Dating the Consecration of the Basilica of Saint Martin by Perpetuus of Tours in Tours (Indre-et-Loire)
La datation de la consécration de la basilique Saint-Martin par Perpetuus de Tours à Tours (Indre-et-Loire)
p. 115-124
Résumés
Arguments supporting an earlier dating of the consecration of the basilica of Saint Martin by Perpetuus of Tours than previously suggested are put forward. A detailed study of Book Six of the Vita Sancti Martini of Paulinus of Périgueux and Sidonius Apollinaris’ epigram for the new basilica, suggest that Perpetuus only commissioned epigrams after the consecration of the basilica, and not before.
Des arguments sont avancés en faveur d’une datation plus ancienne de la consécration de la basilique Saint-Martin par Perpetuus de Tours que celle suggérée jusqu’ici. Une étude attentive du livre six de la Vita sancti Martini de Paulin de Périgueux et de l’épigramme de Sidoine Apollinaire pour la nouvelle basilique montre que Perpetuus n’a commandé des épigrammes qu’après la consécration de la basilique, et non avant.
Entrées d’index
Mots-clés : Basilique de Saint Martin à Tours, Paulin de Périgueux, Sidoine Apollinaire, Perpetuus de Tours, Vita sancti Martini
Keywords : Basilica of Saint Martin in Tours, Paulinus of Périgueux, Sidonius Apollinaris, Perpetuus of Tours, Vita s. Martini
Texte intégral
1. Introduction
1By extending types of veneration that had been associated with the martyrs to that of the confessor bishop, the consecration of the basilica of Saint Martin by Perpetuus of Tours is a defining event in the fifth century expansion of the cult of the saints. As shown definitively in the work of Luce Pietri, the consecration of the new basilica to house Martin’s relics was central to Perpetuus’ program to transform Tours into the “City of Saint Martin” by means of architecture, the liturgical calendar, and his literary patronage of Paulinus of Périgueux and Sidonius Apollinaris (Pietri 1983).
1.1. Year of Consecration of the Basilica of Saint Martin Unknown
2Unfortunately, the year of the consecration of the basilica is unknown, with previous attempts to date it ranging from 464 to 473. The lack of archaeological evidence means that a search for a solution must start from the literary data.
3It would seem natural to begin with Gregory of Tours, the episcopal successor to both Saint Martin and Perpetuus. He provides the only detailed account of the translation of Martin’s relics, and hence the consecration of the basilica, and specifies that it occurred on the fourth of July, the anniversary of Martin’s episcopal consecration. Gregory confirms this date and its three-fold anniversary in the account of Perpetuus’ ordering of the feasts of Saint Martin in the liturgical calendar of the archdiocese.1 However, at no point does he mention the year.
4A fruitful approach to the problem of narrowing down the possible year of consecration can be found, so I shall argue, by a close examination of Book Six of the Vita Sancti Martini of Paulinus of Périgueux, his prefatory letter to his minor works, Iterato asinae, and Epist. 4.18 Ad Lucontium of Sidonius Apollinaris.2
2. Book six of the Vita sancti Martini of Paulinus of Périgueux
5Perpetuus of Tours sent his own record of miracles that occurred at the shrine of Saint Martin to the poet Paulinus of Périgueux, commissioning him to put it into verse. This since lost charta containing Perpetuus’ liber miraculorum formed the hypotext of Book Six of Paulinus’ epic poem Vita Sancti Martini. Albeit in versified form, Book Six of the Vita Sancti Martini contains the oldest record of miracles occurring at the tomb of Saint Martin, and contains much information about the setting of the holy bishop’s tomb and the state of his cult at the time of Paulinus’ writing.3
2.1. Dating Book Six of the VSMP4
6In Book Six Perpetuus is mentioned three times and alluded to once, thus establishing the beginning of his episcopate in 458/459 as the work’s terminus post quem.5 The terminus ante quem of Book Six is related to the dating of the consecration of the basilica, which will be discussed below.
7Among the miracles recorded in Book Six at least two can be securely dated.6 The rescue of Aegidius comes et magister utriusque militiae in Gaul from siege by the Visigoths at Arles in vv.106-151 has been dated to the year 459.7 The siege is lifted through the prayers of Saint Martin, and Aegidius is saved. The mention of Perpetuus’ involvement in the exorcism of a demoniac in Tours taking place at the same time as Aegidius’ rescue forms the basis of Luce Pietri’s dating of the beginning of Perpetuus’ episcopate to 458/459 (Pietri 1982: 617-618 n. 622; Courcelle 1964: 173 n. 172.). The second miracle recounted (vv. 218-249) tells of a Hunnic mercenary who steals an ornamental crown from the shrine of Saint Martin. He is struck blind for his impiety, but his sight is restored upon his repentance and return of the crown. The presence of Hunnic allies in Gaul situates this second miracle at the time of Litorius comes et magister utriusque militiae in Gaul from 435 until his death in 439, who was reported to have used Hunnic allies in his battles against the Visigoths and Bagaudae.8 This second datable episode therefore must have taken place under the episcopacy of Brictius, Saint Martin’s successor on the throne from 397-442, who built the first basilica over Martin’s tomb, and it is in this structure where the original theft recounted in vv. 218-249 took place. The passage is interesting, because of all the accounts of miracles directly connected with Martin’s shrine in Book Six, this one provides the most information about the setting of his tomb.
2.2. The basilica parvula of Brictius
8Before delving into the text, let us review the testimonia of other authors concerning the first basilica built by Brictius over Martin’s grave.
9The only contemporary account of the basilica of Brictius is the description given in Sidonius Apollinaris’ Epist. 4.18 Ad Lucontium. In it we learn that it was most probably of wood, and that it was both unworthy of Martin’s greatness, and an embarrassment to the faithful of Tours on account of its simplicity.9
10In his own day, Gregory of Tours gives us further details about the structure. It must not have been wholly unattractive. The chapel had a beautiful ceiling, certainly of wood, that Perpetuus reused in another church. While Sidonius focused on the structure’s poverty of form, Gregory frequently emphasizes its small size, referring to it variously as the basilica parvula, cellula, cellula parvula.10 In his account of the translatio of Saint Martin by Perpetuus, Gregory describes Saint Martin’s sarcophagus as buried underground, since he states that it had to be dug out with a hoe and uncovered.11
11If we add in the detail of the corona sepulchri mentioned by Gregory in his prose paraphrase of Paulinus of Périgueux12, we can cautiously form a picture of the basilica parvula of Brictius: It was quite a small, not particularly impressive structure, probably of wood, yet possessing some beautiful ornaments, and it covered the tomb of Martin, which was buried under ground. Our picture from the sources so far leaves many unanswered questions. Aside from the corona, how was Martin’s burial spot marked? Was there an altar? If so, how was it related spatially to the location of the tomb?
2.3. The narrative setting of the miracles in Book Six of the VSMP
12Despite the lack of important details, the sources provide us with a rough idea of the basilica of Brictius. So let us now turn to Paulinus’ account of the theft that took place there in the 430’s for further clues. In the account, verses 218-229 deal explicitly with the setting of Brictius’ basilica parvula. The text is as follows:13
Cum subito pavefacta metu graviore periclo | |
auxiliatores pateretur Gallia Chunos | |
(nam socium vix ferre queas, qui durior hoste | 220 |
extet et adnexum foedus feritate repellat), | |
horum unus, stimulis furiosi daemonis actus, | |
inrupit sacram Domini praedo inprobus aedem. | |
inde altare Dei gressu temerare profano | |
ausus et intuitus furialia vota secutus | 225 |
abripuit sanctam dextra vellente coronam, | |
quae meritum sancti propter coniuncta docebat, | |
effigians illam, quam Christo iudice sumpsit, | |
fulgentem astrigera caeli sublimis in arce. |
13In this narrative, the Hun, intent on theft, proceeds from the entrance of the church (horum unus, stimulis furiosi daemonis actus,/inrupit sacram Domini praedo improbus aedem), passes into the sanctuary (inde altare Dei gressu temerare/profano ausus) and once arrived at the tomb of the saint, he snatches away the crown (et intuitus furialia vota secutus/abripuit dextra vellente coronam/quae meritum sancti propter coniuncta docebat).14
14What exactly is Paulinus picturing in this description? Verses 222 and 223 indicate clearly that the Hun, intent on finding booty, enters the church, and then steps into the sanctuary. So far, this indicates that Paulinus assumes a building with at least two separate areas, viz., an area for the faithful, and an area reserved for the clergy containing the altar. After entering the sanctuary, the Hun reaches Martin’s tomb. So then, was it within the sanctuary? Was it behind it perhaps? Verses 225-227 are not as clear as one would hope in terms of describing what happens between the Hun’s entering the sanctuary and his snatching away the crown. After having “followed” the “hellish intentions of his covetous stare”, the Hun plucks the crown from the nearby tomb. I would suggest that Paulinus pictured the Hun passing through the sanctuary in order to reach the tomb of the saint, which was marked out by the crown. While the words et intuitus furialia vota secutus could imply that upon spotting the crown from a place within the sanctuary, the Hun exited from behind sanctuary to reach it (Body of Church → Sanctuary → Tomb of Saint), the words could also mean that the crown and the tomb were in the sanctuary itself (Body of Church → Sanctuary containing Tomb of Saint). One thing is clear however, neither way of interpreting the verses could ever represent the actual arrangement of the basilica parvula of Brictius during the original theft related in the passage for the following reasons:
15The presence of Martin’s tomb either in or behind the sanctuary represents a later development of the cult. To begin with, as to the possibility of Martin’s tomb being within the sanctuary of the basilica parvula (if indeed it contained a presbyterium with a permanent altar at all), it is important to recall that Brictius built the basilica parvula as an episcopal funerary church, not as a shrine to Saint Martin. Brictius himself and Euphronius would be buried there15, and Luce Pietri and Eugen Ewig have argued convincingly that the patronage of the basilica parvula was at least not Saint Martin’s, but probably Peter and Paul’s. This is because, so they argue, official episcopal promotion of Martin’s cult began with Perpetuus; in any case, not with Brictius (Ewig 1961: 1-5; Pietri 1997: 190-191; Lelong 1997; Judic 2010). Now, according to Gregory, Perpetuus undertook the construction of the new basilica Martini because Brictius’ basilica was too small for the number of people who frequented Martin’s tomb to obtain miracles.16 How could such a cult have developed between the episcopate of Brictius and Perpetuus if the tomb were in the sanctuary, a place closed off to the laity? Martin’s tomb in the basilica parvula must have originally been in the body of the church, in front of and probably to the right or left of the sanctuary, if there was one, an old arrangement still attested in Gregory’s time which left the tomb accessible to the faithful.17 Having excluded the possibility that Martin’s tomb was within the sanctuary of Brictius’ basilica parvula, it is reasonable to conclude that Paulinus must have had in mind that the Hun, coming from the front entrance, passed in and then out of the sanctuary to reach the tomb. However, this layout of the church suspiciously matches that of the basilica of Perpetuus following the solemn translation of St. Martin’s relics to the apse, and hence the state of affairs after the consecration of the new building. As noted in the work of Vieillard-Troiekouroff and Werner Jacobsen, Perpetuus’ placement of the shrine of the saint in the apse behind the presbyterium of his new basilica was an innovation which would be copied in the future construction and remodeling of saints’ shrines in the Merovingian and Frankish periods. Paulinus’ depiction of the theft of the crown indicates that the basilica parvula was no longer a point of reference for his readers at the time of his writing. It presumes a setting that makes much more sense if one has in mind the new basilica of Perpetuus after the translation of the saint’s relics and that the consecration of the new basilica was a thing of the past (Vieillard-Troïekouroff 1961: 153-155, Jacobsen 1997: 1108-1111).
16The argument that the new basilica of Perpetuus formed the narrative setting of the shrine miracles in Book Six is further supported by other important details. In the miracle of the “Dry Demoniac” (71-96), Paulinus refers to the structure housing Martin’s relics in terms that would seem odd if the chapel of Brictius were intended, a small wooden chapel which the poet’s patron Perpetuus was planning to replace (vv. 80-81): … a templo, quod sanctos continet artus/et laudi aeternae felicia membra reservat.18
17Furthermore, certain details of the setting hardly seem appropriate if one keeps in mind the one feature of Brictius’ basilica concerning which historians and archaeologists have been in complete agreement, i.e. its small size.19 Yet Book Six depicts a structure that can accommodate, in addition to an above-ground marble tomb or opertorium for Saint Martin:20 an anachronistic full-immersion baptismal font, or well, a feature which, tellingly, Gregory suggested still existed in his day in the basilica of Perpetuus,21 a sanctuary with an altar (placed in front of, rather than behind the saint’s tomb),22 balustrades,23 and ornamental columns,24 all while leaving enough space for throngs of pilgrims,25 a staff of clergy to accept gifts from pilgrims and to assist the poor,26 and flying demoniacs.27 We should also not forget to repeat that according to Gregory, the basilica parvula contained the graves of Brictius and Eustochius.28
18If I am correct, then the new basilica Martini had been completed and consecrated by the time of the composition of Book Six, and therefore, before Paulinus was commissioned by Perpetuus to write an epigram to decorate the basilica. Indeed, the testimonia related to the composition of epigrams by Sidonius and Paulinus of Périgueux support rather than contradict this conclusion.
3. Epist. 4.18 of Sidonius Apollinaris and Iterato asinae of Paulinus of Périgueux
19In Epist. 4.18, Sidonius shares some verses he had written at the request of Perpetuus for the new basilica of Saint Martin.29 The text of the epigram related to the construction of Perpetuus’ basilica is as follows:30
Martini corpus totis venerabile terris, | |
in quo post vitae tempora vivit honor, | |
texerat hic primum plebeio machina cultu, | |
quae confessori non erat aequa suo. | |
Nec desistebat cives onerare pudore | 5 |
gloria magna viri, gratia parva loci ; | |
antiste sed qui numeratur sextus ab ipso | |
longam Perpetuus sustulit invidiam, | |
internum removens modici penetrale sacelli | |
amplaque tecta levans exteriore domo ; | 10 |
creveruntque simul valido tribuente patrono | |
in spatiis aedis, conditor in meritis, | |
quae Salomoniaco potis est confligere templo, | |
septima quae mundo fabrica mira fuit. | |
Nam gemmis, auro, argento si splenduit illud, | 15 |
istud transgreditur cuncta metalla fide. | |
Livor, abi, mordax absolvanturque priores, | |
nil novet aut addat garrula posteritas ; | |
dum venit Christus, populos qui suscitet omnes, | |
perpetuo durent culmina Perpetui.31 | 20 |
3.1. The Internum penetrale
20The meaning of internum removens modici penetrale sacelli in v. 9 has occasioned much scholarly debate. Archaeologists and historians have attempted to reconcile the seemingly contradictory accounts of Gregory of Tours concerning the location of the original basilica parvula of Brictius vis-à-vis the basilica of Perpetuus.32 Their relevance for the present discussion lies not in whether or not the basilica parvula was destroyed, but when. E.-R. Vaucelle rightly observed that it is highly unlikely that the basilica parvula of Brictius would have been torn down before the translatio, which took place in the nave of the new basilica during the ceremony of consecration.33 If the original purpose of Brictius’ structure was to serve as a simple yet dignified shelter for the tomb of his predecessor and himself,34 it seems improbable that Perpetuus would have left the burial place of Saint Martin exposed to the elements in the midst of a construction site.35 It is further unlikely that pilgrims who formerly filled the small chapel could be expected to keep away during construction. At a time unencumbered by modern safety measures, it is far more likely that the basilica parvula continued to receive visitors up until the completion of the new basilica.36 The most likely scenario is that Perpetuus had the new basilica built around the basilica parvula of Brictius. The basilica parvula continued to house Martin’s grave until the completion of the basilica. It was disassembled after the consecration, or if space for mobility during the translatio was a concern, during the proximate preparations for the ceremony.37
21Indeed verses 9-10 support this scenario. The parallel participles removens and levans connected by the weak amplaque allow for the removens to be understood proleptically, something demanded anyway by the following amplaque tecta…exteriore domo: “Raising an ample roof by means of an exterior housing.” Exterior to what? The tomb of St. Martin?38 Sidonius’ opposition between internum…modici penetrale sacelli and exteriore domo39 is best understood by imagining one structure within another, i.e., the removal of the cellula parvula from the interior space of the new basilica, which would not make sense if the “internal chapel” (the basilica parvula) had been removed prior to the construction of its “exterior housing” (the new basilica of Perpetuus).40 Sidonius’ poem was for a completed church consecrated by the translation of St. Martin’s relics, both things of the past by the time it was adorned with epigrams.
22In the Iterato asinae, Perpetuus was pleased with Paulinus’ versification of his charta, and now Paulinus sends him the requested epigram for the finished church.41 Here too, Paulinus speaks of the basilica of Perpetuus as a finished building (illi parietes; pagina in pariete reserata). The adjective consecrati can be used in a general sense meaning ’sacred’ or ’holy’,42 and to see here a technical reference to the consecration of the new basilica would be to demand more precision from Paulinus than he may have intended. Nevertheless, it is clear that the basilica is finished, and there is no hint that Paulinus wrote his epigram in anticipation of its consecration. Unfortunately, as with Sidonius’ epigram, the usual dating suggested for the De orantibus assumes that it was commissioned for a decoration scheme that had to be in place before the consecration of the basilica, usually dated to the 470’s.43
4. Earlier attempts at establishing the year of consecration
23As for the dating the consecration, there is no certainty that the translatio of Saint Martin (and hence the consecration of the new basilica) must have occurred in the 470’s at all. In the case of Loyen, Pietri and Gilardi, the year 471 is a conjecture based upon the appropriateness of choosing the centenary for the July 4 anniversary.44 The tendency in other scholars, who posit different years spanning 470 to 473, appears to go back to a conjecture of Tillemont, who recognized that the year was in fact unknown (Tillemont 1705: 345; Tillemont 1712: 773 note vi). He sought for chronological clues in Gregory of Tours’ account of the translatio (Lib. dec. hist. 10.31):
Adveniente ergo optato tempore sacerdoti, ut templum dedicaretur, et sanctum corpusculum a loco ubi sepultum fuerat transferretur, convocavit beatus Perpetuus ad diem festum vicinos pontifices, sed et abbatum ac diversorum clericorum non minimam multitudinem. Et quia hoc in Kalendis Iulii agere volebat, vigilata una nocte, facto mane, accepto sarculo, terram quae super sanctum erat tumulum coeperunt effodere. Quo detecto, manus, ut eum commoverent, iniciunt, ibique multitudo tota laborans, nihil prorsus per totam diem proficit. Vigilata denique alia nocte, mane temptantes, iterum nihil omnino agere potuerunt. Tunc conturbati atque exterriti, quid facerent nesciebant. Dicit eis unus ex clericis : ’Scitis, quia post hunc triduum natalis episcopati eius esse consueverat, et forsitan in hac die se transferri vos admonet’. Tunc ieiuniis et orationibus ac iugi psallentio die noctuque insistentes, triduum illud continuatione duxerunt. Quarta autem die accedentes ponentesque manus, non valebant penitus movere sepulchrum… etc.
24Taking the story at face value, which states that Perpetuus planned the consecration to fall on a July 1st, and only moved it to July 4 because of a sign from Martin, Tillemont noted that such a major liturgical event must have been scheduled on a Sunday according to ancient custom.45 He noted that July 1st occurred on a Sunday only twice during the years of Perpetuus’ episcopacy, scil., 462 or 473, and suggested it as the likely year of the consecration. Since Tillemont believed that Perpetuus did not begin his episcopate until late 461, he argued that the completion of such a project as the new basilica Martini in such a short time span could not have been possible, thus suggesting 473 as the likely year.46 Tillemont’s idea was clever, even if his results were compromised by ambiguous details in Gregory’s narrative and the later dating of the start of Perpetuus’ office. Elsewhere, however, Tillemont suggests 470, 471, 472 or 473 as possibilities for the translatio based upon the twelfth century Chronica of Sigebert of Gembloux.47 Unfortunately, Tillemont’s conjectures came to be accepted uncritically by others, who then repeated the year 473,48 470,49 471 or 472,50 often without the necessary cautions or even citation. It did not help matters that in the same note where Tillemont lays out his argument for dating the consecration to 473, he dates the epigram of Sidonius to 470 or 471, assuming that epigram had been requested ahead of the consecration of the church. This is where Francois Corpet came up with the approximate year of 470 for the completion of the De orantibus of Paulinus (Corpet 1849: 8 note 1).
5. A source of confusion for establishing the terminus ante quem of Book Six
25The assumption that Perpetuus’s commissioning of epigrams had to take place before the consecration of the new basilica, along with the push to date the consecration to the early 470’s has confused those trying to reconcile pure hypotheticals with one fact which would otherwise be taken for granted, viz., that the death of Aegidius comes et magister utriusque militiae in Gaul (a. 464/465) provides the likely terminus ante quem for Book Six, as he is mentioned as alive in vv. 111-114.51 François Corpet was the first to strain to reconcile Tillemont’s conjecture with a terminus ante quem established by the death of Aegidius. He was forced to conclude that it took Paulinus up to eight years to versify the charta of Perpetuus! (Corpet 1849: 8 note 1). In her commentary on the prologue and first three books of the Vita Sancti Martini, Sylvie Labarre states that it is customary to date the completion of the Vita Sancti Martini up to the beginning of the 470’s. (Labarre 2016: 17). She makes no reference to the depiction of Aegidius as still alive in v. 112, although she mentioned it in her earlier magisterial work Le Manteau Partagé, where she was non-committal about its significance for establishing the terminus ante quem.52 Following Loyen and Pietri, she says the consecration probably took place in 471 (Labarre 2016: 17). Luce Pietri has dated the completion of the new basilica of Perpetuus to around 467, taking into consideration Loyen’s dating of Epist. 4.18.4, in which Sidonius Apollinaris speaks of it as completed.53 Rightly, Pietri understands this to mean that the new basilica was complete at the time of Sidonius’ letter. However, sharing Loyen’s assumption that the epigram contained in the letter was commissioned ahead of the consecration of the new basilica, which he conjectured may have taken place in 471, Pietri is forced to suggest at least54 a three-year delay between the completion of the church and its consecration (Pietri 1983: 374). As for the testimony of Book Six, while correctly noting the anachronisms in Paulinus’ depiction of the dateable “Hun episodes”, Pietri does not appear to realise their implications for the completion date and consecration of the basilica of Perpetuus (Pietri 1983: 372 note 146). This causes difficulties when one considers her date for the completion of the VSMP at ca. 470.55 The significance of VSMP 6.111-112 and the death of Aegidius for the dating of Book Six are never brought up.
Conclusion
26It is most unlikely that any of the proposed years hitherto suggested for the consecration of the basilica are correct. This is so not only because of the dating of Book Six with its narrative of an already consecrated basilica noted above, but also because Sidonius’ epistle to Lucontius, and Paulinus’ letter, Iterato asinae, support the idea that Perpetuus commissioned the poets after the basilica’s consecration rather than that Perpetuus delayed the consecration for the completion of its ornamentation. Recognizing these facts removes any discomfort with the depiction of Aegidius as alive in Book Six resulting from a dating of the consecration of Perpetuus’ basilica to the 470’s. Before the unspecified doubts raised by Sylvie Labarre and Raymond Van Dam, all but one of the previous scholars who had taken note of the significance of qua celsior extat, understood the words to mean that Aegidius was alive at the time of Paulinus’ writing.56 While there may perhaps be philological reasons for not establishing Aegidius’ death as the terminus ante quem of the consecration of the basilica and the composition of Book Six,57 being forced to reconcile his dates with a hazy cloud of conjectures surrounding the early 470’s and the composition of the opera minora should be removed from the task of the scholar. I hope that focus will return to Book Six rather than the epigrams for determining the terminus ante quem of the consecration of the basilica of Saint Martin, and that I have demonstrated that the consecration certainly took place before Perpetuus commissioned epigrams from Sidonius Apollinaris and Paulinus of Périgueux. This revised order of events in Perpetuus’ program to expand the cult of Saint Martin (1. Consecration of the new basilica 2. Composition of Book Six 3. Iterato asinae and composition of the epigrams by Paulinus and Sidonius) allows me with confidence to give my ’probably’ to a consecration year ’before 464/465’.
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Notes de bas de page
1De virt. s. Mart. 1.6 : ’Scitis, quia post hunc triduum natalis episcopati eius esse consueverat, et forsitan in hac die se transferri vos admone’. Dec. lib. hist. 2.14 : Sollempnitas enim ipsius basilicae triplici virtute pollet : id est dedicatione templi, translatione corporis sancti vel ordinatione eius episcopati. hanc enim IIII Iulias observabis ; depositionem vero eius III Idus Novembris esse cognoscas. Dec. lib. hist. 10.31: VI… [On Perpetuus:] Hic, submota basilica, quam prius Brictius episcopus aedificaverat super sanctum Martinum, aedificavit aliam ampliorem miro opere, in cuius absida beatum corpus ipsius venerabilis sancti transtulit.
2The editions used in this paper: Petschenig 1888; Loyen, 1970.
3Pietri 1982: 582-588; Drevon 1889: 200-203; Delehaye 1910: 427-434; Delehaye 1925: 311-312.
4I shall make use of the abbreviation VSMP for the Vita Sancti Martini of Paulinus.
5Vid. 6.28 (in a pun): perpetuo felix doctor victurus in aevo. 6.301 : Perpetuus, Domini non solum nomine cultor. 6.506 : perpetuo urbs Turonum Martino antistite gaudet. 6.145-146 (in a pun) : hanc quoque praesenti sociatus, sancte, patrono/eripis… Pietri 1982: 617-618. Pietri 1983: 3-5, 31; Courcelle 1964: 173, n. 172; Duchesne 1910: 310.
6The miracle related to the transport of columns (vv. 265-290) could be counted as a third, at least relatively to other events, if one read it as pertaining to the substantial construction of the basilica rather than the adding of ornament; cf. Vieillard-Troiekouroff 1976: 313; Pietri 1983: 374.
7Martindale 1980, s.v. “Aegidius II” : “Comes et Magister utriusque Militiae (per Gallias) a. 456/7- ?465.” ; Pietri 1982 : 618.
8Pietri 1983; Martindale 1980; Loyen 1942: 44-47. VSMP 6.218-219 is the only witness to the presence of Hunnic mercenaries in Tours. Luce Pietri suggests that although the following miracle took place under the episcopacy of Eustochius, Perpetuus would still have been in Tours as a witness: Pietri 1983: 97-99. However, while Pietri is correct to assume that Perpetuus would have been in Tours at the time, the episcopacy of Eustochius, according to Pietri’s own dating, fell between the years 442 and 458/459. The sources above referring to the use of Hunnic mercenaries in 437 and 439, therefore, place the original miracle recorded below during the episcopacy of Brictius (397-442), vid. Pietri 1982: 618.
9Martini corpus totis venerabile terris,/in quo post vitae tempora vivit honor,/texerat hic primum plebeio machina cultu,/quae confessori non erat aequa suo./Nec desistebat cives onerare pudore/gloria magna viri, gratia parva loci… Loyen 1970. For a discussion of the meaning of machina, vid. Lasteyrie 1892: 6-8.
10Greg. Turon. Dec. libr. hist. 2.14 (On Perpetuus): Qui cum virtutes assiduas ad sepulchrum eius fieri cerneret, cellulam, quae super eum fabricata fuerat, videns parvulam, indignam talibus miraculis iudicavit. Qua submota, magnam ibi basilicam, quae usque hodie permanet, fabricavit…; Ibid., (On the ceiling of Brictius’ chapel): Et quoniam camera cellulae illius prioris eleganti opere fuerat fabricata, indignum duxit sacerdos, ut opera eius deperiret, sed in honore beatorum apostolorum Petri et Pauli aliam construxit basilicam, in qua cameram illam adfixit.; Ibid., 10.31 (On Brictius): IIII…Hic aedificavit basilicam parvulam super corpus beati Martini, in qua et ipse sepultus est.; Ibid., (On Perpetuus): VI… Hic, submota basilica, quam prius Brictius episcopus aedificaverat super sanctum Martinum, aedificavit aliam ampliorem miro opere, in cuius absida beatum corpus ipsius venerabilis sancti transtulit. Chevalier 1888 : 7-10 ; Vaucelle 1907 : 384-385 ; Pietri 1983.
11De virt. s. Mart. 6 : Et quia hoc in Kalendis Iulii agere volebat, vigilata una nocte, facto mane, accepto sarculo, terram quae super sanctum erat tumulum coeperunt effodere. Quo detecto…
12De virt. S. Mart. 1.2.
13The text is from the edition of Petschenig, CSEL 16 (Petschenig 1888). All translations are my own. “When Gaul, terrified suddenly with fear due to a greater danger, was suffering the Huns as military helpers, (For you might, with difficulty, be able to tolerate as an ally one who could stand out more harshly than the enemy and rejects a bound treaty because of his brutishness), one of these Huns, compelled by the goads of a raging demon, burst as a wicked plunderer into the holy temple of the Lord. Thereupon he dared to violate the altar of God with his profane step, and then he followed the hellish intentions of his covetous glare, and, plucking it with his right hand, he snatched away the holy crown which, joined nearby, marked out the shrine of the saint; the crown portraying that famous crown which he took up when Christ was his judge, a crown shining in the star bearing vault of sublime heaven.”
14Altare Dei is pars pro toto for the sanctuary (presbyterium, choer, Chorraum, Altarraum). As is clear from propter conjuncta, the word meritum here is metonymy for the tomb of the saint, the locus of his miraculous power. Vid. TLL 8.0.822.73 et seqq., Petschenig 1888: 181 s.v. “meritum”.
15Greg. Turon. Dec. lib. hist. 10.4-5 ; Vieillard-Troiekouroff 1961 : 152.
16Greg. Turon. Dec. libr. hist. 2.14 (On Perpetuus): Qui cum virtutes assiduas ad sepulchrum eius fieri cerneret, cellulam, quae super eum fabricata fuerat, videns parvulam, indignam talibus miraculis iudicavit. Qua submota, magnam ibi basilicam, quae usque hodie permanet, fabricavit…
17Greg. Turon. Liber vitae patrum VII.4. Around 540, St Gregory of Langres was buried in angulo basilicae of Saint John in Dijon. St. Tetricus his episcopal successor transferred his sarcophagus to a new vaulted apse constructed behind the sanctuary. De glor. confess. 79. In Bituriga sometime in the 550’s, St. Ursinus’ sarcophagus is dug up from the cemetery and transferred to a spot within the basilica of Saint Symphorian near the sanctuary (Et sic, celebratis missis, gaudente populo, iuxta altare sepelitur, multis se deinceps virtutibus manifestans). Liber vitae patrum IV.5. In 525 the holy Quintilian was buried in the basilica of Saint Stephen in Clermont to the left side of the sanctuary where his tomb was a popular destination for those seeking healing from quartan fever ad levam altaris, ad cuius nunc tumulum plerumque quartanorum febirs, melancholia conpraesa restringuitur.
18It is highly probable that the basilica of Brictius was a wood structure which was meant to be replaced at a later time. Lasteyrie cites the parallels from Gaul where the initial wood structures built over the tombs of saints were later replaced by more permanent stone edifices, and demonstrates this is the significance of machinata in Sidonius’ epigram describing the former basilica parvula of Brictius, vid. Lasteyrie 1892: 6-8.
19Greg. Turon. Dec. libr. hist. 2.14 (On Perpetuus): Qui cum virtutes assiduas ad sepulchrum eius fieri cerneret, cellulam, quae super eum fabricata fuerat, videns parvulam, indignam talibus miraculis iudicavit. Qua submota, magnam ibi basilicam, quae usque hodie permanet, fabricavit…; Ibid., (On the ceiling of Brictius’ chapel): Et quoniam camera cellulae illius prioris eleganti opere fuerat fabricata, indignum duxit sacerdos, ut opera eius deperiret, sed in honore beatorum apostolorum Petri et Pauli aliam construxit basilicam, in qua cameram illam adfixit.; Ibid., 10.31 (On Brictius): IIII…Hic aedificavit basilicam parvulam super corpus beati Martini, in qua et ipse sepultus est.; Ibid., (On Perpetuus): VI… Hic, submota basilica, quam prius Brictius episcopus aedificaverat super sanctum Martinum, aedificavit aliam ampliorem miro opere, in cuius absida beatum corpus ipsius venerabilis sancti transtulit. Sidonius Appollinaris’ description in Ep. 4.18 focuses on the structures poverty in form. Size is only referred to in comparison to that of the new church of Perpetuus. Chevalier 1888: 7-10; Vaucelle 1907: 384-385; Pietri 1983.
20vv. 295-306: Perpetuus scrapes marble dust from the tomb for use in healing the sick.
21vv. 56-58., Greg. Turon. De virt. s. Mart. I, 1.2, Idque et nostris temporibus vidimus gestum.
22vv. 222-227, supra.
23vv. 53-54 (On the demoniacs).
24vv. 265-267. That the columns mentioned in this episode were meant for the construction and not the mere ornament of the temple is unclear in the passage. Pietri and De Nie suggest that the columns were perhaps taken as spoil from a pagan temple. This would not be contradicted by the triumphal imagery of vv. 265-266, Pietri 1983: 374; De Nie 2012: 474. Also, one could argue that Paulinus is making a distinction between the columns as destined for the “holy temple” mentioned in v. 268 (scil., the new basilica), and the columns as ornatum of another unspecified pagan temple in v. 287.
25Vid. vv. 34-38 (agmina conveniunt…).
26Vid. vv. 185-191 (On the healing of the paralytic maiden). Saint Martin is represented as the receiver of the promised gifts for the clothing and feeding of the poor. I believe this to be a reference to the presence of a kind of proto matricula for the relief of the poor at Saint Martin’s shrine. Pietri places the foundation of the matricula under the episcopate of Euphronius in the mid sixth century, and well takes pains not to apply the term matricula anachronistically. In any case, Paulinus’ depiction strongly suggests that some kind of organized assistance for the poor was up and running at the shrine in Perpetuus’ time. Vid. Pietri 1983: 714-716.
27Vid. vv. 53-55 (On the demoniacs).
28Greg. Turon. Dec. lib. hist. 10.4-5 ; Vieillard-Troiekouroff 1976 : 152.
29Basilicam sancti pontificis confessorisque Martini Perpetuus episcopus, dignissimus tanto praedecessore sucessor, multum priori quae fuit hactenus capaciorem novavit. Magnum est, ut ferunt, opus nominandumque quod in honorem talis viri factum talis vir fecisse debuerit. Loyen 1970. On Perpetuus’ patronage of poetry in general, vid. Chatillon 1967: 15.
30Loyen 1970.
31“Venerable in all lands the body of Martin – in which honor lives after the days of his life – a structure of crude ornament had covered here, which was not equal to this Confessor. The great glory of the man did not cease covering the citizens with shame on account of the place’s modest amenity. But the bishop Perpetuus, who is numbered sixth from this one, took away this enduring odium, removing the inner shrine of a modest chapel and raising ample roofs by means of an exterior house. And so at the mighty patron’s bestowal did they increase at the same time: the temple in room; the founder in merits. Which temple could contend with the temple of Solomon, a building which was the world’s seventh wonder. For if that one was resplendent with gems, gold, and silver, this one surpasses all metals in its faith. Be off, biting malice! Let those before be absolved. May garrulous posterity renew or increase nothing. And so until Christ comes, who will raise all peoples, may the lofty roofs of Perpetuus endure in perpetuity.” Translation my own.
32The problem is that Gregory refers to the locus where the body of Martin lay entombed during Gregory’s time as both the place of Martin’s original burial after the translatio from Candes, and at the same time, the place to which Perpetuus transferred the sarcophagus at the dedication of his new basilica. Vid. Dec. libr. histor. 10.31.III; ibid., 10.31.6; De virt. S. Mart. 1.6. This was made worse by an initial misreading of the archaeological evidence following the excavations of the basilica that had been destroyed during the French Revolution. For those who accepted that the new basilica of Perpetuus occupied the site of the basilica parva of Brictius, there was doubt as to whether the remains of Saint Martin were disturbed at any point, or Perpetuus centered the apse of his new basilica around Martin’s grave. Others rejected the claim that the basilica of Perpetuus had been built on the site of the basilica parva of Brictius at all. Furthermore, among those who took Gregory’s account of the translation of Saint Martin’s relics seriously, there was question about its starting point; i.e., the grave housed by the basilica parva of Brictius, or a temporary resting place where the body had been kept during the course of the construction. For a summary of the controversies, vid. Lasteyrie 1892: 5-8, Pietri 1983: 376-381.
33Vaucelle 1907: 403-410.
34Pietri 1983: 507-508.
35Vaucelle 1907: 409-410. The remains of a mysterious wood building dating to the fifth century around the time of the construction of the basilica of Saint Perpetuus discovered by Henri Galinié suggested to the archaeologist the remains of a possible temporary chapel where Saint Martin’s sarcophagus was kept during the construction of the Perpetuus’ basilica. Galinié’s hypothesis must contend with the complete silence of the sources on the matter of such importance as the disturbing of the saint’s remains before the event of his final translatio. Vid. Galinié 2007: 96.
36This happened in the case of the basilica of Saint Denis in Bordeaux in the time of Venantius Fortunatus. Bishop Leontius of Bordeaux built the new basilica around the small one erected by his predecessor. Vid. Ven. Fort. Carm. lib. I. xi (v. 21-24: nec angusta prius subtraxit fana sacerdos,/ haec nisi perficeret quae modo culta placent,/adsidue in prisco peragens ceremonia templo,/donec rite sequens consolidasset opus.).
37Vaucelle 1907: 409-410.
38Pietri is uncertain as to whether or not the sarcophagus of Martin was buried entirely underground or only partially, vid. Pietri 1983: 508 and 373. In any case, this is not what Sidonius is getting at.
39Vaucelle and Griffe were quite right in reading internum… modici penetrale sacelli in v. 9 as a reference to the chapel as a whole. Loyen’s translation of the participle removens with “en se refusant à garder” is off the mark. Furthermore, his note against E. Griffe’s translation of “Il a fait disparaître le modeste sanctuaire tout intime…” was based upon his reading of internum (which he translated as “souterrain”) as set in contrast by the poet with the participle levans and exteriore in v. 10. I suspect that Loyen was led astray by Vaucelle’s reading of internum… modici penetrale sacelli as an example of pars pro toto similar to machina in v. 3, which is false, since the pars and the totum are named in the same sentence. Sidonius’ use of hendiadys here is meant to underscore the contrast between the holiness of the chapel’s purpose as a shrine for St. Martin’s grave and the meanness of its construction and ornament, a contrast which is set up in the preceding verses: cf., v.1: corpus totis venerabile terris & v. 3 plebeio machina cultu; v. 2: in quo…vivit honor & v. 4: quae confessori no erat aequa suo. The interlocking contrasts of vv. 1 & 3, 2 & 4 are summed up in vv. 5 & 6: Nec desistebat cives onerare pudore/gloria magni viri, gratia parva loci. Verses 7 & 8 introduce the hero Perpetuus, who put an end to this unbearable state of affairs. The interlocking word order of internum…modici penetrale sacelli makes it sufficiently clear that the basilica parva of Brictius as a whole is meant, a place made holy by its contents yet unworthy of the same. While I would agree with Loyen that Sidonius places internum (penetrale) in contrast to exteriore (domo), levans in v. 10 is clearly put in contrast to removens in v. 9. The chiastic structure of vv. 9 and 10 demand this: internum with exteriore; modici with amplaque are balanced by the two participles. Vid. Loyen 1970: 231 note 268; Griffe 1966: 243 with note; Vaucelle 1907: 405.
40I am in agreement with Pietri that Gilardi’s understanding of internum penetrale as equivalent to Martini corpus is not likely. While the phrase could serve as a metaphor for the interior of the heart or soul in other contexts, I am not aware of any usage where this would be a proper in reference to the body as a whole, vid. Pietri 1984: 624-625; Gilardi 1983: 283.
41Sed benigne de his quae scripseram sentiendo duplicatis audaciam iussione, ut etiamnum illi parietes consecrati versuum meorum ferant lituras, vel oboedientiae studiis obsequamur, qui ad remedium humilitatis inbuimur. Versus per Domnissimum meum diaconum sicut praecepisti emisi, quos pagina in pariete reserata susciperet.
42TLL 4.0.384.75 sqq.
43Weidmann dates the consecration to 473, taking the date as the terminus ante quem for the opera minora. Nazzaro says it took place on July 4 in 470 or 471, but he insconsistently at times appears to assume that this was already in the past at the time of the composition of the Iterato asinae and opera minora. Vid. Weidmann 1989; Nazzaro 2010: 254, 291.
44Pietri 1983: 374. Gilardi 1983: 16-17. Loyen 1970: 253-254 note 218; Van Dam 1993. One argument against this hyposthesis is that Gregory of Tours makes no mention of a hundred year anniversary in his own account of the translatio, despite his great concern that it should take place on July 4, which was already an annual observance. Vid. Delehaye 1920: 125-127. I would add that a consultation of Pauly-Wissowa s.v. “Jahr” and the TLL § 814.49 and 818-819.84 sqq. only make mention of the ludi saeculares taking place every 110 years. Is it certain that either the ancients or those in Late Antiquity would have had the custom of keeping a centennial? This may be a more recent custom.
45Tillemont 1712: 773 note vi. Liturgically appropriate for the time, and perhaps suggested to Tillemont by ad diem festum in Gregory’s account. However, this could merely be another way of designating the day planned for the festivities (i.e., the consecration of the basilica), or the fact that it was celebrated as a feast in Gregory’s time. Furthermore, Gregory’s narrative that the consecration was planned on July 1 and not on July 4 all along is unlikely. Vid. Carrias 1972: 15; Delehaye 1920: 127.
46Incidentally, within the currently accepted dates of 458/459-489/490 for the episcopate of Perpetuus, July 4 fell on a Sunday in 465 and 471, vid. Cappelli 1906 : 126-127.
47His note about Siegebert of Gembloux : “Sigebert la met en 472, [c’est-à-dire en 470 ou 471.] Il y a des raisons pour croire qu’elle se fit en 473” is unclear ; perhaps due to the intervention of the editor ? Interestingly, Bethmann’s edition of Siegebert’s Chronica lists the translatio under the year 465, a later addition to the text. Perhaps Tillemont would not accept this due to his dating the beginning of Perpetuus episcopate to 461, so he suggested other possibilities. In any case, Sigebert’s narrative is late, and relies upon Gregory of Tours. Tillemont 1705: 345; Tillemont 1712: 773 note vi; Bethmann 1844: 311 note b.
48The Benedictines preface the year 473 with a “vers” based upon Tillemont, Congregation of St. Maur 1865: 407.Without comment: Ratel 1886: 36. Apparently based upon Tillemont’s reasoning, Weidmann dates the consecration to 473, taking the date as the terminus ante quem for the opera minora: Weidmann 1989: 5. A. Chase states « We know [!] that the church was finished in 473 », emphasis mine. However, he makes no explicit mention of the consecration; vid. Chase 1932: 52. Likewise, vid. Manitius 1891: 226; Schanz, Hosius and Krüger (1920): 378.
49The following date it to 470: Chevalier and Lasteyrie give “probablement”: Chevalier 1888: 25; Lasteyrie 1892: 8. Without comment: Lelong 1997: 62. Carrias uses the Maryrologium Heironymianum for July 4, 470, but in fact the text he cites does not provide the year: Carrias 1972, 17. For the “completion” of the church, but with no explicit mention of the consecration: Ewig 1961: 2. Vieillard-Troiekouroff 1976: 312. Jacobsen 1997: 1108.
50To 471 or 472: Nazzaro 2010: 254. Vielberg 2006: 61 note 107.
51Inlustrem virtute virum, sed moribus almis/plus clarum magnumque fide, qua celsior extat,/Aegidium hotilis vallaverat agmine multo/obsidio… The passage (vv. 111-151) recounts the siege of Aegidius at Arles in 459. Vid. Martindale 1980, s.v. Aegidius : “Comes et Magister utriusque Militiae (per Gallias) a. 456/7- ?465. Aegidius was appointed by either Avitus or Majorian (Greg. Tour. Liber Hist. 2.11-12. He was said to have been appointed king by the Franks during the banishment of Childerich. ibid. 12. He died in autumn of 465 by poison or ambush (Hydatius Lem. (a. 465), Greg. Tour. Lib Hist. 2.18 (after the battle of Orléans) (cf. Stein, Bas-Emp. 1.597 n. 69))”.
52After placing the composition of Book Six between 460 and 470, she stated that the mention of Aegidius perhaps “peut-être” means a composition before 464/465. Vid. Labarre 1998: 20.
53Pietri 1983: 133, 372-374; Pietri 1982: 553 note 555; Loyen 1970.
54Pietri notes that the letter could have been written earlier than 467 since Perpetuus’ episcopate began in 458/459 and not in 461 as Loyen had thought, vid. Pietri 1983: 133 note 137; Pietri 1982: 611-614.
55The date is only mentioned by Pietri in passing in a discussion of verses from Book One. I was unable to find any explicit dating for Book Six, which, in any case, would have been written after the first five books. Pietri 1983: 156.
56Sylvie Labarre is non-committal about the meaning of vv. 111-112. After placing the composition of Book Six between 460 and 470, she states that the mention of Aegidius perhaps “peut-être” means a composition before 464/465. Vid. Labarre 1998: 20. Schanz, Hosius, and Krüger: 378. n. 4. Shanz, Hosius, and Krüger note how vs. 113 appears to place the event in the more distant past (vallaverat). They do not develop their argument, however, nor deal with the significance of extat in v. 112. They take the completion of the new basilica of Perpetuus, which they date to 473, and use it to conjecture a completion date of 470 for Book Six. Courcelle 1964: 247 n. 244. ; François Corpet, who dates the death of Aegidius to 464, notes that this only determines the t.a.q. of Book Six, as Books One through Five could have been begun and completed much earlier, nevertheless, he is forced to suggest the time period of 462-470 for the completion of Book Six, based upon Tillemont’s dating of the De orantibus (Corpet 1849: 8 note 2); Similarly, J. M. Drevon further suggests the date of composition of at least the Sixth Book to 462 or 463: Drevon 1889, 78. A. Ebert read lines 6.111 and following to mean that Aegidius was already dead at the time of Paulinus’ composition of Book Six. He appears to be alone in this opinion, and does not explain how he formed it (Drevon (Drevon 1889: 182 note 3) says Ebert was completely mistaken on this point): Ebert 1889: 405 n. 402.
57Raymond Van Dam finds the extat of v. 112 ambiguous, but does not explain why he thinks so. One lone manuscript (Vat. 1664) reads quia celsior extat; an insignificant variant. It is clearly not an example of representatio in the narrative, unlike the example from 2.504-508 (On the paralytic virgin at Trier): …Abnuit esse/virtutem qua praestet opem, sed corde dolorem/participat. refugit pompam, sed deflet erumnam,/et meritum vitando probat. sic celsior extat/corde humili. confert laudi, quod demit honori. To be sure, Paulinus is fond of switching tenses, vid. Petschenig 1888, 187., s.v. « temporum variatio ». However, none of the examples provided by Petschenig fall within the introduction to a narrative as is the case with the passage in question. In the end, Van Dam allows a terminus ante quem of 464 for the composition of at least the charta of Perpetuus if not also Book Six. It is not likely, however, that Paulinus would present a public figure as alive who had died by the time of his versification, vid. Van Dam 1986: 571-572.
Auteur
Rev. Maurus B. Mount, O.S.B., Saint Vincent Seminary, Latrobe, Pennsylvanie, USA

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