Paulinus of Périgueux, in Book 6 (Miracle 10) of his verse Life of Saint *Martin (ascetic and bishop of Tours, ob. 397, S00050), recounts how pilgrims crossing the Loire to visit the Martin's cell at Marmoutier (north-west Gaul) were saved from drowning. Written in Latin, presumably in Périgueux, 458/471.
E08135
Literary - Hagiographical - Collections of miracles
Paulinus of Périgueux, Life of Saint Martin, Book 6, verses 351-415 (Miracle 10)
The poet describes an annual pilgrimage at the time of Easter, when the people of Tours crossed the Loire from their city to visit the cell at Marmoutier on the other side of the river, where Martin had spent much of his time:
Obsequium sollemne pio deferre quotannis
adsuevit populus, reducis cum circulus anni
instauraret ovans sanctae mysteria Paschae.
invitat properos veneratio plurima cellae,
quae tam praecipuo patuit fida hospita sancto, 355
angelico possessa viro. prona ora madescunt
fletibus et lacrimis sancti vestigia quaerunt:
quae loca contigerit psallens, quae presserit orans,
hinc meminisse volunt, in quo libaverit escas,
inmensa exiguo laxans ieiunia gustu, 360
caelesti auxilio excubiis quae cella quietem
foverit atque brevem membris largita soporem
sublimem vigili recrearit imagine mentem.
huc populum congaudet ovans perducere pastor.
transfretat exceptum numerosis puppibus agmen, 365
et fluctus sub classe latent. huc sexus et aetas
omnis adest. vacuae resident custodibus aedes.
e cunctis alterna fides penetralibus adstat.
'When the returning yearly cycle rejoiced to begin anew the mysteries of Holy Easter, the people of Tours was accustomed to bring solemn honour to their dear Martin. Moved by their great veneration, men hasten to the Cell, [355] which was open as a faithful host to their special saint, having been occupied by the angelic man. The faithful wet their cast down faces weeping and follow the footsteps of the saint with their tears. The places he touched while singing psalms, the places he pressed while praying; from here they wish to recall the spot where he nibbled his food, [360] relieving his prodigious fasts with a slight morsel, which cell cherished him during his quiet watches by means of heavenly aid, and in which he bestowed short sleep to his limbs, and refreshed his sublime mind with a waking vision. To this place, the exultant pastor rejoices to lead the people. [365] The multitude transported in numerous boats crosses the river, and the waves are concealed beneath the [size of the] fleet. Hither come every sex and age. The houses sit calmly, emptied of their keepers. From every home the people sharing in a common Faith partake in the pilgrimage.'
The devil causes one of the crowded boats to sink, threatening many with death, but the people invoke Martin and all are saved.
Text: Petschenig 1888.
Summary and translation: Maurus Mount.
Cult building - monastic
Place associated with saint's life
Non Liturgical ActivityPilgrimage
MiraclesMiracle after death
Miraculous protection - of people and their property
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesCrowds
Source
Very little is known about Paulinus of Périgueux, all of it from his writings: he himself tells us he was called Paulinus, and manuscripts of his Life of Martin label him as 'of Petrocordium' (ancient Périgueux), though these are all from centuries after his death, so there is doubt over the accuracy of this statement. From his verse it is clear that he had enjoyed a thorough literary education, so must have come from a wealthy family; and from one of his poems we learn that he had an adult grandson and considered himself old in the mid- to late 460s. It is also, of course, clear that he was devoted to Martin of Tours, whom he describes as his patron. In a letter to Perpetuus, bishop of Tours (458/9-488/9), he refers to the bearer of the letter as 'my deacon' (see E08121), which suggests Paulinus was a priest, or even a bishop, at the time of writing. For the details of what is known of his life, see Labarre 1998, 14-18, and Pietri and Heijmans 2013.Paulinus' principal surviving work is his substantial six-book Life of Saint Martin (De vita Sancti Martini) written in hexameters (E06355). This is based on the writings of Sulpicius Severus, except for the final volume, Book 6 (from which this extract comes), which consists of an account of posthumous miracles of the saint. Other than the Life of Martin, the only known works of Paulinus are a letter to Perpetuus of Tours, accompanied by two poems, both also related to Martin (see E08121 for a full text and English translation of these).
There is considerable debate over the origins of Books 1-5 of the Life of Saint Martin: whether Paulinus wrote them independently as an act of personal devotion, or whether he wrote all, or some of them at the prompting of Bishop Perpetuus, who was very active at this time in promoting the cult of Martin, in particular by rebuilding and decorating on an elaborate and grand scale the saint's burial church (see, for instance, E02023, E02805 and E08119). But there is no doubt about the origins of Book 6, because in a poem on the subject (E08121, Poem 2) Paulinus tells us that Perpetuus had supplied him with a document (charta) with an account of twelve posthumous miracles of Martin, which Paulinus was to put into verse - these are the miracles that make up Book 6.
Because of the uncertainty over Bishop Perpetuus' role in encouraging the composition of the greater part of the Life of Martin, there is no reliable way of dating the writing of Books 1-5. Book 6, however, must post-date the beginning of the Perpetuus' episcopate in 458/459, and must have been complete, at the very latest, by 471, since it is referred to in a letter of Paulinus to Perpetuus (E08121), which accompanied a poem for the walls of Martin's new church, which was probably dedicated in that year. It may well have been written by 466, since, in his account of Miracle 3, Paulinus appears to refer to the Roman general Aegidius as if he were still alive, and he is known to have died in 465/466.
Discussion
For an overview of Book 6 of Paulinus' Life of Saint Martin, see E08130, with a brief summary of all twelve miracles that Paulinus recounts. Only the five stories that cast particular light on cult practice (as here) are also covered in individual database entries.This story is eloquent testimony to the cult of Martin having two principal locations already in the mid-fifth century: the tomb of the saint outside the walls of Tours, and his cell and monastery at Marmoutier, on the opposite bank of the Loire, where he spent much of his time. The various locations at Marmoutier associated with Martin were identified and explained there by short inscribed poems, the texts of which survive (E08117).
Bibliography
Editions:Corpet, E.-F., Paulin de Périgueux, Oeuvres, Paris 1849. (Corpet's edition of the Latin is superseded by Petschenig and Labarre, but he also offers a French translation of the whole work, which is currently useful for Books 4-6.)
Labarre, S., Paulin de Périgueux, Vie de Saint Martin, vol.1 (Prologue and Books 1-3) (Sources chrétiennes 581), Paris 2016; with French translation. (Volume 2, at the time of writing, July 2021, is yet to appear.)
Petschenig, M., “Paulini Petricordiae quae supersunt”, in Petschenig, M. and others, Poetae Christianae Minores (Corpus scriptorum ecclesiasticorum latinorum 16; Vienna, 1888), 17-159.
Further reading:
Labarre, S., Le manteau partagé. Deux métamorphoses poétiques de la Vie de saint Martin chez Paulin de Périgueux (Ve s.) et Venance Fortunat (VI s.), Paris 1998.
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).
Pietri, L. and Heijmans, M., Prosopographie chrétienne du Bas-Empire, 4 Prosopographie de la Gaule chrétienne (314-614), 2 vols. (Paris 2013), vol. 2, 1450-52, 'Paulinus 6'.
Van Dam, R., "Paulinus of Périgueux and Perpetuus of Tours", Francia, no. 14 (1986): 567‑573.
Maurus Mount
13/07/2021
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00050 | Martin, ascetic and bishop of Tours, ob. 397 | Martinus | Certain |
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