Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
from ear to ear, like the former Druids—were known throughout Europe as ascetic schol-
ars.
St. Columbanus
(c. 600; different from St. Columba) was one of several traveling mis-
sionary monks who helped to bring Christianity back to Western Europe, which had rever-
ted to paganism and barbarism after the fall of the Roman Empire. The monks established
monastic centers of learning that produced great Christian teachers and community build-
ers. One of the monks,
St. Brendan,
may have sailed to America.
By 800,
Charlemagne
was importing Irish monks to help run his Frankish kingdom.
Meanwhile, Ireland remained a relatively cohesive society based on monastic settlements
rather than cities. Impressive round towers from those settlements still dot the Irish land-
scape—silent reminders of this exalted age.
In 795, Viking pirates from Norway invaded, first testing isolated island monasteries, then
boldly sailing up Irish rivers into the interior. The many raids immediately wreaked hav-
