Martin of Tours
Saint Martin of Tours, (died
November 11,
397) a native of
Pannonia, served in the
Roman army and was stationed in
Gaul, then became a
monk in the region of
Poitiers.
Martin worked for the conversion to
Christianity of the populace, making many preaching trips through western and central
France. In the course of this work he became extremely popular, and in
371 became
bishop of
Tours; he refused to live in the city and instead founded a
monastery for his residence a short distance outside the walls. The monastery, known in
Latin as the 'Larger Monastery' or
Maius monasterium became known as
Marmoutier in later French.
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Statue of Saint Martin cutting his cloak atwain\n
(Chateau "Höchster Stadtschloß", Frankfurt)\n
The Legend of the Cloak
While Martin was still a soldier he experienced the vision that became the most-repeated story about his life. He was at the gates of the city of Amiens when he met a beggar. He impulsively cut his own military cloak in half and shared it with the beggar. That night he dreamed that Jesus Christ came to him and returned the half cloak Martin had shared with him - when Martin woke his cloak was restored. The miraculous cloak was preserved as a relic, and entered the relic-collection of the Merovingian kings of the Franks. The Latin word for "short cloak", cappella in Latin, was extended to the people charged with preserving the cloak of St. Martin, the cappellani or "chaplains" and from them was applied to the royal oratory that was not a regular church, a "chapel".
Folklore
On November 11, Saint Martin's saint's day, children in the Catholic areas of Germany are doing lantern processions, often a man dressed as Saint Martin is riding on a horse in front of the procession. The children are singing songs about Saint Martin and about their lantern.
Many churches in Europe are named after Saint Martinus also known as Saint Martin of Tours.
This is his story:\nIn 316 or 317 Saint Martin (latin: Martinus) was born in Sabaria in Hungary. His father had reached the rank of an important officer in the Roman army. His son was named after the war god Mars. Martin, the brave, the courageous. The family moved to Pavia in Italy. When he was 15, as son of an officer, he had to join the Roman army.
He was sent to France and there the following happened.
On a cold and foggy day Martin and his soldiers rode to the city of Amiens. \nIt was cold and Martin and his soldiers made haste. At the moment Martin rode through the gate, a scarcely dressed beggar stepped forward. While shivering, the man asked for money. \nMartin halted while the other soldiers went on. Martin dismounted but he had no money on him and he thought by himself about what he could do for such a poor man while he had no money.
He cut his soldier's robe into two pieces.\nThe biggest piece he gave to the beggar, who went away in good spirits for he was clad.\nThat night Martin had a dream. In that dream Jesus came to him, clad only in half a soldier's robe.\nBut that he had given to the poor beggar. Than he heard Jesus say to the angels: "Here is Martin, the Roman soldier who is not baptised, he has clad me." \nThe dream had such an impact on Saint Martin that he was baptised the next day and became a Christian. He decided to leave the army and became a monk near the city of Tours. \nHe did a lot of good work so that he became famous in the area, and later even became bishop of Tours.
See also
\n* Bishop of Tours
To be integrated:\n:Martin and monasticism in Gaul\n:Martin and the episcopacy\n:Sulpicius Severus\n:The Life of St. Martin
Category:Saints\nCategory:Ancient Roman Christianity\n\n
