Candida Casa was the name given to the church established by St Ninian in Whithorn, Galloway, southern Scotland, in the mid fifth century AD. The name derives from Latin: casa (meaning hut) and candidus/candida (meaning shining or glittering white), referring possibly to the stone used to construct it, or the whitewash used to paint it.
HistoryEdit
Whithorn, an early trading centre, [1] precedes the island of Iona by 150 years as a birthplace of Scottish Christianity. In 397, St Ninian established the first Christian mission north of Hadrian's Wall here, while the Roman legions still occupied Britain. He erected a small stone church known as the "Candida Casa", or White House, which was Scotland's first Christian building,[2] and the first Christian settlement north of Hadrian's Wall. The church site quickly grew to prominence in the early medieval period, becoming a cathedral and monastery, and remaining a centre for pilgrimage despite the unstable political situation in the region.
At Whithorn, many monks were trained who later went into the missionary field to become famous apostles of Ireland and Alba, even as far north as the Orkney and Shetland islands. Saint Éogan, founder of the monastery of Ardstraw, was an Irishman who lived in the 6th century and was said to have been taken by pirates to Britain. On obtaining his freedom, he went to study at Candida Casa. Bishop Healy identifies the site with the great seminary of Rosnat, "...and undoubtedly was one of the chief sources from which Irish monasticism was derived."[3]
Pottery and glass from the Mediterranean and Western France reached this early Christian monastery and many of the monks may have come from France itself, bringing new technology and crafts with them.[4]
Whithorn and the surrounding area passed from Brythonic to Northumbrian to Norse control before finally returning to local control by 1100, by which time the area was part of the Kingdom of Scots.
The bishopric of Whithorn was re-established in 1128, and a new cathedral and adjoining priory were built on the site.
The site fell into disrepair through the Scottish Reformation and beyond. "Whithorn Priory and Museum" encompasses the ruins and is maintained by Historic Environment Scotland.[5] Adjoining this is "St Ninians's Priory", built in 1822 as the church of Whithorn Church of Scotland parish, and still in use As of 2017[update].[6]
candida, casa, name, given, church, established, ninian, whithorn, galloway, southern, scotland, fifth, century, name, derives, from, latin, casa, meaning, candidus, candida, meaning, shining, glittering, white, referring, possibly, stone, used, construct, whi. Candida Casa was the name given to the church established by St Ninian in Whithorn Galloway southern Scotland in the mid fifth century AD The name derives from Latin casa meaning hut and candidus candida meaning shining or glittering white referring possibly to the stone used to construct it or the whitewash used to paint it History EditWhithorn an early trading centre 1 precedes the island of Iona by 150 years as a birthplace of Scottish Christianity In 397 St Ninian established the first Christian mission north of Hadrian s Wall here while the Roman legions still occupied Britain He erected a small stone church known as the Candida Casa or White House which was Scotland s first Christian building 2 and the first Christian settlement north of Hadrian s Wall The church site quickly grew to prominence in the early medieval period becoming a cathedral and monastery and remaining a centre for pilgrimage despite the unstable political situation in the region At Whithorn many monks were trained who later went into the missionary field to become famous apostles of Ireland and Alba even as far north as the Orkney and Shetland islands Saint Eogan founder of the monastery of Ardstraw was an Irishman who lived in the 6th century and was said to have been taken by pirates to Britain On obtaining his freedom he went to study at Candida Casa Bishop Healy identifies the site with the great seminary of Rosnat and undoubtedly was one of the chief sources from which Irish monasticism was derived 3 Pottery and glass from the Mediterranean and Western France reached this early Christian monastery and many of the monks may have come from France itself bringing new technology and crafts with them 4 Whithorn and the surrounding area passed from Brythonic to Northumbrian to Norse control before finally returning to local control by 1100 by which time the area was part of the Kingdom of Scots The bishopric of Whithorn was re established in 1128 and a new cathedral and adjoining priory were built on the site The site fell into disrepair through the Scottish Reformation and beyond Whithorn Priory and Museum encompasses the ruins and is maintained by Historic Environment Scotland 5 Adjoining this is St Ninians s Priory built in 1822 as the church of Whithorn Church of Scotland parish and still in use As of 2017 update 6 References Edit The origins of Whithorn The Whithorn Trust Whithorn Michelin Travel Guide Archived from the original on 7 December 2013 Retrieved 21 July 2013 Healy John Insula Sanctorum et Doctorum Dublin M H Gill amp Son 1912 Discovering Dark Age Galloway The Galloway Picts Project Whithorn Priory and Museum Historic Environment Scotland Retrieved 3 January 2017 Welcome to St Ninians s Priory St Ninians s Priory Retrieved 3 January 2017 54 44 00 N 4 25 02 W 54 733391 N 4 417136 W 54 733391 4 417136 nbsp This article about a church or other Christian place of worship in Scotland is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Candida Casa amp oldid 1172349178, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
