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34-639: Rispain Camp is the remains of a fortified farmstead 1 mile west of Whithorn , Dumfries and Galloway , Scotland . It is one of the major Iron Age archaeological sites in Scotland. The property is in the care of Historic Environment Scotland . Access is through a farm off the A746 South of Whithorn. The name Rispain may derive from a local equivalent of the Old Welsh word rhwospen meaning 'the chief of

68-699: A bishopric among the Southern Picts at Abercorn in 681, under Bishop Trumwine . This effort was abandoned shortly after the Picts defeated the Northumbrians at the Battle of Dun Nechtain in 685. Christianity had flourished in Galloway in the 6th century. By the time of Bede 's account in 731, the Northumbrians had enjoyed an unbroken relationship with Galloway for a century or longer, beginning with

102-508: A miracle by Ninian and that the saint was granted lands to be called "Wytterna". In addition, Skene attributes the "traditional" date of Ninian's death (16 September 432) ultimately to Ussher's Life of Ninian , noting that the date is "without authority". Ussher's contribution is often disparaged, as he both invented fictitious histories and misquoted legitimate manuscripts to suit his own purposes. Still, he had access to legitimate manuscripts, and he has contributed to some versions of

136-631: Is Old English for the Latin candida casa , or 'white house' in modern English, and it has survived as the modern name of Whithorn. There is as yet no unchallenged connection of the historical record to the person who was Bede's Ninian. However, the unlikelihood that the reputable historian Bede invented Ninian without some basis in the historical record, combined with an increased knowledge of Ireland's early saints and Whithorn's early Christian connections, has led to serious scholarly efforts to find Bede's basis. James Henthorn Todd , in his 1855 publication of

170-457: Is a royal burgh in the historic county of Wigtownshire in Dumfries and Galloway , Scotland , about 10 miles (16 kilometres) south of Wigtown . The town was the location of the first recorded Christian church in Scotland, Candida Casa "White/Shining House", built by Saint Ninian about 397 CE. There is a tradition that St Ninian built a church of stone and lime nearby in

204-609: Is also in the care of Historic Scotland . Whithorn was once served by a railway station until 1950 when the passenger service was withdrawn and the freight services falling victim to the Beeching axe in 1964. The track was lifted in April 1965. List of listed buildings in Whithorn, Dumfries and Galloway St. Ninian Ninian is a Christian saint, first mentioned in the 8th century as being an early missionary among

238-400: Is discounted as a non-historical account, and copies are not widely extant. Dedications to Saint Ninian are expressions of respect for the good works that are attributed to him, and the authenticity of the stories about him are not relevant to that point. Almost all of the dedications have their origins in the medieval era, after Aelred wrote his account. The dedications are found throughout

272-467: Is ruinous, much of it having disappeared completely apart from the much-altered aisleless nave and vaults at the former eastern end which once held the shrine of St. Ninian , one of medieval Scotland's major pilgrimage destinations. A museum in the town contains finds from the site, which has been extensively excavated in recent years. A late-medieval gateway with the arms of the King of Scots leads into

306-675: The Leabhar Imuinn (The Book of Hymns of the Ancient Church of Ireland), suggested that it was Finnian of Moville , and that view has gained traction among modern scholars. The earliest mention of Ninian of Whithorn is in a short passage of The Ecclesiastical History of the English People by the Northumbrian monk Bede in c.  731 . The 8th-century poem Miracula Nyniae Episcopi records some of

340-660: The Pictish peoples of what is now Scotland . For this reason he is known as the Apostle to the Southern Picts , and there are numerous dedications to him in those parts of Scotland with a Pictish heritage, throughout the Scottish Lowlands , and in parts of Northern England with a Northumbrian heritage. He is also known as Ringan in Scotland, and as Trynnian in Northern England. Ninian's major shrine

374-730: The Scottish Highlands and Isles , save for Kilninian and the Holy Spring of St Ninian of the Orthodox Mull Monastery on the Isle of Mull. In the modern era, the first cathedral built in Scotland after the Protestant Reformation, St Ninian's Cathedral , Perth, was dedicated to the saint in 1850. St Ninian and Triduana's Church, Edinburgh is a Roman Catholic church constructed in 1932 that

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408-549: The Firths of Clyde and Forth . That they had once been Christian is known from a 5th-century mention of them by Saint Patrick in his Letter to Coroticus , where he refers to them as ' apostate Picts'. Patrick could not have been referring to the Northern Picts who were converted by Saint Columba in the 6th century because they were not yet Christian, and thus could not be called 'apostate'. Northumbria had established

442-556: The Northumbrian predecessor state of Bernicia . The full nature of the relationship is uncertain. Also at this time, Northumbria was establishing bishoprics in its sphere of influence, to be subordinate to the Northumbrian Archbishop of York . One such bishopric was established at Whithorn in 731, and Bede's account serves to support the legitimacy of the new Northumbrian bishopric. The Bernician name hwit ærn

476-523: The Picts and returned home, being buried in a stone sarcophagus near the altar of his church; and that he had once travelled with his brother, named "Plebia". Aelred said that in addition to finding information about Ninian in Bede, he took much additional information for his Life of S. Ninian from a source written in a "barbarous language"; there is no further information about this text. Aelred wrote his Life of S. Ninian sometime after spending ten years at

510-712: The Scottish court and thus had close connections both to the Scottish royal family and to Fergus of Galloway (who would resurrect the Bishopric of Galloway ), all of whom would have been pleased to have a manuscript with such a glowing description of a Galwegian and Scottish saint. His work is what Thomas Heffernan refers to as a "sacred biography", probably intended for a politically ambitious audience. James Ussher wrote that Ninian left Candida Casa for Cluayn-coner in Ireland, and eventually died in Ireland; that his mother

544-527: The altar of his church. Further variations assert that he left for Ireland , and died there in 432. Dates for his birth are derived from the traditional mention of St Martin, who died in 397. Bede says that Ninian (whose name he only renders in the ablative case Nynia ) was a Briton who had been instructed in Rome ; that he made his church of stone, which was unusual among the Britons; that his episcopal see

578-705: The body of Simon de Wedale , who was one of the Bishops of Whithorn. Whithorn's link to the sea was the port known as the Isle of Whithorn (a separate community from Whithorn itself and actually a peninsula). It was much used in the Middle Ages by pilgrims arriving by boat. The thirteenth-century Saint Ninian's Chapel marked the point where pilgrims came ashore (the roofless remains are looked after by Historic Environment Scotland ). The 1st-century settlement of Rispain Camp , about 1 mile (1.6 km) west of Whithorn,

612-413: The cultivated country', a name certainly appropriate to as prestigious a farm as this. Today it consists of two broad earth banks separated by a ditch , originally almost six metres deep surrounding an enclosure of almost half a hectare . Its defences are so well preserved that until the mid-1970s archaeologists believed the site to be either a Roman fort or mediaeval farmstead. However excavations in

646-446: The early 1980s provided evidence that it was inhabited between the 100 BC and 200 AD by local Celtic farmers. Radiocarbon dating has provided evidence that the site was definitely occupied around 60 BC. Excavation revealed traces of a timber gateway to the north east, which would probably have been connected to a timber stockade running along the top of the inner rampart . There was also evidence of large timber roundhouses inside

680-522: The enclosure, one of which is thirteen and a half metres in diameter. In the ditch's south eastern corner excavation uncovered a square pit, possibly a cistern . Cattle , sheep and pigs were kept and hunting in the surrounding countryside provided venison . Barley and wheat may not just have been used as foodstuffs but also, in the case of barley, used in the brewing of alcohol . Whithorn Whithorn ( Scots pronunciation: [ˈʍɪthorn] ; Scottish Gaelic : Taigh Mhàrtainn ),

714-519: The lands of the ancient Picts of Scotland, throughout Scotland south of the Firths of Clyde and Forth , in Orkney and Shetland , and in parts of northern England. Dedications on the Isle of Man date from the time of medieval Scottish dominance, and are not natively inspired. There are dedications to Ninian in East Donegal and Belfast ; and a spot formerly on the shore of Belfast Lough

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748-525: The late 4th century; it was called Candida Casa , 'White/Shining House'. "Whithorn" is a modern form of the Anglo-Saxon version of this name, Hwit Ærn or Hwiterne , 'White House'. In Gallovidian Gaelic , it was called Rosnat , or Futarna , the latter a version of the Anglo-Saxon name (Gaelic has no sound corresponding to English wh ). Ninian dedicated the church to his master Martin of Tours , and when he died (probably in 432) Ninian

782-595: The miracles attributed to him. A Life of Saint Ninian ( Vita Sancti Niniani ) was written around 1160 by Ailred of Rievaulx , and in 1639 James Ussher discusses Ninian in his Brittanicarum Ecclesiarum Antiquitates . These are the sources of information about Ninian of Whithorn, and all provide seemingly innocuous personal details about his life. However, there is no unchallenged historical evidence to support any of their stories, and all sources had political and religious agendas that were served by their accounts of Saint Ninian (discussed below). Tradition holds that Ninian

816-677: The site is the Whithorn Crozier. The gilded and enamelled crozier is an outstanding example of champlevé enamels which were being made in England in the second half of the 12th century, and this one dates to around 1175. It is now housed in the National Museums of Scotland , although it is loaned to the Whithorn Trust Visitor Centre every summer. It is thought that the crozier was buried with

850-427: The site of the priory, which contains the 19th-century parish church and a museum of carved stones ( Historic Environment Scotland ). The collection of early medieval stones is one of the largest in Scotland, and includes the country's earliest surviving Christian memorial, the 5th-century inscribed Latinus Stone. The museum layout and display was revised and greatly improved in 2005. One of the finest artefacts found at

884-534: The territories associated with each saint have provided evidence that the Ninian preserved in literary tradition originated from this individual. This article discusses the particulars and origins of what has come to be known as the "traditional" stories of Saint Ninian. The Southern Picts, for whom Ninian is held to be the apostle, were the Picts south of the mountains known as the Mounth , which cross Scotland north of

918-482: The traditional stories. Others who wrote of Saint Ninian used the accounts of Bede, Aelred, or Ussher, or used derivatives of them in combination with information from various manuscripts. This includes John Capgrave (1393–1464), John of Tinmouth ( fl.   c.  1366 ), John Colgan (died c.  1657 ), and many others, up to the present day. The anonymously written 8th-century hagiographic Miracula Nynie Episcopi ( Miracles of Bishop Ninian )

952-471: Was a Briton who had studied in Rome , that he established an episcopal see at the Candida Casa in Whithorn, that he named the see for Saint Martin of Tours , that he converted the southern Picts to Christianity , and that he is buried at Whithorn. Variations of the story add that he had actually met St Martin, that his father was a Christian king, and that he was buried in a stone sarcophagus near

986-541: Was a Christian king; that he was consecrated a bishop in Rome and that he met Saint Martin in Tours; that Saint Martin sent masons with him on his homeward journey, at his request; that these masons built a church of stone, situated on the shore, and that on learning of Saint Martin's death, Ninian dedicated the church to him; that a certain rich and powerful "King Tuduvallus" was converted by him; that he died after having converted

1020-428: Was a Spanish princess; that his father wished to regain him after having assented to his training for an ecclesiastical state; that a bell comes from heaven to call together his disciples; that 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. He adds that a smith and his son, named respectively "Terna" and "Wyn", witnessed

1054-735: Was at Whithorn in Galloway , where he is associated with the Candida Casa ( Latin for 'White House'). Nothing is known about his teachings, and there is no unchallenged authority for information about his life. Ninian's identity is uncertain, and historians have identified the name "Ninian" with other historical figures. A popular hypothesis proposed by Thomas Owen Clancy , a researcher and professor of Celtic studies, posits that Ninian can be identified with three other historical figures: Saint Finnian of Moville , Saint Finnian of Clonard , and Saint Finbarr of Cork . Linguistic variations across

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1088-444: Was buried in the church. A monastery and diocese of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Northumbria was founded on the site in the 8th century, possibly originating with a 6th-century Magnum Monasterium , or monastery of Rosnat. It was the centre of the revived See of Galloway (or Candida Casa) under the patronage of Fergus, Lord of Galloway and Bishop Gille Aldan from the 12th century. The late-medieval cathedral Whithorn Priory

1122-560: Was named after Saint Martin of Tours ; that he preached to and converted the southern Picts ; that his base was called Ad Candidam Casam , which was in the province of the Bernicians ; and that he was buried there, along with many other saints. Leaving aside the stories regarding miracles, in the Vita Sancti Niniani Aelred includes the following incidental information regarding Saint Ninian: that his father

1156-474: Was traditionally known as St Ninian's Point, where the missionary reputedly landed after a voyage from Scotland. These connections reflect a strong Ulster-Scots heritage in both areas of Ulster. There are also dedications elsewhere in the world where there is a Scottish heritage, such as Nova Scotia . St Ninian's Cathedral is located in Antigonish , Nova Scotia. There is a noticeable lack of dedications in

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