St Mungo Flashcards
St Mungo
● At age 25, St Mungo began his missionary efforts on the River Clyde. He was welcomed by people who had previously been converted to Christianity to by St Ninian. St Mungo built a church, at the confluence of the Molendinar Burn and the Clyde, which is the site of Glasgow Cathedral.
● St Mungo’s tomb now lies in the central chamber of the lower choir in Glasgow Cathedral. ● There is little known about the church buildings which stood on the site of the present Cathedral, until the early part of the 12th century.
Four Miracles
● In order to make someone a Saint, it was necessary to prove that the candidate had performed miracles during their lifetime. St Mungo was said to have performed 4, depicted in the lampposts around us and all over the city. Point towards the crest on lamposts - what can you see? The miracles are described in a poem:
● Here is the bird that never flew
Here is the tree that never grew
Here is the bell that never rang
Here is the fish that never swam
● These four elements make up the crest of Glasgow, with the motto, ‘Let Glasgow Flourish’. ● Bird - St Mungo is said to have restored life to the pet robin of St Serf, his acting father, which had been killed by some of his fellow classmates.
● Tree - It is said that he used branches of a tree to restart a fire at St Serf’s monastery that had gone out because Mungo had fallen asleep whilst watching it.
● Bell - A miraculous bell that he bought back from Rome. He gathered around a group of dead bodies with the bell… none of them came back to life and nothing happened. Infact, no one knows where the bell is now and no one knows if it really existed. Therefore, we have an inkling that it’s only in the poem because it rhymes!
● Fish – This miracle involves the Queen of Strathclyde, who came home one day without her wedding ring on. Her husband, the King, thought she had been cheating on him and had given her wedding ring to her lover. But she hadn’t! She was innocent, so she came to St Mungo for help to prove this and he ordered a monk to go fishing in the river. The monk came back with a fish, which they cut open and inside, they found the ring!
● The Queen of Strathclyde went back to her husband to prove her innocence. In reality, he had removed it from her finger as she was sleeping and thrown it into the river because he had grown tired of her and wanted to have her murdered.
● Now, if you look up again, what can you see in the mouth of the fish? The ring!
