The weather was then serene, but soon dark clouds began to gather, and then to
dissolve
in heavy rain.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v7
These were
joined by the Scots, not only of Britain, but by new levies of Scots coming
1
overfromIreland. * Intheyear398,thePictsandScotshadmadesuchpro-
gress in ravaging the neighbouring provinces of Britain, that these were quite ruined. Ts EventheTeutonsorSaxonshadinvadedBritain. 16 Anaccount—of
this miserable state of the British — been provinces having brought
to Stilicho whocommandedundertheEmperorHona/ius newforcesweredespatched to Britain. Having beaten out the Picts and Scots from the invaded Roman provinces, Stilicho caused the northern wall, built against their irruptions, to
be again repaired. He placed guards and a garrison *? on the frontiers of Valentia, to overawe the Scots and Picts, and to protect the British provin- cials against them.
A long absence and that veneration the people had entertained for his eminent sanctity, with the progress he made at Rome in the knowledge of Divine truths, drew great multitudes of the Christians in these parts, to wel- come St. Ninian on his return. They received him with great joy and wonderful devotion. They thanked God, likewise, because they looked on him as a prophet. Taking advantage of these marks of esteem and confidence manifested by the people, Ninian immediately began like an active husband- man in the Lord's vineyard, to root up what had been ill-planted, and to reform all abuses, that might have crept in among them. Having purged the minds of the faithful from all errors, he instructed them in the Faith and in their Christian duties. 18 By words as by example, he was a pattern of all virtue. *» St. Ninian's preaching was attended with the performance of many
lished work, "The Celtic Races of Great "
Movit, et infesto spumavit remige
Tethys.
Illius effectum curis, ne tela time-
Britain and Armorica, chap, iv. , p. 91.
12 He thus marks among others, those Roman troops, that guarded the w—all in Bri-
rem Scotica,
ne lit-
tain against the Scots and Picts
:
"Venit et extremis legio prsetenta Britannis,
Quae Scoto dat frena truci, ferroque notatas
Perlegit exsangues Picto moriente *
figuras. "
—De Bello Getico, vv. 416 to 418.
13
See lib. iii.
14 Thus Claudian introduces Britain
lamenting her perishing condition, until
ne Pictum tore tuto
tremerem,
Stilicho sent forces to her succour Picts and Scots :—
against
the
" Me quoque vicinis pereuntem genti- bus, inquit,
Me juvit Stilicho, totam cum Scotus lemem
—"
De Laudibus Stilichonis,"
lib. vv. ii. ,
Prospicerem dubiis venturum Saxona ventis. "
25010255.
IS See that account, which Claudian the
Poet gives, in the panegyric of Stilicho, the
Roman general.
"
See Edward A. Freeman's
of the Norman Conquest of England," vol. i. , chap, ii. , p. 11.
' 7 The Claudian gives an account of poet
the several legions which by Stilicho's order
came to join them, a. d. 402, against the Goths, and before the battle of Pollen- turn.
l8 See Rev. Thomas Innes' " Civil and Ecclesiastical History of Scotland," book i. ,
,<s
History
372 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [July 25.
miracles. 20 These Almighty God wrought through him, in confirmation of the doctrine he taught. A prince of that country, named Tuduvallus, had been violently opposed to the doctrine and ministrations of the saint. This king fell ill, and he was struck with blindness for his opposition to truth. By
the advice of his relations, he sent messengers to the man of God. Repenting of his error, the prayers of the holy bishop Ninian were offered earnestly to God, and then he went straightway to the sick man. Touching the ruler's head, pain was driven away from it, and signing his closed eyes with the cross, light again came to him. Thenceforward, knowing that the power of the Almighty was on the side of Ninian, that potentate began to cherish and vene- rate the saint with all affection. Another miracle took place, when an unfor- tunate woman committed herself with a young man, to whom she bore an illegi- timate male child, and afterwards she charged the guilt on a presbyter to whom Ninian had committed the charge of that district. To the great scandal of
the faithful, this lie she preferred in a public assembly, where the Bishop, the Priest, and her real paramour were present. From the lips of the infant then proceeded a statement, that confounded the guilty man, and absolved the innocent, while it convicted the slanderer of falsehood. Then were fulfilled
those words of the Psalmist
:
" Out of the mouth of babes and of sucklings,
21 In of his mission, Ninian pursuance
O thou hast Lord,
perfected praise. "
ordained priests, consecrated bishops, and distributed other ecclesiastical
22
for the more con- venient service and instruction of the people. However, the organization of what are now known as parishes did not commence in Southern Britain, for
ages after his time. At the same time, he wished to select from among aspirants to the ministry, those in whom he found evident marks of a Divine vocationtotheecclesiasticalstate. 23 Sohedesignedtokeepupthesuccession of pastors, and to carry on the work of the Gospel. We are informed, that for this end, the holy man ordained priests and consecrated bishops, the chosen ones among his disciples, and whom he had trained up personally, after the same manner in which he had been instructed at Rome. 2* In forming this infant church, Ninian followed the model and order of canonical discipline, which he had been taught from his youth. These he had seen everywhere prac- tised, during his travels through the. south of Britain, in the Gauls, and in Italy. Those practices, too, he knew to have been universal in the Church, during that age, as in all former ages, and in all countries, where Christianity had been established. 25
dignities. He divided the country into several districts,
sect, xxxi. , p. 39.
x9 See Right Rev. Alexander Penrose
Forbes' " Lives of S. Ninian and S. Kenti-
glorum," lib. iii. , cap. iv. , pp. 272, 273.
2s The Rev. Thomas limes observes,
though we had no other authority, that this
gern. " Life of S. Ninian, chap, ii. , pp. was the discipline and form of government
10, 11. observed among the ancient Christians in
20
See Ailred's "Vita S. Niniani," the north of Britain, or Scotland, it must
cap. iv.
seem sufficiently plain, they were used, so soon as the disposition of the civil state could allow of a fixed and rule for
21
Psalms viii. , 2.
22 The word " "
parochia signified
of old as well dioceses, as what we now commonly denominate parishes. See Rev. Joseph
"
Bingham's Origines Ecclesiasticoe, or the
Antiquities of the Christian Church," book ix. , chap, viii. , sect. I.
83 See " Lives of the English Saints," St. Ninian, Bishop of Candida Casa, chap, vii. , pp. 85 to 119.
84 See Venerablis Bedse Opera quae super- sunt omnia. Rev. Dr. J. A. Giles' edition,
regular
living. Then Ailred, a writer of the twelfth
vol.
ii. ,
" Ilistoria Ecclesiastica Gentis An-
age, grounded his observations, on the ancient records in the monastery of Candida Casa, or Whithern, and on the constant tra- dition in his time. This alone should pre- scribe against the notion of a pretended primitive church government without bishops in Scotland, before St. Palladius preached there. Such a statement has been advanced, however, yet without any other authority, but that of John Fordun, a writer who lived
July 25. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 373
About that time, Ninian was residing in the districts inhabited by the
Novantes or Niduarii a6 and 2? The first Scottish church built St. Selgovi. by
Ninian was that of Candida Casa, towards the close of the fourth a8 or begin- ning of the fifth 29 century. The site selected for his religious establishment andchurchwasonapromontoryofGalloway. St. Niniothusengagedinerect- ing a church, at a place known formerly as Leucophibia, at least by the Greeks. This local designation as recorded by Ptolemy 3° shows, that it was imposed long antecedently to the period of St. Ninian. If Candida Casa had its origin in the former Greek term, the name is more probably derived from the primi- tive lime-white houses there, than from the church afterwards built by St.
the
Saxon appellation, Whitherne or White House, was subsequently the Candida Casa, a translation into Latin, and perhaps from the older Greek designation. It is now Whithorn, near which is the Island of Whithorn. In early Celtic hagiology, this place was named Alba, Rosnat, Futerna, and Magnum Monasterium,32 owing as we may suppose to»its superior distinction. It is said, that while building his church at Candida Casa, having heard about the death of his patron, St. Ninio dedicated the edifice under the invocation of St. Martin of Tours. From this circumstance, it was known likewise as the Church or House ofMartin. CandidaCasaandWhitherne,theLatinandSaxonequivalentsfor theGreekname,confirmasuggestedemendationofthetext. InIrishauthori-
Ninian, among
savage Galwegians,
ties, it is called Iniscais, which is a partial translation of Insula Casse, the Island of Candida Casa, or Inis Whitherne. This denomination became Inis
Vitryn, and Bangor Wydrin or Vydryn, another of the assumed or adopted names for Glastonbury. The latter part of this name is so suggestive of
Vitrum, and its English equivalent glass, that we have the Glassy Isle, as
"
alias for Glastonbury or Glastonia, rendered Urbs Vitria, or
In consequence of this coincidence, it is stated, that a good deal more of the history of the Galwegian church of St. Ninian has been transferred to its southern rival. In this fictitious adaptation, some germs of truth may be found, and from its application to Glastonbury, we are enabled to catch a passing glimpse into the obscure and almost forgotten history of Candida Casa. 33
Among the miracles recorded by Ailred is one referring to a want of vege- tables in the refectory of the brethren, and St. Ninian asked the gardener why on that day no leeks or potherbs had been set on the table. He declared, that nothing had then grown in the garden, but he was told to go, and to
at the end of the fourteenth age. See Foundations, Collegiate Churches, and Hos-
" Civil and Ecclesiastical History of Scot- land ," book i. , num. xxxiv. , p. 43.
26
Their names are perpetuated in the River
Nith. This and the Solway estuary are 402, the assumed correct date for St.
local memorials of these ancient people.
2? These people lived to the north-west of the Solway Frith, which is said to have taken
its name from them.
28
Martin's decease.
3° In modern editions of the geography of
Ptolemy, it has been suggested, and with much probability, that the proper form of the name should be XevKocKidia, or Leucoiki- dia, "the white houses," so called from the custom of the ancient Britons to limewash their circular dwellings,
over the waters of the 1 The Solway. 3
According to the Rev. Mackenzie E. C.
Walcott, B. D. F. S. A. , Praecentor of Chiches-
ter, the first Scottish church founded by St.
Ninian was in A. D. 397, and of which we
have any definite historic account. It was
built of polished stone. This was the church
of Whitherne or Candida Casa, being the
earliest known in the province of Strathclyde
and the south Picts. See " Scoti-Monasti-
con: The Ancient Church of Scotland," A Monasterium," or Marmouthier at Tours,
3a This is suggestive of the "Majus History of the Cathedrals, Conventual which was founded by St. Martin.
pitals of Scotland.
39 St. Ninian is said by some, to have
erected the church at Whitherne about a. d.
3I See Cosmo Innes' " Sketches of early Scotch History and Social Progress," chap. i. Church Organization. The Parish, p. 1. Edinburgh, 1861, 8vo.
Glastown. "
374 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [July 25.
gather whatever he could find. Doing as required, he went into the garden,
and to his great surprise, he beheld not only leeks but other vegetables grown and bearing seed. From these he culled some, and then set them on the table
before the bishop, while the guests looking at each other with heart and voice magnified God in His saints, and retired refreshed both in mind and body. 34 Some light as to the social state existing around St. Ninian's monas- tery is revealed in a statement, that he had flocks for the use of his brethren, thepoor,andthepilgrims,asalsohutsforhisshepherds. Theseheusedto visit and impart to them his blessing. On one occasion, he enclosed his cattle in a particular place, and he drew a circle around them with his staff, com- manding that all of them should remain that night under the protection of God. Havingdonethis,theholybishopturnedasidetorestforthenight, in the houset>f a certain honourable matron. However, when the inmates had supped and retired to rest for the night, seeing that the cattle were not enclosed by walls, nor protected by hedges, nor kept in by a ditch, certain thieves resolved on stealing those beasts. In the silence and darkness, and no watch-dogs barking to frighten them, the thieves entered that enclosure made by the saint. Meantime, the bull of the herd rushed against those robbers with fury, and killed theleader, at a place called Farres Last,3* which has not been identified. 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.
joined by the Scots, not only of Britain, but by new levies of Scots coming
1
overfromIreland. * Intheyear398,thePictsandScotshadmadesuchpro-
gress in ravaging the neighbouring provinces of Britain, that these were quite ruined. Ts EventheTeutonsorSaxonshadinvadedBritain. 16 Anaccount—of
this miserable state of the British — been provinces having brought
to Stilicho whocommandedundertheEmperorHona/ius newforcesweredespatched to Britain. Having beaten out the Picts and Scots from the invaded Roman provinces, Stilicho caused the northern wall, built against their irruptions, to
be again repaired. He placed guards and a garrison *? on the frontiers of Valentia, to overawe the Scots and Picts, and to protect the British provin- cials against them.
A long absence and that veneration the people had entertained for his eminent sanctity, with the progress he made at Rome in the knowledge of Divine truths, drew great multitudes of the Christians in these parts, to wel- come St. Ninian on his return. They received him with great joy and wonderful devotion. They thanked God, likewise, because they looked on him as a prophet. Taking advantage of these marks of esteem and confidence manifested by the people, Ninian immediately began like an active husband- man in the Lord's vineyard, to root up what had been ill-planted, and to reform all abuses, that might have crept in among them. Having purged the minds of the faithful from all errors, he instructed them in the Faith and in their Christian duties. 18 By words as by example, he was a pattern of all virtue. *» St. Ninian's preaching was attended with the performance of many
lished work, "The Celtic Races of Great "
Movit, et infesto spumavit remige
Tethys.
Illius effectum curis, ne tela time-
Britain and Armorica, chap, iv. , p. 91.
12 He thus marks among others, those Roman troops, that guarded the w—all in Bri-
rem Scotica,
ne lit-
tain against the Scots and Picts
:
"Venit et extremis legio prsetenta Britannis,
Quae Scoto dat frena truci, ferroque notatas
Perlegit exsangues Picto moriente *
figuras. "
—De Bello Getico, vv. 416 to 418.
13
See lib. iii.
14 Thus Claudian introduces Britain
lamenting her perishing condition, until
ne Pictum tore tuto
tremerem,
Stilicho sent forces to her succour Picts and Scots :—
against
the
" Me quoque vicinis pereuntem genti- bus, inquit,
Me juvit Stilicho, totam cum Scotus lemem
—"
De Laudibus Stilichonis,"
lib. vv. ii. ,
Prospicerem dubiis venturum Saxona ventis. "
25010255.
IS See that account, which Claudian the
Poet gives, in the panegyric of Stilicho, the
Roman general.
"
See Edward A. Freeman's
of the Norman Conquest of England," vol. i. , chap, ii. , p. 11.
' 7 The Claudian gives an account of poet
the several legions which by Stilicho's order
came to join them, a. d. 402, against the Goths, and before the battle of Pollen- turn.
l8 See Rev. Thomas Innes' " Civil and Ecclesiastical History of Scotland," book i. ,
,<s
History
372 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [July 25.
miracles. 20 These Almighty God wrought through him, in confirmation of the doctrine he taught. A prince of that country, named Tuduvallus, had been violently opposed to the doctrine and ministrations of the saint. This king fell ill, and he was struck with blindness for his opposition to truth. By
the advice of his relations, he sent messengers to the man of God. Repenting of his error, the prayers of the holy bishop Ninian were offered earnestly to God, and then he went straightway to the sick man. Touching the ruler's head, pain was driven away from it, and signing his closed eyes with the cross, light again came to him. Thenceforward, knowing that the power of the Almighty was on the side of Ninian, that potentate began to cherish and vene- rate the saint with all affection. Another miracle took place, when an unfor- tunate woman committed herself with a young man, to whom she bore an illegi- timate male child, and afterwards she charged the guilt on a presbyter to whom Ninian had committed the charge of that district. To the great scandal of
the faithful, this lie she preferred in a public assembly, where the Bishop, the Priest, and her real paramour were present. From the lips of the infant then proceeded a statement, that confounded the guilty man, and absolved the innocent, while it convicted the slanderer of falsehood. Then were fulfilled
those words of the Psalmist
:
" Out of the mouth of babes and of sucklings,
21 In of his mission, Ninian pursuance
O thou hast Lord,
perfected praise. "
ordained priests, consecrated bishops, and distributed other ecclesiastical
22
for the more con- venient service and instruction of the people. However, the organization of what are now known as parishes did not commence in Southern Britain, for
ages after his time. At the same time, he wished to select from among aspirants to the ministry, those in whom he found evident marks of a Divine vocationtotheecclesiasticalstate. 23 Sohedesignedtokeepupthesuccession of pastors, and to carry on the work of the Gospel. We are informed, that for this end, the holy man ordained priests and consecrated bishops, the chosen ones among his disciples, and whom he had trained up personally, after the same manner in which he had been instructed at Rome. 2* In forming this infant church, Ninian followed the model and order of canonical discipline, which he had been taught from his youth. These he had seen everywhere prac- tised, during his travels through the. south of Britain, in the Gauls, and in Italy. Those practices, too, he knew to have been universal in the Church, during that age, as in all former ages, and in all countries, where Christianity had been established. 25
dignities. He divided the country into several districts,
sect, xxxi. , p. 39.
x9 See Right Rev. Alexander Penrose
Forbes' " Lives of S. Ninian and S. Kenti-
glorum," lib. iii. , cap. iv. , pp. 272, 273.
2s The Rev. Thomas limes observes,
though we had no other authority, that this
gern. " Life of S. Ninian, chap, ii. , pp. was the discipline and form of government
10, 11. observed among the ancient Christians in
20
See Ailred's "Vita S. Niniani," the north of Britain, or Scotland, it must
cap. iv.
seem sufficiently plain, they were used, so soon as the disposition of the civil state could allow of a fixed and rule for
21
Psalms viii. , 2.
22 The word " "
parochia signified
of old as well dioceses, as what we now commonly denominate parishes. See Rev. Joseph
"
Bingham's Origines Ecclesiasticoe, or the
Antiquities of the Christian Church," book ix. , chap, viii. , sect. I.
83 See " Lives of the English Saints," St. Ninian, Bishop of Candida Casa, chap, vii. , pp. 85 to 119.
84 See Venerablis Bedse Opera quae super- sunt omnia. Rev. Dr. J. A. Giles' edition,
regular
living. Then Ailred, a writer of the twelfth
vol.
ii. ,
" Ilistoria Ecclesiastica Gentis An-
age, grounded his observations, on the ancient records in the monastery of Candida Casa, or Whithern, and on the constant tra- dition in his time. This alone should pre- scribe against the notion of a pretended primitive church government without bishops in Scotland, before St. Palladius preached there. Such a statement has been advanced, however, yet without any other authority, but that of John Fordun, a writer who lived
July 25. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 373
About that time, Ninian was residing in the districts inhabited by the
Novantes or Niduarii a6 and 2? The first Scottish church built St. Selgovi. by
Ninian was that of Candida Casa, towards the close of the fourth a8 or begin- ning of the fifth 29 century. The site selected for his religious establishment andchurchwasonapromontoryofGalloway. St. Niniothusengagedinerect- ing a church, at a place known formerly as Leucophibia, at least by the Greeks. This local designation as recorded by Ptolemy 3° shows, that it was imposed long antecedently to the period of St. Ninian. If Candida Casa had its origin in the former Greek term, the name is more probably derived from the primi- tive lime-white houses there, than from the church afterwards built by St.
the
Saxon appellation, Whitherne or White House, was subsequently the Candida Casa, a translation into Latin, and perhaps from the older Greek designation. It is now Whithorn, near which is the Island of Whithorn. In early Celtic hagiology, this place was named Alba, Rosnat, Futerna, and Magnum Monasterium,32 owing as we may suppose to»its superior distinction. It is said, that while building his church at Candida Casa, having heard about the death of his patron, St. Ninio dedicated the edifice under the invocation of St. Martin of Tours. From this circumstance, it was known likewise as the Church or House ofMartin. CandidaCasaandWhitherne,theLatinandSaxonequivalentsfor theGreekname,confirmasuggestedemendationofthetext. InIrishauthori-
Ninian, among
savage Galwegians,
ties, it is called Iniscais, which is a partial translation of Insula Casse, the Island of Candida Casa, or Inis Whitherne. This denomination became Inis
Vitryn, and Bangor Wydrin or Vydryn, another of the assumed or adopted names for Glastonbury. The latter part of this name is so suggestive of
Vitrum, and its English equivalent glass, that we have the Glassy Isle, as
"
alias for Glastonbury or Glastonia, rendered Urbs Vitria, or
In consequence of this coincidence, it is stated, that a good deal more of the history of the Galwegian church of St. Ninian has been transferred to its southern rival. In this fictitious adaptation, some germs of truth may be found, and from its application to Glastonbury, we are enabled to catch a passing glimpse into the obscure and almost forgotten history of Candida Casa. 33
Among the miracles recorded by Ailred is one referring to a want of vege- tables in the refectory of the brethren, and St. Ninian asked the gardener why on that day no leeks or potherbs had been set on the table. He declared, that nothing had then grown in the garden, but he was told to go, and to
at the end of the fourteenth age. See Foundations, Collegiate Churches, and Hos-
" Civil and Ecclesiastical History of Scot- land ," book i. , num. xxxiv. , p. 43.
26
Their names are perpetuated in the River
Nith. This and the Solway estuary are 402, the assumed correct date for St.
local memorials of these ancient people.
2? These people lived to the north-west of the Solway Frith, which is said to have taken
its name from them.
28
Martin's decease.
3° In modern editions of the geography of
Ptolemy, it has been suggested, and with much probability, that the proper form of the name should be XevKocKidia, or Leucoiki- dia, "the white houses," so called from the custom of the ancient Britons to limewash their circular dwellings,
over the waters of the 1 The Solway. 3
According to the Rev. Mackenzie E. C.
Walcott, B. D. F. S. A. , Praecentor of Chiches-
ter, the first Scottish church founded by St.
Ninian was in A. D. 397, and of which we
have any definite historic account. It was
built of polished stone. This was the church
of Whitherne or Candida Casa, being the
earliest known in the province of Strathclyde
and the south Picts. See " Scoti-Monasti-
con: The Ancient Church of Scotland," A Monasterium," or Marmouthier at Tours,
3a This is suggestive of the "Majus History of the Cathedrals, Conventual which was founded by St. Martin.
pitals of Scotland.
39 St. Ninian is said by some, to have
erected the church at Whitherne about a. d.
3I See Cosmo Innes' " Sketches of early Scotch History and Social Progress," chap. i. Church Organization. The Parish, p. 1. Edinburgh, 1861, 8vo.
Glastown. "
374 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [July 25.
gather whatever he could find. Doing as required, he went into the garden,
and to his great surprise, he beheld not only leeks but other vegetables grown and bearing seed. From these he culled some, and then set them on the table
before the bishop, while the guests looking at each other with heart and voice magnified God in His saints, and retired refreshed both in mind and body. 34 Some light as to the social state existing around St. Ninian's monas- tery is revealed in a statement, that he had flocks for the use of his brethren, thepoor,andthepilgrims,asalsohutsforhisshepherds. Theseheusedto visit and impart to them his blessing. On one occasion, he enclosed his cattle in a particular place, and he drew a circle around them with his staff, com- manding that all of them should remain that night under the protection of God. Havingdonethis,theholybishopturnedasidetorestforthenight, in the houset>f a certain honourable matron. However, when the inmates had supped and retired to rest for the night, seeing that the cattle were not enclosed by walls, nor protected by hedges, nor kept in by a ditch, certain thieves resolved on stealing those beasts. In the silence and darkness, and no watch-dogs barking to frighten them, the thieves entered that enclosure made by the saint. Meantime, the bull of the herd rushed against those robbers with fury, and killed theleader, at a place called Farres Last,3* which has not been identified. 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.
