View source for Comgall

{{short description |Mediaeval Irish abbot and saint}}
{{for|the 6th-century king in Dál Riata|Comgall mac Domangairt}}
{{EngvarB|date=August 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}}
{{Infobox saint
|name=Saint Comgall
|birth_date=c. 510–520
|death_date=597 or 602
|feast_day=10 May
|venerated_in=[[Roman Catholic Church]],<br/>[[Anglican Church]]<br/>[[Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodox Church]]
|image=Mosaic, Bangor harbour (2) - geograph.org.uk - 344038.jpg
|imagesize=
|caption=Saint Comgall and monks from Bangor Abbey, Bangor harbour mosaic
|birth_place=[[Dál nAraidi]] in [[Ulster]],<br/>[[Magheramorne]] in [[County Antrim]]
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'''Saint Comgall''' (c. 510–520 – 597/602), an early Irish saint, was the founder and abbot of the great Irish monastery at [[Bangor, County Down|Bangor]] in Ireland.<ref name="maccaffrey">
MacCaffrey,James (1908). "[[wikisource:Catholic_Encyclopedia_(1913)/St._Comgall|St. Comgall]]". In ''Catholic Encyclopedia''. '''4.''' New York: Robert Appleton Company. {{Pd-notice}}</ref>
==Life==
Comgall was born sometime between 510 and 520 in [[Dál nAraidi]], [[Ulster]] according to the Irish [[annals]] near the place now known as [[Magheramorne]] in present-day [[County Antrim]].<ref name="maccaffrey"/> Comgall's father was Setna, a [[Picts|Pictish]] warrior; his mother's name was Briga.<ref name=Lapa>[http://www.pravoslavie.ru/english/70694.htm Lapa, Dmitry. "Venerable Comgall, Abbot of Bangor in Ireland", Pravoslavie.ru, May 23, 2014]</ref>
After serving as a soldier in his early life, he was educated under [[Fintan of Clonenagh]] and also studied under [[Finnian of Movilla]], [[Mobhí Clárainech]] at Glasnevin, and [[Ciarán of Clonmacnoise]].<ref name=parish>[http://www.bangorabbey.org/history.htm "History of Bangor Abbey", Parish of Bangor Abbey] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150306051155/http://www.bangorabbey.org/history.htm |date=6 March 2015 }}</ref>
He was ordained deacon and priest by Bishop Lugidius, either at [[Clonmacnoise]] or Connor. He lived for a while in Ulster on an island on [[Lough Erne]], accompanied by a few friends who followed a severe form of monastic life. The regime was so austere that seven companions died of cold and hunger.<ref>Wallace, Martin (1995). ''A Little Book of Celtic Saints''. Belfast: Appletree Press, pg. 35; {{ISBN|0-86281-456-1}}</ref>
Initially intending to go to [[Sub-Roman Britain|Britain]], Comgall was dissuaded by [[Lugidius]], the bishop who ordained him, at whose advice he remained in Ireland to spread the monastic life throughout the country. He founded a [[Bangor Abbey|monastery at Bangor]], County Down on the southern shore of [[Belfast Lough]], directly opposite [[Carrickfergus]].
According to the Irish annals, Bangor was founded no later than 552, though [[James Ussher]] and most of the later writers on the subject assign the foundation to the year 555.<ref name="maccaffrey"/> Webb places it at 559.<ref name=Webb>Webb, Alfred
[http://www.libraryireland.com/biography/SaintComgall.php "Saint Comgall"], ''A compendium of Irish Biography'', 1878.</ref>
He is said to have governed in Bangor and other houses over four thousand monks; all which religious men were employed in tillage or other manual labour.<ref>
Butler, Rev. Alban
[http://www.bartleby.com/210/5/104.html "St. Comgall, Abbot in Ireland"], ''Lives of the Saints'', volume V, 1866.</ref>
Life in the monasteries was severe. Food was scant and plain. Herbs, water, and bread was customary. Even milk was considered an indulgence. At Bangor only one meal was allowed, and that not until evening. Confession was in public before the community. Severe acts of penance were frequent. Silence was observed at meals and at other times also, conversation being restricted to the minimum. Fasting was frequent and prolonged.<ref name=parish/>
According to Adamnan's ''Life of Columba'', there was a close connection between Comgall and [[Columba]], though there does not appear to be sufficient authority for stating that Comgall was the disciple of Columba in any strict sense. Comgall was a friend to future saints Cormac, [[Brendan the Navigator|Brendan]], and [[Cainnech of Aghaboe|Canice]].<ref name="maccaffrey"/>
It is believed that among the monks trained by Comgall at Bangor, were [[Columbanus]] of [[Luxeuil-les-Bains]] (21 or 23 November) and [[Saint Moluag]] (25 June).<ref name=oca>[http://oca.org/saints/lives/2013/05/10/103921-venerable-comgall-of-bangor "Venerable Comgall of Bangor"], Orthodox Church in America website.</ref>
After a period of intense suffering, Comgall received the Eucharist from [[Saint Fiacre]] and died in the monastery at Bangor. The year of his death was either 602, according to ''[[Annals of Tigernach]]'' and ''[[Chronicon Scotorum]]'', or 597, according to ''[[Annals of Inisfallen]]''.<ref name="maccaffrey"/> His relics, which were kept at Bangor, were scattered during Viking raids in 822.<ref name=dictionary>{{cite book|last=Farmer |first=David Hugh |title=The Oxford dictionary of saints |year=1997 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |isbn=0-19-280058-2 |pages=112–113 |edition=4}}</ref>
==Role==
Comgall belonged to what is known as the Second Order of Irish Saints. These flourished in the Irish Church during the sixth century. They were for the most part educated in Britain, or received their training from those who had grown up under the influence of the British Schools. They were the founders of the great Irish monastic schools, and contributed much to the spread of monasticism in the [[Celtic Christianity|Irish Church]]. The [[Antiphonary of Bangor]] of the seventh century claimed that Comgall was 'strict, holy and constant';<ref name=dictionary /> and there has come down to us a Rule of Saint Comgall in Irish,<ref>An Old-Irish metrical rule (1904). An anonymous poem concerning the rule of the Lord, or Comgall's rule, written c. 800, transcribed by [[John Strachan (linguist)|John Strachan]]. In ''[https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/000503659/Home Ériu],'' Volume I (1904). pp. 191–208. </ref> but the evidence would not warrant us in saying that as it stands at present it could be attributed to him. The fact, however, that Columbanus, a disciple of Comgall and himself a monk of Bangor, drew up for his Continental monasteries a ''Regula Monachorum'' would lead us to believe that there had been a similar organisation in Bangor in his time. This, however, is not conclusive, since Columbanus might have derived inspiration from the Benedictine Rule then widely spread over the [[Iberian Peninsula]].
St. Comgall is mentioned in the "Life of Columbanus" by Jonas, as the superior of Bangor, under whom St. Columbanus had studied. He is also mentioned under 10 May, his feast-day in the "Felire" of [[Óengus of Tallaght]] published by [[Whitley Stokes (Celtic scholar)|Whitley Stokes]] for the [[Henry Bradshaw Society]] (2nd ed.), and his name is commemorated in the [[Stowe Missal]] (MacCarthy), and in the ''[[Martyrology of Tallaght]]''.
==References==
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{{Portalbar|Saints}}
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[[Category:602 deaths]]
[[Category:6th-century Irish poets]]
[[Category:Medieval Irish saints]]
[[Category:6th-century Irish abbots]]
[[Category:Christian clergy from County Antrim]]
[[Category:Christian clergy from County Down]]
[[Category:7th-century Irish abbots]]
[[Category:Year of birth unknown]]
[[Category:Year of birth uncertain]]
[[Category:Irish male poets]]
[[Category:People from Bangor, County Down]]