Saint Curetán ( Latin: ''Curitanus'', ''Kiritinus'', or ''Boniface'') was a Scoto-

Pictish Pictish is an extinct Brittonic Celtic language spoken by the Picts, the people of eastern and northern Scotland from late antiquity to the Early Middle Ages. Virtually no direct attestations of Pictish remain, short of a limited number of geog ...

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

and

saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...

, (fl. between 690 and 710). He is listed as one of the witnesses in the '' Cáin Adomnáin'', where he is called "Curetan epscop". In the ''

Martyrology of Tallaght The ''Martyrology of Tallaght'', which is closely related to the ''Félire Óengusso'' or ''Martyrology of Óengus the Culdee'', is an eighth- or ninth-century Irish-language martyrology, a list of saints and their feast days assembled by Mael ...

'' he is called "of Ross Mand Bairend", and in the ''Martyrology of O'Gorman'' he is styled "bishop and abbot of Ross maic Bairend". His bishopric is usually held to have been Ross, the seat of which was at the settlement in the Black Isle called ''Ros-Maircnidh'' or Rosemarkie, named after the adjacent promontory A hagiography of Curetán is found in the sixteenth century

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand or typewritten, as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in some indirect or automated way. More recently, the term has ...

known as the '' Aberdeen Breviary'', where his '' vita'' occurs under the name "Boniface". In this hagiography, his Latin name is accompanied by a story of his

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

origins, a descendant of the sister of

Saint Peter Saint Peter (born Shimon Bar Yonah; 1 BC – AD 64/68), also known as Peter the Apostle, Simon Peter, Simeon, Simon, or Cephas, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus and one of the first leaders of the Jewish Christian#Jerusalem ekklēsia, e ...

and

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 ...

, who was first ordained as a priest by the Patriarch of Jerusalem, before travelling to

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

and becoming

Pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

, later resigning and moving to Pictland. The story is similar to that in the ''Life of St. Serf'', and it has been conjectured that both were the product of the Romanizing faction in the Easter Controversy. The Breviary also connects Curetán with King Nechtan mac Der-Ilei, whose brother Bridei was also a guarantor of the ''Cáin Adomnáin'' in 697. Nechtan consulted Abbot Ceolfrith of Monkwearmouth–Jarrow Abbey regarding the dating of Easter and finding the abbot persuasive adopted the Roman practice.

Bede Bede (; ; 672/326 May 735), also known as Saint Bede, Bede of Jarrow, the Venerable Bede, and Bede the Venerable (), was an English monk, author and scholar. He was one of the most known writers during the Early Middle Ages, and his most f ...

stated that Nechtan placed the churches of the Picts under the protection of St. Peter. Curetán-Boniface is also associated with the churches of Restenneth and Invergowrie, churches which, like Rosemarkie, both have dedications to

. There are place-name commemorations to Saint Curetán along Glen Urquhart, Strathglass, Glen Glass,

Loch Ness Loch Ness (; ) is a large freshwater loch in the Scottish Highlands. It takes its name from the River Ness, which flows from the northern end. Loch Ness is best known for claimed sightings of the cryptozoology, cryptozoological Loch Ness Mons ...

and the

Cromarty Firth The Cromarty Firth (; ; literally "kyles traitsof Cromarty") is an arm of the Moray Firth in Scotland. Geography The entrance to the Cromarty Firth is guarded by two precipitous headlands; the one on the north high and the one on the ...

. There are also dedications to St Peter and Boniface in Orkney. Barbara Yorke suggests that Curetán was an influential figure in Pictland, and played a significant role, after the adoption of the "Roman Easter" and tonsure, to help bring the Pictish church into closer contact with other areas of the western church.

Veneration

His liturgical celebration is 14 March. There is a

clootie well A clootie well is a holy well (or sacred Spring (hydrosphere), spring), almost always with a tree growing beside it, where small strips of cloth or ribbons are left as part of a healing ritual, usually by tying them to branches of the tree (cal ...

near the village of

Munlochy Munlochy ( ; Scottish Gaelic: ''Poll Lochaidh'') is a small village, lying at the head of Munlochy Bay (''Ob Poll Lochaidh''), in the Black Isle in Ross and Cromarty, in northern Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, c ...

on Black Isle is dedicated to Saint Curetán, whose intercession is believed effective in curing lepers. The Scottish Episcopal parish in Ardgay is named in honor of St.Curetán.Scottish Episcopal Church - Dornach, Tain, and Lairg
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Notes

References

* Anderson, Alan Orr, ''Early Sources of Scottish History: AD 500–1286'', 2 Vols, (Edinburgh, 1922), Vol. I. * Watson, W.J., ''The Celtic Place-Names of Scotland'', (Edinburgh, 1926) reprinted, with an Introduction, full Watson bibliography and corrigenda by Simon Taylor (Edinburgh, 2004), pp. 315, 441, 496 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Curetan 7th-century births 8th-century deaths Pictish people 8th-century Scottish bishops 8th-century Christian saints Medieval Scottish saints