The short Life of *Martin (bishop and confessor of Rome, ob. 653, S00859) in the Liber Pontificalis, written in Latin in Rome soon after his death, mentions a miracle which saved his life at the church of *Mary (Mother of Christ, S00033) 'at the Crib' in Rome; his death in exile as a 'confessor' at Chersonesos (in the Crimea); his burial, perhaps in a church of Mary, on 17 December; and posthumous miracles.
E01634
Literary - Other narrative texts (including Histories)
Liber Pontificalis
Liber Pontificalis 76
Martinus, de civitate Tudertina provincie Tusciae, sedit ann. VI mens. I dies XXVI.
'Martin, from the city of Tuder in the province of Tuscia, held the see 6 years 1 month 26 days.'
There follows the story of Martin's conflict with Paul, patriarch of Constantinople, the emperor, and the exarch Olympius. Olympius has come to Rome with orders to arrest Martin, but found the clergy united behind the pope.
Videns ergo se a sancta Dei catholica et apostolica ecclesia superatum, necesse habuit de sua quasi mala intentione declinare, ut quod non potuit per manum armatam facere, subreticio modo: per missarum solemnia in ecclesia Dei Genetricis Semperque Virginis Mariae ad Praesepe, ad communionem, dum ei porrigeret sanctissimus papa, voluit eum interire et demandaverat suo spatario. Sed deus omnipotens, qui solitus est servos suos orthodoxos circumtegere et ab omni malo eripere, ipse excecavit spatarium Olympii exarchi, et non est permissus videre pontificem, quando exarcho communionem porrexit vel pacem dedit, ut sanguis eius effunderetur et catholica Dei ecclesia heresi subiugaretur. Quod postmodum praedictus armiger diversis cum iusiurandum professus est.
Videns ergo Olympius exarchus, quia manus Dei circumtegebat Martinum sanctissimum papam, necesse habuit pontificem concordare et omnia, quae ei iussa fuerant, eidem sanctissimo viro indicare. Qui facta pace cum sancta Dei ecclesia, colligens exercitum profectus est Siciliam adversus gentem Saracenorum, qui ibidem inhabitabant. Et peccato faciente maior interitus in exercitu Romano provenit. Et post hoc isdem exarchus morbo interiit.
'Once he saw he was defeated by God's holy catholic and apostolic church, he was forced to veer a little in his evil scheme so as to achieve by stealth what he had failed to do by force of arms. His intention was to kill the most holy pope during the ceremonies of mass in the church of the ever-Virgin Mary mother of God at the Crib (ad Praesepe) while he was giving him communion, and for this he had given orders to his spatharius. But almighty God, who casts a shield around his orthodox servants and delivers them from every evil, blinded the exarch’s spatharius , and he was not permitted to see the pontiff distributing communion to the exarch or giving him the Peace, as this would have caused his blood to be shed and God’s catholic church to be subjected to heresy—this is what that same bodyguard afterwards avowed to different people on oath. So when Olympius saw that God’s hand was shielding the most holy pope Martin, he was forced to reconcile himself to the pontiff and disclose all his orders to that holy man. Now that he had made peace with God’s holy church he mustered the army and set out for Sicily against the Saracen people who were living there. The result of sin was that the destruction befalling the Roman army was all the greater. After this the exarch died of disease.
There follows an account of Martin's arrest and exile.
Deinde directus est sepius dictus sanctissimus vir in exilio, in loco qui dicitur Cersona, et ibidem, ut Deo placuit, vitam finivit in pace Christi confessor. Qui et multa mirabilia operatur usque in hodiernum diem. Fecit autem ordinationes II per mens. decemb., presbiteros XI, diaconos V; episcopos per diversa loca numero XXXIII. Depositus sub die XVII mens. septemb.
'Then this holy man was sent into exile to the place called Chersona, where, as it pleased God, the life of this confessor of Christ ended in peace; and he works many miracles even to the present day. He performed two December ordinations, 11 priests, 5 deacons; for various places 33 bishops. Buried on 17th day of September.'
Duchesne 1886, 340, note 17 notes that an abridged version of the Liber Pontificalis records Martin as having been buried ''in basilica sanctae Mariae semper virginis' ('in a basilica of the ever-virgin Mary').
Text: Duchesne 1886, 336-340.
Translation: Davis 2010, 66-69, lightly modified.
Eucharist associated with cult
FestivalsSaint’s feast
Cult PlacesCult building - independent (church)
MiraclesMiracle during lifetime
Miracles experienced by the saint
Miraculous protection - of people and their property
Punishing miracle
RelicsBodily relic - entire body
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesEcclesiastics - bishops
Source
The Liber Pontificalis consists of a series of very short lives of popes. The preface attributes it to pope Damasus (366-384), but this attribution is obviously false. According to Louis Duchesne, the first modern editor of the Liber Pontificalis, the original series of lives was written in Rome by an anonymous author, probably a member of the lesser clergy, in the 530s, and contained the lives from *Peter the Apostle to Felix IV (ob. 530). Shortly after, before 546, the text was re-edited by another anonymous author and only this edition survives. The first edition, however, can be reconstituted on the basis of its two epitomes (and the second edition). The second edition started to be continued systematically from the time of pope Honorius (625–638). It should be noted that Theodor Mommsen dated both editions of the Liber Pontificalis to the 7th century, but his opinion is widely rejected and the commonly accepted dating is that of Duchesne.For the pre-Constantinian period (before 312), the credibility of the Liber Pontificalis is very low. The chronology is confused, and details concerning the personal lives, decisions and ordinations of the bishops of Rome at best reflect what people in the 6th century trusted to be true, at worst are a pure invention of the author. The situation changes with the later lives. Already the information of 4th-century papal foundations and offerings are generally trustworthy. The early 6th-century evidence, based on the author's first hand knowledge is even better, though still imperfect.
Discussion
The Church 'at the Crib' is Santa Maria Maggiore. Martin is one of very few bishops to whom the Liber Pontificalis attributes miraculous power: he is an object of God's intervention during his lifetime, and after his death miracles occur at his tomb. This is certainly due to his quasi-martyrial status.Bibliography
Edition:Duchesne, L., Le Liber pontificalis. 2 vols (Paris: E. Thorin, 1886-1892) (with substantial introduction and commentary).
Translation:
Davis, R., The Book of Pontiffs (Liber Pontificalis) (Translated Texts for Historians 6; 3rd ed.; Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 2010).
Robert Wiśniewski
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00033 | Mary, Mother of Christ | Dei Genetricis Semperque Virgo Maria | Certain | S00859 | Martin, bishop and confessor of Rome, ob. 655/656 | Martinus | Certain |
|---|
Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Robert Wiśniewski, Cult of Saints, E01634 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E01634