Lesson video

Hello, my name is Mrs. Tipping, and I'm really looking forward to learning with you today all about Britain after the Romans.

And we're going to explore the question, how did Christianity survive in the British Isles? So shall we get started? Let's go.

By the end of today's lesson, you'll be able to explain how Irish missionaries helped to spread Christianity in the sixth century.

Before we start, I would like to introduce you to some key words.

We'll be using these key words throughout the lesson, so it might be a good idea to write these words down.

The key words we'll be using today are missionary, Iona, Picts, Gaul.

I'm going to say those again, and I'd like you to repeat them after me.

Missionary, Iona Picts, Gaul.

Good job.

Now, let's think in more detail about what these keywords mean.

Let's look at their definitions.

A missionary is a person sent on a religious mission, especially one sent to promote Christianity in a foreign country.

Iona is a small Scottish island.

Picts were a tribe of people who lived in what is now eastern and northeastern Scotland.

Gaul was an ancient region of Western Europe, which included France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, and Northern Italy.

Pause the video here to make a note of these key words.

And when you're ready to continue, press play.

These are the learning cycles that we'll be working through together in today's lesson, St.

Columba, St.

Columbanus.

In the first learning cycle, We'll explore St.

Columba.

As Christianity continued to grow in Ireland, more missionaries began to spread the word of God.

Ireland led its own missionary activity and Irish missionaries travelled widely.

One missionary who was important in the spread of Christianity was Saint Columba.

Saint Columba was born in Ireland around 520 CE.

He learned how to read and write at the School of Movilla.

Then Columba became a pupil at the monastery of Clonard in County Meath.

Columba was one of 12 students of Clonard who became known as the 12 Apostles of Ireland.

Following years as a monk, he eventually became a priest.

In 563 CE, Columba travelled to the small Scottish island of Iona.

He arrived on Iona with a group of followers, and they set up a monastery there.

Have a look at that photo of the island of Iona in Scotland.

That's what it looks like today.

Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.

When did St.

Columba travel to Iona? 863 CE, 563 CE, 364 CE.

Pause the video here and give yourself a moment to think, and press play when you are ready to continue.

If you said 563 CE, you are absolutely right.

Well done.

The monastery at Iona developed as an influential centre for the spread of Christianity among the Picts and Scots.

The Picts were a tribe of people who lived in what is now Eastern and Northeastern Scotland.

Over the centuries, the monks of Iona produced many elaborate carvings, manuscripts, and Celtic crosses to help spread the word of Christianity.

From Iona, St.

Columbus spread Christianity through the territories of Western and Northern Scotland.

You can see where those territories are on the map of Scotland there.

St.

Columbus spent some years among the Scots of Dalriada in Western Scotland before he began the great work of his life, the conversion of the Northern Picts.

Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.

Which two territories did St.

Columba travel to? Northern Scotland, Eastern Scotland, Southern Scotland, Western Scotland.

Pause the video here and have a discussion with your learning partner, and press play when you are ready to continue.

What did you think? If you said Northern Scotland and Western Scotland, you are absolutely right.

Well done.

But together with other missionaries, St.

Columba visited King Brude in his royal residence near Inverness in Northern Scotland.

On arrival, the missionaries were refused entry and the gates were closed and bolted.

They were locked.

However, it is said that the bolts, the locks, flew back, the doors stood open, and the monks entered the castle.

Awe struck by such a miracle, The king listened to Saint Columba with great respect, and he was baptised.

Many Picts soon followed the king and the conversion to Christianity extended to the whole of Caledonia in Northern Scotland.

Saint Columba died in Iona around the 590 CE and was buried by his monks in the monastery he created.

As well as being a patron saint of Ireland, he is also a patron saint of Scotland because of his major role in converting many of the Picts and Scots to Christianity.

You can see a photo of Iona's monastery there.

Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.

Saint Columba is only the patron saint of Ireland.

Is that true or false? What do you think? If you said that's false, you are absolutely right.

Now, looking at these two statements here, which of these would help to justify your answer? He is also a patron saint of Wales because of his major role in converting many to Christianity.

He is also a patron saint of Scotland because of his major role in converting many to Christianity.

Pause the video here and have a discussion with your partner.

Which of these two statements would help to justify your answer? And press play when you're ready to continue.

What did you think? If you said he is also a patron saint of Scotland because of his major role in converting many to Christianity, then you are correct.

Well done.

This brings us to our first learning task.

I'd like you to describe how Saint Columba helped to spread Christianity in the sixth century to your learning partner.

You could use these words to help you: missionary, Iona, monastery, Picts.

So pause the video here and give yourself enough time to have a go at describing how Saint Columba helped to spread Christianity in the sixth century, and press play when you're ready to continue.

How did that go? Shall we take a look at an example? So your answer could include Saint Columba was an Irish missionary who helped to spread Christianity in the sixth century.

He set up a monastery on the island of Iona to teach Christianity.

From Iona, Saint Columbus spread Christianity through the territories of Western and Northern Scotland.

He converted many Scots and Picts to Christianity.

Well done if you were able to describe how St.

Columba helped to spread Christianity, and well done for completing that learning task.

We're now ready to move on to the second part of our lesson.

We're going to explore St.

Columbanus.

St.

Columbanus was also a missionary born in Ireland around 540 CE.

He was first educated at the River Erne Monastery in modern County Fermanagh.

Columbanus then moved to Bangor Abbey where he studied to become a teacher of the Bible.

Around 590 CE, St.

Columbanus left Bangor and sailed to Gaul.

He travelled to Gaul with a group of followers.

Gaul was an ancient region of Western Europe, which included France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, and Northern Italy.

You can see the space that Gaul takes up there on the map.

St.

Columbanus and the followers were welcomed by King Guntram of Burgundy, which is in modern-day France, who gave them land at Annegray, where they converted a ruined Roman fortress into Annegray Abbey.

The Abbey attracted many students who wanted to learn to be a Christian, so St.

Columbanus decided to move to a new site at Luxeuil, where he set up Fontaines Abbey.

Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.

In which modern European country was Annegray Abbey set up? France, Italy, or Germany.

Pause the video here and have a moment to think, and then press play when you're ready to continue.

If you said that it was set up in France, you are absolutely right.

Well done.

Now, despite the warm welcome from the royals, tensions arose in 603 CE when St.

Columbanus and his followers argued with the local bishops over the exact date of Easter.

Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding here.

St.

Columbanus was welcomed by everyone.

Is that true or false? What do you think? If you said false, that's absolutely right.

Now, looking at these two statements here, which of these would help to justify your answer? He got into disagreements with non-Christians.

He got into disagreements with bishops.

Pause the video here and have a discussion with your partner about which of these two statements would help to justify your answer, and press play when you're ready to continue.

What did you think? If you said he got into disagreements with bishops, you are absolutely right.

Well done.

In around 611 CE, the King and Queen of Lombardy welcomed St.

Columbanus and a smaller group of monks to Italy.

It is believed that St.

Columbanus and his companions spent time in Milan between 612 and 613 CE meeting various important people.

In 614 CE, the king gave St.

Columbanus land for an abbey at the site of a ruined church at Bobbio.

It was here that St.

Columbanus set up Bobbio Abbey.

You can see a photo of the abbey there.

So on his journey, St.

Columbanus left Bangor Abbey to travel to Gaul in 590 CE.

He then set up an Abbey, Annegray Abbey, in France.

He then set up Fontaines Abbey in France, and then he set up Bobbio Abbey in Italy in 614 CE.

And it's from these monasteries that St.

Columbanus was able to spread Christianity throughout Gaul.

St.

Columbanus died in 615 CE, and his remains are preserved in the crypt at Bobbio Abbey.

You can see a photo of the crypt there.

Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.

Lucas and Izzy are talking about Gaul and the modern European countries where St.

Columbanus set up monasteries.

Who is correct? Lucas says, St.

Columbanus set up Annegray Abbey in what is modern-day France.

Izzy says, St.

Columbanus set up Bobbio Abbey in what is modern-day Italy.

Pause the video here and have a discussion with your partner.

Who is correct out of Lucas and Izzy? And press play when you're ready to continue.

What did you think? So in this instance, they are both correct.

St.

Columbanus did set up Annegray Abbey in what is modern-day France, and St.

Columbanus also set up Bobbio Abbey in what is modern-day Italy.

So well done if you got that correct.

This brings us to our final learning task.

I'd like you to order these events into chronological order using number one for the earliest.

So we have St.

Columbanus set up Bobbio Abbey in Italy, St.

Columbanus left Bangor Abbey to travel Europe, St.

Columbanus set up Annegray Abbey in France, St.

Columbanus travelled to Gaul with his followers, St.

Columbanus was buried in Bobbio Abbey.

So pause the video here and give yourself enough time to order those events into chronological order using number one for the earliest, and press play when you are ready to continue.

How did you get on? Shall we take a look at the order? So firstly, St.

Columbanus left Bangor Abbey to travel Europe, St.

Columbanus travelled to Gaul with his followers, St.

Columbanus set up Annegray Abbey in France, St.

Columbanus then set up Bobbio Abbey in Italy, and St.

Columbanus was buried in Bobbio Abbey when he died.

Well done if you are able to get that order correct, and well done for completing that learning task.

Before we finish this lesson, let's summarise what we've learned about Irish missionaries.

The strength of Christianity in Ireland led to Irish missionaries travelling widely to spread Christianity.

St.

Columba travelled to the Scottish island of Iona in the late sixth century to set up a monastery there.

From Iona, St.

Columba spread Christianity through the Pictish territories of Western and Northern Scotland.

St.

Columbanus went to Gaul at the end of the sixth century as a missionary and set up monasteries across Europe.

Thank you for joining me in this lesson today.

I hope to see you in the next one.

See you next time.