20 Afterastruggle,kept
up for a few years, they were overpowered by the Picts and Scots, who early in the fifth century took possession of the whole northern country to the Northumbrian wall, at least towards the eastern coast.
up for a few years, they were overpowered by the Picts and Scots, who early in the fifth century took possession of the whole northern country to the Northumbrian wall, at least towards the eastern coast.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v7
36 Other thieves were seized with madness, and kept running all night about the circle formed by St.
Ninian.
However, the com- passionate bishop restored their leader to life, and his followers in terror cast themselves at St.
Ninian's feet asking his pardon.
Then, benignantly chiding them, and impressing upon them the fear of God, he gave them his benedic- tion, and granted them permission to depart.
3?
Wherever Ninian journeyed, prayers and meditation occupied his thoughts.
He always carried with him a Book of Psalms, and wherever he or the animal on which he rode rested,
he felt with the " how sweet are prophet, Oh,
thy sweeterthanhoneytomymouth. " Hedelightedinspiritualreadingandin
hymnology. Even when the heaviest rain fell, and while he read in open air, no moisture reached that book from which he read. However, while
travelling one day with a saintly brother, named Plebia, he solaced the tedium of his journey, according to his custom, with the Psalms of David, having turned aside from the public road. The weather was then serene, but soon dark clouds began to gather, and then to dissolve in heavy rain. Like a chamber arching round the servant of God, the light air, as if it were an impenetrable wall, screened them from the descending torrents. Affected for a moment by some unlawful thought, during the singing, Ninian turned his eyes from the book, when the rain began to fall on it and on himself. The brother who was sitting by had a knowledge of what took place, and he gave a gentle admonition to his superior, who blushed for giving way to such a vain imagination. That same moment, he drove away the thought, and the shower was stayed. 38
33 Observations in Rev. John Francis Shearman's unpublished work, " The Celtic Races of Great Britain and Armorica," chap, iv. , pp. 92,93, 100, 101.
3* See " Lives of S. Ninian and S. Kenti-
gem," compiled in the Twelfth century. Edited by Alexander Penrose, Forbes, D. C. L. , Bishop of Brechin. Life of S.
Ninian, chap, vii. , p. 16.
a stone which happened to be under his feet. These left a print in the rock, which was to be seen in the twelfth century,
36 The Right Rev. Bishop Forbes, on the
authority of Rev. W. E. Buckley, M. A. , late
Professor of Anglo-Saxon in the University
of Oxford, states Fear or Fearr to be the
Saxon for Taurus or Bos, while Last has the
3S This Saxon
has been inter-
or " or " course. " See Note T to footstepj"
appellation
preted the Footprint of the Bull ; because,
according to the Legend, that furious animal tore up the earth with his hoofs, and smote
Life of St. Ninian, pp. 286, 287.
3? See ibid. , chap, viii. , pp. 16, 17. 3* See ibid. , chap, ix. , pp. 18, 19.
words to throat
my ! yea,
meaning of Vestigium or Orbita, "a trace"
July 25. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
375
CHAPTER III.
CONVERSION OF THE SOUTHERN PICTS BY ST. NINIAN—HIS SCHOOL ESTABLISHED AT
CANDIDA CASA—
OF BRITAIN WHEN THE ROMANS WITHDREW—CLOSING YEARS OF ST. NINIAN— HIS DEATH—FESTIVALS AND COMMEMORATIONS—CONCLUSION.
HIS MISSION BEYOND THE GRAMPIAN HILLS—DISTURBED STATK
Towards the close of the fourth century, through the instrumentality of St. Ninian, the Pictish inhabitants of those south-western regions were converted from paganism to Christianity. It has been stated, that the church he founded at Candida Casa had monastic and secular attached to 1 but we fail
clergy it,
to discover on what authority the statement has been made. £>t. Ninian is said to have consecrated a at now called 2
cemetery Cathures, Glasgow. Among other holy exercises of prayer and lecture, in which Ninian spent his retirements, and during that time he could withdraw from his episcopal functions, one of his chief applications was to teach and instruct youth. This was the general practice among all the first preachers of the Gospel, while civilizing the uncultivated nations, wherever their lot had been cast. This course of sound teaching served to root more deeply among them a know- ledge of religious truths, and to transmit them in succeeding times to their
posterity. 3 St. Ninian received in his monastery at Whithern the children of nobles and of the middle classes from the country around, while he taught them sacred letters and science. He took a special care, moreover, to form theirmannersandtocultivatepiety. Mosteffectualmeanswerethusafforded, to enable them, through the edification their lives gave, and through the good odour of their Christian virtues, to gain over others, so that they might have a knowledge of the t—ruth. We learn,* that St. Finnan—or Winnyn as
was bred in he is called by the Britons and recommended by St. Colman up
themonasteryofCandidaCasaunderBishopNennio. Therehewasinstructed in sacred letters and regular discipline. 5
A remarkable legend is recorded regarding a young scholar, who com- mitted a fault, which could not escape the saint's notice, as his master was very strict, and fearing the rod should be administered to him for correc- tion, that boy fled from the school. He* had faith in the holy man's power, and conceiving that his staff should be a protection, the lad took it with him. He sought then for a ship, which might bear him to Scocia. 6 It was custo- mary, in that neighbourhood, to frame from twigs a vessel in the shape of a cup, and to stretch an ox-hide over it. ? In such a one three men could sit close together. Into one of these, but not covered with leather, the young man entered, and straightway the ship was carried out to sea. The water soon began to pour in, and the unfortunate sailor felt bewildered, for he knew
Chapter hi. —1 See Rev. Dr. Macken-
"
zie E. C. Walcott's
The Ancient Church of Scotland," p. 1.
2 to in his Vita S. According Jocelin,
Kentigerni, the latter accompanied by many people, visited that place, and dwelt near the cemetery in question. See Pinkerton's ** Vita? Antique Sanctorum," p. 219.
3 See Rev. Thomas Innes' "Civil and
Ecclesiastical of book History Scotland," i. ,
sect, xxxiv. , p. 44.
« See Archbishop Ussher's " Britannicarum
Ecclesiarum Antiquitates,"cap. xvii. , p. 494. 5 See Rev. Thomas Innes' "Civil and
Ecclesiastical History of Scotland," book
ii. ,
Scoti-Monasticon ;
sect. iii„ p. 114.
6 In the time of Ailred, this was the name
for Scotland, north of the Friths of Forth and Clyde. According to Mr. Skene, the sea to which the student fled was that known as the Firth of Clyde, and the place to which hedesired to flee was Argyllshire. See "Lives of S. Ninian and S. Kentigern," n. Y, p. 291.
i Ailred remarks, that possibly at that time, vessels of immense size were built in the same manner: "Forte tunc temporis eodem modo naves immensse magnitudinis parabantur. "
376 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [July 25.
not what to do, as if he abandoned the vessel His life was in danger, and if he continued in it, his death seemed equally certain. However, he bethought of St. Ninian's staff, and having faith in the bishop's power, he stuck it into oneoftheholes. Immediately,aswearetold,awindarosefromtheeastern quarter, which gently impelled the vessel forward ; the staff acted as a sail to catchthewind,asahelmtodirectit,andasananchortostayit. Yet,people standing on the western shore wondered at the vessel floating like a bird on the face of the waters. When the youth landed, they wondered still more. Animated by faith, he planted that staff on the shore, and he prayed that it might strike root, produce branches and leaves, and bring forth flowers and fruit. Then, we are informed, that the Almighty was pleased to hear his prayer, when the dry wood took root. Afterwards, it grew into a considerable tree. From^its roots, a limpid fountain also sprung up, and sent forth a crystal stream, which was delightful to the eye and sweet to the taste. With lengthened course and with a gentle murmur, it wound along, and owing to
8
Having brought the ancient Christians of those parts to the knowledge
the merits of our saint, it gave health to the sick.
and practice of their obligations towards God, he then proceeded to gain over by degrees other inhabitants living in their neighbourhood. The
preaching and miracles of St. Ninian, as we are informed, were not confined to the southern districts of Scotland ; he crossed those barriers, raised by the
imperial legions, and he won many souls to Christ along the Grampian range ofmountains. TheprogressoftheGospel'amongtheSouthernPictswas
much retarded, however, owing to internal commotions,9 and by the move- ments of Roman troops against them, towards the end of the fourth and the
beginning
of the fifth
century.
10 Most
part
of the Roman forces been having
removedfromthebordersofBritain,andcalledovertotheContinent,11 thePicts
and Scots failed not to break through the wall. They entered the Romanized
province of Valeptia. Their opportunities for overrunning the British pro-
vinces were every way favourable. The frontiers were in a great measure
denuded of their wonted garrisons. Moreover, the Romans and provincials
in Britain were then in great confusion. The placing or displacing of new
tyrants or usurpers over the Empire was a matter of frequent occurrence, in
those times. About a. d. 407, the soldiers in Britain set up one Marcus for
Emperor. Soon afterwards, they put him to death. In his place, they created
oneGratian,andthengavehimtheornamentsoftheEmpire. However,
they soon rebelled against him, and after four months reign they killed him. "
Afterwards, the soldiers elected as Emperor one Constantine, who had been
a common soldier, and he went over to Gaul, where the armies acknowledged
himinthatcapacity. 13 Thus,therewerenolessthanfourtyrantsorusurpers
in Britain alone, including Maximus, and within little more than the lapse of
11
twenty years. * Constantine, who became a Christian, ' was the last of these
8""
See Lives of S. Ninian and S. Kenti-
gern. " Edited by the Bishop of Brechin.
Life of S. Ninian, chap, x. , pp. 19 to 21.
9 See "Lives of the English Saints," St.
Ninian, Bishop of Candida Casa, chap, viii. , pp. 119 to 129.
10 See Rev. Thomas Innes' " Civil and
Ecclesiastical History of Scotland," book i. ,
num. xxxi. , pp. 39, 40.
11
There they had been required by the Roman general Stilicho, to stem the torrent of barbarian invasion that menaced the Em- pire, towards the^plose of the fourth and beginning of the fifth century. His career
is set forth in Edward Gibbon's History of
the Decline and Eall of the Roman Empire,"
vol. iv. , chap, xxix. , pp. 1 to 66. Dr. William Smith's edition.
"
"See John Speed's
Britaine," book vi. , chap, liii. , sect. 3, p. 276.
*S See "Britannia after the Romans ; being an Attempt to illustrate the religious and political Revolutions of that Province in the fifth and succeeding centuries," vol. i. , chap, ii. , p. 25.
I4 This gave occasion to St. Jerome, writ- ing about the year 412, to call Britain apro«
History of Great
July 2$. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 377
usurpers. He passed immediately over to Gaul. He took along with him the remainder of those regular forces left in Britain. No sooner had he arrived in the Gauls with his forces, than the Picts and Scots, according to their custom, embraced that favourable opportunity, and again they broke into the British settlements. 16 The provincials became an easy prey to their enemies. While living in a state of great distress and disorder, they had little
x hopesofbeingsucc—ouredwhenattacked. ? Despairingtoobtainassistance,either
fromConstantine whollytakenupwithsecuringhistitletotheEmpirein
———
GaulandinSpain orfromtheEmperorHonorius notabletodefendeven
the capital of the Empire attacked by Alaric the Britons were recommended by letters from Honorius, to do the best they could for themselves. 18 They resolved, at last, to shake off their dependence on the Roman Empire. Whereupon, they set themselves at liberty, and then endeavoured to defend theircountry,againstthoseinvadingenemies. Thus,Britainceasedtobea
j
part of the Empire, about a. d. 409. 9 However, the Britons found, in a short
time,theyhadpresumedtoomuchontheirownforces.
20 Afterastruggle,kept
up for a few years, they were overpowered by the Picts and Scots, who early in the fifth century took possession of the whole northern country to the Northumbrian wall, at least towards the eastern coast. The provincial Britons in these parts became either their subjects, or they retired, partly towards the western coasts about Galloway, Clydesdale and Dunbritton,21 and partly towardsWales. Thus,thePictsestablishedtheirbounds,aftertheRomans
22
For thirty years after his missionary career commenced, St. Ninian lived
retired from Britain,until the Saxons arrived in England, about the year 449.
2
If we are to believe the accounts of Pits 3 and
to complete his labours.
2^ he wrote a
Sententiis Sanctorum. He is said to have occasionally inhabited a cave, which is still shown on the sea-shore of Glasserton, adjacent to the house of
Meditationes Psalterii, as also another, De
book,
unlikely, that he again met his friend and patron Palladius, when the latter opened his mission in Scotland. It is very likely, that he left the Irish shore, with the intention of going to Candida Casa to visit St. Ninian, and to confer with him as to his future action. The decease of the bishop of Candida, occurring later in the same year, probably determined Palladius to undertake the care of the mission thus vacated. The traditions of North Britain are suggestive of this, for they maintain, that Palladius lived for some years there as missionary. Interpreting in a wide sense his commission to preach to the
Dempster,
2s Hemusthavebeen as a engaged
for
Before Ninian died, it is not
Physgill.
before the arrival of St. Palladius, in Scotland.
missionary,
many years
vince fertile in tyrants, in his Epistola adver- sus Jovinianum. This shows, that the expres-
sion, " Britannia fertilis provincia tyranno- rum et Scotice gentes," &c, is not taken
from Porphyrius. He had no occasion,
when he wrote a book the
against Christians,
Caesar had first invaded the Island,
*°
See Venerabilis Bedse Opera quae super- sunt omnia. Rev. Dr. J. A. Giles' edition, tomusii. , "HistoriaEccIesiasticaGentis An- glorum," lib. i. , cap. xii. , pp. 60 to 65.
#
2I See Rev. Thomas Innes' "Critical
Essay on the Ancient Inhabitants of the Northern Parts of Britain or Scotland," chap, iii. , Art. v. , sect. 2, pp. 68, 69. Edin-
burgh, 1879, 8vo.
"See James Pettit Andrews' "History
to give that character to Britain. "
*5 See Rev. Dr. Dodd's Church History of England," edited by Rev. M. A. Tierney, F. S. A. , vol. i. , part i. , Art. i. , p. 10.
16 See John Speed's "History of Great Britaine," book vi. , chap, liii. , sect. 9, p. 276.
of Great Britain, connected with the Chrono- '7 See Sir Winston Churchill's "Divi logy of Europe : with Notes," &c, vol. i. ,
Britanici : Being a Remark upon the Lives of
all the Kings of this Isle," &c, p. 92.
18 "
See Zozimus' Historia Ecclesias-
liv. vi:
*9 This was about 470 years after Julius
pp. 5, 6. London, 1794, I795> 4to.
23 See " De Illustribus Britanniae Scripto-
ribus," p. 87.
24 See " Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Sco-
torum," vol. ii. , lib. xiii. , num. 954, p. 502.
tica,"
378 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [July 25.
Scots,someofwhomwerealreadysettledinNorthBritain; hemayhavefelt it incumbent on him, to continue the work commenced by St. Ninian, and which might account for his protracted residence and death at Magh Girghin, or Mearnes. This opinion is strongly supported, likewise, by the ecclesiastical traditions of Northern Britain. After aiding to free the Britons from the pest of heterodoxy, St. Palladius was deputed by Pope Celestine, a. d. 430, to organize the infant Church of the Christian Scots in Ireland, where he remained for one year, and he departed for Britain, in the spring of a. d. 432. Discordant accounts are given of his subsequent proceedings. The Apostle
26
as some accounts have it. Tirechan says, that according to some historians, St. Palla- dius suffered martyrdom in Ireland, but another and a more trustworthy account states, that he was carried out of his course by a storm to North Britain. The scholiast on the hymn of St. Fiac, after mentioning the storm, says, tha: he reached Cinn Airthir southwards, which Dr. Todd identifies with Kinnair I Head, on the north-east coast of Aberdeenshire. The historian Nennius relates, that Palladius returned to Britain, though he does not notice the other
circumstances of this journey.
When Ninio the senior had spent a long term spreading the
Gospel in south-west Britain, overcome by the labour of a protracted
2 missionary life, he died soon after the arrival of Palladius in Scotland. ?
When the moment of St. Ninian's dissolution approached, it was to him one of supreme happiness, for the winter of his exile on earth had passed, when the Sun of Righteousness began to shine on his mental vision. But, thepeoplegreatlygrievedonlosinghispresenceamongthem. Theyearof his decease is not known with any degree of certainty. If we are to credit an
28
of the Picts, St. Palladius, died in the year 432, or five years later,
account in the Irish Life of St. Ninian, quoted by Archbishop Ussher,
at
the request of his mother and of other relatives, this saint left Candida Casa,
and went over to Ireland, where a king granted him a place, called Cluain-
Coner. Thereheissaidtohavebuiltagreatmonastery,andthere,too,it
is stated, that he died. His remains were placed after dea—th in a stone
—t Candida sarcophagus, a Casa,
near the altar in his church dedicated to
Blessed Martin and which he had built from its foundations. The clergy
and laity were present, at his funeral obsequies ; but, while their voices
chaunted hymns for the departed, tears fell from their eyes, and sighs escaped
2
from their lips. 9 His body lay for many centuries at Candida Casa,3° with
the bodies of many other saints. There, too, his relics were kept. They were held in great veneration, and highly honoured by the faithful. Pil-
grimages commonly took place to his shrine, by all degrees and classes, from the Scottish Kings to the meanest of their subjects. ** So late as 1504, James IV. made a pilgrimage to the shrine of St. Ninian. 3 a The tiatale, or day of St. Nennio's death on earth and birth in heaven, was the 16th of Sep- tember,accordingtomostaccounts. Thispreciseday,incourseoftime,was attributed, however, to another Ninian, or Moninine, with whom the Apostle
23 See Stuart's " Stones John Sculptured
of Scotland," vol. ii. , p. lxxxviii.
chin. Life of to S. Ninian, chap, xi. , pp. 21
23.
26
According to the Manuscript Life, used
3° See Venerabilis Bedae Opera quaesuper-
sunt omnia. Rev. Dr. J. A. Giles' edition,
vol. " Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis An- ii. ,
glorum,"lib. iii. , cap. iv. , pp. 272, 273.
3I See on this " Lives of S. Ninian subject
and S. Kentigern," compiled in the Twelfth Century. Edited by Alexander Penrose
Forbes, D. C. L. , Bishop of Brechin, Notes to the Life of St. Ninian, Note BB, pp. 295
his Bollandist ler.
27 The
Father Sol- ,
by
biographer,
''In
"
Britannicarum Ecclesiarum Anti-
year 432
is the date assumed
by
the
centuriators, as also by Pitt and Alford, for
the commencement of the Scottish mission.
quitates. " Addenda qusedam omissa, p. 506. 89 See "The Lives of S. Ninian and S.
Kentigern," Edited by the Bishop of Bre-
10304.
»• See John Stuart's
"
Records of the
July 25. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 379
Ninianistosomeextentconfounded,ifweadoptanotherconjecture. 33 The
Martyrology of Donegal 34 has Ninnio, Senior, placed, at the 25th day of July. After the decease of St. Ninian, the Monastic College of Candida still
continued to exist as a M Christianitas," or centre of religious unity, in these disturbed regions. The Latinized names of holy ecclesiastics are found in- scribed on some ancient tombs,35 in the disused cemetery at Kirkmadrine, on thewesternsideofthe ofGlenluce,andinthe of 6 At
bay parish Stoneykirk. 3 Whitherne, there is another monument of the same class, and recording the
dedication of the place thus marked to St. Peter. 37 After the death of the
8
The removal of the Roman legions from Britain, and the encroachments
of the pagan Scots and Saxons, nearly extinguished altogether their Christian fervour. The happy fruits of St. Ninian's efforts were in course of time frus- trated, and various circumstances combined to prevent the Faith spreading in Scotland during the fourth century. The pagan Angles, long before settled on the eastern seaboard, broke down their religious profession ; so that then, there was a very general apostasy among the Southern Picts. On the eastern and western seaboards, the Northern and Southern Picts became allies. Joining in the rapine and plunder of the abandoned and helpless Britons, the people of that region were demoralized, and soon earned for themselves the well-merited distinction of being semi-pagan and apostate Picts. 39
Among those miracles so frequently wrought at the tomb of St. Ninian, Ailred recounts the cure of a certain deformed child, whose limbs were all
twisted awry. But, his parents brought him to the shrine, and left their afflicted son before the relics. They prayed to St. Ninian, that his pity might be extended to them and to their offspring. In the silence of the night appeared a man, clothed in episcopal garments, and shining with celestial light. He touched the youth's head, bidding him to arise and be whole, as also to give thanks to God his Saviour. When this vision disappeared, the wretched being awoke from sleep, and by an easy motion, all his distorted members fell into their natural places. Then he returned safe and sound to his parents. Afterwards, he gave himself to the Church and to ecclesiastical discipline. Having been tonsured, he was ordained a priest, and his life ended in the service of his Heavenly Father. 4* Another miraculous cure was effected, in the case of a man named Adefridus, whose skin was completely covered with scab, which prevented the blood from coursing freely through his veins. Nothing but death, it was thought, could end his sufferings. How- ever, he went to St. Ninian's tomb, and there sorrowfully praying for a few
Priory of the Isle of May," Preface, xlix.
33 That of Rev. John Francis Shearman, in his unpublished work, " The Celtic Races of Great Britain and Armorica," chap, iv. ,
pp. 95 to 97.
34 Edited by Rev. Drs, Todd and Reeves,
pp. 202, 203.
35 Those here interred are called the
" Holy and excellent priests, Viventius and Maiorius. " Another pillar-stone bears the name Florentius engraved in Roman capi- tals with the Chrisma or inscribed cross within a circle, in the same style of art which occurs on Gallic monuments, from a. d. 377 to
Apostle Ninian, religion continued to flourish for some time at Futerna ;3 but, contact with the Northern Picts, who continued pagans until converted by St. Columba after a. d. 563, caused a falling off in spiritual life.
540.
3, p. 25.
36 Those priests recorded on the monu- mental stones were possibly members of the school at Futerna, and disciples or com- panionsofthe Apostle Ninian.
37 See " Proceedings of the Society of An- tiquaries of Scotland," vol.
he felt with the " how sweet are prophet, Oh,
thy sweeterthanhoneytomymouth. " Hedelightedinspiritualreadingandin
hymnology. Even when the heaviest rain fell, and while he read in open air, no moisture reached that book from which he read. However, while
travelling one day with a saintly brother, named Plebia, he solaced the tedium of his journey, according to his custom, with the Psalms of David, having turned aside from the public road. The weather was then serene, but soon dark clouds began to gather, and then to dissolve in heavy rain. Like a chamber arching round the servant of God, the light air, as if it were an impenetrable wall, screened them from the descending torrents. Affected for a moment by some unlawful thought, during the singing, Ninian turned his eyes from the book, when the rain began to fall on it and on himself. The brother who was sitting by had a knowledge of what took place, and he gave a gentle admonition to his superior, who blushed for giving way to such a vain imagination. That same moment, he drove away the thought, and the shower was stayed. 38
33 Observations in Rev. John Francis Shearman's unpublished work, " The Celtic Races of Great Britain and Armorica," chap, iv. , pp. 92,93, 100, 101.
3* See " Lives of S. Ninian and S. Kenti-
gem," compiled in the Twelfth century. Edited by Alexander Penrose, Forbes, D. C. L. , Bishop of Brechin. Life of S.
Ninian, chap, vii. , p. 16.
a stone which happened to be under his feet. These left a print in the rock, which was to be seen in the twelfth century,
36 The Right Rev. Bishop Forbes, on the
authority of Rev. W. E. Buckley, M. A. , late
Professor of Anglo-Saxon in the University
of Oxford, states Fear or Fearr to be the
Saxon for Taurus or Bos, while Last has the
3S This Saxon
has been inter-
or " or " course. " See Note T to footstepj"
appellation
preted the Footprint of the Bull ; because,
according to the Legend, that furious animal tore up the earth with his hoofs, and smote
Life of St. Ninian, pp. 286, 287.
3? See ibid. , chap, viii. , pp. 16, 17. 3* See ibid. , chap, ix. , pp. 18, 19.
words to throat
my ! yea,
meaning of Vestigium or Orbita, "a trace"
July 25. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
375
CHAPTER III.
CONVERSION OF THE SOUTHERN PICTS BY ST. NINIAN—HIS SCHOOL ESTABLISHED AT
CANDIDA CASA—
OF BRITAIN WHEN THE ROMANS WITHDREW—CLOSING YEARS OF ST. NINIAN— HIS DEATH—FESTIVALS AND COMMEMORATIONS—CONCLUSION.
HIS MISSION BEYOND THE GRAMPIAN HILLS—DISTURBED STATK
Towards the close of the fourth century, through the instrumentality of St. Ninian, the Pictish inhabitants of those south-western regions were converted from paganism to Christianity. It has been stated, that the church he founded at Candida Casa had monastic and secular attached to 1 but we fail
clergy it,
to discover on what authority the statement has been made. £>t. Ninian is said to have consecrated a at now called 2
cemetery Cathures, Glasgow. Among other holy exercises of prayer and lecture, in which Ninian spent his retirements, and during that time he could withdraw from his episcopal functions, one of his chief applications was to teach and instruct youth. This was the general practice among all the first preachers of the Gospel, while civilizing the uncultivated nations, wherever their lot had been cast. This course of sound teaching served to root more deeply among them a know- ledge of religious truths, and to transmit them in succeeding times to their
posterity. 3 St. Ninian received in his monastery at Whithern the children of nobles and of the middle classes from the country around, while he taught them sacred letters and science. He took a special care, moreover, to form theirmannersandtocultivatepiety. Mosteffectualmeanswerethusafforded, to enable them, through the edification their lives gave, and through the good odour of their Christian virtues, to gain over others, so that they might have a knowledge of the t—ruth. We learn,* that St. Finnan—or Winnyn as
was bred in he is called by the Britons and recommended by St. Colman up
themonasteryofCandidaCasaunderBishopNennio. Therehewasinstructed in sacred letters and regular discipline. 5
A remarkable legend is recorded regarding a young scholar, who com- mitted a fault, which could not escape the saint's notice, as his master was very strict, and fearing the rod should be administered to him for correc- tion, that boy fled from the school. He* had faith in the holy man's power, and conceiving that his staff should be a protection, the lad took it with him. He sought then for a ship, which might bear him to Scocia. 6 It was custo- mary, in that neighbourhood, to frame from twigs a vessel in the shape of a cup, and to stretch an ox-hide over it. ? In such a one three men could sit close together. Into one of these, but not covered with leather, the young man entered, and straightway the ship was carried out to sea. The water soon began to pour in, and the unfortunate sailor felt bewildered, for he knew
Chapter hi. —1 See Rev. Dr. Macken-
"
zie E. C. Walcott's
The Ancient Church of Scotland," p. 1.
2 to in his Vita S. According Jocelin,
Kentigerni, the latter accompanied by many people, visited that place, and dwelt near the cemetery in question. See Pinkerton's ** Vita? Antique Sanctorum," p. 219.
3 See Rev. Thomas Innes' "Civil and
Ecclesiastical of book History Scotland," i. ,
sect, xxxiv. , p. 44.
« See Archbishop Ussher's " Britannicarum
Ecclesiarum Antiquitates,"cap. xvii. , p. 494. 5 See Rev. Thomas Innes' "Civil and
Ecclesiastical History of Scotland," book
ii. ,
Scoti-Monasticon ;
sect. iii„ p. 114.
6 In the time of Ailred, this was the name
for Scotland, north of the Friths of Forth and Clyde. According to Mr. Skene, the sea to which the student fled was that known as the Firth of Clyde, and the place to which hedesired to flee was Argyllshire. See "Lives of S. Ninian and S. Kentigern," n. Y, p. 291.
i Ailred remarks, that possibly at that time, vessels of immense size were built in the same manner: "Forte tunc temporis eodem modo naves immensse magnitudinis parabantur. "
376 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [July 25.
not what to do, as if he abandoned the vessel His life was in danger, and if he continued in it, his death seemed equally certain. However, he bethought of St. Ninian's staff, and having faith in the bishop's power, he stuck it into oneoftheholes. Immediately,aswearetold,awindarosefromtheeastern quarter, which gently impelled the vessel forward ; the staff acted as a sail to catchthewind,asahelmtodirectit,andasananchortostayit. Yet,people standing on the western shore wondered at the vessel floating like a bird on the face of the waters. When the youth landed, they wondered still more. Animated by faith, he planted that staff on the shore, and he prayed that it might strike root, produce branches and leaves, and bring forth flowers and fruit. Then, we are informed, that the Almighty was pleased to hear his prayer, when the dry wood took root. Afterwards, it grew into a considerable tree. From^its roots, a limpid fountain also sprung up, and sent forth a crystal stream, which was delightful to the eye and sweet to the taste. With lengthened course and with a gentle murmur, it wound along, and owing to
8
Having brought the ancient Christians of those parts to the knowledge
the merits of our saint, it gave health to the sick.
and practice of their obligations towards God, he then proceeded to gain over by degrees other inhabitants living in their neighbourhood. The
preaching and miracles of St. Ninian, as we are informed, were not confined to the southern districts of Scotland ; he crossed those barriers, raised by the
imperial legions, and he won many souls to Christ along the Grampian range ofmountains. TheprogressoftheGospel'amongtheSouthernPictswas
much retarded, however, owing to internal commotions,9 and by the move- ments of Roman troops against them, towards the end of the fourth and the
beginning
of the fifth
century.
10 Most
part
of the Roman forces been having
removedfromthebordersofBritain,andcalledovertotheContinent,11 thePicts
and Scots failed not to break through the wall. They entered the Romanized
province of Valeptia. Their opportunities for overrunning the British pro-
vinces were every way favourable. The frontiers were in a great measure
denuded of their wonted garrisons. Moreover, the Romans and provincials
in Britain were then in great confusion. The placing or displacing of new
tyrants or usurpers over the Empire was a matter of frequent occurrence, in
those times. About a. d. 407, the soldiers in Britain set up one Marcus for
Emperor. Soon afterwards, they put him to death. In his place, they created
oneGratian,andthengavehimtheornamentsoftheEmpire. However,
they soon rebelled against him, and after four months reign they killed him. "
Afterwards, the soldiers elected as Emperor one Constantine, who had been
a common soldier, and he went over to Gaul, where the armies acknowledged
himinthatcapacity. 13 Thus,therewerenolessthanfourtyrantsorusurpers
in Britain alone, including Maximus, and within little more than the lapse of
11
twenty years. * Constantine, who became a Christian, ' was the last of these
8""
See Lives of S. Ninian and S. Kenti-
gern. " Edited by the Bishop of Brechin.
Life of S. Ninian, chap, x. , pp. 19 to 21.
9 See "Lives of the English Saints," St.
Ninian, Bishop of Candida Casa, chap, viii. , pp. 119 to 129.
10 See Rev. Thomas Innes' " Civil and
Ecclesiastical History of Scotland," book i. ,
num. xxxi. , pp. 39, 40.
11
There they had been required by the Roman general Stilicho, to stem the torrent of barbarian invasion that menaced the Em- pire, towards the^plose of the fourth and beginning of the fifth century. His career
is set forth in Edward Gibbon's History of
the Decline and Eall of the Roman Empire,"
vol. iv. , chap, xxix. , pp. 1 to 66. Dr. William Smith's edition.
"
"See John Speed's
Britaine," book vi. , chap, liii. , sect. 3, p. 276.
*S See "Britannia after the Romans ; being an Attempt to illustrate the religious and political Revolutions of that Province in the fifth and succeeding centuries," vol. i. , chap, ii. , p. 25.
I4 This gave occasion to St. Jerome, writ- ing about the year 412, to call Britain apro«
History of Great
July 2$. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 377
usurpers. He passed immediately over to Gaul. He took along with him the remainder of those regular forces left in Britain. No sooner had he arrived in the Gauls with his forces, than the Picts and Scots, according to their custom, embraced that favourable opportunity, and again they broke into the British settlements. 16 The provincials became an easy prey to their enemies. While living in a state of great distress and disorder, they had little
x hopesofbeingsucc—ouredwhenattacked. ? Despairingtoobtainassistance,either
fromConstantine whollytakenupwithsecuringhistitletotheEmpirein
———
GaulandinSpain orfromtheEmperorHonorius notabletodefendeven
the capital of the Empire attacked by Alaric the Britons were recommended by letters from Honorius, to do the best they could for themselves. 18 They resolved, at last, to shake off their dependence on the Roman Empire. Whereupon, they set themselves at liberty, and then endeavoured to defend theircountry,againstthoseinvadingenemies. Thus,Britainceasedtobea
j
part of the Empire, about a. d. 409. 9 However, the Britons found, in a short
time,theyhadpresumedtoomuchontheirownforces.
20 Afterastruggle,kept
up for a few years, they were overpowered by the Picts and Scots, who early in the fifth century took possession of the whole northern country to the Northumbrian wall, at least towards the eastern coast. The provincial Britons in these parts became either their subjects, or they retired, partly towards the western coasts about Galloway, Clydesdale and Dunbritton,21 and partly towardsWales. Thus,thePictsestablishedtheirbounds,aftertheRomans
22
For thirty years after his missionary career commenced, St. Ninian lived
retired from Britain,until the Saxons arrived in England, about the year 449.
2
If we are to believe the accounts of Pits 3 and
to complete his labours.
2^ he wrote a
Sententiis Sanctorum. He is said to have occasionally inhabited a cave, which is still shown on the sea-shore of Glasserton, adjacent to the house of
Meditationes Psalterii, as also another, De
book,
unlikely, that he again met his friend and patron Palladius, when the latter opened his mission in Scotland. It is very likely, that he left the Irish shore, with the intention of going to Candida Casa to visit St. Ninian, and to confer with him as to his future action. The decease of the bishop of Candida, occurring later in the same year, probably determined Palladius to undertake the care of the mission thus vacated. The traditions of North Britain are suggestive of this, for they maintain, that Palladius lived for some years there as missionary. Interpreting in a wide sense his commission to preach to the
Dempster,
2s Hemusthavebeen as a engaged
for
Before Ninian died, it is not
Physgill.
before the arrival of St. Palladius, in Scotland.
missionary,
many years
vince fertile in tyrants, in his Epistola adver- sus Jovinianum. This shows, that the expres-
sion, " Britannia fertilis provincia tyranno- rum et Scotice gentes," &c, is not taken
from Porphyrius. He had no occasion,
when he wrote a book the
against Christians,
Caesar had first invaded the Island,
*°
See Venerabilis Bedse Opera quae super- sunt omnia. Rev. Dr. J. A. Giles' edition, tomusii. , "HistoriaEccIesiasticaGentis An- glorum," lib. i. , cap. xii. , pp. 60 to 65.
#
2I See Rev. Thomas Innes' "Critical
Essay on the Ancient Inhabitants of the Northern Parts of Britain or Scotland," chap, iii. , Art. v. , sect. 2, pp. 68, 69. Edin-
burgh, 1879, 8vo.
"See James Pettit Andrews' "History
to give that character to Britain. "
*5 See Rev. Dr. Dodd's Church History of England," edited by Rev. M. A. Tierney, F. S. A. , vol. i. , part i. , Art. i. , p. 10.
16 See John Speed's "History of Great Britaine," book vi. , chap, liii. , sect. 9, p. 276.
of Great Britain, connected with the Chrono- '7 See Sir Winston Churchill's "Divi logy of Europe : with Notes," &c, vol. i. ,
Britanici : Being a Remark upon the Lives of
all the Kings of this Isle," &c, p. 92.
18 "
See Zozimus' Historia Ecclesias-
liv. vi:
*9 This was about 470 years after Julius
pp. 5, 6. London, 1794, I795> 4to.
23 See " De Illustribus Britanniae Scripto-
ribus," p. 87.
24 See " Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Sco-
torum," vol. ii. , lib. xiii. , num. 954, p. 502.
tica,"
378 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [July 25.
Scots,someofwhomwerealreadysettledinNorthBritain; hemayhavefelt it incumbent on him, to continue the work commenced by St. Ninian, and which might account for his protracted residence and death at Magh Girghin, or Mearnes. This opinion is strongly supported, likewise, by the ecclesiastical traditions of Northern Britain. After aiding to free the Britons from the pest of heterodoxy, St. Palladius was deputed by Pope Celestine, a. d. 430, to organize the infant Church of the Christian Scots in Ireland, where he remained for one year, and he departed for Britain, in the spring of a. d. 432. Discordant accounts are given of his subsequent proceedings. The Apostle
26
as some accounts have it. Tirechan says, that according to some historians, St. Palla- dius suffered martyrdom in Ireland, but another and a more trustworthy account states, that he was carried out of his course by a storm to North Britain. The scholiast on the hymn of St. Fiac, after mentioning the storm, says, tha: he reached Cinn Airthir southwards, which Dr. Todd identifies with Kinnair I Head, on the north-east coast of Aberdeenshire. The historian Nennius relates, that Palladius returned to Britain, though he does not notice the other
circumstances of this journey.
When Ninio the senior had spent a long term spreading the
Gospel in south-west Britain, overcome by the labour of a protracted
2 missionary life, he died soon after the arrival of Palladius in Scotland. ?
When the moment of St. Ninian's dissolution approached, it was to him one of supreme happiness, for the winter of his exile on earth had passed, when the Sun of Righteousness began to shine on his mental vision. But, thepeoplegreatlygrievedonlosinghispresenceamongthem. Theyearof his decease is not known with any degree of certainty. If we are to credit an
28
of the Picts, St. Palladius, died in the year 432, or five years later,
account in the Irish Life of St. Ninian, quoted by Archbishop Ussher,
at
the request of his mother and of other relatives, this saint left Candida Casa,
and went over to Ireland, where a king granted him a place, called Cluain-
Coner. Thereheissaidtohavebuiltagreatmonastery,andthere,too,it
is stated, that he died. His remains were placed after dea—th in a stone
—t Candida sarcophagus, a Casa,
near the altar in his church dedicated to
Blessed Martin and which he had built from its foundations. The clergy
and laity were present, at his funeral obsequies ; but, while their voices
chaunted hymns for the departed, tears fell from their eyes, and sighs escaped
2
from their lips. 9 His body lay for many centuries at Candida Casa,3° with
the bodies of many other saints. There, too, his relics were kept. They were held in great veneration, and highly honoured by the faithful. Pil-
grimages commonly took place to his shrine, by all degrees and classes, from the Scottish Kings to the meanest of their subjects. ** So late as 1504, James IV. made a pilgrimage to the shrine of St. Ninian. 3 a The tiatale, or day of St. Nennio's death on earth and birth in heaven, was the 16th of Sep- tember,accordingtomostaccounts. Thispreciseday,incourseoftime,was attributed, however, to another Ninian, or Moninine, with whom the Apostle
23 See Stuart's " Stones John Sculptured
of Scotland," vol. ii. , p. lxxxviii.
chin. Life of to S. Ninian, chap, xi. , pp. 21
23.
26
According to the Manuscript Life, used
3° See Venerabilis Bedae Opera quaesuper-
sunt omnia. Rev. Dr. J. A. Giles' edition,
vol. " Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis An- ii. ,
glorum,"lib. iii. , cap. iv. , pp. 272, 273.
3I See on this " Lives of S. Ninian subject
and S. Kentigern," compiled in the Twelfth Century. Edited by Alexander Penrose
Forbes, D. C. L. , Bishop of Brechin, Notes to the Life of St. Ninian, Note BB, pp. 295
his Bollandist ler.
27 The
Father Sol- ,
by
biographer,
''In
"
Britannicarum Ecclesiarum Anti-
year 432
is the date assumed
by
the
centuriators, as also by Pitt and Alford, for
the commencement of the Scottish mission.
quitates. " Addenda qusedam omissa, p. 506. 89 See "The Lives of S. Ninian and S.
Kentigern," Edited by the Bishop of Bre-
10304.
»• See John Stuart's
"
Records of the
July 25. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 379
Ninianistosomeextentconfounded,ifweadoptanotherconjecture. 33 The
Martyrology of Donegal 34 has Ninnio, Senior, placed, at the 25th day of July. After the decease of St. Ninian, the Monastic College of Candida still
continued to exist as a M Christianitas," or centre of religious unity, in these disturbed regions. The Latinized names of holy ecclesiastics are found in- scribed on some ancient tombs,35 in the disused cemetery at Kirkmadrine, on thewesternsideofthe ofGlenluce,andinthe of 6 At
bay parish Stoneykirk. 3 Whitherne, there is another monument of the same class, and recording the
dedication of the place thus marked to St. Peter. 37 After the death of the
8
The removal of the Roman legions from Britain, and the encroachments
of the pagan Scots and Saxons, nearly extinguished altogether their Christian fervour. The happy fruits of St. Ninian's efforts were in course of time frus- trated, and various circumstances combined to prevent the Faith spreading in Scotland during the fourth century. The pagan Angles, long before settled on the eastern seaboard, broke down their religious profession ; so that then, there was a very general apostasy among the Southern Picts. On the eastern and western seaboards, the Northern and Southern Picts became allies. Joining in the rapine and plunder of the abandoned and helpless Britons, the people of that region were demoralized, and soon earned for themselves the well-merited distinction of being semi-pagan and apostate Picts. 39
Among those miracles so frequently wrought at the tomb of St. Ninian, Ailred recounts the cure of a certain deformed child, whose limbs were all
twisted awry. But, his parents brought him to the shrine, and left their afflicted son before the relics. They prayed to St. Ninian, that his pity might be extended to them and to their offspring. In the silence of the night appeared a man, clothed in episcopal garments, and shining with celestial light. He touched the youth's head, bidding him to arise and be whole, as also to give thanks to God his Saviour. When this vision disappeared, the wretched being awoke from sleep, and by an easy motion, all his distorted members fell into their natural places. Then he returned safe and sound to his parents. Afterwards, he gave himself to the Church and to ecclesiastical discipline. Having been tonsured, he was ordained a priest, and his life ended in the service of his Heavenly Father. 4* Another miraculous cure was effected, in the case of a man named Adefridus, whose skin was completely covered with scab, which prevented the blood from coursing freely through his veins. Nothing but death, it was thought, could end his sufferings. How- ever, he went to St. Ninian's tomb, and there sorrowfully praying for a few
Priory of the Isle of May," Preface, xlix.
33 That of Rev. John Francis Shearman, in his unpublished work, " The Celtic Races of Great Britain and Armorica," chap, iv. ,
pp. 95 to 97.
34 Edited by Rev. Drs, Todd and Reeves,
pp. 202, 203.
35 Those here interred are called the
" Holy and excellent priests, Viventius and Maiorius. " Another pillar-stone bears the name Florentius engraved in Roman capi- tals with the Chrisma or inscribed cross within a circle, in the same style of art which occurs on Gallic monuments, from a. d. 377 to
Apostle Ninian, religion continued to flourish for some time at Futerna ;3 but, contact with the Northern Picts, who continued pagans until converted by St. Columba after a. d. 563, caused a falling off in spiritual life.
540.
3, p. 25.
36 Those priests recorded on the monu- mental stones were possibly members of the school at Futerna, and disciples or com- panionsofthe Apostle Ninian.
37 See " Proceedings of the Society of An- tiquaries of Scotland," vol.
