Saint Dungal

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Saint Dungal, born in Ireland and died after 827, was an Irish monk, who served Charlemagne as an astronomer.

In a letter, directed to Charlemagne, he explains to the emperor the solar eclipse of the year 810 . To do so he uses modern astronomical notions that where published by Copernicus only 700 years later, in 1540. He expresses a heliocentric world view.

He bequeathed to the Bobbio Abbey his valuable library, consisting of some seventy volumes, among which was the famous Antiphonary of Bangor.