Jonas of Bobbio

Who was Jonas of Bobbio?

Jonas of Bobbio or Jonas Bobiensis was a Columbanian monk and writer of hagiography, among which his Life of Saint Columbanus is outstanding.

In 618, Jonas arrived at the monastery of Bobbio Abbey in the province of Pavia, just three years after the death of its founder Columbanus, and he asserted that he had based his account of the great Irish saint on the testimony of persons who had known him intimately. "As is usual in such biographies, the miracles are numerous; for the contemporaries these formed the most valuable portions; for modern students they are full of instruction, and throw much light on the daily life of the monks". The monastery was a center of Early Medieval learning, supported by a library that was outstanding in its day. Jonas was appointed to a position of confidence, probably that of secretary to the abbots Attala and to his successor Bertulf, whom Jonas accompanied on a journey to Rome in 628. Immediately after his return he moved to Gaul, for his life of Eustace, abbot of Luxeuil, reflects personal acquaintance.