Medieval Monks - Saints and Scholars

Ireland was once known as the "Island of Saints and Scholars". Which in medieval times was one and the same - as a scholar you were a churchperson and required to be at least moderately saintly per se. Unless you followed the path of a sinner and heretic. In which case your scholarly prowess wasn't worth a penny. And your life even less.

Apart from my own "Top Ten" of Irish saints, other About.com guides have tackled this subject:

• Saint Brendan's Cross is found on Alternative Religions,
• Melissa Snell of Medieval History has some information on Saint Brigit,
• Saint Columba makes a surprising appearance on Austin Cline's Atheism site and
• a famous discovery of Irish monks is featured on Stacy Slinkard's Wine site ... mead!