The Iona Nunnery was an

Augustinian Augustinian may refer to: *Augustinians, members of religious orders following the Rule of St Augustine *Augustinianism, the teachings of Augustine of Hippo and his intellectual heirs *Someone who follows Augustine of Hippo * Canons Regular of Sain ...

convent A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

of nuns located on the island of

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 ...

in the

Inner Hebrides The Inner Hebrides (; Scottish Gaelic: ''Na h-Eileanan a-staigh'', "the inner isles") is an archipelago off the west coast of mainland Scotland, to the south east of the Outer Hebrides. Together these two island chains form the Hebrides, whic ...

of Scotland. It was established sometime after the foundation of the nearby Benedictine monastery in 1203.

Bethóc Bethóc ingen Maíl Coluim meic Cináeda was the elder daughter of Malcolm II of Scotland, Máel Coluim mac Cináeda, King of Scots, and the mother of his successor, Duncan I of Scotland, Duncan I. Biography Bethóc was the eldest daughter and ...

, daughter of

Somerled Somerled (died 1164), known in Middle Irish as Somairle, Somhairle, and Somhairlidh, and in Old Norse as Sumarliði , was a mid-12th-century Norse-Gaelic lord who, through marital alliance and military conquest, rose in prominence to create the ...

, was first prioress. The ruins of the nunnery stand in a peaceful precinct adjacent to Iona's main (and only) village, Baile Mor. They form the most complete remains of a medieval nunnery extant in Scotland. After the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

, the

priory A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or nuns (such as the Dominicans, Augustinians, Franciscans, and Carmelites), or monasteries of mon ...

was dissolved and reduced to a ruin.

History

The nunnery was founded after the establishment of the Benedictine monastery, which was likely founded by

Raghnall mac Somhairle ''Ragnall'', ''Raghnall'', ''Raonall'', and ''Raonull'' are masculine personal names or given names in several Gaelic languages. ''Ragnall'' occurs in Old Irish, and Middle Irish/Middle Gaelic. It is a Gaelicised form of the Old Norse '' Røgnva ...

in 1203. Raghnall's sister, Bethóc, became the first prioress. This was one of the two Augustinian monasteries of women in Scotland, St. Leonards Nunnery located at

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

being the other. In the Abbey museum of the nearby Iona Abbey, the top half of a headstone of Anna MacLean, a prioress of the monastery of nuns who died in 1543, is on display. Restoration work on the nunnery occurred in 1923 and 1993.

Construction

The construction of the Iona Nunnery follows the typical

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

style. The Church consists of a building with three bays with a passage to the north side and a small chapel on the east side of the passage. The monastic cloister measures 14 metres square, but it was originally smaller. The east wing had three rooms on ground level, above was the

dormitory A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm) is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people such as boarding school, high school, college or university s ...

. The south wing contained the

refectory A refectory (also frater, frater house, fratery) is a dining room, especially in monasteries, boarding schools and academic institutions. One of the places the term is most often used today is in graduate seminaries. The name derives from the La ...

. In the sixteenth century a floor was added. The west wing is below the modern road and was most likely the guests wing.

Management

The Iona Nunnery is managed by

Historic Environment Scotland Historic Environment Scotland (HES) ( gd, Àrainneachd Eachdraidheil Alba) is an executive non-departmental public body responsible for investigating, caring for and promoting Scotland's historic environment. HES was formed in 2015 from the mer ...

and is a

scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

References

External links

Historic Environment Scotland - Iona Nunnery

Iona Nunnery The Iona Nunnery was an Augustinian convent of nuns located on the island of Iona in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. It was established sometime after the foundation of the nearby Benedictine monastery in 1203. Bethóc, daughter of Somerled, wa ...

1203 establishments in Scotland

Nunnery A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican C ...

Christian religious orders established in the 13th century Augustinian nunneries in Scotland Historic Scotland properties in Argyll and Bute Organisations based in Argyll and Bute Scheduled Ancient Monuments in Argyll and Bute {{Scotland-church-stub