Almost the whole of the country now called Scotland was converted to Christianity by Irish missionaries. With the foundation of the monastery of Iona in 563 A.D. by St. Columba, “_pater et fundator monasteriorum_,” began a period of great monastic activity in Britain. Reeves found that 63 monasteries were founded by or dedicated to St. Columba; of these 32 were in the territory occupied by the Scots and 21 were among the Picts.[112] Other important monasteries were Deer founded by St. Drostan, a disciple of St. Columba, Lismore founded by St. Moluag in 592 A.D., and Righ-Monadh or Kilrimont founded by St. Canice near the place where St. Andrew’s University is now located.[113] There were also numerous small monasteries on the islands round the Scottish coast.[114] The beneficent influence exercised by these foundations as civilizing and educational agencies is acknowledged by modern Scottish historians.[115] ENGLAND: Just as Iona was the great headquarters of monastic activity for Scotland, so Lindisfarne founded by the Irish St. Aidan in 635 A.D. became the base of operations for the Irish missionaries in the North of England, especially in Northumbria. At this time Northumbria was an extensive kingdom extending as far south as the Humber and into modern Scotland as far north as the Firth of Forth. To the influence of Aidan and other Irish monks we trace the foundation of Lindisfarne, Coldingham, Mailros, Lastingham, in Northumbria, Ripon and Streanshalch (now Whitby) in Yorkshire, Burgh Castle in Suffolk, St. Bees in Lancashire, Malmesbury among the West Saxons, Bosham or Bosanham in Sussex, and “Glastonbury of the Gael” in Somerset.[116] In most histories the missionary work of St. Augustine is grossly exaggerated and the important missionary and educational work of the Irish monks is either completely ignored or accorded an amount of space utterly out of proportion to its importance.[117] IRISH FOUNDATIONS ON THE CONTINENT: In _Netherlands_: Namur, Liège, Gueldres, Fosse, Haumont, Soignes.[118] In _France_: Remiremont, Lure, Besançon, Poitiers (f. 511), Bezieres, Romain-Moutier, Brezille, Cusance, St. Ursanne, Fleury (f. 629), St. Riquier (f. 625), Jouarre, Reuil, Rébais (f. 634), Faremoutier, St. Maur-des-Fossés, Lagny, Montier-la-Celle, Caudabec, Hautvilliers, Montier-en-Der, St. Salaberga, Meaux, St. Saens, Fontennelle, Jumieges, Stavelot (f. 656), Corbie (f. 662), Anegray, LUXEUIL (f. 599), Fontaines, Ferrières (f. 630), Peronne (f. 650) or _Perrona Scottorum_, Toul, Amboise, Beaulieu, Strasbourg, in addition to the countless and nameless _Hospitalia Scottorum_ alluded to in the Capitularies of Charles the Bald in 846 A.D.[119] In _Germany and Switzerland_: Hohenaug, Würzburg, Memmingen, Erfurt, Freyburg, Schuttern, Ettenheimünster, Mentz, Cologne, Nuremburg, Altomünster, Ratisbon or Regensburg, Constance, ST. GALL (f. 614), Mont St. Victor, Bregens (f. 610), Reichenau, Seckingen.[120]