The monastery of Iona was sacked multiple times by Norse raiders throughout the Viking Age. The 986 raid — when the abbot and fifteen monks were killed on the beach known thereafter as Martyr's Bay (Tràigh Mòr) — was one of the most devastating. Iona's central importance to Scottish Christianity made it a target of particular symbolic value. The community's ability to survive repeated sackings and continue its spiritual work was itself a form of resistance.
Abbot and fifteen monks killed
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