Iona, Iona Abbey. View of South transept arch, capitals of East respond and South-East nook-shaft, depicting the sacrifice or slaughter of a cow.

Description Iona, Iona Abbey. View of South transept arch, capitals of East respond and South-East nook-shaft, depicting the sacrifice or slaughter of a cow.

Catalogue Number SC 366421

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of AG 6484

Scope and Content Church crossing at Iona Abbey, Argyll and Bute The Benedictine abbey at Iona was built around AD 1200 on the site of St Columba's earlier monastery. It was altered and partly rebuilt in the 13th century and again in the 15th century. It became derelict after the Reformation of 1560. This carving comes from the E respond of the S arch of the crossing. The figure on the SW face holds a pole-axe with which he is about to strike the head of a sacrificial cow. This can just be seen, being held by a second figure, round the corner. The crossing is simply the point where the choir, nave and transepts intersect (the middle of the cross). Most of the crossing at Iona dates from the 15th century. It was rebuilt between 1902 and 1904 under the direction of Thomas Ross and John Honeyman. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/collection/366421

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap