Sounding hagiography: The Inchcolm fragments’ Office for St Columba

Abstract

The Office for St Columba contained in the Inchcolm manuscript fragments (Edinburgh University Library, MS 211, IV) are the only surviving examples of notated music celebrating the saint’s life from the medieval period. Textually, there is a clear basis on Adomnán’s Vita Sancti Columbae for some of these chants. However, others show a less clear relation to Adomnán’s work, and are possibly linked to wider hagiographical traditions surrounding the saint. These chants therefore give us a glimpse into how the creation of a new office for a saint took place.