NINIAN, or NINYAS, commonly called St Ninian, and sometimes St Ringan, a distinguished bishop among the ancient Britons, and said to be the first who carried the light of Christianity into Scotland, seems to have been a Briton of noble birth and excellent genius. After receiving a tolerable education at home, he visited Rome in A.D. 370, where he spent several years in study. On his return to Britain he engaged with great zeal and success in preaching the gospel in the most uncultivated parts of the island. He chose the modern Whitehorn in Wigtownshire as the centre of his operations (called by Ptolemy, ii. 3, Αἰωνο-νίβια; and by the Romans, who had a station there, Candida Casa), then one of the two towns of the Novantae (the Novantae of Ptolemy), who inhabited Gallovidia (Galloway). We learn from Bede (Hist. Eccles., lib. iii.), that Ninian built a fine church there about A.D. 400, which he dedicated to St Martin; and owing to his great success as a Christian missionary was afterwards made bishop of Whitehorn. This place was the centre of Christian light in Scotland for more than a hundred years before the arrival of Columbus. Some of the ruins of St Ninian's church are still shown at Whitehorn; and various localities in Scotland still bear traces of the name and the reputation of this zealous missionary.
NINIAN'S, St, a village and parish of Scotland, in the county of Stirling, about 1 mile S. of the town of Stirling. It consists of one main street of old whitewashed houses; and has a parish, a Free, and a United Presbyterian church; and several schools. Malt, whisky, leather, carpets, tartans,
nails, &c., are manufactured here. Pop. of the parish (1851) 9851.