Saint Martial (3rd century), called "the Apostle of the Gauls" or "the Apostle of Aquitaine", was the first
bishop of Limoges
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Limoges (Latin: ''Dioecesis Lemovicensis''; French: ''Diocèse de Limoges'') is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is ...
. His feast day is 30 June.
Life
There is no accurate information as to the origin, dates of birth and death, or the acts of this bishop. According to
Gregory of Tours
Gregory of Tours (30 November 538 – 17 November 594 AD) was a Gallo-Roman historian and Bishop of Tours, which made him a leading prelate of the area that had been previously referred to as Gaul by the Romans. He was born Georgius Florenti ...
, during the time of the Emperors Decius
Pope Fabian
Pope Fabian ( la, Fabianus) was the bishop of Rome from 10 January 236 until his death on 20 January 250, succeeding Anterus. A dove is said to have descended on his head to mark him as the Holy Spirit's unexpected choice to become the next pope ...
sent out seven bishops from
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
to
Gaul
Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...
to preach the
Gospel
Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...
:
Gatien to
Tours
Tours ( , ) is one of the largest cities in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 ...
,
Trophimus
Trophimus ( el, Τρόφιμος, ''Tróphimos'') or Trophimus the Ephesian ( el, Τρόφιμος ὁ Ἐφέσιος, ''Tróphimos ho Ephésios'') was a Christian who accompanied Paul during a part of his third missionary journey. He was wit ...
to
Arles
Arles (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Arle ; Classical la, Arelate) is a coastal city and commune in the South of France, a subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in the former province of ...
,
Paul
Paul may refer to:
*Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name)
*Paul (surname), a list of people
People
Christianity
*Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...
to
Narbonne
Narbonne (, also , ; oc, Narbona ; la, Narbo ; Late Latin:) is a commune in France, commune in Southern France in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region. It lies from Paris in the Aude Departments of Franc ...
,
Saturnin
Saint Saturnin of Toulouse ( la, Saturninus, oc, Sarnin, french: Saturnin, Sernin, ca, Serni, Sadurní, gl, Sadurninho and pt, Saturnino, Sadurninho, eu, Satordi, Saturdi, Zernin, and es, Saturnino, Serenín, Cernín) was one of the ''" ...
to
Toulouse
Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...
,
Denis to
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
,
Austromoine
Stremonius or Saint Austremonius or Saint Stramonius or Austromoine, the "apostle of Auvergne," was the first Bishop of Clermont. He is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church.
Legend
During the consulship (in 250 AD) of the Emperor Decius ...
to
Clermont, and Martial to Limoges. He succeeded in converting the inhabitants to Christianity, and his memory has always been venerated there.
[Clugnet, Léon. "St. Martial." The Catholic Encyclopedia]
Vol. 9. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 10 January 2016
Abbey
![Limoges Crypt 01 St Martial Sarcophagus](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f2/Limoges_Crypt_01_St_Martial_Sarcophagus.jpg)
Martial died in Limoges and was buried outside the
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
town. As his tomb became progressively more important as a
pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...
site, the monks found patronage in the
Benedictine order
, image = Medalla San Benito.PNG
, caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal
, abbreviation = OSB
, formation =
, motto = (English: 'Pray and Work')
, foun ...
in the 9th century. The site became the Benedictine
Abbey of Saint-Martial
The Abbey of Saint Martial (french: Abbaye Saint-Martial, Limoges; Limousin: ''Abadiá de Sent Marçau de Limòtges'') was a monastery in Limoges, France, founded in 848 and dissolved in 1791.
The buildings were razed at the beginning of the 19th ...
, a great
library
A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...
(second only to the library at
Cluny
Cluny () is a commune in the eastern French department of Saône-et-Loire, in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. It is northwest of Mâcon.
The town grew up around the Benedictine Abbey of Cluny, founded by Duke William I of Aquitaine in 9 ...
) and
scriptorium
Scriptorium (), literally "a place for writing", is commonly used to refer to a room in medieval European monasteries devoted to the writing, copying and illuminating of manuscripts commonly handled by monastic scribes.
However, lay scribes and ...
. The 12th-century
chronicle
A chronicle ( la, chronica, from Greek ''chroniká'', from , ''chrónos'' – "time") is a historical account of events arranged in chronological order, as in a timeline. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and lo ...
r
Geoffroy du Breuil of Vigeois
Geoffroy du Breuil of Vigeois was a 12th-century French chronicler, trained at the Benedictine abbey of Saint-Martial of Limoges, the site of a great early library. Geoffroy became abbot at Vigeois (1170–1184) where he composed his ''Chronique ...
worked in its library.
The abbaye de Saint-Martial, one of the great pilgrimage churches of western Christianity, was so thoroughly razed in the 19th century, that only the scattered
manuscript
A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printing, printed or repr ...
s of its library remain. Some of said manuscripts had been bought for
Louis XV
Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reache ...
and have come to the
Bibliothèque Nationale de France
The Bibliothèque nationale de France (, 'National Library of France'; BnF) is the national library of France, located in Paris on two main sites known respectively as ''Richelieu'' and ''François-Mitterrand''. It is the national repository ...
. The original
crypt
A crypt (from Latin ''crypta'' "vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, sarcophagi, or religious relics.
Originally, crypts were typically found below the main apse of a chur ...
was exhumed in 1966–1970. Twelve Romanesque carved capitals were discovered built into the foundations of a barn and purchased in 1994 for the Museum of the Bishopric of Limoges.
Hagiography
The ''
Miracula Martialis'', an account of 7th-, 8th- and 9th-century miracles, was written shortly after 854.
The influx of
pilgrim
A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) who is on Pilgrimage, a journey to a holy place. Typically, this is a physical journey (often on foot) to some place of special significance to the a ...
s to the abbey where the historical Martial lay buried encouraged the creation of an elaborate
hagiography
A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian hagiographies migh ...
during the 10th century. As the hagiography grew, Martial was moved back in time: now, sent into Gaul by
Saint Peter
Saint Peter; he, שמעון בר יונה, Šimʿōn bar Yōnāh; ar, سِمعَان بُطرُس, translit=Simʿa̅n Buṭrus; grc-gre, Πέτρος, Petros; cop, Ⲡⲉⲧⲣⲟⲥ, Petros; lat, Petrus; ar, شمعون الصفـا, Sham'un ...
himself, he is said to have evangelized not only the Province of Limoges but all of
Aquitaine
Aquitaine ( , , ; oc, Aquitània ; eu, Akitania; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne ( oc, Guiana), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former administrative region of the country. Since 1 January ...
. He performed many
miracle
A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divin ...
s, among others the raising of a dead man to life, by touching him with a rod that Saint Peter had given him.
[
The mythology culminated in the 11th century ]forgeries
Forgery is a white-collar crime that generally refers to the false making or material alteration of a legal instrument with the specific intent to defraud anyone (other than themself). Tampering with a certain legal instrument may be forbidd ...
of Ademar of Chabannes
Ademar is a masculine Germanic name, ultimately derived from ''Audamar'', as is the German form Otmar. It was in use in medieval France, Latinized as ''Adamarus'', and in modern times has been popular in French, Spanish and Portuguese-speaking cou ...
, The ''Life of St. Martial'', attributed to Bishop Aurelian, his successor, which was designed to 'prove' that Martial had been baptized by Peter, was one of the seventy-two disciples
The seventy disciples or seventy-two disciples, known in the Eastern Christian traditions as the seventy apostles or seventy-two apostles, were early emissaries of Jesus mentioned in the Gospel of Luke. The correct Greek terminology is evdomikont ...
and present at the Last Supper
Image:The Last Supper - Leonardo Da Vinci - High Resolution 32x16.jpg, 400px, alt=''The Last Supper'' by Leonardo da Vinci - Clickable Image, Depictions of the Last Supper in Christian art have been undertaken by artistic masters for centuries, ...
.[
In the 13th century compendium of lore, the '']Golden Legend
The ''Golden Legend'' (Latin: ''Legenda aurea'' or ''Legenda sanctorum'') is a collection of hagiographies by Jacobus de Voragine that was widely read in late medieval Europe. More than a thousand manuscripts of the text have survived.Hilary ...
'', the legendary Martial appears with many miracles, casting out fiends and raising the dead and conducting mass baptisms.["Saint Martial", Treasures of Heaven]
/ref>
In the midst of a revival of his cult in the 14th century, 73 miracles were recorded between 1378 and 1388 in the '' Miracula sancti Martialis anno 1388 patrata''.
As late as 1854, Mons. Buissas, Bishop of Limoges, petitioned Pope Pius IX
Pope Pius IX ( it, Pio IX, ''Pio Nono''; born Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878, the longest verified papal reign. He was notable for convoking the First Vatican ...
to bestow on Martial the honors of a disciple of Christ, but was turned down. The full discovery of Ademar's tissue of forged documents, including an imaginary church council and a papal letter, was not revealed until the 1920s, and continued for several generations to be resisted in conservative Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
circles.
Saint Martial also became associated with Saint Valerie of Limoges, a legendary martyr of the 3rd or 4th centuries, who is said to have carried her head to him after decapitation.
Veneration
His help was invoked during an epidemic of widespread ergot
Ergot ( ) or ergot fungi refers to a group of fungi of the genus ''Claviceps''.
The most prominent member of this group is ''Claviceps purpurea'' ("rye ergot fungus"). This fungus grows on rye and related plants, and produces alkaloids that ca ...
poisoning in Limoges in 994.["Saint Martial", Cathédrale Saint Etienns, Limoges]
/ref>
Martial was particularly honored in Bordeaux, where his pastoral staff was kept in the Basilica Saint-Seurin and used in processions to invoke his aid during outbreaks of pestilence.
He is also venerated in Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
, where Colle di Val d'Elsa Cathedral
Colle di Val d'Elsa Cathedral ( it, Duomo di Colle di Val d'Elsa; Concattedrale dei Santi Alberto e Marziale) is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Colle di Val d'Elsa, Tuscany, Italy. Anciently a pieve of the Holy Saviour (San Salvatore), it is now ...
is dedicated to him.
The Cloisters
The Cloisters, also known as the Met Cloisters, is a museum in the Washington Heights, Manhattan, Washington Heights neighborhood of Upper Manhattan, New York City. The museum, situated in Fort Tryon Park, specializes in European medieval art ...
has a 12th-century stained-glass window of "Saint Martial Founding the Cathedral of Saint-Pierre".
St. Martial's chapel at the Papal palace in Avignon was used for deliberations during conclaves. Saint-Martial Temple, a gothic church in Avignon was completed in 1402."Saint-Martial Temple", Structurae
/ref>
In Brazilian folklore, it is celebrated with bonfires on the day of its liturgical feast (30 June) which closes the Festas Juninas
''Festas Juninas'' (, ''June Festivals'', "festivities that occur in the month of June"), also known as ''festas de São João'' for their part in celebrating the nativity of St. John the Baptist (June 24), are the annual Brazilian celebrations ...
in Maranhão
Maranhão () is a state in Brazil. Located in the country's Northeast Region, it has a population of about 7 million and an area of . Clockwise from north, it borders on the Atlantic Ocean for 2,243 km and the states of Piauí, Tocantins and ...
.
In São Luís, in 2007
File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...
, a monument was erected in his honor, given the popularity of his festivities, held in the city since 1928
Events January
* January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly proving the existence of DNA.
* January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris Bazhanov, J ...
, and which annually gather thousands of people, in the Festejo de São Pedro e São Marçal, with the celebrations of the bumba-meu-boi
Toada is a style of Central Amazonian folk music now moving into the mainstream in Brazil. It is a combination of traditional Amazonian rhythms with African and European influence. The genre was made known throughout Brazil after Amazonian grou ...
.
Gallery
Image:Limoges Crypt 02 Cupboard of the Arm.jpg, Cupboard of the Arm, where a medieval reliquary containing the arm of Martial was stored.
Image:Limoges St Michel St Martial shrine.jpg, Shrine of St Martial in the church of St Michel des Lions, Limoges, where the relics have been stored since the dissolution of the abbey
File:San Marcial, Yaiza.jpg, A statue of St Martial at the Ermita de San Marcial de Limoges, Femés, Lanzarote (he is the patron saint of Lanzarote)
Notes
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Martial
3rd-century deaths
3rd-century bishops in Gaul
Bishops of Limoges
3rd-century Christian saints
Gallo-Roman saints
Year of birth unknown