Dungal of Bobbio (

fl. ''Floruit'' (; abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for "they flourished") denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indicatin ...

811–828) was an Irish

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, g ...

, and

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

. He was to live at Saint-Denis, Pavia, and Bobbio. He may be the same person as '' Hibernicus exul''.

Biography

Dungal was born in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

sometime in the late 8th century. His origins within Ireland are unknown, but he may have spent his student years at the School of Bangor. At some point either side of 800 he left Ireland. By 811 he was living at the monastery of St. Denis, near Paris. A letter of Alcuin appears to identify him as a

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

Solar Eclipses

In a letter, directed to Charlemagne, he answered

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Holy ...

's question of why two

solar eclipse A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby obscuring the view of the Sun from a small part of the Earth, totally or partially. Such an alignment occurs during an eclipse season, approximately every six month ...

s occurred in the year 810, drawing on his knowledge of the teachings of

Macrobius Macrobius Ambrosius Theodosius, usually referred to as Macrobius (fl. AD 400), was a Roman provincial who lived during the early fifth century, during late antiquity, the period of time corresponding to the Later Roman Empire, and when Latin was ...

, Pliny, and other ancient authors. This letter demonstrates "a knowledge of astronomy far beyond the current ideas of his time".

Later life

Dungal wrote a poem on

wisdom Wisdom, sapience, or sagacity is the ability to contemplate and act using knowledge, experience, understanding, common sense and insight. Wisdom is associated with attributes such as unbiased judgment, compassion, experiential self-knowledge, ...

and the seven liberal arts. In 823, Dungal was mentioned in a capitulary of Lothair. In 825 he was by imperial decree appointed Master of the School at

Pavia Pavia (, , , ; la, Ticinum; Medieval Latin: ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy in northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was the capit ...

which was located in the monastery of San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro. In 827 or 828, he defended the veneration of images against

Claudius Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54) was the fourth Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Nero Claudius Drusus, Drusu ...

, Bishop of Turin and wrote to refute some of his religious teachings at the request of the emperor

Louis the Pious Louis the Pious (german: Ludwig der Fromme; french: Louis le Pieux; 16 April 778 – 20 June 840), also called the Fair, and the Debonaire, was King of the Franks and co-emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813. He was also King of Aqui ...

Death and bequests

Dungal died at an unknown date after 827 or 828, probably at the

Monastery of Bobbio Bobbio Abbey (Italian: ''Abbazia di San Colombano'') is a monastery founded by Irish Saint Columbanus in 614, around which later grew up the town of Bobbio, in the province of Piacenza, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. It is dedicated to Saint Columbanus. ...

. He bequeathed to Bobbio Abbey his valuable library, consisting of some 27 volumes,See the new edition of the Bobbio catalogue by M. TOSI, ‘Il governo abbaziale di Gerberto a Bobbio’, in Archivum Bobiense, 2 (1985), pp. 195-223, with Dungal's bequest at nos. 496 to 522 among which may have been the '' Antiphonary of Bangor''.

Latin texts by Dungal

Carmina

Migne Jacques Paul Migne (; 25 October 1800 – 24 October 1875) was a French priest who published inexpensive and widely distributed editions of theological works, encyclopedias, and the texts of the Church Fathers, with the goal of providing a u ...

Patrologia Latina The ''Patrologia Latina'' (Latin for ''The Latin Patrology'') is an enormous collection of the writings of the Church Fathers and other ecclesiastical writers published by Jacques-Paul Migne between 1841 and 1855, with indices published between ...

, vol. 105: col 052-0532D
Epistola de duplici Solis Eclipsi Anno 810

, vol. 105: col. 0447-0458C
Responsa contra perversas Claudii Tauronensis Episcopi sententias

, vol. 105: col. 0465-0530A

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dungal Irish astronomers Irish Christian monks 8th-century Irish poets 9th-century deaths Irish expatriates in France Irish expatriates in Italy 9th-century Latin writers 9th-century astronomers Irish male poets 9th-century Irish writers Irish Latinists Writers from the Carolingian Empire