Blathmac

Saint Blathmac was a distinguished Irish monk, b. in Ireland about 750. He was murdered and became a martyr in Iona, about 825. His biography written by Strabo, the Benedictine Abbot of Reichenau (824–849), and thus the story of his martyrdom has been handed down. Balathmac, the scion of a noble family, early showed a religious turn of mind, and longed to be enrolled in the noble army of martyrs, a wish which was afterwards fulfilled. His name was Latinized Florentius (from the fact of the Irish word Blath meaning a flower), and as a religious, he was most exemplary, finally becoming abbot. In 824 he joined the community of Columban monks at Iona, and not long afterwards the Danes ravaged the island. One morning, as he was celebrating...