Martin

ON ST. MARTIN, PRIEST OF SOURE IN PORTUGAL.

Year of Christ 1147.

Martin, Priest of Soure in Portugal (St.)

[1] The name and life of St. Martin, Priest of Soure in Portugal, were first made known to us by L. Andrew de Resende, who in book 1 of the Antiquities of Lusitania writes thus, under the heading on Mount Tapiaeum: I have not read the name of Mount Tapiaeum in any ancient writer; The Life of St. Martin cited by Resende. I found it, however, in the Life of St. Martin, Priest of Soure, written by Salvian, his familiar pupil. I found it in the book of testaments and sales of the monastery of the Canons of the Holy Cross of Coimbra, on the forty-sixth leaf. I wished to note this so that I might renew the memory of this holy man, which had been lost. I hope someday to publish it in the very words in which it was written, to give the reader greater confidence. But of this elsewhere. As to the matter at hand, the writer — whoever he may be — when he describes with almost superfluous care the town of Soure near the course of the Ance river as it flows into the Mondego, says: It is distant eighteen miles to the south from the city of Coimbra; to the east are the rocky peaks of Mount Tapiaeum. And other things that follow. From this it is clear that Mount Tapiaeum is the one we call Ansidianus from the town, and it extends between the towns of Rabaçal and Pombal, and is most troublesome to travelers going from Tomar to Coimbra by its very rocky path. Which we attested in a poem to Lupus Scintilla thus:

So I crawled up your steep rocky slope, O Ansidiane; so through sunless, troublesome Windings, O Tapiaee, yours — in declining old age Sick, I panted.

The summit of the mountain above the town of Rabaçal is still called, as I learned from the inhabitants, Portus Tapiaeum. The same Resende, in book 2, treating of the rivers of Lusitania, says: I received the name of the Ance from the Life of St. Martin, Priest of Soure, written more than four hundred and fifty years ago. Of which I made mention above when I was treating of Mount Tapiaeum.

[2] Our colleague Antonio de Vasconcellos, in his description of the kingdom of Portugal, treating of the Martyrs who died a glorious death for Christ in Portugal, St. Martin listed among the Martyrs. thus mentions St. Martin at number 22: He who is most worthy of the greatest praises should not be wrapped in silence: Martin, a most holy man, Archpriest of the town of Soure, four leagues distant from Coimbra; who in the time of Queen Theresa of Portugal — mother of the first Alfonso — was held in a dark prison at Cordoba, because he confessed Christ even against the will of the Mahometans. From that same prison he flew to the eternal palace of heaven.

[3] The Life of this holy man, cited by Resende and transcribed from the archive of the Holy Cross at Coimbra, was sent to us from Madrid by Don Thomas Tamayo de Vargas, Historiographer of the Catholic King. Whence the Life is here published: It was written by Salvatus (Resende calls him Salvian), who testifies that he was educated as a boy under Martin's tutelage, and it is dedicated to Menendus, or Mendo, Martin's own brother.

[4] Martin was captured by the Saracens in the year before Santarem was recovered — which all writers of Spanish history record as having occurred in the year of Christ 1147. Date of death. Therefore he was captured in 1146 and died on January 31, 1147. Then on May 7 Santarem was taken, and Lisbon in October. But what is said in the Life, chapter 4, number 19 — that he was captured in the year of the Lord's Incarnation 1114, in the sixteenth year of the reign of Alfonso — must be corrected; for these dates are mutually inconsistent and do not agree with what precedes them. On January 22, in the Miracles of St. Vincent described by Stephen, Precentor of Lisbon, the translation of St. Vincent is said to have taken place on the seventeenth day before the Kalends of October, in the year of the Lord 1173, in the forty-fifth year of the reign of King Alfonso, in the sixty-seventh year of the life of the same Alfonso, with his son Sancho — a youth of nineteen years and remarkable character — reigning alongside him, and in the twenty-sixth year from the capture of the aforesaid city. From which it follows, as we noted there, that Alfonso was born in the year 1106, began to rule in 1124, captured Lisbon in 1147, and that Sancho was born to him in 1154 — all of which differs from the calculation of our colleague Vasconcellos. Hence it is also clear that there is an error in the cited testimony of Resende, who says the Life was written more than four hundred and fifty years before; for even if Resende had written this in the year 1573, when he died, subtracting 450 years from that date leaves the year 1123, the year in which that priesthood of Soure was granted to Martin by public charter. Martin survived for a further twenty-four years. The Life, however, was written some years later, when his brother Menendus was already administering that priesthood.

LIFE

By Salvatus, his disciple, extracted from an ancient Coimbra manuscript by Don Thomas Tamayo de Vargas, distinguished gentleman.

Martin, Priest of Soure in Portugal (St.)

BHL Number: 5606

By Salvatus. From manuscripts.

PROLOGUE OF THE AUTHOR.

To his lord Menendus, by the grace of God Priest of the people of Soure, Salvatus, one of his own, though a small one.

[1] You ask of me, pious Priest, that I should set forth in a few lines the life and character of your most dear brother, my lord Martin, the innocent Priest of the people of Soure. I would not deny my services to the desire of this request — as my conscience attests — both so that the state of your mind, rereading it from time to time, might receive a comforting remedy for such great grief, and so that in the future his good deeds might not be erased from our memory by forgetfulness. But the subject matter of so great a man is proved to be beyond the capacity of my small talent. Moreover, while I was formerly under his tutelage, I myself — being unschooled and given more to playfulness than to learning — remember, as a small boy, but little of his actions and the probity of his character. But lest I seem to turn my excuse into an occasion for arrogance, let me tentatively begin, though with a rustic pen yet with the help of the clemency of divine mercy, to undertake by degrees the business of the work enjoined upon me.

CHAPTER I.

Description of the town of Soure.

[2] Therefore let the narrative of your account begin with the town of the people of Soure, where my lord lived devoutly, and where it is situated, within what borders it is confined, or what the consensus of our ancestors' old age holds about it, Soure must first be described and by what Spanish King's assistance, along with the other municipalities of the Portuguese, it was freely established, and how again, on account of the incursion of the faithless Ishmaelites, it was burned by its inhabitants, and afterward rebuilt by the gift of restoration — as far as we can, let us unfold these matters. So that, having elucidated these things as they occurred, we may turn our pen, as the Lord grants, to the subject matter of the aforesaid man.

[3] It is, therefore, pleasantly extended along the course of a certain stream called the Ance, shaded on all sides by leafy groves, surrounded by pools rich in fish, beautifully enriched with grassy valleys, where it is situated: furnished indeed with long fields of cultivation and planted round about with productive vineyards. (Why do I delay?) Desirable in all respects to its cultivators. It is distant eighteen miles to the south from the city of Coimbra. To the east are the rocky peaks of Mount Tapiaeum. From the northern direction, the broad borders of the most ancient city of Condeixa and of the port of the Ance extend. From the African side — that is, the south — the open fields of the castle of Pombal spread out. In this direction also its plain extends more broadly; but on account of Ishmaelite patrols, the fields are left uncultivated by the inhabitants. To the west lies the Ocean.

[4] Here, therefore, from an ancient pile of ruins, the structure of a most ancient fortress is disclosed — in which, the records of the ancients attest, it is built: there had been a monastic cloister. To this fortress, then, and most pleasant place, with very many crowds of people gathering to live according to law, they built, by hard labor, a town which they named after themselves: Soure. When, moreover, by the grace of God, long after the restoration of the city of Coimbra from the most faithless Ishmaelite peoples was wondrously accomplished by Ferdinand, the most valiant King of Spain, the aforesaid castle of Soure, together with the other municipalities allied to it by their shared territory, received its freedom. it is restored: But after long courses of years, under the rule of King Alfonso, through his prefect Alvazil Sisnandus Abenamit — who at that time was building up the city of Coimbra and the municipality of Montemor with his expert skill — it began to be rebuilt.

[5] When the aforesaid King Alfonso died, the most wicked fury of the Moors began again to rage against the faith of the Christians. For Ventafina, the most wicked leader of the Moors, surrounded by a vast multitude of Saracens, cruelly plundered the borders of Coimbra, on account of the incursion of the Moors, and in a battle fought at the municipality called Miranda, the most criminal man defeated and killed many Portuguese nobles. No less also, when the municipality of the Plough — the fortress of Santa Eulalia, naturally most strongly fortified — was reduced to the ground by that same King, with its inhabitants killed, as he was returning to his own territory, we learn that he came to the town of Soure to no purpose. it is burned and abandoned by its inhabitants: For the people of Soure, dreading his fierce approach and having no confidence in the defense of the aforesaid town's fortifications, struck with enormous terror, set fire to the castle and fled as refugees to the city of Coimbra.

[6] For seven years, therefore, remaining devastated and serving as dens for wild beasts, by the renewed consent of the most noble Queen Theresa, in the sixty-first year from the restoration of the aforesaid city, it was renewed for human habitation. For the Queen, to those flocking there to establish dwellings, it is again restored: generously and of her own free will granted a good and, so to speak, most ample charter for settlement; and she confirmed by her own hand the charter of its confirmation, which the Church of the people of Soure preserves as the greatest gift, by hereditary right, in perpetuity.

CHAPTER II.

The birth, education, priesthood, and pastoral care of the Church of Soure by St. Martin.

[7] Martin is set over the Church of Soure: Therefore the inhabitants of the aforesaid town, beginning to repair their devastation, came to the Most Reverend Gundisalvus, Bishop of Coimbra, a man of venerable life, earnestly beseeching His Paternity not to delay in being generous to them in counsel and kindness, and in giving them a Priest who would nourish them with divine food and wash them in the water of the holy font. The Most Reverend Gundisalvus, therefore, as a Prelate of such great devotion, addressing the people of Soure most kindly with paternal affection and attending to their petitions, ordained a Priest named Martin to govern the Church of Soure — about whom we must now turn our discourse.

[8] he was born of pious parents, This man was born in the village called Ouranca, which, it is said, is distant twenty-six miles from the city of Coimbra. His father was called Arias Manuelis, and his mother Argio. Although of humble stock, they were nevertheless simple and upright and, as the outcome of events proved, preeminently God-fearing. For after the happy departure of his mother from this light, the father lived an eremitic life until the end of his days. While they survived — excellently reared by them, that is, while they lived in this world — they nurtured this son above the others, namely Martin, with great affection; from the earliest time of his infancy they taught him the rudiments of letters and pledged him to serve the Lord every day.

[9] Now it happened at a certain time that the Bishop of the aforesaid city, a man of venerable life named Mauritius, coming from the borders of the metropolitan city of Braga, chanced to pass through the above-mentioned village. The parents of Martin, about whom our discourse treats, received him hospitably with joy, and as far as their means allowed, cheerfully and most affectionately rendered him their service, saying that they had the aforesaid son in clerical studies, whom they wished to submit to the judgment of so great a Prelate. he becomes a Canon of Braga: The Bishop, recognizing their devotion, ordered the boy to be brought to the see of his diocese. Then, as the spirit of divine mercy prompted, with the consent of the canons and the assent of Martin, the Prior of that same see (a man of blessed memory and great learning), the aforesaid Mauritius enrolled the boy Martin among the canons. While still in his youthful years, being of wondrous simplicity, he diligently applied himself to the study of grammar; he is ordained Priest, for he was not rebellious against instruction.

[10] Then, when through the grades of holy orders he came to the priesthood under the guidance of Christ, by performing good works and practicing virtues, he entirely put off the old man with his deeds. For he strove in all things to please all men in what was good, so that all rejoiced greatly in his company and glorified God the Father who is in heaven. endowed with most holy character: For he was not envious or haughty, not a murmurer or a chatterbox, not one who loved idle words or tales, not a slave to gluttony — for such frugality of food prevailed in him that he always distributed his own portion of bread to orphans and the needy. He was not negligent or lazy, not wandering in his eyes or light in his gait, but in all things grave, mature, and good. He, ordained Priest as we have said, was accustomed to soothe the ailments of the sick with the medicine of constant visitation. He was also most assiduous in the divine offices; and, what is considered no small gift, in all his actions he bore the mark of humility. But let us come to how he came to govern the Church of Soure.

[11] he is set over the Church of Soure; Adorned with such virtues, as we have said, at the request of Archdeacon Tello and all the Canons, with the approval of Bishop Gundisalvus, he undertook the care of the Church of Soure. But since, on account of the ambushes of the Saracens, who at that time were attacking the passages of the roads both secretly and openly, inflicting upon men the heavy burden of captivity along with the events of bitter death, the man of God, Lord Martin, was compelled to travel by devious paths through steep hills, carrying the provisions for his own sustenance on his own shoulders, marveling at the harshness on account of the unusual conditions, and wearied by the burden of such great labor, he returned to the city of Coimbra, whence he had come, fearing that on account of the folly of certain reckless men, unless he were furnished with some privilege concerning the aforesaid Church, he or his descendants might afterward be mocked and cast out. Wherefore Bishop Gundisalvus of the aforesaid diocese, which is conferred upon him and his kinsmen, and Lord Martin, Prior of that same see, and Archdeacon Tello, and the assembly of all the Canons, with the consent of the above-mentioned Queen Theresa, daughter of King Alfonso, who then presided over the Portuguese realm, made for him — that is, for Martin the Priest — and for his descendants, a charter of confirmation concerning the Church of Soure by hereditary right, in the following manner.

[12] By charter of the Bishop of Coimbra. In the name of the Lord. Since that castle which is called Soure, on account of the frequent warfare of the Saracens, was rarely inhabited, it pleased the divine will that, through the excellent Queen Theresa, appointing Gundisalvus Gundisalvi as its prefect, it should be maintained and defended by the hand of a prince, with God's help. When I, Bishop of Coimbra, learned of this, providing for the benefit of our see, I was zealous to direct our Canons Martin Arias and his brother Menendus to rebuild and obtain the Church that lay there in ruins. But although they greatly resisted going there on account of fear of the Moors, nevertheless, moved by regard for us, they inclined their minds to do what was commanded, if they should receive from us a written charter of confirmation regarding that aforesaid Church by the terms of a covenant. To which we, acquiescing for the benefit of the See of the Blessed Mary, it pleased me, Bishop Gundisalvus, and Martin, Prior of that same see, together with the assent of the Canons, and of our Lady Queen Theresa, to make a charter of donation and confirmation for you — namely, the aforesaid Martin and your brother Menendus — concerning the above-named Church, on such terms that you hold it firmly, and restore it according to your abilities, and faithfully render each year what pertains from it to the see. And from this day forward, both you and whoever of your kinsmen shall be a cleric by profession, through the successions of time, shall hold it with firm stability; and you shall never lose it for any other man without your own fault, according to the decrees of the Canons. We further stipulate that if, because of our sins, it should again be destroyed by an incursion of the Moors, and you should afterward be able to recover it, you shall have the freedom to possess it at whatever time you wish. If, therefore, any person shall attempt to disturb this our act by rash audacity, it shall not be permitted him by any assertion; but whoever he may be who shall presume to take that Church from you, let him be excommunicated by Almighty God, and made a stranger to the most sacred Body of our Lord Jesus Christ, and placed with Judas in hell unless he repent; and let this charter retain its full stability forever. Made on the sixth day before the Ides of October, in the era 1161. I, Bishop Gundisalvus, confirm. Martin, Prior, confirms. Tello, Archdeacon, confirms. Lawrence, Archdeacon, confirms. I, Queen Theresa, confirm. Gundisalvus Gundisalvi, witness. Anaia Vestrariz, witness. Lord Artaldus, witness. Menendus Nuniz, witness. Martin, Priest, confirms. John, Priest. Michael confirms. John de Anaia confirms. Nicholas, Subdeacon, confirms. Peter, Priest, wrote this.

CHAPTER III.

The administration of his pastoral care.

[13] He repairs the ruined Church, After the confirmation of the stipulated covenant, therefore, the venerable Martin came to teach and govern the Church of the people of Soure — nor was he led here by any desire for earthly gain, since he came to heal the afflictions of souls, where, after a lack of necessities, he endured not a few bodily labors. For that Church was choked, just as it had formerly been crushed by the hands of the pagans. This, therefore, he cleansed within and without, and first restored it as the matter required for the celebration of the divine office. But after the abundance of domestic resources had increased, with his brother Mendo Arias, who was appointed Priest there after Martin's departure — that is, after his death — he built the aforesaid Church more suitably in time and place, he adorns and endows it excellently: arranged altars below, adorned it more finely with books and priestly vestments, and also completed the construction of the entire building. Moreover, he planted with his own hands vineyards, olive groves, orchards, and many other kinds of trees, and also broke up the soil for fields and new land by cultivation.

[14] But now it is a pleasure to elevate our pen, even a little, to the more praiseworthy activities of his contemplative life, and to sample a few things from many concerning how he cared for his flock and for the people of other communities. he exhorts all to virtue, He most wisely instructed the people committed to him in the rule of the Catholic faith — admonishing all about the work of pious religion: now conforming some to the confession of the Most Holy Trinity, now inviting others with the promise of the kingdom of heaven, threatening others by setting before them the examination of the future judgment — he did not cease to sow in his people words of truth abounding in the fruit of faith. O man of extraordinary solicitude toward all, lest they should fall into vice, as if he were giving birth to them all! If any of those whom he had reproved out of zeal for righteousness was provoked to insult him, with the greatest meekness: the more they became enraged, the more he pitied their madness — so much so that he very often offered the soothing balm of gentleness to their fury, until by his meekness he might calm the anger of the quarrelsome.

[15] If, moreover, any officeholder of the cities or towns brought some woman, or someone's daughter, by force to the place where he himself lived, as is customary in such extreme situations, the man of God immediately went out to meet them, and having examined the matter, either joined them in lawful marriage, he restrains immodesty, especially among the clergy: if justice required it, or, unless they submitted to his authority according to the decrees of the canons, without doubt expelled them from there. And if any of the clergy had sacrilegiously presumed to do such things by illicit means, he cast him out as an enemy of the Catholic faith. Nor did he tolerate the wantonness of impudent youths or the folly of riotous men — all of whom he desired to bring to the throne of the Eternal King.

[16] And because, as Blessed Gregory says, an ecclesiastical teacher ought to shine not so much by doctrine as by life, he himself not only called the people to the pleasantness of the heavenly kingdom by his word, but presented himself as an example of good works to all. For all the things he taught everyone about the works of mercy, these and more he performed most excellently, not unmindful of the Apostle Paul who says: I chastise my body he sets an example of good works for others; and bring it into subjection, lest perhaps after preaching to others I myself should become a castaway. While he stood at the height of virtue, he especially displayed hospitality with a cheerful mind to all people, ministering to them with thanksgiving and a cheerful countenance whatever the divine dispensation bestowed upon him. hospitable to all; For so the Apostle commands: God loves a cheerful giver. 1 Cor. 9:27; 2 Cor. 9:7. And he burned with such a fire of charity that he not only invited passing strangers with words but sometimes, even drawing those who resisted, compelled them to come with him into his house. These he summoned to his table more frequently than the rich and powerful; yet his table no less welcomed the courtiers, and he very often received the royal retinue along with its prince most handsomely.

[17] Performing these and very many other works of mercy, it is incredible to relate endowed with great moderation of soul: how much he fled the favor of human praise, like a plague. He was not puffed up by praise nor broken by censure; he did not swell with riches nor shrink with poverty. And thus, as a soldier of Christ, proceeding on his way, he despised both prosperity and adversity. Though he was the head of the entire household, he did not wish to have anything deposited anywhere from his substance — for example, he possessed neither gold nor silver hidden in a chest or purse, and he was utterly ignorant of what became of such things in his own house, he retains nothing of his own or hidden: considering it the greatest crime to use them in such a manner. A wondrous thing: though he was called the master of the house, as has been said, how often he carried bread to the destitute and the poor under the cover of his cloak! To these he went down, showing them true humanity, and he bore their miseries with compassion. Thus he held all his goods in common, so that he might be more useful to all than to himself.

[18] Who ever saw him sitting idle in assemblies? If, however, he sometimes came to one, he either strove to calm the tumult of the riotous populace, or, once the uproar of quarrels had been settled, he more fully instructed them with examples from the holy Fathers. he flees idleness: Idleness, which is the enemy of the soul, never found him languishing at home; rather, he was urged on by his own will to constant labors in the fields, he cultivates the land with his own hands: whenever his mind rested from prayer and the celebration of the divine offices. From these labors he gathered abundant fruits, giving thanks to Almighty God, the bestower of all goods, and with the greatest diligence of soul he recited this verse of David: You shall eat the labors of your hands; you are blessed, and it shall be well with you. Ps. 128:2. When he returned home from manual labor, even if it was the middle of the day, he first celebrated the solemnities of Holy Mass in his accustomed manner; nor did he refresh his body with food before he had gone around the marketplace and the streets of the town, to see if any stranger had arrived whom he might invite to share his meal. His body was adorned not with fine garments but with virtues; and he excelled especially in the adornment of purity. He always desired such companions whose fellowship would not bring reproach upon the holy Church. He governed that same Church for twenty-one years, less one. he converts many Mahometans. He converted many pagans from that profane superstition of Mohammed to the faith of Christ by his preaching.

CHAPTER IV.

Captivity, death, burial.

[19] Lest, therefore, the course of this page should become tedious, drawn out at excessive length either through the crudeness of style or the excess of speech, I now wish to set limits to this work of writing; yet desiring to bring back to memory this one thing — how he departed, having been removed from the current of this world. Therefore in the year of the Lord's Incarnation 1114, in the time of the illustrious Alfonso, King of Portugal, in the sixteenth year of his reign, when the storm of the pagans was still raging fiercely, it invaded the borders of Soure and captured many mortals — men with cattle — and took other plunder. Together with the Templars, to whom Soure had been given: And there were then in that same town men of venerable religion, professed at the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem; for to sustain the defense of the Holy Sepulcher, the aforesaid Queen had most devoutly bestowed upon them the rule of the entire castle with its revenues, apart from ecclesiastical rights — which her son, King Alfonso of Portugal, afterward confirmed to them by his own hand. These men, striving to confront the enemy, had taken the Priest of whom our discourse treats as their companion; who, grieving over the destruction of Christians and the detriment to the Church, he is captured by the Moors, and complying with the wishes of such reverend men, went out with them to meet the aforesaid enemies. In the clash of battle, by an unfortunate chance, he was captured along with nearly all of them, and shut up in the prison of Santarem: and was brought to the walls of the castle of Santarem, which at that time was full of the foulest hordes of pagans. He entered of his own accord, with no one compelling him, into a horrible and fetid dungeon where Christians were held in chains.

[20] So great was his diligence of soul toward the Christians and his companions in the faith — whom he instructed by the preaching of the Gospel, as the time and place allowed, lest they be defiled by the most vile rites of the Moors he consoles the Christian captives and foretells their liberation. and thus be endangered in the deformity of faith — and he confidently foretold to them that freedom would soon come, and that Christians would possess that same city by the gift of Christ, with the multitude of Saracens driven out. All of which became manifest not long after, just as he had predicted. For in the following year that city was captured by the industry of the aforesaid King. Nor should anyone take it amiss out of despair that the religious man was subjected to so bitter a captivity. For after we fell from our homeland by the venomous bite of the crafty serpent, we live as captives and exiles in the exile of this world; nor does the world ever cease to inflict various plagues of torments, especially upon good men — as the Apostle testifies, who says: The Saints had trial of mockings and scourgings, and of bonds and imprisonment; and whatever adversity befalls them in this world, as Holy Scripture teaches, is accounted as the reward of virtue. Heb. 11:36. He dies at Cordoba in prison. Then from the castle of Santarem he was led to the city of Evora. Finally the city of Seville sent him to Cordoba; and there, on the day before the Kalends of February, he breathed forth his spirit. His body was honorably committed to burial by the Christians in the basilica of the Blessed Mary; to whom be everlasting life, by the help of our Lord Jesus Christ.