The Elder Statesman

By BILL DUNCAN
The View From Here

You only have to look at the surname in the byline on this column to know the writer is Scottish by heritage.

In fact, he is 100 proof Scot. His father was a Duncan and his mother was a McClung. ‘Tis a wonder he is not wearing a kilt. Aye, and he would be wearing one if he had not been born with knobby knees.

According to family research, Duncan comes from the Gaelic personal name Donnchadh, which appears in Scotland’s oldest written records. The heritage is traced to King Duncan I, who was murdered by his uncle Macbeth in 1040.

The Duncans are resilient souls and regained the throne with the realm of Duncan II. He was murdered in 1094 by relatives wanting to usurp the Scottish throne. Little wonder the clan adopted the motto "Disce Pati," which translates from Latin as "Learn to Suffer."

This Prince William is keeping a low profile. Scottish pride, however, demands I make a correction to the legend of St. Patrick. He was not, as most people think, Irish. He was born in Dumbarton, a town that stands on the confluence of the River Leven and the Clyde, 15 miles downstream from Glasgow.

In my geography book, that is in Scotland. So hoot man, we are celebrating a Scottish saint on March 17, not some scalawag from Ireland. The Irish should be ashamed of themselves for the way they treated this holy Scot.

He was taken prisoner at age 19 in a raid by the Irish King Niall Noigiallach and was sold into slavery. For six years, he was beaten, tortured and generally abused by his Irish captors before he escaped in 411 and fled the country.

He become a deeply religious man and was ordained a priest. He was sent back to Ireland by Pope Germanus, and for the next 30 years until his death he worked tirelessly to convert the heathen Irish to Christianity.

For the record, it was a Scotsman responsible for establishing the Christian Church in Ireland. Now strangely, St. Patrick is not the patron saint of Scotland. It is St. Andrew, who never set foot in Scotland.

Legend says St. Andrew was adopted as Scotland’s patron saint after a cloud formation in the X-shaped cross of St. Andrew appeared in the sky above King Fergus’ army before the Battle of Athelstaneford in 832.

Most Scotophiles know that St. Columba, an Irish saint, is credited with converting the Scots to Christianity. Those who travel in Scotland know, however, there are a great many Scottish saints who share their names with churches and landmarks.

I am sort of taken with St. Kentigern, the patron saint of Glasgow, who laid the foundation for the great cathedral that stands there today. St. Kentigern had a fairly bad start in life and was born out of wedlock to Princess Tannoch, who was found to be pregnant after being raped.

Her father ordered her banished. She was cast out into the Firth of Forth in a flimsy boat but survived after being washed ashore at Culross in Fife, where she gave birth to her saintly son.

In time, they both settled in Glasgow, where Kentigern eventually became bishop of the city and wowed the crowds with a few miracles. His mother became renowned for her piety and was later canonized as St. Enoch.

But come Saturday when all the world becomes Irish for a day to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, this 100 proof Scot will be supping with friends on corned beef and cabbage and he’ll be wearing his tartan, a wool shirt with a prominent weave of green to symbolize the Duncan clan in honor of a Scottish saint named St. Patrick.

(Bill Duncan can be reached by writing to P.O. Box 812, Roseburg, OR 97470.)