BANGOR
250
BANGOR
council held by St. Anselm at Westminster, being
the first Welsh bishop to attend an English council.
His rule was not successful, for difficulties arose
owing to his people resenting the coming of a stranger
ignorant of their language, customs, and character.
He, on the other hand, adopted violent measures
in the assertion of liis rights, witii the result that
bloodshed ensued, and he finally had to take refuge
in England, where he was translated to the See
of Ely in 1108. The cathedral had been destroyed
by the Normans in 1071, but was subsequently re-
built, though no trace of Norman work remains in
the present structure. Anian (1267-1305), who, as
Bishop of Bangor, baptized Edward II took the
chief part in rebuilding the cathedral. He also drew
up the "Missale in usum Ecclesise Banchorensis"
and the "Pontifical" which represent the liturgical
books of "the use of Bangor". It again suffered se-
verely in the wars between the Englisli and Welsh dur-
ing the reign of Henry III, and in 1402 was entirely
burnt down by Owen Glendowcr. There could
hardly have been a vigorous diocesan life, for the
cathedral and episcopal residence lay in ruins for
nearly a century. At length in 1496, a vigorous
administrator became bishop in the person of Henry
Deane, prior of the Austin canons at Llanthony near
Gloucester. He immediately began to rebuild the
ruined choir and his work still exists. Besides
restoring his cathedral, he was active in regaining
the possessions of the see which had been annexed
by the more powerful men in the neighbourhood.
Unfortunately for Bangor after four years' rule
he was in 1500 translated first to Salisbury, and
afterwards to Canterbury. He is said to have left
liis iTii^icr and mitre, both of great value, to his
su( Ti Nsor. nn condition that he should proceed with
the reljuiUling.
But neither of the next two bishops, Thomas Pigot, Abbot of Chertsey (1500-03), and John Penny (1504-OS), did anything for the fabric. On the translation of Bishop Penny to Carlisle, Bangor was entrusted to Thomas Skevington, or Pace (1509-33), who of all its bishops did most for it. He was Abbot of Beaulieu in Hampshire, and though he did not reside in his see, he showed prac- tical interest in his diocese by completing the cathe- dral. He rebuilt the entire nave and tower, and ])resented four bells which were afterwards sold by the first "reforming" bi.shop. He also rebuilt the episcopal residence. He died in 1533, and after the short episcopates of John Capon (1534-39) and John Bird (1539-41), was followed by Arthur Bulkeley, who resided in the diocese indeed, but wlio is accused of having neglected it in his own interests. According to the Anglican historian, Godwin, he was struck blind Avhile watching the cathedral bells, which he had sold, being shipped off. But this story is questioned by Bro\\7i Willis, the
historian of the Welsh cathedrals. Bulkeley died
in 1553, and was succeeded by William Glynn
(1553-58) the last Catholic bishop.
Since the Reformation the cathedral has con- tinued to serve the Anglican bishops in its old capacity, while also doing duty as the parish church of the to^\-n. It is the smallest and humblest of all the cathedrals in England or Wales, being an embattled cruciform structure resembling a good- sized parisli church. The diocese consisted of the whole of Anglesea and Carnarvonshire, with the greater part of Merionethshire and some parishes, in the counties Denbigh and Montgomery. There were three archdeaconries, Bangor, Anglesea. and. Merioneth. The arms of the see were gules, a bend, or gutty de poix between two mullets, argent.
Walcott, MemoHals oj Bangor (ISOO); Willi-s. Surrey of Bangor (1721); Godwin, De prasulibus Anghce (1743); Winkle, Cathedral Churches of England and Wales (London, 1860). HI, 1.53: Diet. Nat. Biog., s. v. Daniel, Hervey, Deane, Skevington„ Bulkeley.
Edwin Burton.
Bangor, Hermits of. See Coiig.\ll, St.
Bangor Abbey. — The name of two famous mon- astic establisliments in Ireland and Wales.
(1) The Irisli Abbey of Bangor was situated in the County Down, on the southern shore of Belfast Lough. Sometimes the name was ■wTitten " Beann- chor", from the Irish word beann, a horn. Ac- cording to Keating, a king of Leinster once had cattle killed there, the horns being scattered round, hence the name. The place was also called the Vale of Angels, because, says Jocelin, St. Patrick once rested there and saw the valley filled with angels. The founder of the abbey was St. Comgall, born in Antrim in 517, and educated at Clooneenagh and Clonmacnoise. The spirit of monasticism was then strong in Ireland. Many sought solitude the better to serve God, and with this object Comgall retired to a lonely island. The persuasions of his friends drew him from his retreat; later on he founded the monastery of Bangor, in 559. Under his rule, which was rigid, prayer and fasting were incessant. But these austerities attracted rather than repelled; crowds came to share his penances and his vigils; they also came for learning, for Bangor soon beeam'e the greatest monastic school in Ulster. Within the extensive rampart which encircled its monastic buildings, the Scriptures, were expounded, theology and logic taught, and geometry, and arithmetic, and music; the beauties of the pagan classics were appreciated, and two at least of its students wrote good Latin verse. Such was its rapid rise that its pupils soon went forth, to found new monasteries, and when, in 601, St. Comgall died, 3,000 monks looked up for light and guidance to the Abbot of Bangor.
With the Danes came a disastrous change. Easily accessible from the sea, Bangor invited attack, and in 824 these pirates plundered it, killed 900 of its monks, treated with indignity the relics of St. Com- gall, and then carried away his shrine. A succession of abbots continued, but they were abbots only in name. The lands passed into the hands of laymen, the buildings crumbled, and when St. Malachy, in the twelfth century, became Abbot of Bangor he had to build e^•erything anew. The impress of his zeal might have had lasting results had he con- tinued in this position. But he was promoted to the See of Down, and Bangor again decayed. By the Statute of Kilkenny the "mere Irish" were excluded from it, though it did not prosper thereby. In 1469, the Franciscans had possession of it, and a century later the Augustinians, after which, at the dissolution of the monasteries in that part of Ireland, it was given by James I to James Hamilton, created Viscount Clandeboye. An irregular suo^
