Eventually, these beasts paused in the green and serene Clyde Valley. Surviving, she was then abandoned in a coracle in which she drifted across the Firth of Forth to Culross in Fife. Glasgow Cathedral and St Mungo Tomb - Sightseeing Travellers The fish was the first to appear in 1270, joined by the bird in in 1271 and, shortly thereafter the tree, or at least a branch. Her furious father had her thrown from the heights of Traprain Law. 13 January was a Sunday in both 603 and 614. He was regarded as a holy priest and was eventually consecrated the first bishop of Glasgow. Articles like these are sponsored free for every Catholic through the support of generous readers just like you. St Mungo suffered ill-health in later life and needed his chin to be bandaged constantly. By the time he was 25, Mungo began his missionary adventures and established a church on the site where the city of Glasgow would later develop. It was said to be miraculous, she says of the bell. A Gannett Company. He died in 614, and was buried near the church. There are certainly two other medieval lives: the earlier partial life in the Cottonian manuscript now in the British Library, and the later Life, based on Jocelyn, by John of Tynemouth. The bell, meanwhile, represents one that Mungo brought back to Glasgow from Rome, Barton explains. St. Mungo - by Mairi Bontorno - Magpie Tidings In Wales and England, this saint is known by his birth and baptismal name Kentigern (Welsh Another church called St Kentigern's was built in the town in the late 19th century. Those ads you do see are predominantly from local businesses promoting local services. These adverts enable local businesses to get in front of their target audience the local community. It is still present but has been converted to housing and office space.[17][18]. St Mungo is the patron saint of Glasgow. He brought a robin back to life, brought a fire to life from a hazel tree branch, and was gifted a handbell by the Pope. According to the Life of Saint Mungo written by the monk, Jocelin of Furness, in about 1185, Mungo's mother was Princess Theneva (or Denw) daughter of Loth . As we saw last week Mungo had been preaching Christianity to the Britons in the Kingdom of Strathclyde, and had some success. Davies, John Reuben, "Bishop Kentigern among the Britons," in Boardman, Steve, John Reuben Davies, Eila Williamson (eds), McArthur Irvin, Lindsay, "Building a British Identity: Jocelin of Furness's Use of Sources in Vita Kentigerni," in, This page was last edited on 28 March 2023, at 21:07. That uncertainty fades in relevance during the St. Mungo Festival, held this year from January 9-19. Here is the fish that never swam[9]. The story is that he accompanied a cart carrying the body of Fergus, a holy man, looking for a burial site. The most influential person in Glasgow history, he adorns its city crest, looms in its cathedral, graces street murals, and has his name on museums, schools, charities, and sports clubs. (Swinburne, L. M. "Rickets and the Fairfax family receipt books", "Saint Mungo", Saint Mungo's Church, Glasgow, "St Kentigern's Episcopal Church, Dennistoun, Glasgow", "HOPE STREET ST KENTIGERN'S CHURCH (CHURCH OF SCOTLAND)", "Soup and sympathy: Mark Gould talks to Charles Fraser, chief executive of St Mungo's", "Identity and Alterity in Hagiography and the Cult of Saints", Glasgow Museums: St Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Saint_Mungo&oldid=1147098856, 13 January (in Orthodox Church, both 13 and 14 January), Bishop with a robin on his shoulder; holding a bell and a fish with a ring in its mouth, The Magnificent Gael [Reginald B. Hale] 1976, World Media Productions*. A few minutes walk north from there lies St. Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art. This site is part of Newsquest's audited local newspaper network. The tree: As a boy, Mungo was charged with being sure a fire at the monastery kept burning. came a hermit near Glasgow, Scotland. Also in Cumbria, there are two Greek Orthodox Communities venerated to St. Mungo/Kentigern, one in Dalton-in-Furness and the other in Keswick. This is the bell that never rang, and this the fish that never swam., The short poem encapsulates the tall tale of a mystifying figure with a clear legacya miraculous monk who, more than a millennia later, is still helping to define Glasgow. After his departure, Mungo travelled to Stirling where he lived at the home of a holy man named Fergus. Mungo visited Cumbria, Wales and then headed to Rome. In the mid 6th century, on the site where Glasgow cathedral now stands, St Mungo set up a church and a community which grew into the city of Glasgow. He looked after them and named the boy Mungo, meaning dear one. The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". He is said to have died in his bath, on Sunday 13 January. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. His mother was Princess Thenog, and his grandfather Loth, king of the Votadini or Gododdin. Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. He. We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments. The Vita Kentigerni had to show that he had performed miracles in his life. Duggan, Joseph J. This rendering of his story is drawn mostly from the work of Joceline or Jocelyn of Furness who wrote the Life of St Kentigern in the late 12th century, dedicated to his namesake Jocelin, Bishop of Glasgow, who commissioned the work. Are you sure you want to delete this comment? She appealed to Mungo for help, and he had someone catch a salmon from the river. Jan 18 The King was suspicious of his wife, believing her to be guilty of infidelity. The short poem encapsulates the tall tale of a mystifying figure with a clear legacya miraculous monk who, more than a millennia later, is still helping to define Glasgow. Kentigern Gardens is the location of a murder in The Cuckoo's Calling, a novel published under J. K. Rowling's pseudonym of Robert Galbraith. For more than a decade, Mungo lived in a simple cell, converting many people to Christianity and helping others to rediscover their faith by the example he showed. You might have also seen the huge mural on High Street depicting a modern-day version of St Mungo with the robin. Mungo's four religious miracles in Glasgow are represented in the city's coat of arms. In modern literary fiction, he is the patron saint of Father Brown's parish in G.K. Chesterton's "Father Brown" mystery series, and the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling refers to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries as a place for treating wizards. Another church established by the saint himself was St Kentigern's Church of Lanark, founded shortly before his death, and which now stands in ruins. It is said he visited the home of a dying holy man named Fergus, who died the night he arrived. [8] In old age, Mungo became very feeble and his chin had to be set in place with a bandage. His shrine was a great centre of Christian pilgrimage until the Scottish Reformation. Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features. When the king saw a knight wearing the queens ring, he became jealous, stole it, threw it in a river, and demanded his wife retrieve it. St Mungo's Parish, Glasgow. All rights reserved, St. Mungos Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, St. Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Saint Serf decided to raise Kentigern, training him to become a priest at the monastery and giving him the nickname Mungo meaning dear one. On another journey to the West he met with Saint Mungo, the apostle of Strathclyde. Glasgow's current motto Let Glasgow flourish by the preaching of His word and the praising of His name and the more secular Let Glasgow flourish, are both inspired by Mungo's original call "Let Glasgow flourish by the preaching of the word". Lailoken's appearance at the Battle 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. This gala event has grown enormously since its inception, says Stephen McKinney, spokesman for Mediaeval Glasgow Trust, which helps organize the festival. To this day, Glasgow schoolchildren learn a rhyme about St. Mungo: This is the bird that never flew, and this the tree that never grew. As a subscriber, you are shown 80% less display advertising when reading our articles. A sign alongside it even concedes that, in regards to his life story, much of it was made up., (Unravel the mystery behind St. Valentines bones.). 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. The pet, however, was killed by some of the boys at the monastery, who wished to place the blame on Mungo. In A.D. 528, Scottish princess Thenue became pregnant from an affair with a cousin, and her furious father had her pushed off Traprain Law peak, 18 miles east of Edinburgh. St. Kentigern's Academy opened in Blackburn, West Lothian in September 1974. National World Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved. She was sent up the Forth on a boat with no oars. He lived from 528 to 13 January 614, being born in Fife on the banks of the River . [citation needed] However, in Scotland, excavations at Hoddom have brought confirmation of early Christian activity there, uncovering a late 6th-century stone baptistery. He was born in Fife in 528 and named Kentigern, meaning big chief, and had a troubled start to life. His nickname, Mungo, means "dear one" or "darling." He was raised by St. Serf and be. [10], Saint Mungo's Well was a cold water spring and bath at Copgrove, near Ripon, North Yorkshire, formerly believed effective for treating rickets. For some years, St. Kentigern fixed his episcopal seat at Hoddom in Dumfriesshire, evangelizing thence the district of Galloway. The 'Book of Deer' (a tenth century illuminated manuscript, providing a unique insight into cultural, social and ecclesiastical life of the East of Scotland.) All rights reserved. There are two Cumbrian churches dedicated to St Mungo, one at Bromfield (also a well and castle) and one at Dearham. He also has associations with figures from Arthurian legends, having lived in that time of transition between post-Roman Celtic Britain to pagan Anglo-Saxon domination of the island. [5] Jocelyn states that he rewrote the 'life' from an earlier Glasgow legend and an Old Irish document. In Scotland he is considered a patron saint of those needing help against bullies, of those accused of infidelity, and of salmon. [6], Mungo was brought up by Saint Serf who was ministering to the Picts in that area. This jealousy and resentment continued to grow eventually causing Mungo to leave the monastery. Unauthorized use is prohibited. Glasgow Cathedral, dedicated to St. Mungo, is the oldest church in mainland Scotland and the oldest building in Glasgow. Upon learning of Teneu's pregnancy, her father, King Lleuddun of Lothian, became . At Townhead and Dennistoun in Glasgow there is a modern Roman Catholic church and a traditional Scottish Episcopal Church[16] respectively dedicated to the saint. [12][13], Glasgow Fire Brigade also named their fireboat St. Mungo, which served the around the Clyde from 1959 to 1975.[14]. This 12th-century book provides the most detailed account of St. Mungos life. The handbell, supposedly given to him by the Pope, has become a Glasgow symbol. Nor is there too much archaeology to shed light on Scotlands Dark Ages we really just do not know for certain what happened back then. Lives to Inspire: Mungo of Glasgow - Online Prayer Help us continue to bring the Gospel to people everywhere through uplifting and transformative Catholic news, stories, spirituality, and more. Les Glasgow quatre miracles de Saint Mungo excuts sont reprsents dans armes la ville. Fergus dying wish was that his body be placed upon a cart, which was to be pulled by two bulls, with his body being buried where the bulls stopped. 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].