1--St. Egidius or Giles, Abbot, A.D. 714.
This saint never laboured in Scotland, yet the honour shown to him in
the country is sufficient reason for the mention of his name here. He
is said to have been an Athenian by birth, who fled from his native
land to escape the admiration excited by his extraordinary sanctity.
He settled in France and founded a monastery in the neighbourhood of
Nismes, where many disciples placed themselves under his guidance,
and where he died and was laid to rest. His _cultus_ extended from
France into other countries. St. Giles was honoured in Edinburgh as
early as 11 50, when a monastery existed under his invocation. He
became the {128} recognised patron saint of the city, and his figure
appeared in the armorial bearings of Edinburgh, accompanied by the
hind which is said in his legend to have attached herself to the
saint. Since the Reformation the figure of the saint has disappeared,
though that of the animal remains.
The beautiful Church of St. Giles was re built in the 15th century,
and was erected into a collegiate church by Pope Paul II. It still
continues to be the glory of the Scottish capital. This church
possessed an arm-bone of the saint, for which a rich reliquary was
provided by the city. Fairs were formerly held in honour of St. Giles
at Moffat and also at Elgin, where the parish church bore his name.
2--St. Murdoch, Bishop.
No very reliable particulars can be ascertained as to the life of
this saint. Traces of the honour shown to him are to be found in
Forfarshire, the district which seems to have been the scene of his
missionary labours. At Ethie, in the parish of Inverkeilor, in that
county, are the remains of an ancient church and burial-ground {129}
which bear his name. Near Ethiebeaton, in the parish of Monifieth,
are traces of an old church which goes by the name of "Chapel
Dockie." This is believed to be another dedication in honour of St.
Murdoch.
9--St. Queran or Kieran, Abbot, A.D. 548.
This saint was born in Ireland and became abbot of the monastery
known as Clonmacnois. He passed over to Cornwall, and there laboured
as a missionary for some years. Many churches in that district are
known by his name, which appears there under the form of Piran.
The saint afterwards journeyed to Scotland, where he preached the
Gospel in the western districts. He settled at Dalruadhain, near
Campbeltown, and the cave to which he was accustomed to retire for
prayer is still to be seen there. He died in A.D. 548. St. Kieran
came to be regarded eventually as the patron saint of the whole of
Kintyre. He became very popular in Scotland, on account of the great
affection with which St. Columba regarded him. Every year his
hermitage and {130} holy well were the resort of pilgrims who came to
honour his memory. A rock near the sea shore is said to have been
marked by the impress of his knees, from the frequency with which he
would kneel there to pray with arms outstretched, looking towards his
beloved Ireland.
Several churches in Scotland are dedicated to this saint. Besides
a church in Campbeltown, others at Kilkerran in Kintyre, Kilcheran
in Lismore, Kilkeran in Islay and Barvas in Lewis were named
after him. Those of Strathmore in Caithness, Fetteresso and
Glenbervie in Kincardineshire and Dalkerran in Ayrshire are
dedicated to a saint of the same name, but whether it is this
particular St. Kieran is disputed. There is a well of "St. Jargon"
at Troqueer (Kirkcudbright), which is thought to be St. Kieran's.
15--St. Mirin. Bishop, 6th century.
Born in Ireland, he became a pupil of St. Comgall in the monastery of
Bangor on Belfast Lough, where no less than three thousand monks are
said to have resided together. In {131} the course of time Mirin was
made Prior of the Abbey. No authentic record relates that he left
Ireland to labour in Scotland; but Bangor, like Iona, was a great
missionary centre, from which the brethren started to evangelise the
various countries of Europe, and this fact lends credence to a
tradition that St. Mirin came to Scotland. Paisley has always claimed
the honour of possessing his remains, which became in after years an
attraction to many pilgrims.
When in the twelfth century Walter Fitz-Alan founded a Benedictine
abbey there, he placed it under the patronage of St. Mirin, jointly
with Our Lady, St. James and St. Milburga, the patron of Wenlock,
Shropshire, whence the first community came. Lights were burnt around
St. Mirin's tomb for centuries, and a constant devotion was cherished
towards him. The seal of the abbey bore his figure, with a scroll
inscribed, "O Mirin, pray to Christ for thy servants." The chapel in
which his remains repose is popularly known as "The Sounding Aisle,"
from its peculiar echo.
A fair was formerly held at Paisley on the {132} saint's feast-day
and during the octave. Other churches in the south of Scotland were
dedicated to him. In the parish of Kelton, in Kirkcudbright, are the
remains of an ancient chapel and burial-ground known as "Kirk
Mirren." On Inch Murryn (Mirin's Island), in Loch Lomond, are the
ruins of his chapel. At Kilsyth, Stirlingshire, is "St. Mirin's
Well." There are other traces of him at Coylton, in Ayrshire, where a
farm is called "Knock Murran," and at Edzell, in Forfarshire, where
there is the "Burn of Marran."
16--St. Ninian, Bishop. 5th century.
He was the first bishop residing in Scotland of whom there is any
authentic record, and one of the earliest missionaries to the
country. He was born about A.D. 360, in the district now known as
Cumberland. His father was a converted British chieftain. Ninian had
a strong desire to study the Faith at its fountain-head, and
journeyed to Rome in his twenty-first year. The Pope of the time, St.
Damasus, received him very cordially, and give him special teachers
{133} to instruct him in the doctrines of the Church. After he had
spent there fifteen years, Pope St. Siricius made him priest and
bishop, and sent him to preach the Faith in his native country.
Ninian settled in the district now called Galloway. The recollection
of the churches he had seen in Rome awoke in him a desire to build
one more worthy of God's worship than the simple edifices of that
early age in these northern countries. By the help of his friend, St.
Martin of Tours, he obtained Prankish masons for this purpose, and
built the first stone church ever yet seen in Britain. It was called
_Candida Casa_, or "White House" (still the designation in Latin of
the See of Galloway). The point of land on which it stood became
known as the "White Home," from which Whithorn derives its name.
Besides converting the people of his own neighbourhood, St. Ninian,
by his zeal, brought into the Church the Southern Picts, who
inhabited the old Roman province of Valentia, south of the Forth. He
is therefore styled their Apostle. He was more than seventy when he
died, and was laid to rest in the {134} church he had built and
dedicated to St. Martin. Later on it was called after him and became
illustrious for pilgrimages from England and Ireland, as well as from
all parts of Scotland. So many churches in Scotland bore his name
that the enumeration of them would be impossible here, while almost
every important church had an altar dedicated to him. An altar of St.
Ninian was endowed by the Scottish nation in the Carmelite Church at
Bruges in Catholic ages. There is a portion of a fresco on the wall
of Turriff Church, Aberdeenshire, which bears the figure of St.
Ninian. The burgh of Nairn was placed under his patronage. Many holy
wells bore his name: at Arbirlot, Arbroath, Mains and Menmuir
(Forfarshire); Ashkirk (Selkirkshire); Alyth, Dull (Perthshire);
Mayfield (Kirkcubrightshire); Sandwick (Orkney); Penninghame, Wigtown
(Wigtownshire); Isle of Mull. That at Dull is said by a Protestant
writer of 1845 to have been greatly frequented by invalids from far
and near, on account of its reputed healing powers.
St. Ninian's fairs were held at Whithorn {135} (for four days), and
also at Arbroath. The saint's feast, which had previously been long
observed in the diocese of Galloway and at the Benedictine Abbey,
Fort-Augustus, was extended to the whole Scottish Church by Leo
XIII. in 1898.
St. Laisren. Abbot, A.D. 605.
He was a cousin of St. Columba. He ruled for some years the Abbey of
Durrow in Ireland, and afterwards that of Iona, of which he was the
third abbot.
20--St. Marthom.
A fair was held annually at Ordiquhill (Banffshire) for eight days
from September 20, under the name of St. Marthom's fair. Nothing is
known about the life of the saint.
22--St. Lolan, Bishop.
Many extraordinary miracles are related of this saint, but his real
history is involved in obscurity.
The crozier and bell of St. Lolan were long preserved at
Kincardine-on-Forth, Perthshire, {136} and were included in the
feudal investitures of the earldom of Perth. They are alluded to in
documents of the 12th century, and the mention of the bell occurs
in one as late as 1675. Both relics have long disappeared.
23--St. Adamnan, Abbot, A.D. 704.
He was of Irish race, and belonged to the same family as St. Columba.
In his 55th year he was elected Abbot of Iona. He is said to have
been instrumental in obtaining the passing of "The Law of the
Innocents" in the Irish National Assembly of Tara. This statute
exempted the Irish women from serving on the battle field, which
before that time they had been bound to do. In 701 St. Adamnan was
sent on an embassy to his former pupil, Aldfrid, King of Northumbria,
to seek reparation for injuries committed by that King's subjects in
the Province of Meath. It was during this visit to England that he
conformed to the Roman usage with regard to the time for keeping
Easter, and he was afterwards successful in introducing the true
practice into the Irish Church. His efforts in this respect were
{137} not successful with his monks at Iona; though his earnest
exhortations, and the unfailing charity which he exhibited towards
those who differed from him, must have helped to dispose them to
conform to the rest of the Church, which they did about twenty years
after his death.
St. Adamnan is most renowned for his life of St. Columba, which has
been called by a competent judge "the most complete piece of such
biography that all Europe can boast of, not only at so early a
period, but throughout the whole Middle Ages." He is also the author
of a treatise on the Holy Land, valuable as being one of the earliest
produced in Europe.
Though the saint died at Iona, his relics were carried to Ireland;
but they must have been restored to Iona, as they were venerated
there in 1520. He was one of the most popular of the Scottish saints,
and many churches were named after him. The chief of these were at
Aboyne and Forvie (parish of Slains) in Aberdeenshire; Abriachan in
Inverness-shire; Forglen or Teunan Kirk in Banffshire; Tannadice in
Forfarshire; Kileunan (parish of Kilkerran) {138} in Kintyre; Kinneff
in Kincardineshire; the Island of Sanda; Dull, Grandtully and
Blair Athole in Perthshire--the latter place was once known as
_Kilmaveonaig_, from the quaint little chapel and burying ground of
the saint. There were chapels in his honour at Campsie in
Stirlingshire and Dalmeny in Linlithgow. At Aboyne are "Skeulan Tree"
and "Skeulan Well," at Tannadice "St. Arnold's Seat," at Campsie "St.
Adamnan's Acre," at Kinneff "St. Arnty's Cell." At Dull a fair was
formerly held on his feast-day (old style); it was called _Feille
Eonan_. Another fair at Blair Athole was known as _Feill Espic Eoin_
("Bishop Eunan's Fair" though St. Adamnan was an abbot only); it has
been abolished in modern times. His well is still to be seen in the
Manse garden there, and down the glen a fissure in the rock is called
"St. Ennan's Footmark." There was a "St. Adamnan's Croft" in
Glenurquhart (Inverness-shire), but the site is no longer known.
Ardeonaig, near Loch Tay; Ben Eunaich, Dalmally; and Damsey
(Adamnan's Isle) in Orkney, take their names from this saint. At
{139} Firth-on-the-Spey, near Kingussie, is a very ancient bronze
bell, long kept on a window-sill of the old church, and tradition
relates that when moved from thence it produced a sound similar to
the words, "Tom Eunan, Tom Eunan," until it was restored to its
original resting-place in the church, which stands on the hill
bearing that name. The tradition points to the dedication of the
church to this saint. Few names have passed through such various
transformations in the course of ages as that of Adamnan. It is met
under the forms of Aunan, Arnty, Eunan, Ounan, Teunan (Saint-Eunan),
Skeulan, Eonan, Ewen and even Arnold.
St. Adamnan's feast was restored by Pope Leo XIII. in 1898.
25--St. Barr or Finbar, Bishop, 6th century.
He was born in Connaught and was the founder of a celebrated
monastery and school on an island in Lough Eirce (now known as
Gougane-Barra), in County Cork, and to this house, says Colgan in his
_Acta Sanctorum_, so {140} many came through zeal for a holy life
that it changed a desert into a great city.
St. Finbar became the first Bishop of Cork, where he founded a
monastery almost as famous as the former. St. Finbar, like so many
Irish saints, made a pilgrimage to Rome. Missionary zeal led him
later on to Scotland, and for some time he laboured in Kintyre.
Devotion to St. Barr was very great in Catholic Scotland, as numerous
dedications attest. His churches are chiefly to be found on solitary
islands, which seem to have had a special attraction for him. Thus in
the parish of Kilkerran, Kintyre, is an island now known as Davar; it
was formerly called St. Barre's Island. The island of Barra takes its
name from him; traces of his _cultus_ lingered on there long after
the Reformation. At Kilbar (sometimes called Shilbar), for example,
an image of the saint, which was long preserved, used to be clothed
with a linen robe on his feast-day in comparatively recent times.
Other curious customs also prevailed in the island in connection with
him; his holy well is there. St. Barr was the patron saint of the
churches of {141} Dornoch, and of Eddleston (Peebles-shire); at both
places a fair was annually held on his feast-day. In Ayrshire is the
parish of Barr, and in Forfarshire that of Inch bare. At Midd Genie,
in Tarbat, is Chapel Barre.
28--St. Machan or Mahon, Bishop, about 6th century.
St. Machan, born in Scotland, was like many of his contemporaries,
sent to Ireland, then renowned for its schools, to be educated. After
he had returned to his native land and had become a priest, he
laboured in various provinces of Scotland.
At Rome, whither he had gone as a pilgrim, he was consecrated bishop
in spite of protestations from his humility; later he returned to
Scotland and to the apostolic ministry. After many years of fruitful
labour he died and was laid to rest at Campsie in Lennox. His name
still survives in Ecclesmachan (Church of Machan) in Linlithgow, of
which he is patron. The parish of Dalserf, Lanarkshire, formed at one
time the chapelry of St. Machan, and was known as Machanshire. It was
connected {142} with the church of Cadzow (now Hamilton). An altar in
St. Mungo's Cathedral, Glasgow, was dedicated to him. A fair in
honour of this saint was held annually at Kilmahog, Perthshire.