Balthere of Tyninghame (later Baldred) was a
Northumbria
la, Regnum Northanhymbrorum
, conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Northumbria
, common_name = Northumbria
, status = State
, status_text = Unified Anglian kingdom (before 876)North: Anglian kingdom (af ...
n
hermit
A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions.
Description
In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Ch ...
and
abbot
Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The ...
, 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
__NOTOC__
Symeon (or Simeon) of Durham (died after 1129) was an English chronicler and a monk of Durham Priory.
Biography
Symeon entered the Benedictine monastery at Jarrow as a youth. It moved to Durham in 1074, and he was professed in 1085 or ...
says "the twentieth year of King
Eadberht of Northumbria
Eadberht (died 19 or 20 August 768) was king of Northumbria from 737 or 738 to 758. He was the brother of Ecgbert, Archbishop of York. His reign is seen as a return to the imperial ambitions of seventh-century Northumbria and may represent a per ...
"
and
Turgot of Durham
Thorgaut or Turgot (c. 1050–1115) (sometimes, Thurgot) was Archdeacon and Prior of Durham, and Bishop of Saint Andrews.
Turgot came from the Kingdom of Lindsey in Lincolnshire. After the Norman conquest he was held as a hostage, but escap ...
"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,
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
Kentigern ( cy, Cyndeyrn Garthwys; la, Kentigernus), known as Mungo, was a missionary in the Brittonic Kingdom of Strathclyde in the late sixth century, and the founder and patron saint of the city of Glasgow.
Name
In Wales and England, this s ...
.
Life
Baldred is commonly referred to as "the Apostle of the
Lothians"
and
Simeon of Durham
__NOTOC__
Symeon (or Simeon) of Durham (died after 1129) was an English chronicler and a monk of Durham Priory.
Biography
Symeon entered the Benedictine monastery at Jarrow as a youth. It moved to Durham in 1074, and he was professed in 1085 o ...
says that "the boundaries of his pastorate embraced the whole land which belongs to the monastery of Saint Balther, which is called Tyninghame - from
Lammermuir to
Inveresk
Inveresk (Gaelic: ''Inbhir Easg'') is a village in East Lothian, Scotland situated to the south of Musselburgh. It has been designated a conservation area since 1969. It is situated on slightly elevated ground on the north bank of a loop o ...
, or, as it was called, Eskmouthe."
His
cult was certainly centred on the four churches of
Auldhame
Auldhame and Scoughall are hamlets in East Lothian, Scotland. They are close to the town of North Berwick and the village of Whitekirk, and are approximately east of Edinburgh.
Saint Baldred's legacy
It is said that the 8th-century Christ ...
,
Whitekirk
Whitekirk is a small settlement in East Lothian, Scotland. Together with the nearby settlement of Tyninghame, it gives its name to the parish of Whitekirk and Tyninghame.
Whitekirk
Whitekirk is from North Berwick, from Dunbar and east of ...
,
Tyninghame
Tyninghame is a small settlement in East Lothian, Scotland, about two miles north-east of East Linton. Together with the nearby settlement of Whitekirk, it gives its name to the parish of Whitekirk and Tyninghame.
Tyninghame
Tyninghame is ...
and
Prestonkirk
East Linton is a village and former police burgh in East Lothian, Scotland, situated on the River Tyne and A199 road (former A1 road) five miles east of Haddington, with an estimated population of in .
During the 19th century the populatio ...
, between
East Linton
East Linton is a village and former police burgh in East Lothian, Scotland, situated on the River Tyne and A199 road (former A1 road) five miles east of Haddington, with an estimated population of in .
During the 19th century the population ...
and
North Berwick
North Berwick (; gd, Bearaig a Tuath) is a seaside town and former royal burgh in East Lothian, Scotland. It is situated on the south shore of the Firth of Forth, approximately east-northeast of Edinburgh. North Berwick became a fashionable ...
in
East Lothian.
Baldred is believed to have founded a monastery at
Tyninghame
Tyninghame is a small settlement in East Lothian, Scotland, about two miles north-east of East Linton. Together with the nearby settlement of Whitekirk, it gives its name to the parish of Whitekirk and Tyninghame.
Tyninghame
Tyninghame is ...
.
However, at times, he preferred to retire from the spiritual government of the Lothian
Britons
British people or Britons, also known colloquially as Brits, are the citizens of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the British Overseas Territories, and the Crown dependencies.: British nationality law governs mod ...
and he selected the
Bass Rock
The Bass Rock, or simply the Bass (), ( gd, Creag nam Bathais or gd, Am Bas) is an island in the outer part of the Firth of Forth in the east of Scotland. Approximately offshore, and north-east of North Berwick, it is a steep-sided volca ...
as the spot to build himself a small hermitage and associated chapel,
although he also sometimes resided in 'St Baldred's Cave' on
Seacliff
Seacliff comprises a beach, an estate and a harbour. It lies east of North Berwick, East Lothian, Scotland.
History
The beach and estate command a strategic position at the mouth of the Firth of Forth, and control of the area has been con ...
Beach.
Nationality
Baldred is said to have lived in the diocese of
Lindisfarne, and was therefore a
Northumbria
la, Regnum Northanhymbrorum
, conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Northumbria
, common_name = Northumbria
, status = State
, status_text = Unified Anglian kingdom (before 876)North: Anglian kingdom (af ...
n,
a not improbable association since, at that time, the Lothians were a part of the kingdom of
Northumbria
la, Regnum Northanhymbrorum
, conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Northumbria
, common_name = Northumbria
, status = State
, status_text = Unified Anglian kingdom (before 876)North: Anglian kingdom (af ...
. However, most sources assert an Irish connection. He was probably born in Ireland before joining the Northumbrian mission.
Hector Boece
Hector Boece (; also spelled Boyce or Boise; 1465–1536), known in Latin as Hector Boecius or Boethius, was a Scottish philosopher and historian, and the first Principal of King's College in Aberdeen, a predecessor of the University of Abe ...
says he exercised his office in a district which then formed a part of
Pictland
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 ear ...
.
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
Auldhame
Auldhame and Scoughall are hamlets in East Lothian, Scotland. They are close to the town of North Berwick and the village of Whitekirk, and are approximately east of Edinburgh.
Saint Baldred's legacy
It is said that the 8th-century Christ ...
, Tyninghame and
Prestonkirk
East Linton is a village and former police burgh in East Lothian, Scotland, situated on the River Tyne and A199 road (former A1 road) five miles east of Haddington, with an estimated population of in .
During the 19th century the populatio ...
, as to which should have his body. The story goes that by the advice of a holy man, they spent the night in prayer. In the morning three bodies were found, in all respects alike, each in its winding sheet, prepared for burial. The story was probably invented to explain the claims of each church to house the
shrine
A shrine ( la, scrinium "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred or holy space dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, daemon, or similar figure of respect, wherein they ...
of Saint Baldred.
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
Danes in 941. The Tyninghame body of Saint Baldred was removed to
Durham Cathedral, by
Alfred Westow
Alfred, son of Westou (fl. c. 1020 – after 1056) was a medieval English priest and relic collector, active in Northumberland. He is now best known for allegedly stealing the remains of Bede and bringing them in secret to the shrine of Cuthbert, S ...
, in the early 11th century.
The church continued as the parish church until the village of Tyninghame was relocated to the west in 1761. Today, the ruins of church form little more than an architectural
folly
In architecture, a folly is a building constructed primarily for decoration, but suggesting through its appearance some other purpose, or of such extravagant appearance that it transcends the range of usual garden buildings.
Eighteenth-cent ...
amongst the gardens of the house. At the parish church of Prestonkirk there existed, until 1770, when it was damaged by a builder, a statue of the saint much venerated by the local population.
St Baldred's Well stands nearby which was "famed for its...healing qualities".
Whitekirk
Whitekirk is a small settlement in East Lothian, Scotland. Together with the nearby settlement of Tyninghame, it gives its name to the parish of Whitekirk and Tyninghame.
Whitekirk
Whitekirk is from North Berwick, from Dunbar and east of ...
parish church, celebrated in ancient times as a place of pilgrimage, also lays claim to this saint as the scene of his ministry, but A.E. Ritchie finds this doubtful.
Ritchie, A.E., ''The Churches of St. Baldred: Auldhame, Whitekirk, Tyninghame, Prestonkirk'', p.26, J. Moodie Miller, Edinburgh, (1883)
/ref>
See also
* Joseph Bryan Nelson who lived amidst the church as he conducted ornithological studies.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baldred Of Tyninghame
757 deaths
Northumbrian saints
8th-century Christian saints
Year of birth unknown