Editing Inchcolm Abbey

{{Short description|Historic site in Scotland}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}}
{{more footnotes|date=November 2014}}
{{Infobox monastery
|name= Inchcolm Abbey
|image= Inchcolm Abbey, Inchcolm, Firth of Forth, Scotland-9April2011.jpg
|caption=Photograph, 9 April 2011
|order= [[Augustinians|Augustinian]]
|founder= [[David I of Scotland]] & [[Gregoir of Dunkeld|Gregoir]], [[Bishop of Dunkeld]]
|established= 1147 x 1169 (priory)/<br>1235 (abbey)
|mother= 
|disestablished=  1609
|diocese= [[Diocese of Dunkeld]]
|churches= [[Aberdour]]; [[Auchtertool]]; [[Beath]]; [[Dalgety Bay|Dalgety]]; [[Dollar, Scotland|Dollar]]; [[Leslie, Fife|Leslie]]; [[Rosyth]]
|people= [[Walter Bower]]
}}
'''Inchcolm Abbey''' is a [[medieval]] abbey located on the island of [[Inchcolm]] in the [[Firth of Forth]] in [[Scotland]]. The Abbey, which is located at the centre of the island, was founded in the 12th century during the [[episcopate]] of [[Gregoir of Dunkeld|Gregoir]], [[Bishop of Dunkeld]]. Later tradition placed it even earlier, in the reign of King [[Alexander I of Scotland]] (1107–24), who had taken shelter on Incholm when his ship was forced ashore during a storm in 1123. It is said he resided there for three days with the [[Hermit]] of Incholm.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Gordon |first1=J. F. S. |title=Monasticon |date=1868 |location=Glasgow |pages=60–61 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ANUHAAAAQAAJ&dq=inchcolm+abbey+alexander+i&pg=PA61 |access-date=12 Oct 2022}}</ref>

The Abbey was first used as a [[priory]] by [[Augustinians|Augustinian]] [[canons regular]], becoming a full abbey in 1235.<ref>{{cite web |title=inchcolm Abbey |url=https://www.historicenvironment.scot/visit-a-place/places/inchcolm-abbey/history/ |website=Historic Environment Scotland |access-date=5 May 2025}}</ref> The island was attacked by the English from 1296 onwards,<ref>{{cite web |title=Inchcolm Island |url=https://edinburghguide.com/parks/inchcolm-island |website=EdinburghGuide.com |access-date=5 May 2025}}</ref> and the Abbey was abandoned as a result of the [[Scottish Reformation]] in 1560.<ref>{{cite web |title=Inchcolm Abbey |url=https://www.historicenvironment.scot/visit-a-place/places/inchcolm-abbey/history/ |website=Historic Environment Scotland |access-date=6 May 2025}}</ref> It has since been used for defensive purposes, as it is situated in a strategically important position in the middle of the Firth of Forth. A Latin inscription carved above the Abbey's entrance reads:
{{blockquote|text=Stet domus haec donec fluctus formica marinos ebibat, et totum testudo perambulet orbem}}
Translated, it has been rendered thus:<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ross |first1=William |title=Aberdour and Inchcolme |date=1885 |location=Edinburgh |page=69 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E44LAAAAYAAJ&dq=Stet+domus+haec+donec+fluctus+formica+marinos+ebibat,+et+totum+testudo+perambulet+orbem&pg=PA69 |access-date=13 Oct 2022}}</ref>
{{blockquote|''"Still may these turrets lift their heads on high,''

''Nor e’er as crumbling ruins strew the ground,''

''Until an ant shall drink the ocean dry,''

''And a slow tortoise travel the world round."''}}

Inchcolm Abbey has the most complete surviving remains of any Scottish monastic house. The [[cloisters]], [[chapter house]], [[calefactory|warming house]], and [[refectory]] are all complete, and most of the remaining claustral buildings survive in a largely complete state. The least well-preserved part of the complex is the monastic church. The ruins are cared for by [[Historic Environment Scotland]], which also maintains a visitor centre near the landing pier (entrance charge; ferry from [[South Queensferry]]).

In July 1581 stones from the abbey were taken to Edinburgh to repair the [[Tolbooth]].<ref>[[James David Marwick]], ''Extracts from the records of the Burgh of Edinburgh: 1557-1571'' (Edinburgh, 1875), pp. 210, 212.</ref>

Among the [[Abbot]]s of Inchcolm was the 15th-century chronicler [[Walter Bower]].

==Inchcolm Antiphoner==
The Abbey gives its name to the 14th-century manuscript referred to as the Inchcolm [[Antiphoner]]. It contains one of the few remaining examples of [[Celtic chant|Celtic Plainchant]]. Pages of the Antiphoner can be accessed online in facsimile from the [[University of Edinburgh]].[http://www.lib.ed.ac.uk/lib/about/bgallery/Gallery/researchcoll/14thcentury.html]

The Antiphoner contains a substantial number of chants dedicated to [[Saint Columba]]. While these may derive from a variety of other monastic foundations with Columban associations, such as [[Oronsay Priory]] or [[Iona]], Inchcolm is considered the most likely source of the manuscript's compilation, if not composition.

==Fictional Settings==
*William Shakespeare referenced Incholm Abbey in his play ''[[Macbeth]]'', 1606.
*William Clinkenbeard wrote the novel ''The Battle of Incholm Abbey'', 2012.

==See also==
* [[Abbot of Inchcolm]], for a list of priors and abbots of the community
* [[Walter Bower]], the most famous abbot
* [[Abbeys and priories in Scotland]], for a general list of Scottish monasteries

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://www.historicenvironment.scot/visit-a-place/places/inchcolm-abbey/y Historic Environment Scotland's page on the abbey]{{Dead link|date=September 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20101125051934/http://www.cyberscotia.com/inchcolm/ Cyberscotia's page on the island] - including maps, drawings, and photographs

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{{commons category|Inchcolm Abbey}}

[[Category:Augustinian monasteries in Scotland]]
[[Category:Category A listed buildings in Fife]]
[[Category:Listed monasteries in Scotland]]
[[Category:Scheduled monuments in Fife]]
[[Category:Religious museums in Scotland]]
[[Category:Museums in Fife]]
[[Category:1609 disestablishments]]
[[Category:1147 establishments in Scotland]]
[[Category:Historic Environment Scotland properties in Fife]]
[[Category:Ruined abbeys and monasteries]]
[[Category:Ruins in Fife]]
[[Category:Former Christian monasteries in Scotland]]