Petri & Latinus stones

Carved around AD 450, the Latinus Stone (right) is Scotland's

oldest Christian monument. It was erected to Latinus and his

un-named daughter and would have stood by an early Christian church

and cemetery, pre-dating the later churches on the hilltop at

Whithorn. The inscription reads:

 

TE DOMINVM / LAVDAMVS / LATINVS / ANNORVM / XXXV ET / FILIA SVA

/ ANNIV / ICSINUM / FECERVNT / NEPVS / BARROVA / DI

 

This translates as:

 

We praise you, the Lord! Latinus, descendant of Barravados,

aged 35, and his daughter, aged 4, made a sign here.

 

Latinus is the first Christian in Scotland whose name we know,

and his stone is clear evidence of the existence of a group of

Christians at Whithorn as early as AD 450. They lived on the edge

of what had been the Roman empire, which had collapsed and

withdrawn from the other side of the Solway Firth only a generation

or so earlier. By this time Christianity was one of the official

religions of the empire.

The fifth century missionary St Patrick also came from

Romano-British stock, possibly the son of a Christianised Roman

soldier or official. Although well-known as the patron saint of

Ireland, he was born and raised in the Cumbria/Galloway area.

The memorial is Romano-British in style and Latinus has a Roman

name, although his ancestor has a local Celtic name.

This stone was later reused as a building block in the medieval

cathedral, and was rediscovered around 1890.

NB one contributor August 2025 adds:  A poem by Saint Fiac suggests that Saint Patrick was born in Nempthur, now Nemplar, near Lanark.

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Collection :
Early Christians
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