a saint and poet, was born in Ireland, and brought up to a religious life among the disciples of St Columba. He made uncommon progress in learning, and very early in life distinguished himself for poetical abilities by the composition of a book of psalms, and a number of moral poems, intended also to be set to music. Joms, a writer of ecclesiastical history, mentions that Columbanus belonged originally to a monastery of the name of Benchor. The same monastery is mentioned by St Bernard in his life of his friend St Malachi; and he relates that it sent out a great number of monks, who spread themselves all over Europe. Columbanus passed from Britain into France in the year 589, and founded the monastery of Luxeville, near Besançon. He had been kindly received and patronized by King Childebert; but he was afterwards expelled from France by the wicked queen Brunichild. He retired to Lombardy in Italy, where he founded the monastery of Bobbio.