page_title: Ninian
section_title: Bede (c. 731)
hierarchical_section_title: Ninian / Traditional story / Bede (c. 731)
caption_attribution_description: "The Venerable Bede Translates John" by James Doyle Penrose (1862-1932) Inset from "The last chapter (Bede)", exhibited at the Royal Academy (1902) Details:
context_page_description: Ninian is a Christian saint first mentioned in the 8th century as being an early missionary among 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. In Scotland, Ninian is also known as Ringan, and as Trynnian in Northern England.
  Ninian's major shrine was at Whithorn in Galloway, where he is associated with the Candida Casa. Nothing is known about his teachings, and there is no unchallenged authority for information about his life.
  The nature of 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.
context_section_description: 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 was named after Saint Martin of Tours; that he preached to and converted the southern Picts; that his base was in a place called " Ad Candidam Casam", which was in the province of the Bernicians; and that he was buried there, along with many other saints.
  Bede's information is minimal and he does not claim it as fact, asserting only that he is passing on "traditional" information. He provides the first historical reference to Saint Ninian, in a passing reference contained in the final part of a single paragraph.
caption: The Venerable Bede translates John, by J. D. Penrose, c. 1902.
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "The Last Chapter", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "PaintShop Photo Pro 13.00", "Image DateTime": "2011:09:29 22:22:17", "Image Artist": "James Doyle Penrose", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image ExifOffset": "2346", "Image XPTitle": "[84, 0, 104, 0, 101, 0, 32, 0, 76, 0, 97, 0, 115, 0, 116, 0, 32, 0, 67, 0, 104, 0, 97, 0, 112, 0, 116, 0, 101, 0, 114, 0, 0, 0]", "Image XPAuthor": "James Doyle Penrose", "Image XPSubject": "[66, 0, 101, 0, 100, 0, 101, 0, 32, 0, 116, 0, 114, 0, 97, 0, 110, 0, 115, 0, ... ]", "Image Padding": "[]", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "4814", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "5429", "Thumbnail YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0220", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "336", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "314", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[3, 0, 0, 0]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "4508", "EXIF Padding": "[]"}