Saint Blane (

Old Irish Old Irish, also called Old Gaelic ( sga, Goídelc, Ogham script: ᚌᚑᚔᚇᚓᚂᚉ; ga, Sean-Ghaeilge; gd, Seann-Ghàidhlig; gv, Shenn Yernish or ), is the oldest form of the Goidelic/Gaelic language for which there are extensive writte ...

''Bláán'', died 590) was a

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

and

confessor Confessor is a title used within Christianity in several ways. 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.Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

, born on the

Isle of Bute The Isle of Bute ( sco, Buit; gd, Eilean Bhòid or '), known as Bute (), is an island in the Firth of Clyde in Scotland, United Kingdom. It is divided into highland and lowland areas by the Highland Boundary Fault. Formerly a constituent is ...

, date unknown; died 590. His feast is kept on 10 August. Late (medieval) Scottish texts relate that his mother was Irish and that Saint Cathan was her brother. It was Cathan who saw to Blane's education in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

under

Saints In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Orth ...

Comgall Saint Comgall (c. 510–520 – 597/602), an early Irish saint, was the founder and abbot of the great Irish monastery at Bangor in Ireland. MacCaffrey,James (1908). "St. Comgall". In ''Catholic Encyclopedia''. 4. New York: Robert Appleton Com ...

and

Kenneth Kenneth is an English given name and surname. The name is an Anglicised form of two entirely different Gaelic personal names: ''Cainnech'' and '' Cináed''. The modern Gaelic form of ''Cainnech'' is ''Coinneach''; the name was derived from ...

. Blane became a

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

, went to Scotland, and was eventually bishop among the

Picts The Picts were a group of peoples who lived in what is now northern and eastern Scotland (north of the Firth of Forth) during Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. Where they lived and what their culture was like can be inferred from ea ...

. Several miracles are related to him, among them the restoration of a dead boy to life.O'Malia, Miles Joseph. "St. Blane." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 2. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 15 Apr. 2013
/ref> The

Aberdeen Breviary The ''Aberdeen Breviary'' ( la, Breviarium Aberdonense) is a 16th-century Scottish Catholic breviary. It was the first full-length book to be printed in Edinburgh, and in Scotland. Origin The creation of the Aberdeen Breviary can be seen as one o ...

gives these and other details of the saint's life, which are rejected, however, by the

Bollandists The Bollandist Society ( la, Societas Bollandistarum french: Société des Bollandistes) are an association of scholars, philologists, and historians (originally all Jesuits, but now including non-Jesuits) who since the early seventeenth century ...

. There can be no doubt that devotion to St Blane was, from early times, popular in Scotland. There was a church of St Blane in Dumfries and another at Kilblane. In

Greenock Greenock (; sco, Greenock; gd, Grianaig, ) is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council area in Scotland, United Kingdom and a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, located in the west central Lowlands of ...

, the place name Kilblain is thought to refer to a cell or chapel of St Blane. There is a well in the

strath A strath is a large valley, typically a river valley that is wide and shallow (as opposed to a glen, which is typically narrower and deep). Word and etymology An anglicisation of the Gaelic word ''srath'', it is one of many that have been a ...

, or valley, called Blane's Well and also a place in the neighborhood called Garcattoun, which might be named after his uncle, St Cathan. His name is recorded on the Scottish landscape at

Strathblane Strathblane ( gd, Strath Bhlàthain, ) is a village and parish in the registration county of Stirlingshire, situated in the southwestern part of the Stirling council area, in central Scotland. It lies at the foothills of the Campsie Fells and th ...

in the central lowlands from Loch Lomond to Dunblane. The highest authorities say the saint died in 590. The ruins of his church at

Kingarth Kingarth ( sga, Cenn Garad; gd, Ceann a' Gharaidh) is a historic village and parish on the Isle of Bute, off the coast of south-western Scotland. The village is within the parish of its own name, and is situated at the junction of the A844 and ...

, Bute, where his remains were buried, are still standing and form an object of great interest to antiquarians; St Blane's Chapel is picturesquely situated about 800 metres from

Dunagoil Dunagoil is a vitrified fort or dun on the Isle of Bute – an Iron Age hill fort whose ramparts have been melted by intense heat. It stands on a volcanic headland and gives its name to the bay that it overlooks. Like other places, such a ...

Bay. The bell of his monastery is believed to be preserved at

Dunblane Dunblane (, gd, Dùn Bhlàthain) is a small town in the council area of Stirling in central Scotland, and inside the historic boundaries of the county of Perthshire. It is a commuter town, with many residents making use of good transport links ...

Dunblane Cathedral Dunblane Cathedral is the larger of the two Church of Scotland parish churches serving Dunblane, near the city of Stirling, in central Scotland. The lower half of the tower is pre- Romanesque from the 11th century, and was originally free-stand ...

is said to have been founded on the site first used by St Blane.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blane 590 deaths History of Argyll and Bute History of Stirling (council area) People from the Isle of Bute 6th-century Christian saints 6th-century Scottish bishops Year of birth unknown Medieval Scottish saints