Dungal of Bobbio (

fl. ''Floruit'' ( ; usually abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for '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 indic ...

811–828) was an Irish

monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

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. w ...

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

, 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 (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

. He was to live at Saint-Denis, Pavia, and

Bobbio Bobbio (Emilian language#Dialects, Bobbiese: ; ; ) is a small town and ''comune'' in the province of Piacenza in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy. It is located in the Trebbia River valley southwest of the town Piacenza. There is also an abbey and a ...

. He may be the same person as ''

Hibernicus exul ''Hibernicus exul'' (fl. 8th century) was an anonymous Irish Latin poet, grammarian, and dialectician. His works include a comic mock epic, a panegyric to Charlemagne, epigrams of advice to young scholars, and a poetic overview of the seven l ...

''.

Biography

Dungal was born in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

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 Alcuin of York (; ; 735 – 19 May 804), also called Ealhwine, Alhwin, or Alchoin, was a scholar, clergyman, poet, and teacher from York, Northumbria. He was born around 735 and became the student of Ecgbert of York, Archbishop Ecgbert at Yor ...

appears to identify him as a

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

Solar eclipses

In a letter, directed to Charlemagne, he answered

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...

'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 Earth, totally or partially. Such an alignment occurs approximately every six months, during the eclipse season i ...

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, also known as sapience, is the ability to apply knowledge, experience, and good judgment to navigate life’s complexities. It is often associated with insight, discernment, and ethics in decision-making. Throughout history, wisdom ha ...

and the

seven liberal arts 7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube. As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has symbolic associations in religion, mythology, supers ...

. In 823, Dungal was mentioned in a

capitulary A capitulary (medieval Latin ) was a series of legislative or Public administration, administrative acts emanating from the Franks, Frankish court of the Merovingian and Carolingian dynasties, especially that of Charlemagne, the first Holy Roman Em ...

of Lothair. In 825 he was by imperial decree appointed Master of the School at

Pavia Pavia ( , ; ; ; ; ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, in Northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino (river), Ticino near its confluence with the Po (river), Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was a major polit ...

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), or Claudius, was a Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Nero Claudius Drusus, Drusus and Ant ...

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

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

Louis the Pious Louis the Pious (; ; ; 16 April 778 – 20 June 840), also called the Fair and the Debonaire, was King of the Franks and Holy Roman Emperor, co-emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813. He was also King of Aquitaine from 781. As the only ...

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 The Antiphonary of Bangor (Antiphonarium Monasterii Benchorensis) is an ancient Latin manuscript, supposed to have been originally written at Bangor Abbey in modern-day Northern Ireland. History A thin manuscript volume of 36 leaves, it is th ...

''.

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 ...

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 betwe ...

, 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
Carmina, De duplici solis eclipsi
(Bibliotheca Augustana)

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 writers in Latin 9th-century astronomers Irish male poets 9th-century Irish writers Irish writers in Latin Writers from the Carolingian Empire People from Bobbio