Scotland’s Saint of the day.
Triduana is believed to have arrived in Scotland in the early Middle Ages as one of the companions of St Regulus, who bore the relics of St Andrew to the country that would adopt the apostle as their patron saint.
Legend tells how the pious Triduana was fierce in her rejection of the advances made by a Pictish Chieftain, Nechtan. His desire for the woman was great, and he proclaimed that her eyes were the most beautiful he had ever seen. The zealous Triduana heard this and proceeded to gouge out those lovely eyes and sent them to Nechtan on a thorn branch. What need had she for such organs?
Her devotion to her God continued unaffected, and she was free of the unwanted lusts of others. If Nechtan liked them so much, then he could have them. A religious site dedicated to Triduana developed at Restalrig, east of Edinburgh and the saint became closely associated with healing, particularly with the healing of eye defects. By the later Middle Ages the shrine was one of the most pre-eminent in Scotland. Pilgrims visited to bathe their eyes in the waters of the sacred place and hopefully benefit from their restorative powers. The well-house was restored in 1906. A stained glass window of St Triduana features in St Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall, Orkney.
