Baldred of Tyninghame
Saint Baldred of Tyninghame | |
---|---|
Abbot and Confessor | |
Born | Unknown |
Died | Roman Catholicism; Anglicanism; Eastern Orthodoxy | 6 March 757
Major shrine | Tyninghame, later removed to Durham Cathedral (destroyed) |
Feast | 6 March |
Balthere of Tyninghame (later Baldred) was a Northumbrian hermit and abbot, resident in East Lothian during the 8th century.
Dating
According to Hovendeus the date of Baldred's death is given as 756. Symeon of Durham says "the twentieth year of King Eadberht of Northumbria "[1] and Turgot of Durham "the seventeenth year of the episcopate of Cynulf", that is 756. As his feast is given as 6 March, by the modern calendar, this would be 6 March 757. Although the 8th century date is now generally accepted,[2] due to a passage in the 16th century Breviary of Aberdeen, he has, in the past, often been associated with the 6th century Saint Kentigern.[3]
Life
Baldred is commonly referred to as "the Apostle of the
Baldred is believed to have founded a monastery at
Nationality
Baldred is said to have lived in the diocese of Lindisfarne, and was therefore a Northumbrian,[6] a not improbable association since, at that time, the Lothians were a part of the kingdom of Northumbria. However, most sources assert an Irish connection. He was probably born in Ireland before joining the Northumbrian mission. Hector Boece says he exercised his office in a district which then formed a part of Pictland.[7]
Veneration
About halfway up the Bass Rock are the ruins of an old chapel or, strictly speaking, the parish church of The Bass, said to mark the spot where Saint Baldred occupied his humble cell. The approximate date of the erection (or re-erection) of the chapel may be found in a papal bull dated 6 May 1493, mentioning this building as being then novita erecta. A further reconsecration (indicating more building work) took place in 1542 when the chapel was dedicated it to Saint Baldred.
Following Baldred's death on the site of this chapel, there was a dispute between the parishes of
Lying in the grounds of Tyninghame House is the 12th century St Baldred's Church. It traditionally stands on the site of his monastery which, according to the Melrose Chronicle, was eventually sacked by the
See also
- Joseph Bryan Nelsonwho lived amidst the church as he conducted ornithological studies.
References
- ^ a b c Stephenson, Joseph (trans.) (1988). Simeon of Durham's A History of the Church of Durham. Felinfach: Llanerch.
- ^ a b Towill, Edwin Sprott (1983). Saints of Scotland. Edinburgh: St Andrew’s Press.
- ^ Jackson, Kenneth H (1958). "The Sources for the Life of St. Kentigern". Studies in the Early British Church.
- ^ Ritchie, A E (1880). The Churches of Saint Baldred. Edinburgh.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ a b c d e Yeoman, Peter (1999). Pilgrimage in Medieval Scotland. London & Edinburgh: B T Batsford & Historic Scotland.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-19-860629-1.
- ^ Boece, Hector (1527). Historia Gentis Scotorum.
- ^ Ritchie, A.E., The Churches of St. Baldred: Auldhame, Whitekirk, Tyninghame, Prestonkirk, p.26, J. Moodie Miller, Edinburgh, (1883)