The Vision Of Adamnán
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''The Vision of Adamnán'' or ''Adamnán's Vision'', also spelled ''Adomnán'', in Irish ''Fís Adamnáin'' (or ''Adomnáin''), is a work of visionary literature written in
Middle Irish Middle Irish, also called Middle Gaelic (, , ), is the Goidelic language which was spoken in Ireland, most of Scotland and the Isle of Man from AD; it is therefore a contemporary of Late Old English and Early Middle English. The modern Goideli ...
in two parts, the first dating to the 11th century and the second the early 10th. It has sometimes been dated as early as the 8th or 9th century. Its authorship is unknown. The third-person narrative describes a vision of
heaven Heaven, or the Heavens, is a common Religious cosmology, religious cosmological or supernatural place where beings such as deity, deities, angels, souls, saints, or Veneration of the dead, venerated ancestors are said to originate, be throne, ...
and
hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location or state in the afterlife in which souls are subjected to punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history sometimes depict hells as eternal destinations, such as Christianity and I ...
attributed to Adamnán (d. 704 AD),
abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...
of Hy and
Iona Iona (; , sometimes simply ''Ì'') is an 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 are other buildings on the island. Iona Abbey was a centre of Gaeli ...
and primary biographer of
Saint Columba Columba () or Colmcille (7 December 521 – 9 June 597 AD) was an Gaelic Ireland, Irish abbot and missionary evangelist credited with spreading Christianity in what is today Scotland at the start of the Hiberno-Scottish mission. He founded the ...
. ''The Vision of Adamnán'' appears in '' The Book of the Dun Cow'' and the Speckled Book, both held by the
Royal Irish Academy The Royal Irish Academy (RIA; ), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the natural sciences, arts, literature, and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier List of Irish learned societies, learned society and one of its le ...
, and two additional
manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand or typewritten, as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in some indirect or automated way. More recently, the term has ...
s. About 5,000 words long, it was influenced by the '' Apocalypse of the Seven Heavens'', the '' Vision of Paul'', and writings by
Gregory the Great Pope Gregory I (; ; – 12 March 604), commonly known as Saint Gregory the Great (; ), was the 64th Bishop of Rome from 3 September 590 until his death on 12 March 604. He is known for instituting the first recorded large-scale mission from Rom ...
. It is the earliest Irish visionary work to use the literary device of a bridge that souls must cross as part of a sorting ordeal, and marks the origin of visionary literature about the trials of the spiritual pilgrim in the Irish tradition. ''The Vision of Adamnán'' influenced the
Hiberno-Latin Hiberno-Latin was a learned style of literary Latin first used and subsequently spread by Irish monks during the period from the sixth century to the twelfth century. Vocabulary and influence Hiberno-Latin was notable for its curiously learn ...
'' Vision of Tundale'', which was widely disseminated in various languages, and was a precursor to the ''
Divine Comedy The ''Divine Comedy'' (, ) is an Italian narrative poetry, narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun and completed around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature and one of ...
'' of
Dante Dante Alighieri (; most likely baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri; – September 14, 1321), widely known mononymously as Dante, was an Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer, and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called ...
in describing a tripartite otherworld through which the pilgrim is escorted by a spiritual guide.


Description

The vision is set on the Feast of John the Baptist, when Adamnán is conveyed to the
otherworld In historical Indo-European religion, the concept of an otherworld, also known as an otherside, is reconstructed in comparative mythology. Its name is a calque of ''orbis alius'' (Latin for "other world/side"), a term used by Lucan in his desc ...
. He is led by his
guardian angel A guardian angel is a type of angel that is assigned to protect and guide a particular person, group or nation. Belief in tutelary deity, tutelary beings can be traced throughout all antiquity. The idea of angels that guard over people played ...
on a tour of heaven, an intermediate dwelling place, and hell, which is positioned to the west. The description "veers between the reticence of inexpressibility and extravagant detail". Heaven is a seven-walled city, permeated by music and perfume, where the "Glorious One" sits on a throne. Before him are three birds:
Three stately birds are perched upon that chair in front of the King od their minds intent upon the Creator throughout all ages, for that is their vocation. They celebrate the eight anonicalhours, praising and adoring the Lord, and the
Archangel Archangels () are the second lowest rank of angel in the Catholic hierarchy of angels, based on and put forward by Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite in the 5th or 6th century in his book ''De Coelesti Hierarchia'' (''On the Celestial Hierarchy'') ...
s accompany them. For the birds and the Archangels lead the music, and then the
Heavenly Host The Heavenly host ( ''ṣəḇāʾōṯ'', "armies") refers to the army (or host) of God, as mentioned in Abrahamic texts; the Hebrew and Christian Bibles, and the Quran in particular. The Bible typically describes the Heavenly host as being m ...
, with the
Saints In Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Anglican, Oriental Orth ...
and Virgins, make response.
Birds often embody spiritual beings or serve as messengers in Celtic
hagiography A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a preacher, priest, founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian ...
. Above God's head, "six thousand thousands, in the guise of horses and birds, surround the fiery chair." The work contains a "prototype" of
Purgatory In Christianity, Purgatory (, borrowed into English language, English via Anglo-Norman language, Anglo-Norman and Old French) is a passing Intermediate state (Christianity), intermediate state after physical death for purifying or purging a soul ...
, a city with six gates in its wall where those attempting to advance to heaven are confronted. Those who are unready must pass a period of time here. Souls deemed unworthy are sent into the hand of
Lucifer The most common meaning for Lucifer in English is as a name for the Devil in Christian theology. He appeared in the King James Version of the Bible in Isaiah and before that in the Vulgate (the late-4th-century Latin translation of the Bib ...
. Sinners, whose deeds are not described in detail, are assigned to various punishments. Among the sinners are those who held and misused religious office. Clergy who break their vows are regarded as impostors, and every hour they are borne upward toward the clouds and then cast into the depth of hell. At the edge of hell, a wall of fire marks the place now held by devils only, which will open upon
Judgment Day The Last Judgment is a concept found across the Abrahamic religions and the '' Frashokereti'' of Zoroastrianism. Christianity considers the Second Coming of Jesus Christ to entail the final judgment by God of all people who have ever lived, res ...
. A high bridge crosses the fiery depth. The bridge is capacious and can be easily accessed by only those who are righteous owing to their chastity, penitence, and "red martyrdom". For those who at first resisted God and only late in life accepted obedience to him, the bridge is narrow but eventually opens up. The reverse is true for sinners: the bridge seems wide-open at first, but becomes so narrow that they fall into the waiting jaws of "eight red-hot serpents" with eyes like burning coals who lurk below. The concept of a "bridge of judgment" is thought to have a Near Eastern origin, as exampled by the Chinvat Bridge of
Zoroastrianism Zoroastrianism ( ), also called Mazdayasnā () or Beh-dīn (), is an Iranian religions, Iranian religion centred on the Avesta and the teachings of Zoroaster, Zarathushtra Spitama, who is more commonly referred to by the Greek translation, ...
, and recalls the bridge crossing the infernal river mentioned by Gregory. Adamnán is prepared to take his rest in heaven, but is abruptly charged with relating what he has seen to the people of Earth, and is returned to his body.Gardiner, ''Medieval Visions,'' p. 23; Zaleski, ''Otherworld Journeys,'' p. 79.


References


Bibliography

* Armstrong, Edward A. ''Saint Francis: Nature Mystic. The Derivation and Significance of the Nature Stories in the Franciscan Legend.'' University of California Press, 1973. * Bratton, Susan Power. "Oaks, Wolves and Love: Celtic Monks and Northern Forests." ''Journal of Forest History'' 33.1 (1989) 4–20. * Gardiner, Eileen. ''Medieval Visions of Heaven and Hell: A Sourcebook''. Garland Medieval Bibliographies, 1993. * Stokes, Whitley. ''Fis Adamnain slicht Libair na huidre. Adamnán's Vision: Transcribed and Translated from the Book of the Dun Cow, with Notes.'' Simla, 1870. * Wright, Charles D. ''The Irish Tradition in Old English Literature''. Cambridge University Press, 1993. * Zaleski, Carol. ''Otherworld Journeys: Accounts of Near-Death Experience in Medieval and Modern Times.'' Oxford University Press, 1987.


External links

* Boswell, C.S. ''An Irish Precursor to Dante: A Study on the Vision of Heaven and Hell Ascribed to the Eighth-century Irish Saint Adamnan, with Translation of the Irish Text''. London: David Nutt, 190

(Includes an English translation.) {{DEFAULTSORT:Vision of Adamnan Christian mystical texts Visionary literature Irish-language literature Medieval texts in Irish