Saint Monan (''fl.'' 6th century)"St. Monan's Cell". POWiS
/ref> was a Christian missionary in Fife, probably a

Gael The Gaels ( ; ga, Na Gaeil ; gd, Na Gàidheil ; gv, Ny Gaeil ) are an ethnolinguistic group native to Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man in the British Isles. They are associated with the Gaelic languages: a branch of the Celtic languag ...

. Little is known of him. Monan is believed to have lived at a monastery at

Pittenweem Pittenweem ( ) is a fishing village and civil parish in Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 1,747. Etymology The name derives from Pictish and Scottish Gaelic. "Pit-" represents Pictish ''pett'' 'pl ...

before leaving to take up residence in a small cave at

Inverey Inverey (; gd, Inbhir Eidh) is a hamlet on Mar Lodge Estate, in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Description The hamlet straddles the Ey Burn close to its confluence with the River Dee. Inverey comprises two 'communities' separated by the Ey Burn � ...

. The only description of his life comes from the ''Brevarium Aberdonense'', which was published in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

in 1509–1510. This account has numerous demonstrable errors, but it claims that St. Monan was a companion of Saint Adrian, who was with him on the

Isle of May The Isle of May is located in the north of the outer Firth of Forth, approximately off the coast of mainland Scotland. It is about long and wide. The island is owned and managed by NatureScot as a national nature reserve. There are now no ...

when he suffered

martyrdom A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

, and then went on to Inverey in

Fife Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i ...

and set up a chapel. This chapel was rebuilt by

David II of Scotland David II (5 March 1324 – 22 February 1371) was King of Scots from 1329 until his death in 1371. Upon the death of his father, Robert the Bruce, David succeeded to the throne at the age of five, and was crowned at Scone in November 1331, becom ...

between 1329 and 1371, after he recovered from battle wounds thanks to the intercession of the saint. This place is the modern-day

St Monans ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy an ...

in Fife,

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 the ...

Alban Butler Alban Butler (13 October 171015 May 1773) was an English Roman Catholic priest and hagiographer. Biography Alban Butler was born in 1710, at Appletree, Aston le Walls, Northamptonshire, the second son of Simon Butler, Esq. His father died when ...

follows the Aberdeen Breviary, making Monan a colleague of Adrian, and surviving the Viking attack in 874, only to be killed at Inverey. Still other accounts have him martyred with Adrian on May.

William Forbes Skene William Forbes Skene Writer to the Signet, WS FRSE Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, FSA(Scot) Doctor of Civil Law, DCL Legum Doctor, LLD (7 June 1809 – 29 August 1892), was a Scotland, Scottish lawyer, historian and antiquary. He co-founde ...

rejects the account in the Aberdeen Breviary, and suggests that Monan is no other than the Bishop of Clonfert, Moinenn. Due to the devastation wrought by the Dane

Thorgest Turgesius (died 845) (also called Turgeis, Tuirgeis, Turges, and Thorgest) was a Viking chief active in Ireland during the 9th century. Turgesius Island, the principal island on Lough Lene, is named after him. It is not at all clear whether the nam ...

, many Scots clerics left Ireland to find refuge with

Kenneth MacAlpin Kenneth MacAlpin ( mga, Cináed mac Ailpin, label= Medieval Gaelic, gd, Coinneach mac Ailpein, label=Modern Scottish Gaelic; 810 – 13 February 858) or Kenneth I was King of Dál Riada (841–850), King of the Picts (843–858), and the K ...

, bringing Monan's relics with them. Skene further notes that they share the same feast day, 1 March. There was a chapel of the

Culdees The Culdees ( ga, Céilí Dé, "Spouses of God") were members of ascetic Christian monastic and eremitical communities of Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England in the Middle Ages. Appearing first in Ireland and subsequently in Scotland, att ...

, dedicated to St. Monan at Portmoak, sometime before the mid-11th century."The Chapel of Portmoak", The Kinross-Shire Civic Trust
/ref> The name derives from the Port of St Moak (an alternative name for St Monan), being a port on Loch Leven

References

Sources

Macquarrie, Alan. "Monan" in Matthew, H.C.G. and Brian Harrison, eds. ''

The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

.'' vol. 38, 574–575. London:

OUP Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 2004 {{DEFAULTSORT:Monan 6th century in Scotland 7th-century Christian saints Medieval Scottish saints 7th century in Scotland 6th-century Christian saints 6th-century Scottish people 7th-century Scottish people