Fourteen texts, recorded in the Martinellus, for the most part in verse, commissioned by Bishop Perpetuus of Tours in 467/470, to be inscribed or painted within the basilica of *Martin (ascetic and bishop of Tours, ob. 397) at Tours (north-west Gaul), several to accompany scenes in fresco or mosaic. Written in Latin at (or for) Tours, 467/470.
E08119
Literary - Hagiographical - Other saint-related texts
Inscriptions recorded in the 'Martinellus', nos. 5-12 and 16-18
[The numbering used here is that given by Pietri 1983, 802-811, except where indicated.]
[For Inscriptions 1-4, written for Marmoutier, see E08117.]
N° 5
Incipiunt versus basilicae; primum a parte orientis.
Ingrediens templum ferto ad sublimia vultum:
Excelsos aditus suscipit alta fides.
Esto humilis sensu sed spe sedare vocantem:
Martinus reserat quas venerare fores.
Haec tuta est turris trepidis, objecta superbis, 5
Elata excludens, mitia corda tegens.
Celsior illa tamen quae coeli vexit ad arcem
Martinum, astrigeris ambitiosa viis;
Unde vocat populos qui praevius ad bona Chr(ist)i
Sidereum ingressus sanctificavit iter. 10
'The verses of the church begin; first on the east side.
As you enter the church, lift your eyes upward;
a deep faith recognises the lofty entrances.
Be humble in your conscience, but in hope follow the one who calls you;
Martin opens the door that you venerate.
This tower is protection for the meek and an obstacle to the proud; 5
it excludes the arrogant and defends the gentle of heart.
More lofty still is that [tower] that has taken Martin to the citadel of heaven
and that rises through the starry roads.
From there he summons the people, he who as a guide to Christ's rewards
has travelled on and sanctified that journey through the stars.' 10
N° 6 and 7:
The worshipper entering the church is enjoined by two short texts to leave behind worldly thoughts, and to seek what they want in faith and with a pure heart.
N° 8
In introitu a parte occidentis; historia evangelicae viduae.
'At the entrance on the west side; the gospel story of the widow.'
A poem of sixteen lines in elegiac distichs exhorting the faithful to imitate the widow in the Gospels who gained divine favour by giving her two mites (Mark 12: 38-44; Luke 21: 1-4), and to give what they can. [This inscription almost certainly accompanied a representation of the widow's good deed.]
N° 9
A parte Ligeris super ostium.
'On the Loire side, above the door'
A short inscription in prose describing how Christ saved the disciples from the storm which caught them on the Sea of Galilee, and prevented Peter from drowning [Matthew 14: 22-34]. [Again almost certainly accompanying a representation of this scene.]
N° 10
A short prose inscription about the church of Jerusalem, founded by the Apostles. [Again presumably accompanying an image, perhaps of Pentecost (which is mentioned in the poem)]
N° 11 (by Paulinus of Périgueux)
A 25-line poem by Paulinus of Périgueux about Martin as a miracle-worker, in life and at his grave. [Again, almost certainly accompanying a representation of some of his miracles.]
For the full text and a translation of this poem, with a brief discussion of it, see E08121.
N° 12
Super arcum absidis altaris.
Quam metuendus est locus iste! Vere templum Dei est et porta coeli.
'On the arch of the apse of the altar.
How awesome is this place! Truly it is the temple of God and the gateway to
heaven.'
[Inscriptions 13-15 were on Martin's tomb itself. For these, see E08120.]
N° 16
Item in absida.
'Next, in the apse'
A 20-line poem by Sidonius Apollinaris extolling Bishop Perpetuus' building of the new church over the grave of Martin.
For the full text and a translation of this poem, with a brief discussion of it, see E06625.
Manuscripts of the Martinellus add at the end of the poem a further sentence in prose:
Depositio sancti Martini tertio idus novembris; pausavit in pace Domini nocte media.
'The burial of saint Martin, November 11; he rested in the peace of the Lord at midnight.'
[Just possibly, as Pietri 1983, 468 argues, this preserves the wording of the original epitaph over the grave of Martin.]
N° 17
A 10-line poem from a 'memoria' of five other saints.
For the full text and a translation of this poem, with a brief discussion of it, see E08123.
N° 18 (Le Blant no. 183, Gilardi no. 19; not included by Pietri. )
Item versus ibi.
Si tibi sancta fides, si XPO [Christo] dedita mens est,
Pontificis sacri meritorum et mola perennis,
Hic, studiose, potes Martini discere, lector,
Ortum, militiam, natales, gesta, parentes,
Doctrinam, mores, praeconia, bella, triumphos, 5
Supplicia, patriam, discrimina, dicta, labores.
Praemia, virtutes, aevum, praeconia, laudes.
'Next, the verses there."
If your faith is holy, and if your mind is devoted to Christ
and steady under the weight of the merits of the sacred bishop,
here, diligent reader, you can learn about Martin's
birth, military service, baptism, deeds, parents,
teaching, habits, proclamations, wars, triumphs, 5
sufferings, homeland, dangers, sayings, labours,
distinctions, miracles, lifetime, proclamations, and commendations.'
Texts: Pietri 1983, 804-810 (except No. 18, which is Le Blant 1856, 243-244, no. 183, and Gilardi 1983, 215, no. 19). Translations: Van Dam 1993, 312-317, lightly modified.
Cult building - independent (church)
Burial site of a saint - tomb/grave
Cult building - oratory
Use of ImagesCommissioning/producing an image
Public display of an image
Descriptions of images of saints
Non Liturgical ActivityRenovation and embellishment of cult buildings
MiraclesMiracle during lifetime
Miracle after death
RelicsBodily relic - entire body
Source
The so-called Martinellus is a set of texts, all associated with saint Martin, which are preserved as an appendix in a number of manuscripts of the works of Sulpicius Severus, the earliest manuscript being of the 9th century (Pietri 1983, 801). Within the Martinellus are seventeen, possibly eighteen, texts, for the most part in verse, that were written to be inscribed or painted in or around the basilica of Martin at Tours (nos. 5-18), or at Martin's monastery at Marmoutier (nos. 1-4).For a full discussion of the Martinellus inscriptions, see Pietri 1983, 800-822; also Van Dam 1993, 308-317.
Discussion
The wording of these texts, and the brief indications of location that accompany them, as well as explicit statements by Sidonius Apollinaris (E06625) and Paulinus of Périgueux (E08121) that their poems were to be written on the walls, prove that these poems and short pieces of prose were inscribed or painted (or, possibly, rendered in mosaic letters), in, or immediately around, the basilica of Martin at Tours. Along with the four inscriptions at Marmoutier, this collection (or sylloge) may well have been assembled by copying the texts in situ.The one text that may be different is our number 18, which enjoins the reader to engage with all aspects of Martin's life. Gilardi (1983, 44 and 53) suggests that this poem was inscribed on a reading-desk which carried Sulpicius Severus' Life and Dialogues on Martin, which is an attractive idea, but with no obvious parallel to support it. We think it more likely that it was not an inscribed text, but written into a manuscript.
From their location and common themes, and with the explicit evidence of Sidonius Apollinaris and Paulinus of Périgueux that their poems were requested by Bishop Perpetuus of Tours, it is beyond reasonable doubt that all these texts were commissioned by the latter, in order to embellish the great new church he built over Martin's grave in 467/470. (For a detailed discussion of where precisely within the church each inscription was located, see Gilardi 1983, 41-53.)
The wording of four inscriptions (nos. 8-11) makes it clear that they accompanied painted or mosaic images, the same 'frescoes on the walls' (picturae parietum) of St Martin's that were ogled at by some servants in a story told by Gregory of Tours (Histories 7.22, see E02257). For our purposes, inscription 11 by Paulinus of Périgueux is the most important text, since it attests to a cycle representing miracles of Martin (for the text in full, see E08121): in lines 3-4 the reader is told 'lift your eyes, and with a trembling gaze look at the miracles' (Attollens oculos trepido miracula visu concipe). Sadly, Paulinus does not tell us which miracles were shown, but we can perhaps form some idea from the miracle-cycle that Gregory of Tours commissioned some hundred years later for the cathedral of Tours (see E05757). (For a useful general discussion of the images in St Martin's, see Sauvel 1956.)
Apart from the poems authored by Sidonius Apollinaris and Paulinus of Périgueux, it is generally accepted that we do not know who wrote the different texts, though Gilardi (1983, 69-130) has argued that all were by Paulinus (except that by Sidonius). For our purposes, precise authorship is not of great importance; what matters is whether the scheme was piecemeal or thought up and supervised as a single whole. On this subject, no-one doubts the presence of a controlling mind, that of Bishop Perpetuus.
Bibliography
Editions:Gilardi, F.J., The Sylloge epigraphica Turonensis de S. Martino (Ph.D. thesis, Catholic University of America, Washington D.C., 1983), 206-215, nos. 5-19 (with translation at 220-228).
Le Blant, E., Inscriptions chrétiennes de la Gaule antérieures au VIIIe siècle, Vol. 1 (Paris 1856), 131-244, nos. 170-183.
Pietri, L., La ville de Tours du IVe au VIe siècle: naissance d’une cité chrétienne (Collection de l’École française de Rome 69; Rome 1983), 804-811, nos. 5-17 (with French translation).
Translation:
Van Dam, R., Saints and their Miracles in Late Antique Gaul (Princeton University Press: Princeton, 1993), 312-317.
Further reading:
Sauvel, T., "Les miracles de saint Martin. Recherches sur les peintures murales de Tours au Ve et au VIe siècle", Bulletin monumental 114 (1956), 153-179.
Bryan Ward-Perkins
12/01/2021
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00050 | Martin, ascetic and bishop of Tours, ob. 397 | Martinus | Certain |
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