Martin of Tours
Martin of Tours was the third bishop of Tours. He served in the Roman cavalry in Gaul, but left military service at some point prior to 361. He is best known for the account of his using his military sword to cut his cloak in two, to give half to a beggar clad only in rags in the depth of winter. His shrine in Tours became a famous stopping-point for pilgrims on the road to Santiago de Compostela in Spain.
About Martin of Tours in brief
Martin of Tours was the third bishop of Tours. He served in the Roman cavalry in Gaul, but left military service at some point prior to 361. He is best known for the account of his using his military sword to cut his cloak in two, to give half to a beggar clad only in rags in the depth of winter. His shrine in Tours became a famous stopping-point for pilgrims on the road to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. His cult was revived in French nationalism during the Franco-Prussian War of 18701, and as a consequence he was seen as a patron saint of France during the French Third Republic. He opposed the Arianism of the Imperial Court and was forced into exile from Pictavium. According to Sulpicius Severus, he converted an Alpine brigand on the way to Italy, where he became a disciple of Hilary of Poitiers. He was consecrated as Bishop of Caesarodunum in 371. He died in 4th century, and was buried in the church of Saint-Germain-en-Laye. He has become one of the most familiar and recognizable Christian saints in France, heralded as the patron saint in the French third Republic. His life was recorded by a contemporary hagiographer, Sulpicio Severus. He converted to Christianity at a young age. He had a son, Martin, who was a senior officer in theRoman army. He also had a daughter, Mary, who died in 6th century.
She was a daughter-in-law of Emperor Constantine, and a sister of Emperor Julian. Martin is buried in Ticinum, in northern Italy, in the Diocese of Pannonia. His father was given veteran status and was allocated land on which to retire at Tic inum. Martin grew up in Savaria in the Diocese. He became a catechumen at the age of 10 and attended the Christian church against the wishes of his parents. He joined the Equites catafractarii Ambianenses, a heavy cavalry unit listed in the Notitia Dignitatum. As the unit was stationed at Milan and is also recorded at Trier, it is likely that he was part of the elite cavalry bodyguard of the Emperor, which accompanied him on his travels around the Empire. As bishop, he was active in the suppression of the remnants of Gallo-Roman religion, but he opposed the violent persecution of the Priscillianist sect of ascetics. Martin was charged with cowardice and jailed, but in response to the charge, he volunteered to go to the front of the troops to take him up on the offer of the invaders, but they could sued for peace, before they could sue for peace. Martin would have been 45 years old when Julian acceded to the throne, and at the usual end of a military contract. He may have served for five years before obtaining a discharge, two of them after his baptism, in 354.
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This page is based on the article Martin of Tours published in Wikipedia (as of Dec. 07, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
