On November 11, not only do carnival calls ring out in many parts of Germany, but children can also be seen walking through the streets singing with their lanterns. They sing about a Roman soldier who was the only one who had compassion for a freezing beggar outside the city of Amiens and shared his cloak, a large red piece of cloth, with him. The lesser-known verses go on to say that this was the moment when Martin converted to Christianity and was even to make it to the office of bishop.
In fact, at least the latter is said to have happened to the historical Martin. The earliest source that reports on the Bishop of Tours is the Vita Martini by Sulpicius Severus, a noble friend of the saint. This writing stands at the beginning of the Christian doctrine of saints, but is not historically undisputed.
According to Severus, Martin was born into a pagan family in the province of Pannonia, in Savaria (now Hungary), as the son of a military tribune. Following family tradition, he is said to have initially joined the military himself. This is also where the first inconsistencies in the traditions about Martin become apparent: born in 316/317, he is said to have entered the service at the age of 15, not unusual for the sons of soldiers. He is then said to have left the service again in a spectacular manner at around the age of 20. Severus is unambiguous in his account: this is said to have happened at the army meeting before a battle against the Alamanni in the Vangion region (Worms) under Emperor Julian, which speaks for the year 356 and against the traditional chronology. Martin would then have completed his military service before turning to radical ascetic Christianity.
Instead of accepting the donative on the eve of the battle, Martin asked to be discharged and declared: "Christi ego miles sum" - "I am a soldier of Christ". When the emperor denied his request, Martin proposed to be the first to march against the enemy the next day, unarmed. Miraculously, the battle did not take place - Martin was free, and Severus can freely credit him and God as the reason why the Teutons gave up. Martin subsequently lived an ascetic life in seclusion with Bishop Hilarius of Poitiers before being elected Bishop of Tours around 370. Although Martin also founded a monastery near Marmoutier, his fame was hardly based on his monasticism, but rather on his work as a missionary and his ascetic life.
Although Severus reports that Martin, like other ascetics of his time, is said to have worked miracles in the form of casting out devils and raising the dead, he also describes very precisely how Martin acted against people of other faiths in Gaul: the soldier of Christ destroyed the pagan shrines and temples and disrupted their ceremonies in a thoroughly radical manner. Although Severus does not report Martin's death, presumably because he was still alive when the Vita was published, he nevertheless reveals the deep admiration of other saints, such as his friend Paulinus of Nola. According to the later published vitae, Martin is said to have died on November 8, 397. Unlike other early saints, Martin did not die a martyr's death, as Christianity was already a privileged religion in his time. The day of the burial of his remains, November 11 in Tours, is also venerated, not the day of his death.
The fame and veneration of the ascetic, monk, bishop and soldier of Christ probably began soon after his death. His tomb became an important destination for pilgrims, and his legendary mantle (Latin "cappa" and the origin of the German "Kapelle" and "Kaplan") also gained in importance, as it became an imperial relic under the Merovingians and an imperial jewel in the Carolingian period. Nevertheless, it must be criticized that the texts on Martin's life tend to try to make the ascetic Martin into a prime example of a good bishop who defended the true faith and was also an exemplary father of monks. In this way, he not only competed with the saints of the eastern Mediterranean, but even surpassed them.
Today's rites surrounding the veneration of St. Martin were probably revived in the 19th century from older traditions. St. Martin's Day coincides with the ancient beginning of Lent, which is why in many places, on the eve of St. Martin's Day, bonfires lit up the night and people celebrated, ate and drank together. These are the origins of St. Martin's goose and lantern parades. A time of hunger was dawning for the poor, so their children went on hayrides to store apples, nuts and other dried fruit for the winter. Known in northern Germany as Mattenherrn and long known for trick-or-treating, today largely supplanted by Halloween.
Friedrich W. Brüggemann
Picture credits: Martin of Tours, pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcin_z_Tours
