Ninian

Ninian is a <a href="/facts/Christianity/nKyJHlqq">Christian</a> saint, first mentioned in the 8th century as being an early <a href="/facts/Missionary/AtfQeYq3">missionary</a> among the <a href="/facts/Picts/Y2M50Ulj">Pictish</a> peoples of what is now <a href="/facts/Scotland/VGwbbxB2">Scotland</a>. 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 <a href="/facts/Scottish_Lowlands/HK60gGaD">Scottish Lowlands</a>, and in parts of Northern <a href="/facts/England/U9mE5bGL">England</a> with a <a href="/facts/Northumbria/fkVzk6xc">Northumbrian</a> heritage. He is also known as Ringan in Scotland, and as Trynnian in Northern England.
Ninian's major shrine was at <a href="/facts/Whithorn/DVFAX0xN">Whithorn</a> in <a href="/facts/Galloway/bCMID3QX">Galloway</a>, where he is associated with the <a href="/facts/Candida_Casa/EaV9sytG">Candida Casa</a> (<a href="/facts/Latin/pM3Kge85">Latin</a> 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 <a href="/facts/Thomas_Owen_Clancy/nD0dsILQ">Thomas Owen Clancy</a>, a researcher and professor of Celtic studies, posits that Ninian can be identified with three other historical figures: Saint <a href="/facts/Finnian_of_Moville/coT8sWet">Finnian of Moville</a>, Saint <a href="/facts/Finnian_of_Clonard/VFbb6wGR">Finnian of Clonard</a>, and Saint <a href="/facts/Finbarr_of_Cork/7uTFf9MD">Finbarr of Cork</a>. Linguistic variations across 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.

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Ninian