Saint Kentigern alias Mungo | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Kentigern with a robin, a bell and a fish with a ring in its mouth | |
| Born | 518 AD Culross |
| Died | (614-01-13)13 January 614 (aged 95–96) Glasgow,Kingdom of Strathclyde |
| Venerated in | |
| Majorshrine | Glasgow Cathedral |
| Feast | 13 January |
| Attributes | Bishop with a robin on his shoulder; holding a bell and a fish with a ring in its mouth[1] |
| Patronage | Glasgow;Scotland;Penicuik;salmon; those accused of infidelity; against bullies |
Kentigern (Welsh:Cyndeyrn Garthwys;Latin:Kentigernus), known asMungo, was a missionary in theBrittonicKingdom of Strathclyde in the late sixth century, and the founder andpatron saint of the city ofGlasgow.
InWales andEngland, this saint is known by his birth and baptismal name Kentigern (Welsh:Cyndeyrn). This name probably comes from theBritish*Cuno-tigernos, which is composed of the elements*cun, ahound, and*tigerno, a lord, prince, or king. The evidence is based on theOld Welsh recordConthigirn(i).[2] Other etymologies have been suggested, including British*Kintu-tigernos 'chief prince' based on the English form Kentigern, but the Old Welsh form above andOld EnglishCundiʒeorn do not appear to support this.[3]
Particularly in Scotland, he is known by thepet name Mungo, possibly derived from theCumbric equivalent of theWelsh:fy nghu 'my dear (one)'.[4] The Mungo pet name orhypocorism has a Gaelic parallel in the formMo Choe orMo Cha, under which guise Kentigern appears inKirkmahoe, for example, in Dumfriesshire, which appears asecclesia Sancti Kentigerni in theArbroath Liber in 1321. An ancient church inBromfield, Cumbria, is named after him, as areCrosthwaite Parish Church and some other churches in the northern part ofCumbria, for exampleSt Mungo's Church, Dearham.
TheLife of Saint Mungo was written by themonastichagiographerJocelyn of Furness in about 1185.[5] Jocelyn states that he rewrote the 'life' from an earlier Glasgow legend and anOld Irish document. There are certainly two other medieval lives: the earlier partial life in theCottonian manuscript now in theBritish Library, and the laterLife, based on Jocelyn, byJohn of Tynemouth.
Mungo's motherTeneu was a princess, the daughter ofKing Lleuddun (Latin: Leudonus) who ruled a territory around what is nowLothian in Scotland, perhaps the kingdom ofGododdin in theOld North. She became pregnant after being raped byOwain mab Urien according to theBritish Library manuscript. However, other historic accounts claim Owain and Teneu (also known as Thaney) had a love affair whilst he was still married to his wife Penarwen and that her father, King Lot, separated the pair after she became pregnant. Later, allegedly, after Penarwen died, Tenue/Thaney returned to King Owain and the pair were able to marry before King Owain met his death battling Bernicia in 597 AD.
Her furious father had her thrown from the heights ofTraprain Law. Surviving, she was then abandoned in acoracle in which she drifted across theFirth of Forth toCulross inFife. There Mungo was born.[6]
Mungo was brought up bySaint Serf who was ministering to thePicts in that area. It was Serf who gave him his popular pet-name. At the age of twenty-five, Mungo began his missionary labours on theClyde, on the site of modern Glasgow. He built his church across the water from an extinct volcano, next to the Molendinar Burn, where the present medieval cathedral now stands. For some thirteen years, he laboured in the district, living a most austere life in a small cell and making many converts by his holy example and his preaching.[7]
A strong anti-Christian movement in Strathclyde, headed by a certain King Morken, compelled Mungo to leave the district, and he retired to Wales, via Cumbria, staying for a time withSaint David atSt David's, and afterwards moving on toGwynedd where he founded acathedral atLlanelwy (St Asaph in English). While there, he undertook a pilgrimage toRome. However, the new King of Strathclyde,Riderch Hael, invited Mungo to return to his kingdom.[8] He decided to go and appointedSaint Asaph/Asaff asBishop of Llanelwy in his place.
For some years, Mungo fixed hisEpiscopal seat atHoddom inDumfriesshire, evangelising thence the district ofGalloway. He eventually returned to Glasgow where a large community grew up around him. It was nearby, inKilmacolm, that he was visited bySaint Columba, who was at that time labouring in Strathtay. The two saints embraced, held long converse, and exchanged their pastoral staves.[8] In old age, Mungo became very feeble and his chin had to be set in place with a bandage. He is said to have died in his bath, on Sunday 13 January.
In theLife of Saint Mungo, he performed four miracles in Glasgow. The following verse is used to remember Mungo's four miracles:
Here is the bird that never flew
Here is the tree that never grew
Here is the bell that never rang
Here is the fish that never swam[9]
Theverses refer to the following:
Mungo's ancestry is recorded in theBonedd y Saint. His father, Owain was a King ofRheged. His maternal grandfather, Lleuddun, was probably a King of theGododdin;Lothian was named after him. There seems little reason to doubt that Mungo was one of the first evangelists of Strathclyde, under the patronage of King Rhiderch Hael, and probably became the firstBishop of Glasgow.
Jocelin seems to have altered parts of the original life that he did not understand; while adding others, like the trip to Rome, that served his own purposes, largely the promotion of theBishopric of Glasgow. Some new parts may have been collected from genuine local stories, particularly those of Mungo's work inCumbria. S. Mundahl-Harris has shown that Mungo's associations withSt Asaph were aNorman invention.[citation needed] However, in Scotland, excavations at Hoddom have brought confirmation of early Christian activity there, uncovering a late 6th-century stone baptistery.
Details of Mungo's infirmity have a ring of authenticity about them. The year of Mungo's death is sometimes given as 603, but is recorded in theAnnales Cambriae as 612. 13 January was a Sunday in both 603 and 614. David McRoberts has argued that his death in the bath is a garbled version of his collapse during a baptismal service.
In a late 15th-century fragmentary manuscript generally called 'Lailoken and Kentigern', Mungo appears in conflict with the mad prophet, Lailoken aliasMerlin. Lailoken's appearance at theBattle of Arfderydd in 573 has led to a connection being made between this battle, the rise of Riderch Hael and the return of Mungo to Strathclyde.
TheLife of Saint Mungo bears similarities withChrétien de Troyes's French romanceYvain, the Knight of the Lion. In Chrétien's story,Yvain, a version of Owain mab Urien, courts and marriesLaudine, only to leave her for a period to go adventuring. This suggests that the works share a common source.[11]
On the spot where Mungo was buried now stands thecathedral dedicated in his honour. Hisshrine was a great centre of Christian pilgrimage until theScottish Reformation. His remains are said to still rest in the crypt. A spring called "St. Mungo's Well"fell eastwards from the apse.
His festival was kept throughout Scotland on 13 January. TheBollandists have printed a special mass for this feast, dating from the 13th century. Hisfeast day in the West is 13 January. His feast day in theEastern Orthodox Church is 14 January.
Mungo's four religious miracles in Glasgow are represented in the city'scoat of arms. Glasgow's currentmottoLet Glasgow flourish by the preaching of His word and the praising of His name and the more secularLet Glasgow flourish, are both inspired by Mungo's original call"Let Glasgow flourish by the preaching of the word".[10]
Saint Mungo's Well was a cold water spring and bath at Copgrove, nearRipon, North Yorkshire, formerly believed effective for treatingrickets.[12][13]
Glasgow Fire Brigade also named theirfireboatSt. Mungo, which served the around the Clyde from 1959 to 1975.[14]
LNER Peppercorn Class A1 steam locomotive 60145 was namedSaint Mungo, entering service withBritish Railways in 1949.
Mungo isremembered in theChurch of England with acommemoration on 13 January.[15]
Saint Mungo founded a number of churches during his period as Archbishop of Strathclyde of whichStobo Kirk is a notable example. AtTownhead andDennistoun inGlasgow there is a modernRoman Catholic church and a traditionalScottish Episcopal Church[16] respectively dedicated to the saint.
St Mungo's Academy is aRoman Catholic,co-educational,comprehensive,secondary school located inBridgeton, Glasgow.
Another church established by the saint himself wasSt Kentigern's Church ofLanark, founded shortly before his death, and which now stands in ruins. Another church calledSt Kentigern's was built in the town in the late 19th century. It is still present but has been converted to housing and office space.[17][18]
InKilmarnock, aChurch of Scotland congregation is named St Kentigern's.
St. Kentigern's Academy opened inBlackburn, West Lothian in September 1974.
InAlloa, a chapel dedicated to St. Mungo is thought to have been erected during the fourteenth or fifteenth-century. The presentChurch of ScotlandSt. Mungo's Parish Church in Alloa was built in 1817.
InCumbernauld, there is St. Mungo's Parish Church in the centre of the New Town.
In theLake District village ofCaldbeck there is a church and a well named after him. The Cumbrian parish churches at Crossthwaite in Keswick, Mungrisdale, Castle Sowerby, and Irthington are also dedicated to St Kentigern. There are two Cumbrian churches dedicated to St Mungo, one at Bromfield (also a well and castle) and one atDearham.
There is a St Kentigern's school and church inBlackpool.
In Falkirk, there is a St. Mungo's High School.
InGrinsdale, Cumbria there is a church venerated to St. Kentigern.
Also in Cumbria, there are two Greek Orthodox Communities venerated to St. Mungo/Kentigern, one inDalton-in-Furness and the other inKeswick.
InFallowfield, a suburb of the city of Manchester, a Roman Catholic church is dedicated to Saint Kentigern.
St Kentigern's is a small Roman Catholic Church in the village ofEyeries, on the Beara peninsula in West Cork, Ireland.[19]
Mungo or Kentigern is the patron of aPresbyterian church school inAuckland,New Zealand, which has two campuses:Saint Kentigern College, a secondary co-ed college in the suburb ofPakuranga, and a joint Boys School, Girls School and Pre-School in the suburb ofRemuera.
There is a United Church of Canada charge in Cushing Quebec Canada, Saint Mungo's United Church. Built in the 1836 originally as a Church of Scotland, it has recently been restored for its 180th anniversary.
Although secular, the English charity for the support and empowerment of the homeless,St. Mungo's, was named after the saint by its founder. The Glasgow-born Harry Stone named it in honour of the patron saint of his birth city when the charity was established in 1969.[20][21] Saint Mungo's runs hostels, outreach, emergency shelters, and employment and training services. It provides an online and in-person "Recovery College" free to its students.[22]
The ruinous St. Mungo's Chapel (also known asSt. Serf's Chapel) in Culross is traditionally said to have been built on the site of Mungo's birth place. Founded in 1503, it later fell into ruin and was silted up. The site was excavated in 1926. It is now ascheduled monument.[23][24]
St. Mungo is mentioned in theFather Brown series of books byG. K. Chesterton, as the titular saint of Father Brown's parish.[citation needed]
St. Mungo is a primary antagonist in the bookThe Lost Queen bySigne Pike. He is portrayed as vindictive, cruel, and malicious.
St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries is the primary hospital of Magical Britain in theHarry Potter series of books byJ. K. Rowling.[9]
Kentigern Gardens is the location of a murder inThe Cuckoo's Calling, a novel published underJ. K. Rowling'spseudonym of Robert Galbraith.[25][citation needed]
Mungo is the main character inYoung Mungo, a novel by Douglas Stuart. Name holds symbolic importance for the character's story.[citation needed]
Mungo's tomb is featured in the book Raven Nightshade - The Demon Sword - in the series of books by Martin Roy, where it is described as containing a cup of coffee, adding an intriguing and surreal detail to the narrative.
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