Columbanus and the Peoples of Post-Roman Europe (Oxford Studies in Late Antiquity)

"The period 550 to 750 was one in which monastic culture became more firmly entrenched in Western Europe. The role of monasteries and their relationship to the social world around them was transformed during this period as monastic institutions became more integrated in social and political power networks. This collected volume of essays focuses on one of the central figures in this process, the Irish ascetic exile and monastic founder, Columbanus (c. 550-615), his travels on the Continent, and the monastic network he and his Frankish disciples established in Merovingian Gaul and Lombard Italy. The post-Roman kingdoms through which Columbanus travelled and established his monastic foundations were made up of many different communities of peoples. As an outsider and immigrant, how did Columbanus and his communities interact with these peoples? How did they negotiate differences and what emerged from these encounters? How societies interact with outsiders can reveal the inner workings and social norms of that culture. This volume aims to explore further the strands of this vibrant contact and to consider all of the geographical spheres in which Columbanus and his monastic communities operated (Ireland, Merovingian Gaul, Alamannia, Lombard Italy) and the varieties of communities he and his successors came in contact with - whether they be royal, ecclesiastic, aristocratic, or grass-roots."--Publisher's website Cover 1 Half title 2 Series 3 Columbanus and the Peoples of Post-Roman Europe 4 Copyright 5 Dedication 6 Contents 8 List of Maps 10 Foreword by Walter Pohl 12 Preface 16 List of Contributors 18 List of Abbreviations 20 Maps 22 Part I Columbanus in Context 26 1. Introduction: Columbanus and Europe 28 2. Columbanus and the Language of Concord 44 Part II The Insular Background 76 3. The Political Background to Columbanus’s Irish Career 78 4. Movers and Shakers? How Women Shaped the Career of Columbanus 94 5. Columbanus’s Ulster Education 116 Part III The Frankish World 126 6. Columbanus in Brittany 128 7. Columbanus and Shunning: The Irish peregrinus between Gildas, Gaul, and Gregory 138 8. Orthodoxy and Authority: Jonas, Eustasius, and the Agrestius Affair 168 9. Columbanus and the Mission to the Bavarians and the Slavs in the Seventh Century 190 Part IV On the Fringe: Columbanus and Gallus in Alamannia 200 10. Between the Devil and the Deep Lake Constance: Jonas of Bobbio, interpretatio Christiana, and the Pagan Religion of the Alamanni 202 11. Drinking with Woden: A Re-​examination of Jonas’s Vita Columbani I.27 214 12. Between Metz and Überlingen: Columbanus and Gallus in Alamannia 230 13. Quicumque sunt rebelles, foras exeant! Columbanus’s Rebellious Disciple Gallus 250 Part V Lombard Italy and Columbanus’s Legacy 266 14. Columbanus, Bobbio, and the Lombards 268 15. Disputing Columbanus’s Heritage: The Regula cuiusdam patris (with a Translation of the Rule) 284 Index 332 Le rabat de la couverture indique :"The period 550 to 750 was one in which monastic culture became more firmly entrenched in Western Europe. The role of monasteries and their relationship to the social world around them was transformed during this period as monastic institutions became more integrated in social and political power networks. This collected volume of essays focuses on one of the central figures in this process, the Irish ascetic exile and monastic founder, Columbanus (c. 550-615), his travels on the Continent, and the monastic network he and his Frankish disciples established in Merovingian Gaul and Lombard Italy. The post-Roman kingdoms through which Columbanus travelled and established his monastic foundations were made up of many different communities of peoples. As an outsider and immigrant, how did Columbanus and his communities interact with these peoples? How did they negotiate differences and what emerged from these encounters? How societies interact with outsiders can reveal the inner workings and social norms of that culture. This volume aims to explore further the strands of this vibrant contact and to consider all of the geographical spheres in which Columbanus and his monastic communities operated (Ireland, Merovingian Gaul, Alamannia, Lombard Italy) and the varieties of communities he and his successors came in contact with - whether they be royal, ecclesiastic, aristocratic, or grass-roots." The period 550 to 750 was one in which monastic culture became more firmly entrenched in Western Europe. The role of monasteries and their relationship to the social world around them was transformed during this period as monastic institutions became more integrated in social and political power networks. This collected volume of essays focuses on one of the central figures in this process, the Irish ascetic exile and monastic founder, Columbanus (c.550 - 615), his travels on the Continent, and the monastic network he and his Frankish disciples established in Merovingian Gaul and Lombard Italy. The post-Roman kingdoms through which Columbanus travelled and established his monastic foundations were made up of many different communities of peoples. As an outsider and immigrant, how did Columbanus and his communities interact with these peoples? How did they negotiate differences and what emerged from these encounters? How societies interact with outsiders can reveal the inner workings and social norms of that culture. This volume aims to explore further the strands of this vibrant contact and to consider all of the geographical spheres in which Columbanus and his monastic communities operated (Ireland, Merovingian Gaul, Alamannia, Lombard Italy) and the varieties of communities he and his successors came in contact with - whether they be royal, ecclesiastic, aristocratic, or grass-roots. From 550 to 750 monastic culture became more firmly entrenched in Western Europe. The role of monasteries and their relationship to the social world around them was transformed during this period as monastic institutions became more integrated in social and political power networks. These collected essays focus on one of the central figures in this process, the Irish ascetic exile and monastic founder Columbanus (c. 550–615), his travels on the Continent, and the monastic network he and his Frankish disciples established in Merovingian Gaul and Lombard Italy. The post-Roman kingdoms through which Columbanus traveled and in which he established his monastic foundations were made up of many different peoples. As an outsider and immigrant, how did Columbanus and his communities interact with these peoples? How did they negotiate differences, and what emerged from these encounters? This volume aims to explore further the strands of this vibrant contact.