“The life of St. Columba of Iona” composed by St. Adamnan of Iona as an object of medieval Celtic hagiograpftic literature

One of the most remarkable hagiographic documents of the early European Middle Ages is “Life of St. Columba of Iona” written by St. Adamnan of Iona (Vita sancti Columbae auctore Adamnano). St. Columba was an Irish monk, known as the enlightener of the Picts in Scotland, the founder and first rector of the abbey on the island of Iona (Scotland). His life was described by St. Adamnan, the ninth abbot of the Ionian monastery. The article provides a brief biographical data of St. Columba and St. Adamnan, gives some information about the peculiarities of the administrative structure and liturgical practice of the Celtic Church, as well as evidences about the church-historical context of the work. In addition, the oral and written sources used by St. Adamnan while writing this work. The following is a brief philological analysis of the style and vocabulary of the author of life based on a study of the original Latin text, after which a review analysis of the contents of the document is presented. In conclusion, information is provided on the history of research and the publication of the text of life.