Isle of Iona - from sea - Valentines postcard c.1960s

Postcard
• Picture / Image:  Isle of Iona - from the sea
• Publisher:  Valentines (AT.1838)
• Postally used:  yes
• Stamp:  3p ultramarine Machin
• Postmark(s):  Garve 7 Aug 1971 cds
• Sent to:  Watford, Hertfordshire
• Notes / condition: 

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Text from the free encyclopedia WIKIPEDIA may appear below to give a little background information (internal links may not  work) :

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Iona (Scottish Gaelic: Ì Chaluim Chille) is a small island in the Inner Hebrides off the Ross of Mull on the western coast of Scotland. It was a centre of Irish monasticism for four centuries and is today renowned for its tranquility and natural beauty. It is a popular tourist destination and a place for retreats. Its modern Gaelic name means ""Iona of (Saint) Columba"" (formerly anglicised ""Icolmkill"").

The Hebrides have been occupied by the speakers of several languages since the Iron Age, and as a result many of the names of these islands have more than one possible meaning.^[6] Nonetheless few, if any, can have accumulated so many different names over the centuries as the island now known in English as ""Iona"".

The earliest forms of the name enabled place-name scholar William J. Watson to show that the name originally meant something like ""yew-place"".^[7] The element Ivo-, denoting ""yew"", occurs in Ogham inscriptions (Iva-cattos [genitive], Iva-geni [genitive]) and in Gaulish names (Ivo-rix, Ivo-magus) and may form the basis of early Gaelic names like Eogan (ogham: Ivo-genos).^[8] It is possible that the name is related to the mythological figure, Fer hÍ mac Eogabail, foster-son of Manannan, the forename meaning ""man of the yew"".^[9]

Mac an Tà illeir (2003) lists the more recent Gaelic names of Ì,^[10] Ì Chaluim Chille and Eilean Idhe noting that the first named is ""generally lengthened to avoid confusion"" to the second, which means ""Calum's (i.e. in latinised form ""Columba's"") Iona"" or ""island of Calum's monastery"".^[11][12] The possible confusion results from ""ì"", despite its original etymology, becoming a Gaelic noun (now obsolete) meaning simply ""island"".^[13] Eilean Idhe means ""the isle of Iona"", also known as Ì nam ban bòidheach (""the isle of beautiful women""). The modern English name comes from an 18th-century misreading of yet another variant, Ioua,^[11][12] which was either just Adomnán's attempt to make the Gaelic name fit Latin grammar or else a genuine derivative from Ivova (""yew place"").^[14] Ioua's change to Iona results from a transcription mistake resulting from the similarity of ""n"" and ""u"" in Insular Minuscule.^[15]

Despite the continuity of forms in Gaelic between the pre-Norse and post-Norse eras, Haswell-Smith (2004) speculates that the name may have a Norse connection, Hioe meaning ""island of the den of the brown bear"",^[12] ""island of the den of the fox"", or just ""island of the cave"".^[16] The medieval English language version was ""Icolmkill"" (and variants thereof).^[12]

Murray (1966) claims that the ""ancient"" Gaelic name was Innis nan Druinich (""the isle of Druidic hermits"") and repeats a Gaelic story (which he admits is apocryphal) that as Columba's coracle first drew close to the island one of his companions cried out ""Chì mi i"" meaning ""I see her"" and that Columba's response was ""Henceforth we shall call her Ì"".^[19]

Iona lies about 2 kilometres (1 mi) from the coast of Mull. It is about 2 kilometres (1 mi) wide and 6 kilometres (4 mi) long with a resident population of 125.^[20] The geology of the island consists mainly of Precambrian Lewisian gneiss with Torridonian sedimentary rocks on the eastern side^[21] and small outcrops of pink granite on the eastern beaches. Like other places swept by ocean breezes, there are few trees; most of them are near the parish church.

Iona's highest point is Dùn Ì, 101 metres (331 ft), an Iron Age hill fort dating from 100 BC – AD 200. Iona's geographical features include the Bay at the Back of the Ocean and Cà rn Cùl ri Éirinn (the Hill/Cairn of [turning the] Back to Ireland), said to be adjacent to the beach where St. Columba first landed.

The main settlement, located at St. Ronan's Bay on the eastern side of the island, is called Baile Mòr and is also known locally as ""The Village"". The primary school, post office, the island's two hotels, the Bishop's House and the ruins of the Nunnery are here. The Abbey and MacLeod Centre are a short walk to the north.^[4][22] Port Bà n (white port) beach on the west side of the island is home to the Iona Beach Party.^[23]

There are numerous offshore islets and skerries: Eilean Annraidh (island of storm) and Eilean Chalbha (calf island) to the north, Rèidh Eilean and Stac MhicMhurchaidh to the west and Eilean Mùsimul (mouse holm island) and Soa Island to the south are amongst the largest.^[4] The steamer Cathcart Park carrying a cargo of salt from Runcorn to Wick ran aground on Soa on 15 April 1912, the crew of 11 escaping in two boats.^[24]

In the early Historic Period Iona lay within the Gaelic kingdom of Dál Riata. The island was the site of a highly important monastery (see Iona Abbey) during the Early Middle Ages. According to tradition the monastery was founded in 563 by the monk Columba, also known as Colm Cille, who had been exiled from his native Ireland as a result of his involvement in the Battle of Cul Dreimhne.^[25] Columba and twelve companions went into exile on Iona and founded a monastery there. The monastery was hugely successful, and played a crucial role in the conversion to Christianity of the Picts of present-day Scotland in the late 6th century and of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Northumbria in 635. Many satellite institutions were founded, and Iona became the centre of one of the most important monastic systems in Great Britain and Ireland.^[26]

Iona became a renowned centre of learning, and its scriptorium produced highly important documents, probably including the original texts of the Iona Chronicle, thought to be the source for the early Irish annals.^[26] The monastery is often associated with the distinctive practices and traditions known as Celtic Christianity. In particular, Iona was a major supporter of the ""Celtic"" system for calculating the date of Easter at the time of the Easter controversy, which pitted supporters of the Celtic system against those favoring the ""Roman"" system used elsewhere in Western Christianity. The controversy weakened Iona's ties to Northumbria, which adopted the Roman system at the Synod of Whitby in 664, and to Pictland, which followed suit in the early 8th century. Iona itself did not adopt the Roman system until 715, according to the Anglo-Saxon historian Bede. Iona's prominence was further diminished over the next centuries as a result of Viking raids and the rise of other powerful monasteries in the system, such as the Abbey of Kells.^[26]

The Book of Kells may have been produced or begun on Iona towards the end of the 8th century.^[26][27] Around this time the island's exemplary high crosses were sculpted; these may be the first such crosses to contain the ring around the intersection that became characteristic of the ""Celtic cross"".^[26] The series of Viking raids on Iona began in 794 and, after its treasures had been plundered many times, Columba's relics were removed and divided two ways between Scotland and Ireland in 849 as the monastery was abandoned.^[28]

type=printed

city/ region=iona

period=post-war (1945-present)

publisher=valentines

postage condition=posted

number of items=single

size=continental/ modern (150x100 mm)