Saint Martin of Vertou (527–601) was a hermit and abbot, founder of Vertou Abbey, and the evangelist of the region around Nantes in

Francia Francia, also called the Kingdom of the Franks ( la, Regnum Francorum), Frankish Kingdom, Frankland or Frankish Empire ( la, Imperium Francorum), was the largest post-Roman barbarian kingdom in Western Europe. It was ruled by the Franks dur ...

. He is sometimes known as the Apostle of the Herbauges.

Life

Martin was distinguished by his virtue, learning, and talent.Monks of Ramsgate. “Martin of Vertou”. ''Book of Saints'', 1921. CatholicSaints.Info. 25 November 2014
/ref> He was ordained by Saint Felix,

Bishop of Nantes The Roman Catholic Diocese of Nantes ( la, Dioecesis Nannetensis; french: Diocèse de Nantes; br, Eskopti Naoned) is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in Nantes, France. The diocese consists of the department of Loire- ...

, who also made him archdeacon of the church of Nantes and charged him with converting the inhabitants of the town and the surrounding area to Christianity. In about 577, he withdrew into solitude in an area of wasteland on the right bank of the

Sèvre Nantaise The Sèvre Nantaise () is a river in the Pays de la Loire regions in western France. It is a left-bank tributary of the Loire. Its total length is . Its source is in the Deux-Sèvres department, near Secondigny. It flows from south to north thro ...

. Gradually, as people were drawn to him by his sanctity, he built a church and enlarged his hermitage, which became Vertou Abbey. He also founded other religious communities, including Durieu Abbey, where he died in 601 at the age of seventy-four.The foundation of the abbey of Saint-Jouin de Marnes is also often attributed to him, but it was apparently an older foundation which had been abandoned, and which in 843 the monks of Vertou occupied when they were displaced by the invasions of the

Normans The Normans ( Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Franks and Gallo-Romans. ...

. There is a legend that he planted his pilgrim's staff in the middle of the abbey courtyard at Vertou and that it took root, growing into a yew tree, which appears on the

arms Arms or ARMS may refer to: *Arm or arms, the upper limbs of the body Arm, Arms, or ARMS may also refer to: People * Ida A. T. Arms (1856–1931), American missionary-educator, temperance leader Coat of arms or weapons *Armaments or weapons **Fi ...

of the commune of

Vertou Vertou (; br, Gwerzhav) is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France. It is located on the river Sèvre Nantaise, and was a historical town of Brittany. Today, Vertou is a component of the Nantes Métropole and is the fi ...

. His feast day is 24 October.

References

Sources

Catholic.org (Saints and Angels): Martin of Vertou

Medieval Breton saints 7th-century Christian saints 527 births 601 deaths 6th-century Breton people {{france-saint-stub