Michael Peverett: St Martin of Tours

Thursday, October 12, 2017

St Martin of Tours

There's a few churches of St Martin in the UK, of which the best known are possibly St Martin's in Canterbury, considered the oldest place of continuous worship in the English-speaking world, and the iconic church and concert venue in Trafalgar Square, at one time (long before its neoclassical remodelling) an isolated place of worship in the fields between Westminster and the City of London.

But the patron saint of those distinguished churches is little more than a name to us, or maybe it just evokes a faint recollection of the attractive legend about Martin dividing his coat with a beggar (while still a soldier of the Roman Empire). As recounted by Sulpitius Severus:

ACCORDINGLY, at a certain period, when he had nothing except his arms and his simple military dress, in the middle of winter, a winter which had shown itself more severe than ordinary, so that the extreme cold was proving fatal to many, he happened to meet at the gate of the city of Amiens a poor man destitute of clothing. He was entreating those that passed by to have compassion upon him, but all passed the wretched man without notice, when Martin, that man full of God, recognized that a being to whom others showed no pity, was, in that respect, left to him. Yet, what should he do? He had nothing except the cloak in which he was clad, for he had already parted with the rest of his garments for similar purposes. Taking, therefore, his sword with which he was girt, he divided his cloak into two equal parts, and gave one part to the poor man, while he again clothed himself with the remainder. Upon this, some of the by-standers laughed, because he was now an unsightly object, and stood out as but partly dressed. Many, however, who were of sounder understanding, groaned deeply because they themselves had done nothing similar.

That night Christ appeared in a vision to Martin. He was wearing the half-a-cloak.

In the following chapter (IV), Martin resigns his commission with the memorable words to Caesar: "Hitherto I have served you as a soldier: allow me now to become a soldier to God.."

Sulpitius begins his Life of St Martin with the reasonable though large question: "What benefit has posterity derived from reading of Hector as a warrior, or Socrates as an expounder of philosophy?"

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In Europe St Martin (316 or 336 - 397 CE), third bishop of Tours, has signified much more. The monastery at Marmoutier (where Martin went to escape the crowds in Tours) became influential and Martin became an icon of Frankish royalty. The half-a-cloak that Martin retained became one of the most revered royal relics, preserved in the royal oratory of the palace (hence known as capella) and carried everywhere that the king went by a cloak-bearer or cappellanu (the origin of the words "chapel" and "chaplain" respectively). This association of Martin with French royalty would last as long as the royalty itself. Then, rather belatedly, St Martin was adopted as an icon by French republicans. More recently Martin has been re-cast as a symbol of pan-European unity (because he was born in modern-day Hungary).

The churchmen of those pre-national days did move around, though perhaps Martin was exceptionally far-flown. Of the early worthies of Tours, Sulpitius (c.363 - c.425) was relatively local (an Aquitanian); Gregory of Tours (c. 538 - 594) was born in Clermont; Alcuin (c. 735 - 804) came from York. It was Gregory who most diligently nurtured devotion to St Martin. Tours became one of Europe's top pilgrimage sites.

[Obviously royalty moved around in Merovingian days too. The palace was wherever the king and his household decided to set up shop. There was an early Merovingian palace in Paris (the Palais de la Cité) -- ultimately Sainte-Chapelle and the Palais de Justice are its successors. There were numerous others in Clichy, Compiègne, Berny, Ponthion, Soissons, Chalons-sur-Saone, Trier, Metz, Vienne etc. See Ross Samson´s thesis http://theses.gla.ac.uk/1373/1/1991samsonphd.pdf ]

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Martin was a heathen convert (his parents were Romans stationed first in Pannonia then Pavia), and he was a devotee of early monasticism. Sulpitius portrays him as a reluctant churchman who really wanted to spend his time in monastic isolation. Historically, he's associated with the spread of monasticism into the west.

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St Martin's other relics (e.g. his bones) were first housed in a wooden chapel, then the basilica of St Perpetuus, burnt by Vikings in the 10th century. Then a medieval basilica was built; it was sacked by Huguenots in 1562 (and most of the relics were destroyed), but restored. The vaults fell down in 1797, bad timing since France's post-Revolutionary government was still uncompromisingly anti-clerical. The basilica was unceremoniously demolished. Roads and houses were built on the site. What remained of the relics having gone to the cathedral for safe-keeping, St Martin's medieval "tomb" was forgotten and was only rediscovered in 1860, leading to a new surge of Catholic piety in Touraine and beyond, and to the shoe-horned neo-Byzantine basilica (1886 - 1924) of Victor Laloux that visitors to Tours see today.

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Sulpitius met Martin and wrote his Life while he was still living (according to what I've read, Martin died the year after publication). Yet the miraculous contents inspire scepticism.

Could the following tale be true, at least a bit? I'd like to think so.

For, first of all, having followed some devious paths among the Alps, he fell into the hands of robbers. And when one of them lifted up his axe and poised it above Martin's head, another of them met with his right hand the blow as it fell; nevertheless, having had his hands bound behind his back, he was handed over to one of them to be guarded and stripped. The robber, having led him to a private place apart from the rest, began to enquire of him who he was. Upon this, Martin replied that he was a Christian. The robber next asked him whether he was afraid. Then indeed Martin most courageously replied that he never before had felt so safe, because he knew that the mercy of the Lord would be especially present with him in the midst of trials. He added that he grieved rather for the man in whose hands he was, because, by living a life of robbery, he was showing himself unworthy of the mercy of Christ. And then entering on a discourse concerning Evangelical truth, he preached the word of God to the robber. Why should I delay stating the result? The robber believed; and, after expressing his respect for Martin, he restored him to the way, entreating him to pray the Lord for him. That same robber was afterwards seen leading a religious life; so that, in fact, the narrative I have given above is based upon an account furnished by himself. (Chapter V)

While taking refuge from persecution on the tiny island of Gallinaria (modern Isola d'Albenga / Isola Gallinara) "Here he subsisted for some time on the roots of plants; and, while doing so, he took for food hellebore, which is, as people say, a poisonous kind of grass. But when he perceived the strength of the poison increasing within him, and death now nearly at hand, he warded off the imminent danger by means of prayer, and immediately all his pains were put to flight." (Ch VI)

Sulpitius meets Martin:

His conversation with me was all directed to such points as the following: that the allurements of this world and secular burdens were to be abandoned in order that we might be free and unencumbered in following the Lord Jesus; and he pressed upon me as an admirable example in present circumstances the conduct of that distinguished man Paulinus, of whom I have made mention above. Martin declared of him that, by parting with his great possessions and following Christ, as he did, he showed himself almost the only one who in these times had fully obeyed the precepts of the Gospel. He insisted strongly that that was the man who should be made the object of our imitation, adding that the present age was fortunate in possessing such a model of faith and virtue. For Paulinus, being rich and having many possessions, by selling them all and giving them to the poor according to the expressed will of the Lord, had, he said, made possible by actual proof what appeared impossible of accomplishment. What power and dignity there were in Martin's words and conversation! How active he was, how practical, and how prompt and ready in solving questions connected with Scripture! And because I know that many are incredulous on this point,--for indeed I have met with persons who did not believe me when I related such things,--I call to witness Jesus, and our common hope as Christians, that I never heard from any other lips than those of Martin such exhibitions of knowledge and genius, or such specimens of good and pure speech. But yet, how insignificant is all such praise when compared with the virtues which he possessed! Still, it is remarkable that in a man who had no claim to be called learned, even this attribute [of high intelligence] was not wanting.

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Martin spent a good part of his career engaged in combatting heathenism and the Arian heresy. He succeeded in converting his mother to Christianity, but not his father.

According to a pamphlet from the Museum of Saint-Martin in Tours:

Martin was once again at the Court of Trier during the trial of the Priscillianistes, begging Maximus not to spill their blood. These Spanish ascetics, accused of practices considered to be fanatic, condemned by the councils of Saragossa in 380 and Bordeaux in 384, had appealed to the Emperor. "As long as he was at Trier, the trial was deferred and on leaving, he obtained from Maximus, thanks to his extraordinary authority, the promise that no condemnation would demand the shedding of the defendants blood". Later, however, they were executed.

The pamphlet is indifferently translated, so I'm not sure if that final sentence manifests irony or an unblushing determination to stand your ground.

There are various accounts of this ugly business at Trier. Some say that Martin's well-meaning if ineffectual intervention nearly led to him too being condemned as a heretic.

Sulpitius Dialogues III
http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/35033.htm
the Wikipedia entry on Priscillianism
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Priscillianism

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Martinmas, or St Martin's day (November 11), remains an important day in many European cultures, but has been largely forgotten in the UK. [Supplanted by Remembrance Day. The "eleventh minute of the eleventh hour.." was also a Martinmas idea originally.] The day was associated with the end of autumn harvest and wheat sowing, the slaughtering of Martlemas beef and geese, hiring fairs for agricultural labour, and the beginning of winter: work indoors for the women, forest-labour for the men. It was often combined with Hallowmas-type traditions and feasting.

"St Martin's Summer" (été de la Saint-Martin) means a spell of warm weather in early November. It was connected with a legend that when Martin's coffin was transported from Candes to Tours the banks of the Loire came unseasonably into bloom. (Martin died on 8th November.) [In English- speaking countries this term has now been supplanted by "Indian Summer": an American phrase whose origin is obscure, but "Indian" definitely meant Native American.]