Cumméne Find (

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

ised, Cummeneus Albus, Cumméne "the White", died 669) was the seventh

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The fem ...

Iona Iona (; gd, Ì Chaluim Chille (IPA: �iːˈxaɫ̪ɯimˈçiʎə, sometimes simply ''Ì''; sco, Iona) is a small island in the Inner Hebrides, off the Ross of Mull on the western coast of Scotland. It is mainly known for Iona Abbey, though there ...

(657–669). He was the nephew of a previous abbot,

Ségéne Saint Ségéne (also called Segein, Segeni, Segeno, Seghene, Segin, Segine, Ségíne, Segineus, Segini, Seighin; c. 610 – 24 May 688), was the Archbishop of Armagh, Bishop of Armagh, Ireland from 661 to 24 May 688. Genealogy and birth St. Ség ...

and great-nephew of Lasrén. It was during Cumméne's abbacy that the

Northumbrians la, Regnum Northanhymbrorum , conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Northumbria , common_name = Northumbria , status = State , status_text = Unified Anglian kingdom (before 876)North: Anglian kingdom (af ...

decided against adopting the Gaelic dating of

Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...

at the

Synod of Whitby In the Synod of Whitby in 664, King Oswiu of Northumbria ruled that his kingdom would calculate Easter and observe the monastic tonsure according to the customs of Rome rather than the customs practiced by Irish monks at Iona and its satellite ins ...

in 664, resulting in the loss of control of the Ionan offshoot Gaelic church at

Lindisfarne Lindisfarne, also called Holy Island, is a tidal island off the northeast coast of England, which constitutes the civil parish of Holy Island in Northumberland. Holy Island has a recorded history from the 6th century AD; it was an important ...

. In 664, the last Gaelic abbot/

bishop of Lindisfarne The Bishop of Durham is the Church of England, Anglican bishop responsible for the Diocese of Durham in the Province of York. The diocese is one of the oldest in England and its bishop is a member of the House of Lords. Paul Butler (bishop), Pau ...

Colmán Colmán or Colman is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: Medieval Irish people * Colmán Bec (died ''c''. 585), Irish dynast * Colmán mac Cobthaig (died ''c''. 622), Irish king * Colmán mac Lénéni (died ''c'' ...

, resigned his post and returned to Iona. It was during Cumméne's abbacy that the

Book of Durrow The Book of Durrow is an illuminated manuscript dated to c. 700 that consists of text from the four Gospels gospel books, written in an Irish adaption of Vulgate Latin, and illustrated in the Insular script style.Moss (2014), p. 229 Its origin a ...

was first produced, although this probably happened at Durrow itself, rather than Iona. Cumméne is known to have visited Ireland in 663, perhaps on a tour of daughter houses. He is known to have written a

Vita Vita or VITA (plural vitae) is Latin for "life", and may refer to: * ''Vita'', the usual start to the title of a biography in Latin, by which (in a known context) the work is often referred to; frequently of a saint, then called hagiography * Vit ...

Columba Columba or Colmcille; gd, Calum Cille; gv, Colum Keeilley; non, Kolban or at least partly reinterpreted as (7 December 521 – 9 June 597 AD) was an Irish abbot and missionary evangelist credited with spreading Christianity in what is toda ...

, ''"De uirtutibus sancti Columbae'' ("On the Virtues of Saint Columba"). This text was then later inserted into the Schaffhausen manuscript of

Adomnán Adomnán or Adamnán of Iona (, la, Adamnanus, Adomnanus; 624 – 704), also known as Eunan ( ; from ), was an abbot of Iona Abbey ( 679–704), hagiographer, statesman, canon jurist, and saint. He was the author of the ''Life of Co ...

's ''Vita Columbae'' for political reasons in the script of the early eighth century.''Adomnan's Life of Columba'', (A. O. & M. O. Anderson, eds.), (London & Edinburgh 1961) He died on 24 February 669.

References

Bibliography

* Sharpe, Richard, ''Adomnán of Iona: Life of St. Columba'', (London, 1995) 669 deaths Abbots of Iona Irish writers Medieval Irish writers 7th-century historians Medieval Irish historians 7th-century Irish abbots Irish expatriates in Scotland Year of birth unknown {{Ireland-writer-stub