Saint Blane
Encyclopedia
Saint Blane was a Bishop
and Confessor
in Scotland
, born on the Isle of Bute
, date unknown; died 590. His feast is kept on 10 August. He was a nephew of St. Cathan, and was educated in Ireland
under Sts. Comgall and Kenneth
; he became a monk
, went to Scotland, and was eventually bishop among the Picts
. Several miracles are related of him, among them the restoration of a dead boy to life.
The Aberdeen Breviary
gives these and other details of the saint's life, which are rejected however, by the Bollandists. There can be no doubt that devotion to St. Blane was, from early times, popular in Scotland. His monastery was most probably sited on Holme Hill in Dunblane
, Perthshire
, not the site of the Cathedral
There was also a church of St. Blane in Dumfries
and another at Kilblane. His name is recorded on the Scottish landscape at Strathblane in the central lowlands from Loch Lomond to Dunblane. The year of the saint's death is variously given as 446, 590, and 1000: 446 (Alban Butler
, Lives of the Saints) is evidently incorrect; the date 1000, found in Adam King, Kalendar of Scottish Saints (Paris, 1588), in Dempster
, Menologium Scotorum (Bonn, 1622), and in the "Acta SS.", seems to have crept in by confusing St. Kenneth, whose disciple Blane was, with Kenneth the King of Scotland about 1000. The highest authorities say the saint died 590. The ruins of his church at Kingarth
, Bute, where his remains were buried, are still standing and form an object of great interest to antiquarians; the bell of his monastery is believed to be preserved at Dunblane.
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
and Confessor
Confessor
-Confessor of the Faith:Its oldest use is to indicate a saint who has suffered persecution and torture for the faith, but not to the point of death. The term is still used in this way in the East. In Latin Christianity it has come to signify any saint, as well as those who have been declared...
in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, born on the Isle of Bute
Isle of Bute
Bute is an island in the Firth of Clyde in Scotland. Formerly part of the county of Buteshire, it now constitutes part of the council area of Argyll and Bute. Its resident population was 7,228 in April 2001.-Geography:...
, date unknown; died 590. His feast is kept on 10 August. He was a nephew of St. Cathan, and was educated in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
under Sts. Comgall and Kenneth
Kenneth
-Origin:It is an anglicized form of either the Pictish name Ciniod or the Goidelic name Cináed, often thought to mean "fire-head" or "born of fire" , but ultimately derives from a shared prototype with Kennedy; Cunedagius, originally Cornish --after which was carried north to Valentia and borne by...
; he became a monk
Monk
A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
, went to Scotland, and was eventually bishop among the Picts
Picts
The Picts were a group of Late Iron Age and Early Mediaeval people living in what is now eastern and northern Scotland. There is an association with the distribution of brochs, place names beginning 'Pit-', for instance Pitlochry, and Pictish stones. They are recorded from before the Roman conquest...
. Several miracles are related of him, among them the restoration of a dead boy to life.
The Aberdeen Breviary
Aberdeen Breviary
The Aberdeen Breviary is a 16th-century Scottish Catholic breviary. It contains brief accounts of various Scottish saints. It was edited by William Elphinstone, and printed in Edinburgh in 1507 by Walter Chapman and Andrew Myllar....
gives these and other details of the saint's life, which are rejected however, by the Bollandists. There can be no doubt that devotion to St. Blane was, from early times, popular in Scotland. His monastery was most probably sited on Holme Hill in Dunblane
Dunblane
Dunblane is a small cathedral city and former burgh north of Stirling in the Stirling council area of Scotland. The town is situated off the A9 road, on the way north to Perth. Its main landmark is Dunblane Cathedral and the Allan Water runs through the town centre, with the Cathedral and the High...
, Perthshire
Perthshire
Perthshire, officially the County of Perth , is a registration county in central Scotland. It extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, Rannoch Moor and Ben Lui in the west, and Aberfoyle in the south...
, not the site of the Cathedral
Cathedral
A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
There was also a church of St. Blane in Dumfries
Dumfries
Dumfries is a market town and former royal burgh within the Dumfries and Galloway council area of Scotland. It is near the mouth of the River Nith into the Solway Firth. Dumfries was the county town of the former county of Dumfriesshire. Dumfries is nicknamed Queen of the South...
and another at Kilblane. His name is recorded on the Scottish landscape at Strathblane in the central lowlands from Loch Lomond to Dunblane. The year of the saint's death is variously given as 446, 590, and 1000: 446 (Alban Butler
Alban Butler
Alban Butler , English Roman Catholic priest and hagiographer, was born at Appletree, Northamptonshire.He was educated at the English College, Douai, where on his ordination to the priesthood in 1735 he held successively the chairs of philosophy and divinity...
, Lives of the Saints) is evidently incorrect; the date 1000, found in Adam King, Kalendar of Scottish Saints (Paris, 1588), in Dempster
Dempster
Dempster can refer to:* Maple Leaf Foods Dempster Brand Bread* Dempster Street, a major east-west artery north of Chicago, Illinois, part of which is part of U.S...
, Menologium Scotorum (Bonn, 1622), and in the "Acta SS.", seems to have crept in by confusing St. Kenneth, whose disciple Blane was, with Kenneth the King of Scotland about 1000. The highest authorities say the saint died 590. The ruins of his church at Kingarth
Kingarth
Kingarth is a historic village and parish on the Isle of Bute, off the coast of south-western Scotland. In the Early Middle Ages it was the site of a monastery and bishopric and the cult centre of Saints Cathan and Bláán ....
, Bute, where his remains were buried, are still standing and form an object of great interest to antiquarians; the bell of his monastery is believed to be preserved at Dunblane.