Ninian (Nynia) (5th century), British bishop and apostle in Whithorn and Galloway, traditionally also apostle of the Picts. Our principal information comes from Bede, whose source and accuracy have been much discussed recently, but without any final conclusion being generally accepted. Archaeology at Whithorn, however, has tended to confirm Bede's statements, in so far as remains have been found there of an early church, whose masonry was in fact painted white, which could have given Bede's name for it Ad Candidam Casam. A number of inscribed Christian stones were also found, which confirm the existence of a monastery near by. The dedication to St. Martin mentioned by Bede has been much contested. It has been suggested that Ninian brought a relic of Martin to Whithorn, perhaps for a subsidiary chapel, in or near the monastery, and that Ninian's monasticism was inspired by that of Martin at Tours, whom, however, he did not necessarily visit. Bede also stressed Ninian's formation at Rome, his shrine at Whithorn and the presence of other relics there.
The extent of his apostolate among the ‘southern Picts’ has also been much disputed. The first problem is to identify these people. It seems likely that Bede means those in Forfar, Perth, Sterling, and Fife but not the people living in Galloway. Some confirmation of this is seen in the place-name St. Ninians near Stirling, but the use of this evidence is uncertain because of the unknown date of many place-names; it would also be unwise to assert that St. Ninian's Isle represents the furthest point of his own personal apostolate. It seems safer to stress Ninian's influence in and around Whithorn and to say that the extent of his apostolate in Pictish territory is unknown. There are, however, many Ninian dedications in different parts of Scotland, and three in northern England.
Ninian was sufficiently important to attract later biographers, such as an anonymous 8th-century writer, whose work, now lost, is believed to be the source of an 8th-century poem on Ninian. In the 12th century Ailred of Rievaulx also wrote a Life which can be regarded as a standard statement of how Ninian was traditionally regarded when Ailred lived in Scotland. His shrine was a popular pilgrimage-place and survived until the 16th century. By this time his cult had spread to Kent and Denmark. Feast: 26 August.
Bibliography
Click here for a list of abbreviations used in this bibliography.
- Bede, H.E., iii. 4; W. Levison, ‘An Eighth-Century Poem on St. Ninian’, Antiquity, xiv (1940), 280–91; Ailred's Life in A. P. Forbes, The Historians of Scotland (1874) and A. O. Anderson, Early Sources of Scottish History (1922); W. D. Simpson, Saint Ninian and the Origins of the Christian Church in Scotland (1940), but see A. O. Anderson, ‘Ninian and the southern Picts’, Scottish Hist. Review, xxvii (1948), 25–47 and E. A. Thompson, ‘The origin of Christianity in Scotland’, ibid., xxxv (1958), 17–22; J. Macqueen, St. Nynia (1961); id., ‘History and Miracle Stories in the biography of Nynia’, Innes Review, xiii (1962), 115–29; A. Boyle, ‘Saint Ninian: some outstanding problems’, ibid., xix (1968), 57–70; D. P. Kirby, ‘Bede and the Pictish Church’, ibid., xxiv (1973), 6–25: see also A. B. Scott, ‘The Brito-Celtic church on the northern mainland and islands’, Gaelic Soc., Inverness Trans., xxxiii (1932), 327–55; F. T. Wainwright, The Problem of the Picts (1955). R. P. C. Hanson, St. Patrick (1968); G. Hay, ‘A Scottish Altarpiece in Copenhagen’, Innes Review, vii (1956), 5–10. See also R. McCluskey, The See of Ninian (Ayr 1997)
