Everything about St Ninian totally explained
Saint Ninian (c.
360 -
432) (also
Nynia and
Trinnean) is the earliest known
bishop to have visited
Scotland. Neither his place and date of birth, nor his early life, are known with any certainty. Also known as Saint Ringan.
Traditional story
Ninian is first mentioned by
Bede, in his
Ecclesiastical History of the English People (book III, chapter 4). Bede's comments are limited to two sentences. Also dating from the eighth century is a source known as "The Miracles of Bishop Nynia".
The traditional story is that he was born in
Brythonic
Cumbria but travelled to
Rome as a young man to study
Christianity. There he was made a bishop and given the task of converting the
Picts by the Pope,
St Siricius.
Tradition (first mentioned by
Bede) states that around
397 he set up his base at
Whithorn in south-west Scotland, building a stone church there, known as
the Candida Casa which means
the White House. From there he began work among the
Northern Brythons of the surrounding area. Later he undertook a journey northwards along the east coast in order to spread Christianity among the southern Picts. The word
southern is almost certainly a misnomer based on the maps of early times which mistakenly depict the east coast of Scotland as if it were the south coast, and it's possible that what is meant is the peoples living around the
Firth of Forth.
Placename evidence and local tradition suggest that he may have travelled as far as the
Shetland Islands. He trained many
missionaries, among whom, it's said, was the man who converted
Saint Columba.
The archaeological evidence to date doesn't contradict this version of Ninian's life. Remains of an old Christian cemetery have been found at Whithorn, underneath the medieval church.
In 2001, the
Glasgow University Celticist
Thomas Clancy argued that St. Ninian was in fact the same man known in Old Irish as
St Finnian and in Brittonic as *Uinniau, likewise a mentor of St. Columba, and that the form 'Ninian' is due to an
8th century scribal spelling error. Some scholars seem to be accepting that this could have been the case.
Locations connected with St Ninian
Many places in Scotland and elsewhere have been named after St Ninian or have connections with him. Many are listed on the Whithorn Trust website.
http://www.whithorn.com/saint-ninian-placenames.htm
Further Information
Get more info on 'St Ninian'.
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