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Our father among the [[saint]]s '''Kentigern of Glasgow''', (in Latin: Cantigernus and in Welsh: Cyndeyrn Garthwys or Kyndeyrn), also known as '''Saint Mungo,''' was a late sixth century [[missionary]] to the Brythonic Kingdom of Strathclyde. He is a [[patron saint]] of the city of Glasgow that he founded. St. Kentigern is venerated as the [[Apostle]] of what is now northwest England (including Cumbria and the Lake District) and southwest Scotland. He [[feast day]] is commemorated on [[January 14]] in the Eastern Orthodox Church, and on January 13 in the West. He also has associations with figures from Arthurian legends, having lived in that time of transition between post-Roman Celtic Britain to pagan Anglo-Saxon domination of the island. A contemporary of St. Columba of Iona, he reposed not long after the papal Augustinian mission to Anglo-Saxon England. Saint Mungo according to tradition founded a number of churches during his period as hierarch of Strathclyde, of which Stobo Kirk is a notable example. In Scotland he is considered a patron saint of those needing help against bullies, of those accused of infidelity, and of salmon.

According to medieval accounts of his life, St. Kentigern's mother Teneu (St. Theneva, also Thenaw, Denyw or Dwynwen) was the daughter of the Brythonic king, Lleuddun (Latin, Leudonus), who ruled in the Haddington region of what is now Scotland, probably the Kingdom of Gododdin in the Old North. She became pregnant after being raped by Owain mab Urien, according to an account in the British Library one source for St. Kentigern's life. Her furious father had her thrown from the heights of Traprain Law. Surviving, she was then abandoned in a coracle in which she drifted across the River Forth to Culross in Fife. There St. Kentigern was born. He was brought up by Saint Serf who was ministering to the Picts in that area. It was Serf who gave him his popular pet-name Mungo. At the age of twenty-five, the saint began his missionary labours on the Clyde, on the site of modern Glasgow. Christianity had been introduced to the region by Saint Ninian and his followers welcomed the saint and procured his consecration by an Irish bishop. He built his church across the water from an extinct volcano, next to the Molendinar Burn, where the present medieval cathedral now stands. For some thirteen years, he laboured in the district, living a most austere life in a small cell, and making many converts by his holy example and his preaching. But a strong anti-Christian movement in Strathclyde, headed by a certain King Morken, compelled Mungo to leave the district, and he retired to Wales, via Cumbria, staying for a time with Saint David at St David's, and afterwards moving on to Gwynedd where he founded a cathedral at Llanelwy (St Asaph in English). While there, he undertook a pilgrimage to Rome. However, the new King of Strathclyde, Riderch Hael, invited Mungo to return to his kingdom. He decided to go and appointed Saint Asaph/Asaff as Bishop of Llanelwy in his place. For some years, St. Kentigern fixed his episcopal seat at Hoddom in Dumfriesshire, evangelizing thence the district of Galloway. He eventually returned to Glasgow where a large community grew up around him, becoming known as Clas-gu (meaning the 'dear family'). It was nearby, in Kilmacolm, that he was visited by Saint Columba, who was at that time labouring in Strathtay. The two saints embraced, held long converse, and exchanged their pastoral staves. In old age, Mungo became very feeble and his chin had to be set in place with a bandage. He is said to have died in his bath, on Sunday 13 January.

On the spot where St. Kentigern was buried now stands the cathedral dedicated in his honour. His shrine was a great centre of Christian pilgrimage until the Scottish Reformation. His remains are said to still rest in the crypt. A spring called "St. Mungo's Well" fell eastwards from the apse. Saint Mungo's Well was a cold water spring and bath at Copgrove, near Ripon, North Yorkshire, formerly believed effective for treating rickets. An ancient church in Bromfield, Cumbria is named after him, as are Crosthwaite Parish Church and some other churches in the northern part of the modern county of Cumbria (historic Cumberland).

The name Kentigern, an Old English form, seems derived from an Old Welshname, today Kyndeyrn or Cyndeyrn in Welsh, with roots meaning either "hound lord" or "chief lord." His Welsh epithet Garthwys is of unknown derivation, although it is also the name of a warrior mentioned as being in the saint's grandfather Urien's band in the early Welsh poem ''Y Gododdin''. His pet name nickname Mungo possibly derives from an Old Welsh form for "my dear" or "beloved." An ancient church in Bromfield, Cumbria is named after him, as are Crosthwaite Parish Church and some other churches in the northern part of the modern county of Cumbria (historic Cumberland). His names illustrate the multicultural world of post-Roman Britain in the sixth century, sometimes called the "Age of Arthur," in the overlapping of Celtic and Anglo-Saxon cultures and languages, although his mission work would have been in predominantly Celtic-speaking areas of western Britain.

In the "Life of Saint Mungo," he performed four religious renowned miracles in Glasgow. The following , memorialized in this verse is used to remember Mungo's four miracles:

''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.''

The Bird — Mungo refers to how the saint restored life to the pet robin of Saint St. Serf, which had been killed by some of his classmates, hoping to blame him for its death.The Tree — Mungo refers to an account of how he when had been left in charge of a fire in Saint St. Serf's monastery. He , he fell asleep and the fire went out. Taking branches from a tree, he restarted the fire.The Bell — the bell is thought to have been brought by Mungo him from Rome. It was said to have been used in services and to mourn the deceased. The original bell no longer exists, and a replacement, created in the 1640s, is now on display in Glasgow.The Fish — refers to the story about Queen Languoreth of Strathclyde who was suspected of infidelity by her husband. King Riderch demanded to see her ring, which he claimed she had given to her lover. In reality the King had thrown it into the River Clyde. Faced with execution she appealed for help to Mungothe saint, who ordered a messenger to catch a fish in the river. On opening the fish, the ring was miraculously found inside, which allowed the Queen to clear her name. An almost identical story concerns King Maelgwn of Gwynedd and Saint St. Asaph.

Mungo's These four religious miracles in Glasgow are represented in the city's coat of arms. Glasgow's current motto Let Glasgow flourish by the preaching of His word and the praising of His name and the more secular Let Glasgow flourish, are both inspired by Mungo's original call "Let Glasgow flourish by the preaching of the word." In a late 15th century fragmentary manuscript generally called "Lailoken and Kentigern," Mungo appears in conflict with the mad prophet, Lailoken alias Merlin. Lailoken's appearance at the Battle of Arfderydd in 573 has led to a connection being made between this battle, the rise of Riderch Hael and the return of Mungo to Strathclyde. The Life of Saint Mungo bears similarities with Chrétien de Troyes's French romance Yvain, the Knight of the Lion (Yvain being a derivation of Owain, Kentigern's father). In modern literary fiction, he is the patron saint of Father Brown's parish in G.K. Chesterton's "Father Brown" mystery series, and the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling refers to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries as a place for treating wizards.

*Medieval Sourcebook: Jocelyn, a monk of Furness: The Life of Kentigern (Mungo). "[http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/Jocelyn-LifeofKentigern.asp]" Trans. Cynthia Whidden Green, 1998* William Stevenson. ''[http://books.google.ca/books?id=upQSAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false The Legends and Commemorative Celebrations of St. Kentigern, his Friends, and Disciples].'' Transl. Translated from the Aberdeen Breviary and the Arbuthnott Missal. Edinburgh: Printed for Private Circulation, 1872. 168pp. (''[http://books.google.ca/books/download/The_legends_and_commemorative_celebratio.pdf?id=upQSAAAAYAAJ&output=pdf&sig=ACfU3U14Exjn6b0idkQ8thgGgSyqEL3WlQ Download .pdf]'')

*[[wikipedia: Saint_Mungo]]*[Fr. Ian Prior, "Kentigern, Part Three, Later Life and Repose,." ''Orthodox Outlook'' vol. 10 (1997):22-26.]*[''Two Celtic Saints: The Lives of Ninian and Kentigern'' Llanerch Enterprises, Facsimile Reprint, 1989]*[Medieval Sourcebook: Jocelyn, a monk of Furness: The Life of Kentigern (Mungo)" Translation by Cynthia Whidden Green, 1998, http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/Jocelyn-LifeofKentigern.asp]