DUNGAL

A common Irish medieval name; L. Traube distinguishes four individuals of note called Dungal [O Roma Nobilis (Munich 1891) 332–337].

Dungal of Saint-Denis, d. after 827. A recluse at saint-denis, who arrived from Ireland c. 784, he wrote to charlemagne c. 811 explaining a supposed double eclipse of the sun in a letter [Monumenta Germaniae Historica: Epistolae (Berlin 1826–) 4:570] showing an advanced knowledge of astronomy. In 827 he wrote against the iconoclasm put forth by claudius of turin (Monumenta Germaniae Historica: Epistolae Carol 2:583–585), quoting from gregory of nyssa, john chrysostom, augustine, ambrose, and the poets Venantius fortunatus, paulinus of nola, and pruden tius. He is also supposed to have been the author of several Latin poems (Monumenta Germaniae Historica: Poetae lat aevi car 1:408–410), one of which is dedicated to hilduin, Abbot of Saint-Denis. His identification with Hibernicus Exul, author of a panegyric on Charlemagne's victory, is rejected by Esposito [Journal of Theological Studies 33 (London 1932) 119–131], who attributes five of the poems to Dicuil, an Irish monk and geographer of the period, rather than to Dungal.

Dungal of Pavia, who is known from a capitular of lothair i that in 823 ordered the youth of Milan and ten other towns to repair to a central school in Pavia and there receive instruction from Dungal, who was to be director of education in northern Italy.

Dungal (fl. 855), a companion of Sedulius Scotus. He was the author of a poem to a master Baldo, a scribe of Salzburg (Monumenta Germaniae Historica: Poetae lat aevi car 1:412). His name appears also in a margin of the Codex Bernensis (Berne, Stadtbibliothek, MS 363, fol. 54a).

Dungal of Bobbio, 11th century. The oldest catalog of the library of the abbey at bobbio includes a list of 29 books donated by Dungalus, praecipuus Scottorum to columban. Esposito [Journal of Theological Studies 32 (1931) 337–344], following Muratori, identifies Dungal of Pavia and Dungal of Bobbio, conjecturing that the head of the school at Pavia retired to Bobbio, bringing his library with him.

Bibliography: m. manitius, Geschichte der lateinischen Literatur des Mittelalters, 3 v. (Munich 1911–31) 1:370–374, 392–393; 2:804; 3:106. j. f. kenney, The Sources for the Early History of Ireland, v. 1 Ecclesiastical (New York 1929), 1:516, 535, 538–542, 550, 559–560, 563, 796. l. bieler, Ireland, Harbinger of the Middle Ages (New York 1963) 118; Lexikon für Theologie und Kirche, ed. j. hofer and k. rahner, 10 v. (2d, new ed. Freiburg 1957–65) 3:600–601. c. mooney, Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie ecclésiastiques, ed. a. baudrillart et al. (Paris 1912–) 14:1047–50.

[t. p. halton]