15 September, 2019
© Ann Munro
‘I should like to know, God’s dear Saint, what work you did or what virtue you manifested that pleased Christ so much…I have no doubt that you had some special quality in regard to which none was found like you, and it is that quality I propose to investigate…Open the ear of my understanding that I may know what it was.’
This is a meditation to St Cuthbert written in the 14th century by a monk of Lindisfarne.
And that is the task I set myself when I embarked on this project…
St Ninian, who’s dates are placed around 360-432AD, is acknowledged as Scotland’s first saint though, historically, little is known about him, virtually all references to him describe him as a ‘shadowy figure’ and ‘almost mystical’. So to try to tease out some sense of the man and his ministry we must examine the times in which he lived.
The Romans had invaded Britain in 43AD and over the next 50 years had extended their influence to include most of England. In 84AD, Agricola, was the first Roman general to operate extensively in Scotland and although his legions penetrated as far north as Banffshire the overall strategy of the Roman Empire could not afford the commitment of troops to the outer edges of the colony and he was recalled. As the local tribes continued their guerrilla tactics and harassment of the Roman settlements, Hadrian’s Wall was built between the Tyne and Solway Firth in the years 122-128AD. This was to be the permanent northern frontier of Roman Britain. The only other time that a forward policy was attempted was between 144-190AD when a turf wall, the Antonine Wall, was erected between the Forth and the Clyde, and after that southeast Scotland seems to have enjoyed almost a century of relative peace. However in the 4th century there were successive raids from north of the Wall and, partly because of periodic withdrawals of troops to the Continent, the Romans found their frontier indefensible and in 407AD the Roman Legions finally withdrew from Briton.
So what can we reasonably assume are the true facts of Ninian’s life?…
He was a Briton who was born about 360AD in the region close to Hadrian’s Wall. Reports that his father was a tribal chieftain in Galloway are unsubstantiated. He spoke a Brythonic Celtic language, which is a Celtic Gaelic dialect and, since the Romans were still in that area, he would have been conversant with Latin. Christianity had arrived in Roman Britain in the first century and archaeological research and unbroken tradition also testify to its existence in Dumfries and Galloway at an early period, so it is very likely that Ninian was raised in the Christian tradition. To date no account of the life and work of Ninian, written during his lifetime has been found.
The earliest recorded reference to Ninian is in Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of the English People written c 731. Bede writes…
‘…a most reverend and holy man of the British nation, who had been regularly instructed at Rome, in the faith and mysteries of the truth, whose episcopal see, named after St Martin the bishop, and famous for a stately church (wherein he and many other saints rest in the body) is still in existence among the English nation. The place belongs to the province of the Bernicians, and is generally called the White House, because he there built a church of stone, which was not usual among the Britons.’
Around 1160 Aelred of Rievaulx wrote his Vita Sancti Niniani (Life of St Ninian) which purports to tell Ninian’s life-story. Like other accounts it describes how Ninian became a devoted Christian, journeyed to Rome and became bishop and, arriving back in Britain, constructed a stone church at Whithorn. He also recounts that Ninian converted the ‘southern picts’. The text then relates that Ninian performed ten miracles, detailing six during his lifetime, after which he died and ascended to Heaven. A further four posthumous miracles are recorded and Aelred ends the text by stressing that the miracles listed are far from exhaustive, and that more have continued up into the present.
By the time we get to 1639 and the contribution of James Ussher, Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland things are getting pretty hairy. Ussher writes that Ninian left Candida Casa for Cluayn-coner in Ireland and eventually died in Ireland; his mother was a Spanish princess; his father, after having assented to his training, wished him to return home; a bell comes from heaven to call together his disciples; a wooden church was raised by him, with beams delivered by stags; and that a harper with no experience at architecture was the builder of the church.
However, there is no unchallenged historical evidence to support any of their stories and all sources had political and/or religious agendas to pursue.
The use of the term ‘Saint’ in Ninian’s time merely meant Christian as Paul wrote in his letter to the Philippians, “To all the saints in Jesus Christ who are in Philippi”, so when he set out on his journey Ninian was already a ‘Saint’.
Ninian is said to have gone to Rome to further his studies and from the known dates of those with whom he trained he must have left home while fairly young, probably in his early twenties. What an undertaking! We are given no details of just how he went about getting from Northern Britain to Rome in the late 4th century but it certainly wasn’t a journey for the faint-hearted. That he journeyed by sea is highly improbable and, since by that time there was a very substantial network of Roman roads, it is most likely he used that means. Did he travel with companions? Did he travel on horseback or with a cart – or did he walk, as we always imagine a pilgrim to do? However he travelled his journey was fraught with danger; wolves still roamed the countryside in huge numbers as did gangs of kidnappers and robbers. (Ireland’s St Patrick was kidnapped at 16 years of age and taken to Ulster where he was sold into slavery.) The monastic system had not yet arrived in Britain so he couldn’t monastery hop, he couldn’t carry sufficient provisions to sustain him for a journey of at least 2,000kms, so he would have to rely on getting food and shelter in the little towns and villages through which he passed. From Hadrian’s Wall there were two different routes south, one on the west side of England which passed through the Pennines to Chester then turned southeast toward London; and one on the east side which was more direct and had a greater number of towns along its route. From the present day town of Corbridge on the Border the Roman Dere Street led to York (where a Roman Legion was stationed) and from where Ermine Street continued, passing through Lincoln, to London. A sharp left turn would have taken him onto Watling Street and on through Canterbury to Dover. The shortest crossing of the Channel in Ninian’s time was from Dover to Gesioracum (now Boulogne-sur-Mer) in Gaul, from where he could pick up the Roman road network again. Once in Europe he would have been spoilt for choice as the road system was vast and serviced most areas of France, Germany, Italy and Spain. The most direct route would have been to follow the Via Flavia III southeast to where it joined the Via Flavia I (which ran north to south right through the middle of Europe) turn right and follow it to Arles. At Arles a left would take him onto the Via Julia Augusta which followed the coast of the Mediterranean, through Nice and Genoa to the ancient Roman town of Luna where it became the Via Aurelia and continued through Pisa directly into Rome. With the Roman roads system who needed GPS?
For Ninian, arriving in late 4th century Rome must have been mind-blowing, to be in this city which had flung its name, its influence, its culture across the entire known world! He had experienced the might and power of Rome all his life, and on his journey he would have seen the hand of Rome everywhere, the roads, the aquaducts, the buildings, etc. but nothing could have prepared him for the impact of Rome in her heyday. Although Constantine 1 had declared that Byzantium was now the centre of the Empire and had established Constantinople as his capital in 324, Rome still contained all her wonderful architecture and engineering, and Ninian was still the ‘boy from the bush’ – he must have been overwhelmed!
In Rome Ninian studied under Pope Damasus until his death in 384 and then concluded his studies under his successor Pope Siricius, who ordained him as a bishop and sent him back to minister to his own people. The time at which Ninian was in Rome was an exciting time, because, though it was no longer the hub of Roman Imperialism, it had become a centre for the expansion of Christianity. Saints Jerome, Ambrose and Augustine were all in Rome at that time and St Jerome was working on his translation of the Bible into Latin and his commentaries on the Gospels.
The return journey gave Ninian the opportunity of visiting Marmoȗtier to spend time with Martin of Tours who was the spiritual leader of the monastery there. Martin himself was a fairly colourful figure – born in Hungary but raised in Italy Martin was the son of a Roman tribune and, as such, was required by imperial law to enroll and serve the full number of years in the Roman army. Both his parents were devout pagans and were disappointed at his conversion to Christianity. A father who had named his son after the god of war must have been somewhat upset that he might be turning out to be a pacifist. We are told that Ninian definitely studied at Marmoȗtier and was profoundly influenced by Martin, carrying a deep love and respect for his teacher and his methods back to Scotland. Aelred says that when Ninian shared his dream of building a church ‘in the style of Rome’ Martin sent with him a dozen monks who were skilled in the art of building.
On his return home Ninian selected a site on the Mull of Galloway and set about building his church which was to be the base from which he could spread his mission. It was the first stone church ever built in that part of the world and as it was nearing completion in 397AD word arrived of the death of Martin of Tours. Out of deference to his friend and mentor Ninian is said to have named his church St Martin’s. However, due to its unique appearance (it is suggested that it may have been limewashed) the local Britons called it Hwit-aern the ‘White House’ which in its latinised form became the ‘Candida Casa’ and is the modern Whithorn.
In common with other Celtic saints Ninian is presented as a man of austerity and, like others, he found himself a ‘desertum’ or retreat, a large cave about 6.5kms to the west of Candida Casa, where he could give himself to prayer and contemplation without interruption, and although we know almost nothing about Ninian the man, Aelred presents a delightful little snapshot of him in his Encirclement Prayer. The most holy Ninian liked to visit herds and the huts of his shepherds desiring that the flocks which were kept for the use of the brethren and the poor should partake of the episcopal blessing. And so, the animals having been brought together in one place, when the servant of the Lord (Ninian) had looked upon them with uplifted hands he commended himself and all of his to divine protection. Then walking around them all and as it were drawing a circle with his staff on which he leant, he confided all within that enclosure to peaceful rest throughout the night under divine protection.
There is some scholarly dispute as to whether Ninian himself travelled throughout southern and eastern Scotland converting the local pagan populations or whether much of this was done in his name by the missionary monks from Candida Casa which, with the passage of time, became a significant centre of learning, particularly in the fields of scripture and spirituality. Young Irish aspirants to monastic life flocked to the monastery which had grown up on the site seeking inspiration and guidance, among them the teacher of St Columba. One very tangible artifact from his time is the Latinus Stone. This is the oldest surviving Christian memorial in Scotland. Dating from around 450AD it was erected to Latinus and his little daughter and may have stood in the nearby early Christian cemetery. The inscription is in latin and the translation reads, ‘We praise you, the Lord! Latinus, descendant of Barravados, aged 35, and his daughter, aged 4, made a sign here. The Christian chi-rho symbol is carved above the inscription. Latinus is the first Christian in Scotland whose name we know and his stone is clear evidence of a group of Christians at Whithorn as early as 450. From the known date of Ninian’s death, 432AD, Latinus was most likely a convert of Ninian.
From the time of his death to the present day the cult of St Ninian has continued, with Scottish royalty, from Robert the Bruce to Mary Queen of Scots making the pilgrimage to Whithorn. One of the miracles performed by Ninian is said to have been the curing of two people of leprosy and when Robert the Bruce came in 1329 it was to seek a cure for his ‘wasting disease’ (probably leprosy) but, sadly, he died a few months later. However his son, David II found healing from battle wounds after making the pilgrimage. James IV is reported to have come each year ‘with a lively following and plenty of music’ until his death on Flodden Field in 1513. The Roman Catholic Church in Scotland conducts a pilgrimage from Glasgow to Whithorn each year.
Dedications to Ninian are expressions of respect for the good works that are attributed to him and stretch widely throughout Scotland, from the southern border country to the far north and then to the islands of Orkney and Shetland, and take many forms. There are wells where tradition says healing miracles were performed, caves suggesting retreat for spiritual solitude, small priory churches and great cathedrals. There are also dedications in the north of England and in Northern Ireland. There is a noticeable lack of dedications in the Scottish Highlands and Isles, these were the special domain of Columba who arrived in Iona in 563AD some 130 years after Ninian’s death.
There are very many dedications in the form of stained glass windows such as the one in Whithorn Priory Church. There is a lovely one in Glasgow Cathedral and I was surprised and delighted to find one in the beautiful Chester Cathedral when we visited there some years ago. There are also dedications elsewhere in the world where there is a Scottish heritage, St Ninian’s Cathedral is located in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada, where many Scottish Catholic families fled after the defeat of the Jacobite army at the Battle of Culloden in 1746.
…and here, 1,600 years and 18,000 kilometres away, in a land and a time he could never have dreamt possible, we are worshipping today in a little stone Church, built by the hands and faith of its first Congregation, and now dedicated to Ninian, the Shadowy Saint.
The Episcopal Church’s collect for St Ninian’s day is…
O God, by the preaching of your blessed servant and bishop Ninian you caused the light of the Gospel to shine in the land of Britain: Grant, we pray, that having his life and labours in remembrance we may show our thankfulness by following the example of his zeal and patience; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.