Immediately
offering
his prayers to God, the holy man set out on his mission of peace and reconciliation.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v9
, F.
S.
A.
, Precentor of Chichester, pp.
223 to 228.
5 See Chalmers' "Caledonia," vol. iii. , chap, iv. , sect, viii. , p. 411.
6 See Rev. Thomas Innes' "Civil and
" History of Stirlingshire," vol. i. , chap. Ecclesiastical History of Scotland," book i. , xxi. , p. 375. num. xxxiii. , xxxiv. , pp. 41, 42.
tical successors in this See, in the
the middle 8 It ages.
of the Con Cathedrals,
394 LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September16.
of labour, and to found a proper place for young churchmen, who were to succeed in their sacred ministry.
His chief selected residence was in Galloway, thought to have been his native country. The place was rendered celebrated from his time by the church there erected. It was built altogether of finely cut stone. Hence was its name derived. ? It was such a novelty among the Britons of those parts, that it was known by the name of Candida Casa, or M the white
house. "8
Vulgarly
called Witerna^ or Whitern, it gave name to a town
there in after times. Ninian established it, as the first episcopal seat in
those parts. It was situated on the shore of the ocean, and it extended far
into the sea, which enclosed it on the east, west and south sides. Only on
the north was a way open for those who would enter by land. There he
set those masons, whom he had brought from Gaul, to build his church,
which is said to have been the first of stone erection in Britannia. Having
heard that the blessed Martin of Tours, whom he had regarded with special
veneration, passed out of this world soon after his return to Scotland,
Niniandedicatedthechurchwhenbuiltinhishonour,andplacedit under
his 10 Whitherne is thought to be the town, called by Ptolemy
patronage.
geographer, Leucopibia.
11 St. Ninian is said to have occasionally inhabited a cave,12 which is still sho-. vn on the shore of Glasserton, adjacent
the
1 ^ Under the sea-cliff and in a very solitary place, about three miles from Whithern, there is a small cave which derives its name from the saint, who used to retire for his private devotions to its silence and solitariness. 14 At Whithern, Ninian was visited it is stated by numerous Irish pilgrims and saints, among whom are enumerated St. Finnian
to the house of
Physgill.
of Moville, St. Enda of Aran, St. Rioch of Lough Ree, St. Manchan of 1
Limerick, and St. Mugint. * However, the period assigned to St. Ninian can hardly synchronise with that at which all the foregoing lived.
i Thus White, the Saxon appellative ; and hern or horn, said to be derived from the Saxon Aim, meaning " a house. "
Casam,' eo quod ibi ecclesiam de lapide, insolito Britonibus more, fecerit. " —Bede's "Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum,"
8 "Qui locus, ad provinciam Berniciorum
iv.
'In the time of Ailred.
10 In an isle off the coast and near Whit- horn is shown a small ruined church, which tradition holds to have been originally built by St. Ninian.
"Camden supposes this to have been an error of the copyists, instead of XevKowi^ia,
"
which has the same signification as
House," in English. See Gough's Camden's " Britannia," vol. iii. , p. 330.
" See " Old Statistical Account of Scot- land," vol. xvii. , p. 594.
Stones
Hunter Blair, O. S. B. , vol. i. , chap, i. , p. 10. l6 See his Acts, at the 4th of April, in the
Fourth Volume of this work, Art. i.
,? See "Ecclesiastical History of Ireland," vol. i. ,chap. ix. , sect, ii. , p. 434, and n. 17,
pp. 437, 438.
,8 He thinks, that Rosnat, also called
Alba, was the celebrated Candida Casa, or White House ; especially as none of the
British antiquaries attempt to point out where Rosnat had been situated in Great Britain.
'» When we read of Nennio, as being the
bishop to whom some Irish students had
been sent, Dr. Lanigan supposes, that this must be understood of the school held in the See of Nennio or Ninia, and otherwise called the "magnum monastarium" in Britain.
lib. iii. ,
cap.
'3 See Stuart's " John
Sculptured of Scotland, vol. ii. , p. lxxxviii.
16 Bishop of Clones, it has been stated, that
In the Life of St.
his early education had been received at the school of Rosnat, in Great Britain, under the holy Abbot Monennus. A conjecture has been offered,
Tigernach,
the Rev. Dr. 1 ? that allusion is here made to Whithorn, 18 and to Lanigan,
by
its abbot St. Nenius
IQ ;
although he will not allow, that in the time of
«• See Chalmers' "Caledonia," vol. iii. ,
chap, iv. , sect, viii. , p. 411.
' 5 See " History of the Catholic Church
of Scotland," by Very Rev. Canon Alphons pertinens, vulgo vocatur 'Ad Candidam Bellesheim, D. D. , translated by D. Oswald
White
September 16. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
395
Nennius, Tighernacb could have been his scholar. Rosnat20 is often men- tioned as a monastic school for Great Britain, in some acts of our Irish saints. Having formed his monastic institute and rules, a number of monks were collected and trained under Ninian's direction. These he designed to be fellow-missionaries, as he next resolved on the conversion of the Southern Picts, then, for the most part addicted to the worship of idols, and to the
21
held to have been of 32 the Picts are now Scythian origin,
rites of their Druid teachers.
Traditionally
known from the remains of their language to have been part of the great Celtic or Gaelic stocks from 2*
peopled
the whole island of 2* and had divided it with the Britons Britain,
Comingimmediately Gaul, theygradually
when they first became known to the Romans. The Caledonians, by some
writers, are considered as having been only a tribe of the Picts. 2* However,
these latter people maintained a rude independence, in the northern parts
of Scotland, while the Southern Britons yielded to the arms and superior
power of the Romans. During the two centuries after the invasion of
Agricola, a. d. 80, two nations are recognized as having been in Scotland ;
these were the Caledonii and the Msetae. Of these, also, the Caledonians26
inhabited the Highlands, and all modern Scotland north of the Firths of
Forth and 2? The Picts were divided into two 28
Clyde. nations, distinguished
as the Dicaledones and Vecturiones in the fourth century. Regarding their heathen worship and Druidism, we have already treated. 29 Formerly the Pictish language was one of the four distinct tongues used in Britain,3° and still some scanty relics of it remSm in the names of persons and places.
However, the etymology of persons and especially of places changes, as the races, population, and forms of speech have been replaced at different
periods. 3
1
Many striking instances of this occur in the history and
Now Candida Casa
lay very
convenient for
26 Some writers that the Picts were state,
onlytheCaledoniansunderanewname,
2? See Donald Gregory's " History of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland,"
Introduction, p. 1.
28 In his very interesting work, " Scotland
in Pagan Times," Dr. Joseph Anderson, in his Rhind Lectures in Archaeology, for 1881, has treated most exhaustively on the antiquities of Scotland in the Iron Age. The subject has been illustrated by
studentsfromthenorthofIreland; and,it
is worth observing, that of those, who are
spoken of as having studied at Rosnat or
Alba, scarcely one is to be found who had not
been a native of Ulster.
20
There is a village and parish, but no mention of a monastery, called Roseneath, in Dumbartonshire. Formerly it was known
'•
as Rossnachoich. See Statistical Survey
of Scotland," vol. iv. , p. 71.
21
See John Hill Burton's "History of numerous wood-cuts. Edinburgh 1883,
Scotland," vol. i. , chap. vi. Heathendom,
8vo.
pp. 217 to 246.
22 "
2
»See at June 9, Art. i. , the Life of St.
See Venerable Bede's Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum," lib. i. ,
Columkille or Colomba, Abbot of Iona, and
Apostle of Caledonia, chap, ix. , in the Sixth Volume of this work.
3° See Venerable Bede's " Historia Eccle- siastica Gentis Anglorum," lib. i. , cap. i.
3I " When the new language is of a different family, the old name is stereotyped in the shape in which it was when the one language superseded the other, it becomes unintelligible to the people, and undergoes a process of change and corruption of a purely
i.
cap.
23 According to the ancient geographers,
Strabo, Diodorus Siculus, and Pliny, Scythia Europaea extended to the utmost bounds of Northern Europe. See Strabo, p. 507, Diodorus Siculus, lib. vi. , cap. 7, and Pliny, lib. vi. , cap. xiii.
2* Tacitus writes " In universum tamen
:
nestimati, Gallo—s vicinum solem occupasse
credibile est" "Vita Agricolse," num. phonetic character. In the former case, it is
11.
2s See Rev. Thomas Innes' "Critical
chiefly necessary to apply the philological laws of the language to its analysis. In the latter, which is the case with the Celtic
Essay on the Ancient Inhabitants of the
Northern Parts of Britain or Scotland," topography of the low country, it is booki. , chap, iii. , art. iii. , p. 57. necessary, before attempting to analyse the
396 LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September16.
topography of Scotland. Philologers have now arrived at the conclusion, that Pictish is a dialect of the Gaelic, and having affinity more to the Irish than to the Cymric, Cornish or Armorican families of that mother tongue. Nevertheless, it is thought to have been a Gaelic dialect, partaking largely in Welsh forms. 32 When the Picts came into contact with the Cymric in Galloway and Manan, the mixed language and blended modes which resulted from the tongue spoken was what became known to Venerable Bede as that of the Southern Picts. Gradually the Pictish gave way to the Gaelic language, which spread over all Caledonia, especially among the Highland inhabitants. After the third century, the names of the Caledonii and Maeatse disappear, and the Roman writers begin to term their northern opponents the Picti and
Attacotti. " According to the common opinion, these latter inhabited that
picturesque country north of the Clyde, between Loch Lomond and Loch
Fyne. 3*
In the time of Ninian, a king named Tudovald3* or Tuduvallus ruled
over the Picts. 36 This man was of a proud and an imperious disposition ; while at first he was opposed to the holy missioner's doctrine and teaching. 3? Nor could any admonition prevail, until overtaken by a dangerous illness, he suddenly lost his sight. Then bending beneath this temporal affliction, he began to reflect on his previous sin ; when the external darkness became the occasion for his internal illumination, as he sincerely repented the former hostility manifested towards the servant of God. Encouraged by his rela- tions, the king sent messengers to Ninian praying him to return good for evil, and love for hatred.
Immediately offering his prayers to God, the holy man set out on his mission of peace and reconciliation. After a gentle reproof for the king's former error and presumption, Ninian touched the patient's head with his healing hand, and signed his eyes with a cross, when the pain fled, and the blindness vanished. Thenceforward, Tudovald began to venerate and cherish the saint of God, knowing, by experience, that the Lord was with him and directing all his ways.
The preaching of St. Ninian proved to be most effective, since it was
confirmed by innumerable miracles. As Divine truth was proved in the
Gospel by sight to the blind, strength of limb to the weak, hearing to the
deaf, cleansing to the lepers, freeing the possessed from demoniac influence,
and bringing the dead to life ; so were the graces of the Holy Spirit poured out among the pagans, who renounced their errors and received the Word of
name, to ascertain its most ancient form, Moines d'Oceident," tome iii. , liv. x. , which often differ—s greatly from its more chap, i. , p. 22, n. I,
modern aspect. " William F. Skene's " Four Ancient Books of Wales," p 146.
32 " I consider, that Pictish was a low Gaelic dialect, and following out the analogy
01 high and low German, the result I come fries appended to Nennius, he is termed
to is, that Cymric and Gaelic had each a
high and low variety ; that Cornish and
Breton were high Cymric dialects, Welsh
of Wales," p. 138.
33 See Donald " Gregory's
Tutagual. See Rev. Dr. Reeves' Adamnan's " Life of St. Columba,'* lib. i. , cap. 15, and
n. (a),
36 Leland thus writes: "
. saeculo Piclis Tudovaldus ;
addocente episcopo, jam mitior factus pnedi- cationem de religione tolerabat. Postremo, locus patria lingua Withem dictus in sedem
low that old Scottish, Cymric ;
eo
spoken by the Scotti, now represented by Irish, Scotch Gaelic and Manx, was the high Gaelic d—ialect, and Pictish the low Gaelic dialect. " William F. Skene's "Four Ancient Books
Imperabat
ex feroculo,
of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland,"
episcopalem collatus^st. "
de xxxiii. , Scriptoribus Britannicis," cap.
Introduction, pp. 1, 2.
34 See Le Comte de Montalembert's M Les
57.
» See Bishop Tanner's " Bibliotheca
Britannico-Hibernica," p. 549.
History
p.
That this name was known in Strath-
,5
clyde, we learn from Adamnan. He men- tions, that the father of King Rydderch of Dumbarton was Tothail. In the genealo-
p.
43.
"
— Commentarii
September 16. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS 397
God. Their pagan temples were cast down, and Christian churches were erected on their sites. Rich and poor, young and old, young men and maidens, mothers with their children, flocked to the laver of regeneration, renouncing Satan with all his works and pomps. They were joined to the body of believers by faith, by confession, and by reception of other
sacraments. Then the holy Bishop began to ordain priests and consecrate
we are
bishops.
jurisdiction, according to the dignitaries and ecclesiastical ranks. Having
confirmed his neophytes and their pastors in faith and good works, Ninian severally took leave of them, resolving to spend the remainder of his life at Candida Casa, the monastery he had first founded, and which was so endeared to his sympathies and affections. However, the country north of Valencia39—for the Romans seem to have given its first historic name—does not appear to have been wholly converted to Christianity, until a consider- able time after the mission of St. Ninian.
It is needless to dwell on the particular miracles attributed to the merits
of St. Ninian, as they are mostly of a legendary character, and altogether
unauthenticated. One of these is related of a priest unjustly accused of
incontinence by an abandoned woman, and whose innocence was singularly
established in the convictions both of the clergy and laity. Another refers
to a miraculous growth of leeks in the garden, so as fully to supply the
demands of the monastic refectory. Again, St. Ninian preserved his herds
and flocks from the attempts of thieves, by placing them within a circle
drawn by his staff, and leaving them under the protection of God. The
leaders of those robbers, passing the boundary described, was attacked and
gored to death by the bull of the herd. 4° The enraged animal, according
to a popular tradition, struck a rock that was near with his hoofs, and left an
impression on it afterwards, so that it was thenceforth known in English as
Farres Last, or the Footprint of the Bull. A miracle is recorded of Ninian,
on a with one of his brethren named 1 overtaken a journey Plebia,* being by
heavy shower while reading a Book of Psalms. No rain fell on them however, until a vain thought passed through the holy man's mind. Then the brother admonished him of that error, which was speedily corrected. The servant of God put away the vain thought, and at the very same moment the shower was stayed.
As in connexion with his monastic institute, Ninian had founded a school^many sons of nobles and others of the middle rank sent their sons to the blessed Pontiff to be trained in secular and sacred learning. By his example and precept, those scholars were taught to curb the vices incident to their years, and to live soberly, righteously and piously. A strict observer of discipline himself, the rod was used sometimes to correct the faults of his pupils. On a certain occasion, one of the boys deserved such
He divided the whole land into
parishes,
8
tokl,3 assigning
38 However, the Abbot of Ricval is not
caused them to runabout within the circle all that night. In the morning when Ninian appeared, he mercifully released them, and
accurate in this statement, since parochial
divisions were unknown in Scotland until
many centuries later. See Rev. John even brought their leader to life. Having Cunningham's "Church History of Scot-
land," vol. i. s chap, hi. , p. 52.
39 in that province lived the Novantes, and in allusion to its peninsular situation it was called the Chersonesus of the Novantes. See Cough's Camden's " Britannia," vol. iii. , p. 330.
40 The legend states, that his companions were seized with a certain madness, which
impressed on them the judgments of God to be inflicted on the rapacious, Ninian gave them his benediction and permitted them to depart. See " Ail red's M Vita S. Niniani," cap. v. , vii. , viii.
4 ' It is
his name arose the tradition, that the saint had a uterine brother denominated Plebeius.
probable,
from this introduction of
398 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [September 16.
correction, and knowing it should be inflicted, he fled from the place, taking with him the staff on which Ninian was accustomed to lean. With the usual
thoughtlessness of a school-boy, he sought for a ship, which might transport
him to Scotia. *
2
In that neighbourhood, and at that time, the vessels in the
port were framed with twigs, of small size, cup-shaped, and only capable of
holding three men sitting closely together. An ox-hide was drawn over the
frame-work, so as to render the craft impenetrable by water, and this slight construction left it exceedingly buoyant. ^ The lad stumbled on one of those boats near the shore, but insufficiently covered with leather. Into it he incautiously entered, and owing to some accidental movement, the vessel was carried out to sea. Then the water began to pour in, and the unhappy youth, confused and fearful of drowning, bitterly lamented his flight from St. Ninian. In a tone of anguish and confessing his fault to the staff, the boy prayed, that through the merits of its owner, he might be rescued from his perilous position. Then thrusting the staff into one of the holes, immediately the sea was excluded from entering the open boat. Soon an easterly wind sprung up, and this acting for a sail, the staff caught the wind, and gently impelled the vessel. As a helm, the staff also directed its course, and as an anchor stayed it. Meantime, people stood on the western shore, and saw a small vessel like a bird resting on the waters and moving towards them, yet impelled neither by sail nor oar. To their great surprise, the young man landed. Full of gratitude towards his deliverer, and of faith in his merits, he stuckthestaffofNinianintheearth,andprayedtheAlmightythatit might remain as a memorial of that miracle. Wonderful to relate, it sent forth roots and sap contrary to nature, covered itself with a new bark, producing
fresh branches and leaves, and finally grew into a considerable tree. More- over, from its root sprang up a limpid fountain, which sent forth a crystal
stream, winding in a lengthened course, and with a gentle murmur. Owing to the merits of the saint, the water was sweet to the taste, delightful to the eye, as also useful and health-giving to the sick.
CHAPTER III.
ST. NINIAN IS SAID TO HAVE SOUGHT A RETREAT IN IRELAND TOWARDS THE^LOSE OF HIS LIFE—THE PLACE WAS CALLED CL0NC0NRIE-1 OMAYNE, NOW CLONCURRY, IN THE COUNTY OF KILDARE—DEATH AND BURIAL OF ST. NINIAN—PILGRIMAGES TO HIS SHRINE AND MIRACLES THERE WROUGHT—RELIGIOUS MEMORIALS— CONCLUSION.
St. Ninian spent about thirty years from the return to his own part of the country, in forming and cultivating the Christians of these parts, as well by the example of his conduct as by his preaching and miracles. According to the Irish Life, he felt importuned by the frequent visits of his mother and relatives, having a desire to spend his days in strict seclusion. 1
Being perfect
42 At that period, the name applied to nos nostros ejusdem Niniani Vita ; in qua Ireland. ob importunam turn ^matre turn a consan-
^ Ailred remarks, that possibly, at that guineis frequentatam visionem, deserta time, vessels of immense size had been Candida Casa, ut sibi et suae quieti cum
constructed in like manner.
discipulis vacaret, Hiberniam petiisse atque
Chapter in. —• "Extat et Hiber- ibi apud
impetrato a rege loco apto et aoweno
in
September 16. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 399
every virtue and well advanced in years, he is said to have sought from an Irish king a suitable place for his—retreat and that of his disciples in Ireland. Here— as it seems to some writers we are to recognize him under the designation of Monenn or Maoineann. He selected in 2 for his
habitation, a place which has been styled Clonconrie-Tomayne,3 and Cloncrie-Tomayne. * It was situated in the Ui-Faelain territory,* which had been comprised within
theplainsofMagh-LaigheanandMagh-LirTe. Theremaybeseen,atthe present time, the ruins of an old mediaeval church ; about 62 feet in length
interiorly,by25inbreadth. Onegablealoneistolerablywellpreserved,andit was surmounted by a belfry, having two opes. A ruined doorway was in the
Cloncurry Old Church, County Kildare.
south-wall ; but the north-side wall is nearly gone. The old church is sur- rounded by a much-used burial-ground, in which, nevertheless, no very ancient'tomb is to be seen. 6 Aremarkable moat? or aboriginal earthwork
8 adjoins the cemetery, and on its summit rises a well-grown tree, which
presents a very picturesque object from all approaches, and for many miles
Cluayn-coner dicto ccenobium magnum con-
stituisse, ibidemque post multos in Hibernia
transactos annos obiisse traditur. ''
2
At the year 586, according to the Four Masters, a battle was gained by Bran Dubh, King of Leinster, over Eochaidh and the Ui-Neill, in this plain, and at the hill over Cluain-Conaire. The -drmalA Ul<voh refer this battle to a. u. 589. The hill in question seems to have been the present remarkable Moat, adjoining Monenn's former monas- tery.
3
It is thus designated by Mageoghegan. 4 So called in the Annals of Clonmacnoise,
at A. D. 835.
Annals of the
Magh-Ochtair,
"
s See Dr. O'Donovan's
Four Masters," vol. i. , n. (s), pp. 457, 458.
6 These observations in the text are from notes taken on the site, during a visit in July, 1873. On the same occasion, the writer took a sketch of the church ruins, as here presented, and drawn by Gregor Grey on the wood, afterwards engraved by him.
7 The conjunction of similar Moats with
numbers of old church sites in Ireland has
been frequently presented to the writer's view.
8 Said to have been planted there by a former parish priest.
4oo LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [September 16.
around it can be seen. Some fine elm, ash and hawthorn trees surround the church ruins. The former monastery foundations are shown in a pasture- field adjoining, and also the socket of an old Irish cross. The modern name of this place is Cloncurry,? now a parish in the baronies of Ikeathy and
county.
The old church ruins are near the
in the northern of Kildare 10 The Irish word
part means Conaire's Lawn or Meadow. 11
Oughterany,
road from Dublin to 13 Galway.
At the 16th of Marianus September,
high
enters in his Martyrology a festival for this Moenend ; while his commentator
makes Mo-nenn to be identical with Ninnianus, bishop of Candida Casa. 1 * We are informed, that in the Book of Armagh, there is a legend which goes far to prove the identity of one Manchan with that Ninius, whose Life is quoted by Archbishop Ussher, as having retired from Candida Casa to Cluain Conaire, now known as Cloncurry, in the County of Kildare. This
1
legend mentions a chariot sent by St. Patrick * to St. Fiaccxs as staying with
St. Manchan. '6 Another authority mentions Cill Monach. and this is said to have been another name for his church at Cluain Conaire. This identity of Manchan, the apostle of the sons of Amalgaidh, with Manchan of Clon-
and the latter with Ninius or Moninde, is 17 Yet, this very striking.
curry,
account is too vague to deserve any serious attention.
At length, St. Ninian was called by the Almighty to receive the reward of
his labours. ' 8 He died on the 16th of On this his September. day, memory
has ever since been celebrated in the Church. Some accounts have it, that he departed this life, on the ioth of September, a. d. 432. '°. This statement
has been made Pita. 20 by John
to most
he died at Withern, in Scotland. At the time, he is said to have attained the seven-
tieth year of his age.
21
In a pious paraphrase, Ailred relates the last
According
historians,
summons to bliss of the holy Ninian, perfect in life and full of years, yearn-
ing for the joys of Paradise, and leaving the people he had gained to Christ
lamenting their own great loss. Although not stated in terms, we are left to
22
infer—as general tradition has it—that he died at Withern, for he was
9 ",6" It is described on the Ordnance Sur-
vey Townland Maps for the County of Kildare," Sheets 4, 5, 9, 10. The Town- land proper is on Sheet 4.
10 See Dr. O'Donovan's " Annals of the Four Masters," vol. i. , n. (n), p. 212.
" There is a gloss to the Feilire Aenguis, at the l6th of September, in which this place is called Cluain-Conaiie-Tomain.
" A description and history of Cloncurry by Patrick O'KeefTe may be seen in "Letters containing Information relative to the Anti- quiliesofthe County of Kildare, collected during the Progress of the Ordnance Survey in 1837," vol. i. , Letter dated Edenderry, October 30th, 1837.
!
See Goidilica,' p. 104.
'7 See Rev. John Francis Shearman's " Loca Patriciana," No. x. , p. 248, n. I, and p.
5 See Chalmers' "Caledonia," vol. iii. , chap, iv. , sect, viii. , p. 411.
6 See Rev. Thomas Innes' "Civil and
" History of Stirlingshire," vol. i. , chap. Ecclesiastical History of Scotland," book i. , xxi. , p. 375. num. xxxiii. , xxxiv. , pp. 41, 42.
tical successors in this See, in the
the middle 8 It ages.
of the Con Cathedrals,
394 LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September16.
of labour, and to found a proper place for young churchmen, who were to succeed in their sacred ministry.
His chief selected residence was in Galloway, thought to have been his native country. The place was rendered celebrated from his time by the church there erected. It was built altogether of finely cut stone. Hence was its name derived. ? It was such a novelty among the Britons of those parts, that it was known by the name of Candida Casa, or M the white
house. "8
Vulgarly
called Witerna^ or Whitern, it gave name to a town
there in after times. Ninian established it, as the first episcopal seat in
those parts. It was situated on the shore of the ocean, and it extended far
into the sea, which enclosed it on the east, west and south sides. Only on
the north was a way open for those who would enter by land. There he
set those masons, whom he had brought from Gaul, to build his church,
which is said to have been the first of stone erection in Britannia. Having
heard that the blessed Martin of Tours, whom he had regarded with special
veneration, passed out of this world soon after his return to Scotland,
Niniandedicatedthechurchwhenbuiltinhishonour,andplacedit under
his 10 Whitherne is thought to be the town, called by Ptolemy
patronage.
geographer, Leucopibia.
11 St. Ninian is said to have occasionally inhabited a cave,12 which is still sho-. vn on the shore of Glasserton, adjacent
the
1 ^ Under the sea-cliff and in a very solitary place, about three miles from Whithern, there is a small cave which derives its name from the saint, who used to retire for his private devotions to its silence and solitariness. 14 At Whithern, Ninian was visited it is stated by numerous Irish pilgrims and saints, among whom are enumerated St. Finnian
to the house of
Physgill.
of Moville, St. Enda of Aran, St. Rioch of Lough Ree, St. Manchan of 1
Limerick, and St. Mugint. * However, the period assigned to St. Ninian can hardly synchronise with that at which all the foregoing lived.
i Thus White, the Saxon appellative ; and hern or horn, said to be derived from the Saxon Aim, meaning " a house. "
Casam,' eo quod ibi ecclesiam de lapide, insolito Britonibus more, fecerit. " —Bede's "Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum,"
8 "Qui locus, ad provinciam Berniciorum
iv.
'In the time of Ailred.
10 In an isle off the coast and near Whit- horn is shown a small ruined church, which tradition holds to have been originally built by St. Ninian.
"Camden supposes this to have been an error of the copyists, instead of XevKowi^ia,
"
which has the same signification as
House," in English. See Gough's Camden's " Britannia," vol. iii. , p. 330.
" See " Old Statistical Account of Scot- land," vol. xvii. , p. 594.
Stones
Hunter Blair, O. S. B. , vol. i. , chap, i. , p. 10. l6 See his Acts, at the 4th of April, in the
Fourth Volume of this work, Art. i.
,? See "Ecclesiastical History of Ireland," vol. i. ,chap. ix. , sect, ii. , p. 434, and n. 17,
pp. 437, 438.
,8 He thinks, that Rosnat, also called
Alba, was the celebrated Candida Casa, or White House ; especially as none of the
British antiquaries attempt to point out where Rosnat had been situated in Great Britain.
'» When we read of Nennio, as being the
bishop to whom some Irish students had
been sent, Dr. Lanigan supposes, that this must be understood of the school held in the See of Nennio or Ninia, and otherwise called the "magnum monastarium" in Britain.
lib. iii. ,
cap.
'3 See Stuart's " John
Sculptured of Scotland, vol. ii. , p. lxxxviii.
16 Bishop of Clones, it has been stated, that
In the Life of St.
his early education had been received at the school of Rosnat, in Great Britain, under the holy Abbot Monennus. A conjecture has been offered,
Tigernach,
the Rev. Dr. 1 ? that allusion is here made to Whithorn, 18 and to Lanigan,
by
its abbot St. Nenius
IQ ;
although he will not allow, that in the time of
«• See Chalmers' "Caledonia," vol. iii. ,
chap, iv. , sect, viii. , p. 411.
' 5 See " History of the Catholic Church
of Scotland," by Very Rev. Canon Alphons pertinens, vulgo vocatur 'Ad Candidam Bellesheim, D. D. , translated by D. Oswald
White
September 16. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
395
Nennius, Tighernacb could have been his scholar. Rosnat20 is often men- tioned as a monastic school for Great Britain, in some acts of our Irish saints. Having formed his monastic institute and rules, a number of monks were collected and trained under Ninian's direction. These he designed to be fellow-missionaries, as he next resolved on the conversion of the Southern Picts, then, for the most part addicted to the worship of idols, and to the
21
held to have been of 32 the Picts are now Scythian origin,
rites of their Druid teachers.
Traditionally
known from the remains of their language to have been part of the great Celtic or Gaelic stocks from 2*
peopled
the whole island of 2* and had divided it with the Britons Britain,
Comingimmediately Gaul, theygradually
when they first became known to the Romans. The Caledonians, by some
writers, are considered as having been only a tribe of the Picts. 2* However,
these latter people maintained a rude independence, in the northern parts
of Scotland, while the Southern Britons yielded to the arms and superior
power of the Romans. During the two centuries after the invasion of
Agricola, a. d. 80, two nations are recognized as having been in Scotland ;
these were the Caledonii and the Msetae. Of these, also, the Caledonians26
inhabited the Highlands, and all modern Scotland north of the Firths of
Forth and 2? The Picts were divided into two 28
Clyde. nations, distinguished
as the Dicaledones and Vecturiones in the fourth century. Regarding their heathen worship and Druidism, we have already treated. 29 Formerly the Pictish language was one of the four distinct tongues used in Britain,3° and still some scanty relics of it remSm in the names of persons and places.
However, the etymology of persons and especially of places changes, as the races, population, and forms of speech have been replaced at different
periods. 3
1
Many striking instances of this occur in the history and
Now Candida Casa
lay very
convenient for
26 Some writers that the Picts were state,
onlytheCaledoniansunderanewname,
2? See Donald Gregory's " History of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland,"
Introduction, p. 1.
28 In his very interesting work, " Scotland
in Pagan Times," Dr. Joseph Anderson, in his Rhind Lectures in Archaeology, for 1881, has treated most exhaustively on the antiquities of Scotland in the Iron Age. The subject has been illustrated by
studentsfromthenorthofIreland; and,it
is worth observing, that of those, who are
spoken of as having studied at Rosnat or
Alba, scarcely one is to be found who had not
been a native of Ulster.
20
There is a village and parish, but no mention of a monastery, called Roseneath, in Dumbartonshire. Formerly it was known
'•
as Rossnachoich. See Statistical Survey
of Scotland," vol. iv. , p. 71.
21
See John Hill Burton's "History of numerous wood-cuts. Edinburgh 1883,
Scotland," vol. i. , chap. vi. Heathendom,
8vo.
pp. 217 to 246.
22 "
2
»See at June 9, Art. i. , the Life of St.
See Venerable Bede's Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum," lib. i. ,
Columkille or Colomba, Abbot of Iona, and
Apostle of Caledonia, chap, ix. , in the Sixth Volume of this work.
3° See Venerable Bede's " Historia Eccle- siastica Gentis Anglorum," lib. i. , cap. i.
3I " When the new language is of a different family, the old name is stereotyped in the shape in which it was when the one language superseded the other, it becomes unintelligible to the people, and undergoes a process of change and corruption of a purely
i.
cap.
23 According to the ancient geographers,
Strabo, Diodorus Siculus, and Pliny, Scythia Europaea extended to the utmost bounds of Northern Europe. See Strabo, p. 507, Diodorus Siculus, lib. vi. , cap. 7, and Pliny, lib. vi. , cap. xiii.
2* Tacitus writes " In universum tamen
:
nestimati, Gallo—s vicinum solem occupasse
credibile est" "Vita Agricolse," num. phonetic character. In the former case, it is
11.
2s See Rev. Thomas Innes' "Critical
chiefly necessary to apply the philological laws of the language to its analysis. In the latter, which is the case with the Celtic
Essay on the Ancient Inhabitants of the
Northern Parts of Britain or Scotland," topography of the low country, it is booki. , chap, iii. , art. iii. , p. 57. necessary, before attempting to analyse the
396 LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September16.
topography of Scotland. Philologers have now arrived at the conclusion, that Pictish is a dialect of the Gaelic, and having affinity more to the Irish than to the Cymric, Cornish or Armorican families of that mother tongue. Nevertheless, it is thought to have been a Gaelic dialect, partaking largely in Welsh forms. 32 When the Picts came into contact with the Cymric in Galloway and Manan, the mixed language and blended modes which resulted from the tongue spoken was what became known to Venerable Bede as that of the Southern Picts. Gradually the Pictish gave way to the Gaelic language, which spread over all Caledonia, especially among the Highland inhabitants. After the third century, the names of the Caledonii and Maeatse disappear, and the Roman writers begin to term their northern opponents the Picti and
Attacotti. " According to the common opinion, these latter inhabited that
picturesque country north of the Clyde, between Loch Lomond and Loch
Fyne. 3*
In the time of Ninian, a king named Tudovald3* or Tuduvallus ruled
over the Picts. 36 This man was of a proud and an imperious disposition ; while at first he was opposed to the holy missioner's doctrine and teaching. 3? Nor could any admonition prevail, until overtaken by a dangerous illness, he suddenly lost his sight. Then bending beneath this temporal affliction, he began to reflect on his previous sin ; when the external darkness became the occasion for his internal illumination, as he sincerely repented the former hostility manifested towards the servant of God. Encouraged by his rela- tions, the king sent messengers to Ninian praying him to return good for evil, and love for hatred.
Immediately offering his prayers to God, the holy man set out on his mission of peace and reconciliation. After a gentle reproof for the king's former error and presumption, Ninian touched the patient's head with his healing hand, and signed his eyes with a cross, when the pain fled, and the blindness vanished. Thenceforward, Tudovald began to venerate and cherish the saint of God, knowing, by experience, that the Lord was with him and directing all his ways.
The preaching of St. Ninian proved to be most effective, since it was
confirmed by innumerable miracles. As Divine truth was proved in the
Gospel by sight to the blind, strength of limb to the weak, hearing to the
deaf, cleansing to the lepers, freeing the possessed from demoniac influence,
and bringing the dead to life ; so were the graces of the Holy Spirit poured out among the pagans, who renounced their errors and received the Word of
name, to ascertain its most ancient form, Moines d'Oceident," tome iii. , liv. x. , which often differ—s greatly from its more chap, i. , p. 22, n. I,
modern aspect. " William F. Skene's " Four Ancient Books of Wales," p 146.
32 " I consider, that Pictish was a low Gaelic dialect, and following out the analogy
01 high and low German, the result I come fries appended to Nennius, he is termed
to is, that Cymric and Gaelic had each a
high and low variety ; that Cornish and
Breton were high Cymric dialects, Welsh
of Wales," p. 138.
33 See Donald " Gregory's
Tutagual. See Rev. Dr. Reeves' Adamnan's " Life of St. Columba,'* lib. i. , cap. 15, and
n. (a),
36 Leland thus writes: "
. saeculo Piclis Tudovaldus ;
addocente episcopo, jam mitior factus pnedi- cationem de religione tolerabat. Postremo, locus patria lingua Withem dictus in sedem
low that old Scottish, Cymric ;
eo
spoken by the Scotti, now represented by Irish, Scotch Gaelic and Manx, was the high Gaelic d—ialect, and Pictish the low Gaelic dialect. " William F. Skene's "Four Ancient Books
Imperabat
ex feroculo,
of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland,"
episcopalem collatus^st. "
de xxxiii. , Scriptoribus Britannicis," cap.
Introduction, pp. 1, 2.
34 See Le Comte de Montalembert's M Les
57.
» See Bishop Tanner's " Bibliotheca
Britannico-Hibernica," p. 549.
History
p.
That this name was known in Strath-
,5
clyde, we learn from Adamnan. He men- tions, that the father of King Rydderch of Dumbarton was Tothail. In the genealo-
p.
43.
"
— Commentarii
September 16. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS 397
God. Their pagan temples were cast down, and Christian churches were erected on their sites. Rich and poor, young and old, young men and maidens, mothers with their children, flocked to the laver of regeneration, renouncing Satan with all his works and pomps. They were joined to the body of believers by faith, by confession, and by reception of other
sacraments. Then the holy Bishop began to ordain priests and consecrate
we are
bishops.
jurisdiction, according to the dignitaries and ecclesiastical ranks. Having
confirmed his neophytes and their pastors in faith and good works, Ninian severally took leave of them, resolving to spend the remainder of his life at Candida Casa, the monastery he had first founded, and which was so endeared to his sympathies and affections. However, the country north of Valencia39—for the Romans seem to have given its first historic name—does not appear to have been wholly converted to Christianity, until a consider- able time after the mission of St. Ninian.
It is needless to dwell on the particular miracles attributed to the merits
of St. Ninian, as they are mostly of a legendary character, and altogether
unauthenticated. One of these is related of a priest unjustly accused of
incontinence by an abandoned woman, and whose innocence was singularly
established in the convictions both of the clergy and laity. Another refers
to a miraculous growth of leeks in the garden, so as fully to supply the
demands of the monastic refectory. Again, St. Ninian preserved his herds
and flocks from the attempts of thieves, by placing them within a circle
drawn by his staff, and leaving them under the protection of God. The
leaders of those robbers, passing the boundary described, was attacked and
gored to death by the bull of the herd. 4° The enraged animal, according
to a popular tradition, struck a rock that was near with his hoofs, and left an
impression on it afterwards, so that it was thenceforth known in English as
Farres Last, or the Footprint of the Bull. A miracle is recorded of Ninian,
on a with one of his brethren named 1 overtaken a journey Plebia,* being by
heavy shower while reading a Book of Psalms. No rain fell on them however, until a vain thought passed through the holy man's mind. Then the brother admonished him of that error, which was speedily corrected. The servant of God put away the vain thought, and at the very same moment the shower was stayed.
As in connexion with his monastic institute, Ninian had founded a school^many sons of nobles and others of the middle rank sent their sons to the blessed Pontiff to be trained in secular and sacred learning. By his example and precept, those scholars were taught to curb the vices incident to their years, and to live soberly, righteously and piously. A strict observer of discipline himself, the rod was used sometimes to correct the faults of his pupils. On a certain occasion, one of the boys deserved such
He divided the whole land into
parishes,
8
tokl,3 assigning
38 However, the Abbot of Ricval is not
caused them to runabout within the circle all that night. In the morning when Ninian appeared, he mercifully released them, and
accurate in this statement, since parochial
divisions were unknown in Scotland until
many centuries later. See Rev. John even brought their leader to life. Having Cunningham's "Church History of Scot-
land," vol. i. s chap, hi. , p. 52.
39 in that province lived the Novantes, and in allusion to its peninsular situation it was called the Chersonesus of the Novantes. See Cough's Camden's " Britannia," vol. iii. , p. 330.
40 The legend states, that his companions were seized with a certain madness, which
impressed on them the judgments of God to be inflicted on the rapacious, Ninian gave them his benediction and permitted them to depart. See " Ail red's M Vita S. Niniani," cap. v. , vii. , viii.
4 ' It is
his name arose the tradition, that the saint had a uterine brother denominated Plebeius.
probable,
from this introduction of
398 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [September 16.
correction, and knowing it should be inflicted, he fled from the place, taking with him the staff on which Ninian was accustomed to lean. With the usual
thoughtlessness of a school-boy, he sought for a ship, which might transport
him to Scotia. *
2
In that neighbourhood, and at that time, the vessels in the
port were framed with twigs, of small size, cup-shaped, and only capable of
holding three men sitting closely together. An ox-hide was drawn over the
frame-work, so as to render the craft impenetrable by water, and this slight construction left it exceedingly buoyant. ^ The lad stumbled on one of those boats near the shore, but insufficiently covered with leather. Into it he incautiously entered, and owing to some accidental movement, the vessel was carried out to sea. Then the water began to pour in, and the unhappy youth, confused and fearful of drowning, bitterly lamented his flight from St. Ninian. In a tone of anguish and confessing his fault to the staff, the boy prayed, that through the merits of its owner, he might be rescued from his perilous position. Then thrusting the staff into one of the holes, immediately the sea was excluded from entering the open boat. Soon an easterly wind sprung up, and this acting for a sail, the staff caught the wind, and gently impelled the vessel. As a helm, the staff also directed its course, and as an anchor stayed it. Meantime, people stood on the western shore, and saw a small vessel like a bird resting on the waters and moving towards them, yet impelled neither by sail nor oar. To their great surprise, the young man landed. Full of gratitude towards his deliverer, and of faith in his merits, he stuckthestaffofNinianintheearth,andprayedtheAlmightythatit might remain as a memorial of that miracle. Wonderful to relate, it sent forth roots and sap contrary to nature, covered itself with a new bark, producing
fresh branches and leaves, and finally grew into a considerable tree. More- over, from its root sprang up a limpid fountain, which sent forth a crystal
stream, winding in a lengthened course, and with a gentle murmur. Owing to the merits of the saint, the water was sweet to the taste, delightful to the eye, as also useful and health-giving to the sick.
CHAPTER III.
ST. NINIAN IS SAID TO HAVE SOUGHT A RETREAT IN IRELAND TOWARDS THE^LOSE OF HIS LIFE—THE PLACE WAS CALLED CL0NC0NRIE-1 OMAYNE, NOW CLONCURRY, IN THE COUNTY OF KILDARE—DEATH AND BURIAL OF ST. NINIAN—PILGRIMAGES TO HIS SHRINE AND MIRACLES THERE WROUGHT—RELIGIOUS MEMORIALS— CONCLUSION.
St. Ninian spent about thirty years from the return to his own part of the country, in forming and cultivating the Christians of these parts, as well by the example of his conduct as by his preaching and miracles. According to the Irish Life, he felt importuned by the frequent visits of his mother and relatives, having a desire to spend his days in strict seclusion. 1
Being perfect
42 At that period, the name applied to nos nostros ejusdem Niniani Vita ; in qua Ireland. ob importunam turn ^matre turn a consan-
^ Ailred remarks, that possibly, at that guineis frequentatam visionem, deserta time, vessels of immense size had been Candida Casa, ut sibi et suae quieti cum
constructed in like manner.
discipulis vacaret, Hiberniam petiisse atque
Chapter in. —• "Extat et Hiber- ibi apud
impetrato a rege loco apto et aoweno
in
September 16. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 399
every virtue and well advanced in years, he is said to have sought from an Irish king a suitable place for his—retreat and that of his disciples in Ireland. Here— as it seems to some writers we are to recognize him under the designation of Monenn or Maoineann. He selected in 2 for his
habitation, a place which has been styled Clonconrie-Tomayne,3 and Cloncrie-Tomayne. * It was situated in the Ui-Faelain territory,* which had been comprised within
theplainsofMagh-LaigheanandMagh-LirTe. Theremaybeseen,atthe present time, the ruins of an old mediaeval church ; about 62 feet in length
interiorly,by25inbreadth. Onegablealoneistolerablywellpreserved,andit was surmounted by a belfry, having two opes. A ruined doorway was in the
Cloncurry Old Church, County Kildare.
south-wall ; but the north-side wall is nearly gone. The old church is sur- rounded by a much-used burial-ground, in which, nevertheless, no very ancient'tomb is to be seen. 6 Aremarkable moat? or aboriginal earthwork
8 adjoins the cemetery, and on its summit rises a well-grown tree, which
presents a very picturesque object from all approaches, and for many miles
Cluayn-coner dicto ccenobium magnum con-
stituisse, ibidemque post multos in Hibernia
transactos annos obiisse traditur. ''
2
At the year 586, according to the Four Masters, a battle was gained by Bran Dubh, King of Leinster, over Eochaidh and the Ui-Neill, in this plain, and at the hill over Cluain-Conaire. The -drmalA Ul<voh refer this battle to a. u. 589. The hill in question seems to have been the present remarkable Moat, adjoining Monenn's former monas- tery.
3
It is thus designated by Mageoghegan. 4 So called in the Annals of Clonmacnoise,
at A. D. 835.
Annals of the
Magh-Ochtair,
"
s See Dr. O'Donovan's
Four Masters," vol. i. , n. (s), pp. 457, 458.
6 These observations in the text are from notes taken on the site, during a visit in July, 1873. On the same occasion, the writer took a sketch of the church ruins, as here presented, and drawn by Gregor Grey on the wood, afterwards engraved by him.
7 The conjunction of similar Moats with
numbers of old church sites in Ireland has
been frequently presented to the writer's view.
8 Said to have been planted there by a former parish priest.
4oo LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [September 16.
around it can be seen. Some fine elm, ash and hawthorn trees surround the church ruins. The former monastery foundations are shown in a pasture- field adjoining, and also the socket of an old Irish cross. The modern name of this place is Cloncurry,? now a parish in the baronies of Ikeathy and
county.
The old church ruins are near the
in the northern of Kildare 10 The Irish word
part means Conaire's Lawn or Meadow. 11
Oughterany,
road from Dublin to 13 Galway.
At the 16th of Marianus September,
high
enters in his Martyrology a festival for this Moenend ; while his commentator
makes Mo-nenn to be identical with Ninnianus, bishop of Candida Casa. 1 * We are informed, that in the Book of Armagh, there is a legend which goes far to prove the identity of one Manchan with that Ninius, whose Life is quoted by Archbishop Ussher, as having retired from Candida Casa to Cluain Conaire, now known as Cloncurry, in the County of Kildare. This
1
legend mentions a chariot sent by St. Patrick * to St. Fiaccxs as staying with
St. Manchan. '6 Another authority mentions Cill Monach. and this is said to have been another name for his church at Cluain Conaire. This identity of Manchan, the apostle of the sons of Amalgaidh, with Manchan of Clon-
and the latter with Ninius or Moninde, is 17 Yet, this very striking.
curry,
account is too vague to deserve any serious attention.
At length, St. Ninian was called by the Almighty to receive the reward of
his labours. ' 8 He died on the 16th of On this his September. day, memory
has ever since been celebrated in the Church. Some accounts have it, that he departed this life, on the ioth of September, a. d. 432. '°. This statement
has been made Pita. 20 by John
to most
he died at Withern, in Scotland. At the time, he is said to have attained the seven-
tieth year of his age.
21
In a pious paraphrase, Ailred relates the last
According
historians,
summons to bliss of the holy Ninian, perfect in life and full of years, yearn-
ing for the joys of Paradise, and leaving the people he had gained to Christ
lamenting their own great loss. Although not stated in terms, we are left to
22
infer—as general tradition has it—that he died at Withern, for he was
9 ",6" It is described on the Ordnance Sur-
vey Townland Maps for the County of Kildare," Sheets 4, 5, 9, 10. The Town- land proper is on Sheet 4.
10 See Dr. O'Donovan's " Annals of the Four Masters," vol. i. , n. (n), p. 212.
" There is a gloss to the Feilire Aenguis, at the l6th of September, in which this place is called Cluain-Conaiie-Tomain.
" A description and history of Cloncurry by Patrick O'KeefTe may be seen in "Letters containing Information relative to the Anti- quiliesofthe County of Kildare, collected during the Progress of the Ordnance Survey in 1837," vol. i. , Letter dated Edenderry, October 30th, 1837.
!
See Goidilica,' p. 104.
'7 See Rev. John Francis Shearman's " Loca Patriciana," No. x. , p. 248, n. I, and p.
