Celtic Scotland: A History of Ancient Alban: Volume II. Church and Culture. (Celtic Scotland. A History of Ancient Alban Book 2)

W.F. Skene's 3 volume history of Celtic Scotland is one of singular scholarship, arguably the most influential Scottish historical work of the 19th century. Each volume stands alone and can be read separately, rather than sequentially. Volume II. studies the monastic church in Ireland and Iona with much attention given to St. Columba, the family of Iona and the Columban church generally. Subsequent chapters discuss the churches of Cumbria and Lothian, the Culdees, Coärbs of Columcille and the end of the old Celtic church in Scotland. The final chapter chiefly looks at the church's influence on learning and language. An appendix on the old Irish life of St. Columba is included.Many of the footnotes, gathered in this ebook as endnotes, are in Latin. This is because many of the early sources that Skene refers to were written in Latin. So, some knowledge of Latin would help in fully appreciating the erudition of this work. An interest in, and familiarity with, Celtic languages, viz., Welsh, Irish and Scottish Gaelic would also be helpful. However, readers should not be dismayed if they lack a working knowledge of these languages since a great deal of information can still be garnered and learned from this work.The index of searchable keywords & phrases greatly facilitates the garnering experience. Note that the index in the original work was only in vol. III. The logical table of contents or navigational control file (NCX) , built from the summaries of key events and dates in the Table of Contents and margins throughout the original text, provides ease of access to specific areas of interest and adds a new dimension to the reading and learning experience.Along with the original map illustrations, an engraving from Billings' work and a selection of recent photographs are included to add ambience and help with the process of visualisation.