2001

By 

Heather Lyn Gibbons (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Spes Scotorum, Hope of Scots (Paperback)

Any book written about Scottish history prior to 1,000 AD gets stuck in a bog somewhere between archaeology and history. I've read my share of densely detailed site descriptions from an archaeological perspective as well as mildly fanciful and somewhat romantic tales of Scottish clan lore. Both have their place. And most people who have read a similar assortment are longing for a writer to offer both. This collection of essays is written by scholars for scholars and although I slogged through it, it failed to offer interesting details of artifacts OR intriguing character sketches. The points that are argued are in no way passionate and the information offered is so subtle that I doubt the average Scottish-history hobbyist will find these essays compelling. Also, if you haven't read thoroughly on the subject, this book assumes a great deal of background knowledge and you will be lost easily if you are not well versed from the start. It rates a three in my eyes simply because it's about Scotland.