MARTIN
821
MARTIN
ed, the cliildren of such unions were demanded for the Church of Kome. Poland had conceded this point to tlie Itoman pontiff', but tlie Prussian government in 1837 declared that in its territorj^ no such dispensation was needed, nor any understanding in regard to the re- ligious education of any children from such a union. This action on the part of the government the arch- bishop held to be illegal, and he stoutly asserted his right to dissent from the decision of all secular author- ity. Had he rested here, and awaited the settlement of thi.^ difficulty between the pope of Rome and the king of Prussia, all would have been well. IMartin, however, proceeded at once to inaugurate measures which clearly revealed him as a plotter against the government he had sworn to uphold. He secretly entered into communica- tion with the clergy of his dioceses, and threatened with excommunication any and all priests who should obey the mandates of the government without his consent. Prompt!}' the government, after hearing of this pro- cedure, arrested the archbishop, and brought him to trial, and he was condemned to six months' confinement in a fortress, incapacitated for office, and burdened with the expense of his trial. Previous to his arrest the gov- ernment had addressed the Koman Catholics of the prov- ince of Posen, and had assured them of the preservation of their rights and privileges as heretofore, but, notwith- standing all these precautions, the priesthood remained firmly bound to the interests of their religious shepherd, and no sooner had IMartin of Dunin been condenmed and imprisoned at the fortress of Colberg (Oct. 4, 1839), than the Romanists of the two archiepiscopal sees went into mourning. Fortunately this difficulty occurred near the closing days of the reign of Frederick William HI. The wife (now queen widow) of Frederick William IV (who came to the throne in 1840), herself a lioman Catholic, was no doubt instrumental in securing an un- derstanding bet\veen the archbishop and her royal spouse. Martin returned to Posen Aug. 5, 18-iO, and died Dec. 26, 1842. See Pohl, Martin von Dunin (IMarienburg, 1843, 8vo) ; Aschbach, Kirchen-Lexikon, s. v. See also Prus- sia. (J. H. W.)
Martin {St.) of Tours, a prelate of the Roman Catholic Church, was born in Pannonia about the year 316. He was educated at Pavia, and, at the desire of his father, who was a military man, entered the army under Constantine I, who was then emperor. When eighteen years old he became a convert to Christianity, was baptized, and a fc^v years aftenvards went to Gaul, and there became a pupil and follower of St. Hilarius (({.v.) Pictaviensis. He quitted the army, and zealous- ly devoted himself to the interests of orthodox Chris- tianity. On a visit to Lombardy, wishing to see his parents again, who were Arians, Martin reproved the inliabitants for their views. They took his liberty un- kindly; he was imprisoned and flogged by order of the magistrates of Milan. He then retired to a neighbor- ing village with a few adherents, but being again perse- cuted by Auxentius, the Arian bishop of Milan, he at- tempted to return to Gaul. That country, however, was also a prey to religious dissensions ; Hilarius himself had been banished to Poitiers, and IMartin therefore re- tired to the island of Gallinaria, in the Tyrean Sea. When St. Hilarius was restored to his Church in 3G0, Martin hastened back to him, and with his assent re- tired to the wilds in the neighborhood of Poitiers, at the place now called Liguge. Here ho was soon joined by others, and thus arose the convent of Liguge, probably the oldest monastic establishment of France. About 370, Lidoire, bishop or archbishop of Tours, died, and the clergy of that diocese insisted upon Martin's acceptance of the vacant see. He was finally persuaded to accept the oftice, but he governed the diocese like a convent, and always lived himself in the simple way to which he was accustomed at Liguge. He erected a convent which became the celebrated monastery of Marmoutiers, near Tours. Under his active and vigilant care the diocese attained great prosperity, while he himself be-
came renowned for his talents and his virtues, not only in the neighboring parts, but even throughout Gaul. When Maximus, after the murder of Gratian, caused all the bishops of Gaul who had supported his rival to be deposed or imprisoned, Martin was sent by them to the court at Treves to protest against this violence, and suc- ceeded so well that the emperor released all the prison- ers. On another occasion, when the Spanish bishops Idacius and Ithacius besought Maximus to surrender Priscillian and his followers to the civil authorities, to be executed as heretics, Martin protested against such sanguinary orthodoxy, and when, notwithstanding his protests, Priscillian was executed by order of the empe- ror, Martin refused to hold any mtercourse with those who had advocated that measure. This conduct dis- pleased the emperor, and when Martin, some time after, had occasion to ask the pardoning of Narces and Leoca- dius, accused of rebellion, he granted it only on the con- dition that Martin would become reconciled with Itha- cius. Martin submitted, but left Treves at once, and it is said expressed himself sorry for having purchased the pardon of Narces and Leocadius at that price. He died at Candes about 396. His Ufe by his contemporary, Sulpicius Severus, is a very curious specimen of the Christian literature of the age, and, in the profusion of miraculous legends with which it abounds, might take its place among the lives of the medieval or modern Roman Church. The only extant literary relic of ilar- tin is a short Confession of Faith on the Holy Trinity, which is published by GaUand, Eihl. Pair, vii, 559. He is the first who, without suffering death for the truth, has been honored in the Latin Church as a confessor of the faith. The festival of his birth is celebrated on the 11th of November. In Scotland this day still marks the winter-term, which is called Martinmas (q.v.). In Ger- many, also, his memory continues to our day among the popidace in the celebration of the Martinaiia. See Gregorius Turon, Hist. Francor. lib. x ; Gervaise, Vie de Saint Martin (1699) ; Dupuy, Histoire de Saint Martin (1852) ; Jean Maan, Metropol. Turonensis ; Hist. Litf. de la France, i, 417 ; Gallia Christ, vol. xiv, col. 6 ; SchafF, Ch. Hist, ii, 203 sq. ; Gieseler, Eccles. Hist, i, 278 ; Mon- talembert. Monks of the West, vol. i, bk. iii ; Mrs. Jame- son, Sacred and Legendary Art, p. 720; Hoefer, Noiti-. Biog. Generale, xxxiv, 14; Herzog, Jieal-Fncyklop. ix, 126 sq. (J.H.W.)