Saint Triduana
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Saint Triduana, also known as Trodline, Tredwell, and in Norse as Trøllhaena, was an early Christian woman, associated with various places in
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
. She lived at an unknown time, probably between the 4th and 8th centuries AD. According to the 16th-century ''
Aberdeen Breviary The ''Aberdeen Breviary'' () 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 of the features of the growi ...
'', Triduana was born in the Greek city of
Colosse Colossae (; ) was an ancient city of Phrygia in southern Asia Minor (Anatolia), Turkey. The Epistle to the Colossians, an early Christian text which identifies its author as Paul the Apostle, is addressed to the church in Colossae. A signifi ...
, and travelled from
Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...
with Saint Rule, who brought the bones of
Saint Andrew Andrew the Apostle ( ; ; ; ) was an apostle of Jesus. According to the New Testament, he was a fisherman and one of the Twelve Apostles chosen by Jesus. The title First-Called () used by the Eastern Orthodox Church stems from the Gospel of Jo ...
to Scotland in the 4th century AD. A pious woman, she settled at Rescobie near
Forfar Forfar (; , ) is the county town of Angus, Scotland, and the administrative centre for Angus Council, with a new multi-million-pound office complex located on the outskirts of the town. As of 2021, the town had a population of 16,280. The town ...
in
Angus Angus may refer to: *Angus, Scotland, a council area of Scotland, and formerly a province, sheriffdom, county and district of Scotland * Angus, Canada, a community in Essa, Ontario Animals * Angus cattle, various breeds of beef cattle Media * ...
, but her beauty attracted the attentions of a
King of the Picts The list of kings of the Picts is based on the Pictish Chronicle king lists. These are late documents and do not record the dates when the kings reigned. The various surviving lists disagree in places as to the names of kings, and the lengths ...
named Nechtan. The legend tells that to stall these unwanted attentions, Triduana tore out her own eyes and gave them to Nechtan. Afterwards, she was associated with curing eye disorders. She spent her later years in
Restalrig Restalrig ( ) is a small residential suburb of Edinburgh, Scotland (historically, an estate and independent parish). It is located east of the city centre, west of Craigentinny and to the east of Lochend, Edinburgh, Lochend, both of which it ...
, Lothian, and healed the blind who came to her. She was buried at Restalrig when she died. The 17th-century ''
Acta Sanctorum ''Acta Sanctorum'' (''Acts of the Saints'') is an encyclopedic text in 68 folio volumes of documents examining the lives of Christian saints, in essence a critical hagiography, organised by the saints' feast days. The project was conceived and ...
'' records a story of a blind English woman miraculously cured by Triduana. The saint appears to her in a dream, and instructs her to travel to Restalrig. She does so, and regains her sight at Triduana's tomb. The woman's daughter is later cured of blindness after praying to Triduana. In the 12th century, the Norse
Earl of Orkney Earl of Orkney, historically Jarl of Orkney, is a title of nobility encompassing the archipelagoes of Orkney and Shetland, which comprise the Northern Isles of Scotland. Originally Scandinavian Scotland, founded by Norse invaders, the status ...
Harald Maddadsson Harald Maddadsson (Old Norse: ''Haraldr Maddaðarson'', Gaelic: ''Aralt mac Mataid'') (c. 1134 – 1206) was Earl of Orkney and Mormaer of Caithness from 1139 until 1206. He was the son of Matad, Mormaer of Atholl, and Margaret, daughter ...
punished bishop
John of Caithness John of Caithness ( Medieval Gaelic: ''Eoin''; Norse: ''Jon''; Latin: ''Iohannes'') is the second known bishop of Caithness, based then at Halkirk. He witnessed various charters in Scotland between the years 1187 and 1199. Biography Bishop Joh ...
by having him blinded. According to the 13th-century
Orkneyinga Saga The ''Orkneyinga saga'' (Old Norse: ; ; also called the ''History of the Earls of Orkney'' and ''Jarls' Saga'') is a narrative of the history of the Orkney and Shetland islands and their relationship with other local polities, particularly No ...
, John prayed to "Trøllhaena", and later regained his sight when brought to her "resting place", possibly referring to a local northern shrine rather than Restalrig. The principal centre of devotion to Triduana was at Restalrig, now part of
Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
. The parish church has been rebuilt, but the associated 15th-century St Triduana's Aisle (originally two-storeyed) survives. This partly subterranean structure often flooded in the past, and was at one time assumed to be an unusually large and elaborate holy well (St Triduana's Well). The exterior of the aisle was heavily restored by the architect Thomas Ross in 1907, though its interior (which has a remarkable echo) retains its original rib-vault, and is a refined example of Scottish 15th-century architecture. Other dedications to Triduana include chapels at Ballachly (
Caithness Caithness (; ; ) is a Shires of Scotland, historic county, registration county and Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area of Scotland. There are two towns, being Wick, Caithness, Wick, which was the county town, and Thurso. The count ...
), Loth (
Sutherland Sutherland () is a Counties of Scotland, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in the Scottish Highlands, Highlands of Scotland. The name dates from the Scandinavian Scotland, Viking era when t ...
), and on
Papa Westray Papa Westray () (), also known as Papay, is one of the Orkney Islands in Scotland, United Kingdom. The fertile soilKeay, J. & Keay, J. (1994) ''Collins Encyclopaedia of Scotland''. London. HarperCollins. has long been a draw to the island. ...
in
Orkney Orkney (), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago off the north coast of mainland Scotland. The plural name the Orkneys is also sometimes used, but locals now consider it outdated. Part of the Northern Isles along with Shetland, ...
.


St Tredwell's Chapel, Papa Westray

St Tredwell's Chapel,
Papa Westray Papa Westray () (), also known as Papay, is one of the Orkney Islands in Scotland, United Kingdom. The fertile soilKeay, J. & Keay, J. (1994) ''Collins Encyclopaedia of Scotland''. London. HarperCollins. has long been a draw to the island. ...
is a renowned
Orkney Orkney (), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago off the north coast of mainland Scotland. The plural name the Orkneys is also sometimes used, but locals now consider it outdated. Part of the Northern Isles along with Shetland, ...
pilgrimage-centre, standing on a conical mound on a small peninsula (about 4.5 metres high and 35 metres across at the water level) in St Tredwell's Loch. The remains of the late medieval walls can be seen, built over Iron Age remains, including a tunnel leading to a circular building or
broch In archaeology, a broch is an British Iron Age, Iron Age drystone hollow-walled structure found in Scotland. Brochs belong to the classification "complex Atlantic roundhouse" devised by Scottish archaeologists in the 1980s. Brochs are round ...
. The thick walls of the chapel and records of tracery work indicate an important and well-founded establishment. The chapel was surveyed by Sir Henry Dryden in 1870 when its walls, of variable thickness, were still up to 6 feet high and the interior measured 20 ft 3in by 13 ft 10ins. The chapel was cleared of rubble by William Traill around 1880. He found 30 copper coins dating between the reigns of Charles II and George III under the chapel floor, along with a female skeleton. In ''The Archaeological Sites and Monuments of Papa Westray and Westray'', R.G. Lamb (1983:19) notes:
Immediately outside the W wall Traill broke into a subterranean passage which he followed N then NW for some 10m, passing several sets of door-checks and a side-chamber and entering a 'circular building'. Finds from this structure, including a stone ball, are in NMAS (...); others are in Tankerness House Museum (...). The opening into the passage is now blocked by rubble; it is likely that this was part of a complex of late Iron Age buildings, on the wreckage of which the chapel was built. It is possible that that a broch lies at the core of the mound, on the lower SE slope of which a revetment-wall, 1.9m high and traceable for 11m, may be part of an outer wall or ringwork. A few metres to the N of the chapel are the footings of two small subrectangular buildings of indeterminate date. A cross-slab is said to have been seen some years ago in the deep water besides the islet, but an attempted recovery was unsuccessful.
St Tredwell or Triduana is associated as a 'holy virgin' with
St Boniface Boniface, OSB (born Wynfreth; 675 –5 June 754) was an English Benedictine monk and leading figure in the Anglo-Saxon mission to the Germanic parts of Francia during the eighth century. He organised significant foundations of the church i ...
in a medieval account of the mission from Jarrow to Pictland in 710 invited by King Nechtan. Legend has it that Nechtan fell in love with Triduana and praised her beautiful eyes. She responded by plucking them out and sending them to him skewered on a twig. Miraculous cures are associated with St Tredwell, particularly in those suffering from eye afflictions. Pilgrims travelled to Papay from all of Orkney and the north seeking a cure. Marwick, in a paper written in 1925, cites John Brand in his ''Brief Description of Orkney'' (1700) as having much to say of the chapel:
People used to come to it from other isles; before the chapel door was a heap of small stones, "into which the Superstituous People when they come, do cast a small stone or two for their offering, and some will cast in Money"; the loch is "held by the People as Medicinal"; "a Gentleman in the Countrey, who was much distressed with sore Eyes, went to this Loch and Washing there became sound and whole...with both which persons he who was Minister of the place for many years was well acquainted and told us that he saw them both before and after the Cure: The present minister of Westra told me that such as are able to walk use to go so many times about the Loch, as they think will perfect the cure before they make any use of the water, and that without speaking to any... not long since, he went to this Loch and found six so making their circuit..." "As for this Loch's appearing like Blood, before any disaster befal the Royal Family, as some do report, we could find no ground to believe any such thing.
In the 19th century the Minister of Westray, John Armit, noted that:
Such was the veneration entertained by the inhabitants for this ancient saint, that it was with difficulty that the first Presbyterian minister of the parish could restrain them, of a Sunday morning, from paying their devotions at this ruin, previous to their attendance on public worship in the reformed church. Wonders, in the way of cure of bodily disease, are said to have been wrought by this saint, whose fame is now passed away and name almost forgotten.


Dedication to St Triduana

Ss Ninian and Triduana’s Church, Edinburgh St Ninian and St Triduana's Church, Edinburgh is a Catholic church in the Restalrig district of Edinburgh, Scotland. History The original church was a wooden building and was established in 1906. The building of the current church began in 1932 ...
is a
Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
church dedicated to St Triduana.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Triduana, St Medieval Scottish saints Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown Female saints of medieval Scotland