 |
St. Martin of Tours As Bishop
from Sacramentay of Mont-Saint-Michel
French (Mont-Saint-Michel), 1050-1065
New York, The Pierpont Morgan Library
MS M641, fol. 173r |
Martin of Tours is one of the great saints of Europe. Traditionally, one of the patron saints of
France, he actually spent large parts of his life elsewhere as well. Born in the Roman province of Pannonia, today’s
Hungary, shortly after the conversion of Constantine to Christianity, he grew
up in northern Italy, where he was converted to Christianity at a young
age. He served in the Roman cavalry in
Gaul and Germany. Finally rejecting his
participation in the army he became a disciple of St. Hilary of Poitiers, whom
he followed to Italy and then back to Gaul.
Martin eventually settled in what was still the Roman province of Gaul,
at Tours, where he was acclaimed as bishop in 371.
He was instrumental in spreading the Gospel
beyond the Roman cities of Gaul and in combating the Arian heresy, which
professed Jesus as a demi-God, but not as fully human and fully divine (the
orthodox Christian view). He also
founded monasteries at Ligugé and Marmoutier.
He died in 397 shortly before the invasion of the Germanic tribes that
ended Gallo-Roman life in what would become known as France.1
In addition to the historical facts of his life, a number of
legends about St. Martin grew up in the decades and centuries after his
death.
St. Martin and the Beggar
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St. Martin and the Beggar
from Psalter
Belgian (Ghent), 1270-1280
New York, The Pierpont Morgan Library
MS M 72, fol. 136r |
The most famous is undoubtedly
the story of his meeting with a poorly clad beggar, while still a Roman cavalry
man and a catechumen (not yet a baptized Christian). In charity he drew his sword, cut his cloak
in half and gave half to the beggar, thus fulfilling one of the corporal works
of mercy cited by Jesus at the Last Judgment “I was …. naked and you clothed me”
(Matthew 25:36). Later, in a dream, he
realized that the beggar had indeed been Christ. In some versions of the story, Christ himself
returns the half cloak to Martin.
2
 |
Master of Jeanne de Lavel, St. Martin and the Beggar
from Book of Hours
French (Nantes), 1435-1445
New York, The Pierpont Morgan Library
MS 63, fol. 70v
(Notice that here the beggar has lost both
legs, possibly reflecting the experience of many
in France during the Hundred Years War, a period
which saw the first extensive use of cannon.) |
 |
Jean Colombe and Workshop
from Book of Hours
French (Angers), 1465-1470
New York, The Pierpont Morgan Library
MS M248, fol. 120r |
This image is the one that is most often depicted in works
of art, especially during the middle ages and especially in the periods in
which chivalry was the dominant secular ideal, for this image encapsulates much
that was integral to that ideal.
 |
Master of Claude de France
from Book of Hours
French (Tours), 1515-1520
New York, The Pierpont Morgan Library
MS M 1166, fol. 38r |
It
appears in manuscripts, especially in the Books of Hours that were the chief
religious book used by the laity. But it
also appears in sculpture, in stained glass and in needlework, as well as in full-scale painting.
 |
St. Martin of Tours
French (Autun), 15th Century
Autun, Musee Rolin |
 |
St. Martin and the Beggar
German (Mid-Rhineland), 1490-1500
New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Cloisters |
 |
Chasuble with orphreys, St Martin of Tours
appears in the central medallion
Italy, ca. 1500-1525
New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art,
Lehman Collection |
 |
El Greco, St. Martin of Tours
Greco-Spanish, 1597-1599
Washington, DC, National Gallery of Art |
 |
Jan Brueghel the Elder, St. Martin
Flemish, ca. 1600
Nelahozeves Castle (Czech Republic), Lobkowicz Collections
(Here St. Martin is confronted not with one beggar but with a
crowd of the needy.) |
 |
Jacob van Oost the Elder, St. Martin of Tours
Flemish, ca. 1650
Bruges, Groeninge Museum
|
 |
Anthony van Dyck, St. Martin of Tours
Flemish, ca. 1618
Zavantem, St. Martin Church |
 |
Francois Nicholas Delaistre, St. Martin on Horseback
French, Late 18th Century
Besancon, Musee des Beaux-Arts et d'Archeologie
|
St. Martin As Bishop
Also prevalent, though more often found in books
specifically for the use of the clergy, was the image of St. Martin as a
bishop.
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St. Thomas Becket and St. Martin of Tours
from Psalter
German, 1208-1228
New York, The Pierpont Morgan Library
MS G8, fol. 54v |
Here he is often paired with
other bishop saints, such as St. Thomas of Canterbury or St. Nicholas of Myra.
 |
St. Martin of Tours and St. Nicholas of Myra
from Huntingfield Psalter
English (Oxford), 1212-1220
New York, The Pierpont Morgan Library
MS M 43, fol. 26r
(St. Martin is here shown dividing his cloak while wearing
a bishop's miter, conflating his early and late careers) |
 |
St. Martin of Tours
Austrian (Carinthia), 1340-1350
New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Cloisters Collection |
 |
St. Martin of Tours
German, Late 15th Century
New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art |
Cycles of the Life of St. Martin
There are also several surviving cycles of pictures showing
the life of St. Martin.
They appear in
manuscript form in books such as Vincent of Beauvais’ Speculum historiale.
 |
St. Martin and the Beggar and Baptism of
St. Martin
from Vincentius Bellavacensis, Speculum historiale
French (Paris), 1453
Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France
MS Francais 51, fol. 250 |
 |
St. Martin Converts a Brigand, Saves a House from Fire
and Is Chased from Milan by Arian Clergy
from Vincentius Bellavacensis, Speculum historiale
French (Paris), 1453
Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France
MS Francais 51, fol. 254 |
 |
St. Martin Attacked by Soldiers and St. Martin
Bringing a Child Back to Life
from Vincentius Bellavacensis, Speculum historiale
French (Paris), 1453
Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France
MS Francais 51, fol. 297 |
 |
St. Martin Visited by the Virgin Mary and Saints
and St. Martin Tormented by Demons
from Vincentius Bellavacensis, Speculum historialeFrench (Paris), 1453
Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France
MS Francais 51, fol. 299 |
 |
Translation of the Relics of St. Martin
from Vincentius Bellavacensis, Speculum historiale
French (Paris), 1453
Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France
MS Francais 51, fol. 393v |
During the summer of this year (2015) the Metropolitan Museum of
art reunited several related Franco-Flemish embroideries of St. Martin’s life,
probably meant for the decoration of liturgical furnishings, which have found
their way into various parts of the Museum’s collection. The small, highly detailed embroideries were
small marvels in their own right.3
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St. Martin Announcing His Conversion to His Parents
Scenes from the Life of St. Martin
Franco-Flemish, 1430-1435
New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art,
Lehman Collection |
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St. Martin and the Brigands
Scenes from the Life of St. Martin
Franco-Flemish, 1430-1435
New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art,
Cloisters Collection |
 |
St. Martin with St. Hilary of Poitiers
Scenes from the Life of St. Martin
Franco-Flemish, 1430-1435
New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art,
Lehman Collection |
 |
St. Martin Offers the Wine Cup to a Priest, Bypassing the
Emperor and the Empress
Scenes from the Life of St. Martin
Franco-Flemish, 1430-1435
New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art,
Lehman Collection |
 |
The Empress Kneels Before St. Martin
Scenes from the Life of St. Martin
Franco-Flemish, 1430-1435
New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art,
Cloisters Collection |
 |
St. Martin and the Repentent Horsemam
Scenes from the Life of St. Martin
Franco-Flemish, 1430-1435
New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art,
Anonymous Loan |
 |
St. Martin Brings a Dead Man Back to Life
Scenes from the Life of St. Martin
Franco-Flemish, 1430-1435
New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art,
Lehman Collection |
However, what is probably the greatest of the cycles of the life of St.
Martin is the series of frescoes executed by the Siennese painter, Simone
Martini, between 1320 and 1325 in the Chapel of St. Martin in the lower church
of St. Francis at Assisi.
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Simone Martini, Scenes from the Life of St. Martin
Italian, 1320-1325
Assisi, San Francesco, Lower Church
Chapel of St. Martin |
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Simone Martini, Scenes from the Life of St. Martin
Italian, 1320-1325
Assisi, San Francesco, Lower Church
Chapel of St. Martin |
These show
detailed images of the most important scenes from the saint’s life, from his
early conversion to his death.
Throughout the early scenes St. Martin is imagined as a contemporary
early 14th century knight, his Roman world equated with the
chivalrous ideal.
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Simone Martini, St. Martin if Knighted
Scenes from the Life of St. Martin
Italian, 1320-1325
Assisi, San Francesco, Lower Church
Chapel of St. Martin |
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Simone Martini, St. Martin Divides His Cloak for the Beggar
Scenes from the Life of St. Martin
Italian, 1320-1325
Assisi, San Francesco, Lower Church
Chapel of St. Martin |
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Simone Martini, Dream of St. Martin
Scenes from the Life of St. Martin
Italian, 1320-1325
Assisi, San Francesco, Lower Church
Chapel of St. Martin
(In his dream Martin saw Jesus explain to
the angels that he was the beggar to
whom Martin had given half his cloak.) |
 |
Simone Martini, St. Martin Renounces His Weapons
Scenes from the Life of St. Martin
Italian, 1320-1325
Assisi, San Francesco, Lower Church
Chapel of St. Martin |
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Simone Martini, St. Martin Restores Life to a Dad Child
Scenes from the Life of St. Martin
Italian, 1320-1325
Assisi, San Francesco, Lower Church
Chapel of St. Martin
|
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Simone Martini, St. Martin Miraculously Escapes a Fire
Scenes from the Life of St. Martin
Italian, 1320-1325
Assisi, San Francesco, Lower Church
Chapel of St. Martin
|
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Simone Martini, St. Martin Meditating
Scenes from the Life of St. Martin
Italian, 1320-1325
Assisi, San Francesco, Lower Church
Chapel of St. Martin
|
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Simone Martini, Miraculous Mass of St. Martin
Scenes from the Life of St. Martin
Italian, 1320-1325
Assisi, San Francesco, Lower Church
Chapel of St. Martin
(So great was his devotion that when he raised the
host at Mass a ball of light appeared above his head.)
|
 |
Simone Martini, Death of St. Martin
Scenes from the Life of St. Martin
Italian, 1320-1325
Assisi, San Francesco, Lower Church
Chapel of St. Martin
|
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Simone Martini, Burial of St. Martin
Scenes from the Life of St. Martin
Italian, 1320-1325
Assisi, San Francesco, Lower Church
Chapel of St. Martin
|
Other Images
Alongside these three major image streams, other aspects of
the saint’s life have also been depicted from time to time. These include various miracles wrought by the
saint either during his life or afterwards.
 |
Francisco Osana, Death of St. Martin
Spanish, 1500-1514
Castres, Musee Goya |
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Master of Claude de France, Vison of
St. Martin
from Book of Hours
French (Tours), 1515-1520
New York, The Morgan Library
MS M 1166, fol. 38v
|
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Giovanni Lanfranco, Miraculous Mass of St. Martin
Italian, ca. 1640
New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art |
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Eustache Le Sueur, Miraculous Mass of St. Martin
French, 1654
Paris, Musee du Louvre |
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Eustache Le Sueur, Apparition of the Virgin with Saints
Agnes, Techla, Paul and Peter to St. Martin
French, 1654
Paris, Musee du Louvre
In 1654 Le Sueur painted this pair of images of St. Martin for the Abbey of Marmoutier, founded by St. Martin |
 |
Sebastien Bourdon, St. Martin Raising a Dead Child
French, 1655-1660
Dijon, Musee national Magnin |
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Wolfgang Andreas Heindl, St. Martin Receiving Back His Cloak from Christ
German, 1719-1720
Neideralteich, Monastery of St. Mauritius |
The feast day of St. Martin of Tours is November 11. This was once one of the most important saint’s
days of Europe, celebrated widely throughout the continent. This has not entirely departed. On my first trip to Italy in 1988 I arrived
in mid-November to beautiful weather, which a resident friend informed me is
known as St. Martin’s weather.
St.
Martin of Tours, pray for your continent of Europe which is currently
undergoing a time of testing. Pray especially for your home in France and pray for all of us.
© M. Duffy, 2015
___________________________________________________________
2. The Golden Legend or Lives of the Saints, Volume 6, page 66. Compiled by Jacobus de Voragine, Archbishop of Genoa, 1275. First Edition Published 1470. Englished by William Caxton, First Edition 1483, Edited by F.S. Ellis, Temple Classics, 1900 (Reprinted 1922, 1931.), at http://legacy.fordham.edu/Halsall/basis/goldenlegend/GoldenLegend-Volume6.asp#Martin
