[MR] Wikipedia: Death of St. Kentigern (aka St. Mungo)

[Garth Groff and Sally Sanford]

Noble Friends, especially Fellow Scots,

On this day in 614 (maybe), St. Kentigern died in his church at what is now
Glasgow. He was the first Bishop of Glasgow. Kentigern is better known by
his pet name, Mungo, which roughly "Dear Friend" in the Cumbric/Welsh
language of the region at that time. Since the village/town/city grew
around his church, Kentigern is also considered Glasgow's founder, as well
as its patron saint. His symbols are displayed in the City's arms, as well
as carved into a number of Victorian-era stone buildings throughout the
town.

Given that he lived in Britain's very dark ages, little is known for
certain about Kentigern. Much of his story sprang from the fervent brain of
a 12th century monk known as Jocelyn of Furness, a noted hack writer of the
time. Jocelyn was tasked with writing Kentigern's *vita* (a saintly bio) by
Bishop Jocelyn of Glasgow to convince the Pope to allow a pilgrimage site
to the saint's tomb in Glasgow cathedral. Jocelyn churned out a very juicy
story indeed, drawing on legends and various trope miracles. It worked!
Glasgow Cathedral became the third most popular pilgrimage site in
Scotland, eclipsed only by St. Andrews and Whithorn Priory.

St. Mungo's tomb, or at least the slab over it, survives in the crypt below
his cathedral in Glasgow. Whether the saint is still an occupant is
debatable. It is possible his relics were moved to a feretory shrine behind
the main altar by Bishop Jocelyn. Three times Jocelyn petitioned the Pope
to allow the bones to be moved, but never got the permission he sought.
Some think that Bishop Jocelyn moved the remains anyway. The feretory
shrine was destroyed when the church was "cleansed" during the Scottish
reformation.

Glasgow Cathedral is only one of two largely intact medieval cathedrals to
survive the reformation. The church is technically no longer a cathedral,
as there is no bishop in residence. Its chancel remains in use as a parish
church for the protestant Kirk of Scotland, but the building itself is
owned by Historic Environment Scotland (similar to the National Trust in
England and Wales) and is open for tours.

While Mungo is one of my favorite saints, my SCA name was not derived from
him. The name comes from Mungo Napier "a burgess of Dumbarton" circa 1580
(one of my real ancestors). At the time I chose the name, I had never heard
of St. Mungo.

More about Kentigern/Mungo is at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Mungo .

Wikipedia offers this page on Glasgow Cathedral:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glasgow_Cathedral .

Yours Aye,


Mungo Napier, Laird of Mallard Lodge  🦆
Continuing a crusade to keep the original Merry Rose relevant and in
business.