of the assembled Picts who glorified Columba's God. Whether or not this incident is true, Adomnán's text specifically states that the monster was swimming in the River Ness – the river flowing from the loch – rather than in Loch Ness itself. Book three (The Visions of Angels) In book three, Adomnán describes different visions of angels associated with the Saint, both those that Columba sees and those that are seen by others regarding him. He mentions that, "For indeed after the lapse of many years, ... St. Columba was excommunicated by a certain synod for some pardonable and very trifling reasons, and indeed unjustly" (P.79- 80). In one of the accounts, Columba, in this period of excommunication, goes to a meeting held against him in Teilte. Brendán, despite of all the negative reactions among the seniors toward Columba, kisses him reverently and assures that Columba is the man of God and that he sees Holy Angels accompanying Columba on his journey through the plain. In the last Chapter, Columba foresees his own death when speaking to his attendant: This day in the Holy Scriptures is called the Sabbath, which means rest. And this day is indeed a Sabbath to me, for it is the last day of my present laborious life, and on it I rest after the fatigues of my labours; and this night at midnight, which commenceth the solemn Lord's Day, I shall, according to the sayings of Scripture, go the way of our fathers. For already my Lord Jesus Christ deigneth to invite me; and to Him, I say, in the middle of this night shall I depart, at His invitation. For so it hath been revealed to me by the Lord himself. And when the bell strikes midnight, Columba goes to the church and kneels beside the altar. His attendant witnesses heavenly light in the direction of Columba, and angels join him in his passage to the Lord: And having given them his holy benediction in this way, he immediately breathed his last. After his soul had left the tabernacle of the body, his face still continued ruddy, and brightened in a wonderful way by his vision of the angels, and that to such a degree that he had the appearance, not so much of one dead, as of one alive and sleeping. References Bibliography Christian hagiography Medieval Latin texts