Editing Martin of Tours (section)

== Veneration ==
[[Image:Head reliquary Martin Louvre OA6459.jpg|thumb|Reliquary for the head of St. Martin, silver and copper, part gilt, from the church at [[Soudeilles]], late 14th century, Louvre]]
The veneration of Martin was widely popular in the [[Middle Ages]], above all in the region between the [[Loire]] and the [[Marne (river)|Marne]], where Le Roy Ladurie and Zysberg noted the densest accretion of [[Toponym|place names]] commemorating Martin.{{sfn | Ladurie | Zysberg | 1983 | p= 1331|loc=map}} [[Venantius Fortunatus]] had earlier declared, "Wherever Christ is known, Martin is honored."<ref>Quoted by {{harvnb|Réau|1955|p=902}}</ref>

When Bishop [[Saint Perpetuus|Perpetuus]] took office at Tours in 461, the little chapel over Martin's grave, built in the previous century by Martin's immediate successor, [[Bricius of Tours|Bricius]],{{efn|name=aedificavit}} was no longer sufficient for the crowd of pilgrims it was already drawing. Perpetuus built a larger [[basilica]], {{Convert|38|m|ft|abbr=on}} long and {{Convert|18|m|ft|abbr=on}} wide, with 120 columns.{{sfn|Gregory of Tours|loc=Book 2, Ch 14}} Martin's body was taken from the simple chapel at his hermitage at [[Candes-Saint-Martin|Candes-St-Martin]] to Tours and his [[sarcophagus]] was reburied behind the high altar of the new basilica.<ref>May Viellard-Troiëkouroff, "La basilique de Saint-Martin de Tours de Perpetuus (470) d'après les fouilles archéologiques", ''Actes du 22e Congrès international d'histoire d'art'' 1966. (Budapest 1972), vol. 2:839-46); Charles Lelong, ''La basilique de Saint-Martin de Tours'' (Chambray-lès-Tours 1986).</ref> A large block of marble above the tomb, the gift of bishop Euphronius of Autun (472–475), rendered it visible to the faithful gathered behind the high altar. Werner Jacobsen suggests it may also have been visible to pilgrims encamped in the [[Atrium (architecture)|atrium]] of the basilica.{{sfn|Jacobsen|1997|pp=1108-}} Contrary to the usual arrangement, the atrium was situated behind the church, close to the tomb in the [[apse]], which may have been visible through a ''fenestrella'' in the apse wall.

St. Martin's popularity can be partially attributed to his adoption by successive royal houses of France. [[Clovis I|Clovis]], King of the [[Salian Franks]], one of many warring tribes in sixth-century France, promised his Christian wife [[Clotilde|Clotilda]] that he would be baptised if he was victorious over the [[Alemanni]]. He credited the intervention of St Martin with his success, and with several following triumphs, including the defeat of [[Alaric II]]. The popular devotion to St Martin continued to be closely identified with the [[Merovingian]] monarchy: in the early seventh century [[Dagobert I]] commissioned the goldsmith [[Saint Eligius]] to make a work in gold and gems for the tomb-shrine.{{efn|name=VitaEligii}} The bishop [[Gregory of Tours]] wrote and distributed an influential ''Life'' filled with miraculous events of St. Martin's career. Martin's ''cultus'' survived the passage of power to the Merovingians' successors, the [[Carolingian]] dynasty.

Martin is honored in the [[Calendar of saints (Church of England)|Church of England]] and in the [[Calendar of saints (Episcopal Church)|Episcopal Church]] on [[November 11|11 November]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Calendar|url=https://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-and-worship/worship-texts-and-resources/common-worship/churchs-year/calendar|access-date=2021-03-27|website=The Church of England|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bEq7DwAAQBAJ |title=Lesser Feasts and Fasts 2018 |date=2019-12-17 |publisher=Church Publishing, Inc. |isbn=978-1-64065-235-4 |language=en}}</ref>

===Revival of the popular devotion to St. Martin in the Third Republic===
{{See also|French Third Republic#Church and state}}

====Excavations and rediscovery of the tomb====
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[[Image:Basiliquestmartin.jpg|thumb|[[Basilica of St. Martin, Tours]]]]

In 1860 excavations by [[Leo Dupont]] (1797–1876) established the dimensions of the former abbey and recovered some fragments of architecture. The tomb of St. Martin was rediscovered on 14 December 1860, which aided in the nineteenth-century revival of the popular devotion to St. Martin.

After the radical [[Paris Commune]] of 1871, there was a resurgence of conservative Catholic piety, and the church decided to build a basilica to St. Martin. They selected [[Victor Laloux]] as architect. He eschewed [[Gothic Revival|Gothic]] for a mix of Romanesque and Byzantine, sometimes defined as neo-Byzantine.{{efn|name=pilgrimage}} The new [[Basilica of St. Martin, Tours|Basilique Saint-Martin]] was erected on a portion of its former site, which was purchased from the owners. Started in 1886, the church was consecrated 4 July 1925.<ref>{{cite web|title=Historique|language=fr|url=http://www.basiliquesaintmartin.com/index.php?page=37&lg=1|work="Basilique Saint-Martin" (official website)|access-date=2008-09-16}}</ref>
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====Franco-Prussian War====
[[File:Tombeau de Saint-Martin de Tours.jpg|thumb|Tomb of Saint Martin]]
Martin's renewed popularity in France was related to his promotion as a [[military saint]] during the [[Franco-Prussian War]] of 1870–1871.  
During the military and political crisis of the Franco-Prussian war, [[Napoleon III]]'s [[Second French Empire|Second Empire]] collapsed. After the surrender of Napoleon to the Prussians after the [[Battle of Sedan]] in September 1870, a provisional government of national defense was established, and France's [[French Third Republic|Third Republic]] was proclaimed. Paris was evacuated due to the advancing enemy and for a brief time (September–December 1870), Tours became the effective capital of France.{{cn|date=May 2024}} During the French Third Republic, he was seen as a patron saint of France.{{sfn|Brennan|1997|p=}}

St Martin was promoted by the clerical right as the protector of the nation against the German threat. Conservatives associated the dramatic collapse of Napoleon III's regime as a sign of divine retribution on the irreligious emperor.  Priests interpreted it as punishment for a nation led astray due to years of [[anti-clericalism]].  They preached repentance and a return to religion for political stability.  The ruined towers of the old royal basilica of St. Martin at Tours came to symbolize the decline of traditional Catholic France.{{sfn|Brennan|1997|pp=489–491}}

With the government's relocation to Tours during the [[Franco-Prussian War]], 1870, numerous pilgrims were attracted to St. Martin's tomb. It was covered by a temporary chapel built by  [[Joseph-Hippolyte Guibert|archbishop Guibert]].  The popular devotion to St. Martin was also associated with the nationalistic devotion to the [[Sacred Heart]].  The flag of Sacre-Coeur, borne by [[Ultramontane]] Catholic [[Pontifical Zouaves]] who fought at Patay, had been placed overnight in St. Martin's tomb before being taken into battle on 9 October 1870.  The banner read "Heart of Jesus Save France" and on the reverse side [[Carmelite]] nuns of Tours embroidered "Saint Martin Protect France".{{sfn|Brennan|1997|p=499}}As the French army was victorious in Patay, many among the faithful took the victory to be the result of divine favor. Popular hymns of the 1870s developed the theme of national protection under the cover of Martin's cloak, the "first flag of France".{{sfn|Brennan|1997|pp=489–491}}

During the nineteenth-century Frenchmen, influenced by secularism, agnosticism, and [[anti-clericalism]], deserted the church in great numbers. As Martin was a man's saint, the devotion to him was an exception to this trend.  For men serving in the military, Martin of Tours was presented by the Catholic Right as the masculine model of principled behavior. He was a brave fighter, knew his obligation to the poor, shared his goods, performed his required military service, followed legitimate orders, and respected secular authority.{{sfn|Brennan|1997|pp=491–492}}

====Opposition from Anticlericals====
During the 1870s, the procession to St. Martin's tomb at Tours became a display of ecclesiastical and military cooperation. Army officers in full uniform acted as military escorts, symbolically protecting the clergy and clearing the path for them. Anti-clerics viewed the staging of public religious processions as a violation of civic space. In 1878, M. Rivière, the provisional mayor of Tours, with anticlerical support banned the November procession in honor of St. Martin. President [[Patrice de Mac-Mahon]] was succeeded by the Republican [[Jules Grévy]], who created a new national anticlerical offensive. Bishop [[Louis-Édouard-François-Desiré Pie]] of Poitiers united conservatives and devised a massive demonstration for the November 1879 procession. Pie's ultimate hope was that St Martin would stop the "chariot" of modern society, and lead to the creation of a France where the religious and secular sectors merged.

The struggle between the two men was reflective of that between conservatives and anti-clerics over the church's power in the army. From 1874, military chaplains were allowed in the army in times of peace, but anti-clerics viewed the chaplains as sinister monarchists and counter-revolutionaries. Conservatives responded by creating the short-lived Legion de [[Saint Maurice]] in 1878 and the society, Notre Dame de Soldats, to provide unpaid voluntary chaplains with financial support. The legislature passed the anticlerical Duvaux Bill of 1880, which reduced the number of chaplains in the French army. Anticlerical legislators wanted commanders, not chaplains, to provide troops with moral support and to supervise their formation in the established faith of "patriotic Republicanism".{{sfn|Brennan|1997|pp=495–496}}

===St. Martin as a French Republican patron===
St. Martin has long been associated with France's royal heritage. Monsignor René François Renou (Archbishop of Tours, 1896–1913) worked to associate St. Martin as a specifically "republican" patron. Renou had served as a chaplain to the 88<sup>e</sup> Régiment des mobils d'Indre-et-Loire  during the Franco-Prussian war and was known as the "army bishop". Renou was a strong supporter of St. Martin and believed that the national destiny of France and all its victories were attributed to him. He linked the military to the cloak of St. Martin, which was the "first flag of France" to the French tricolor, "the symbol of the union of the old and new."  This flag symbolism connected the devotion to St. Martin with the Third Republic. But, the tensions of the [[Dreyfus Affair]] renewed anti-clericalism in France and drove a wedge between the Church and the Republic. By 1905, the influence of [[Rene Waldeck-Rousseau]] and [[Emile Combes]], combined with deteriorating relations with the [[Holy See|Vatican]], led to the separation of church and state.{{sfn|Brennan|1997|pp=497–499}}

St. Martin's popularity was renewed during the First World War. Anticlericalism declined, and priests served in the French forces as chaplains. More than 5,000 of them died in the war. In 1916, Assumptionists organized a national pilgrimage to Tours that attracted people from all of France. The devotion to St. Martin was amplified in the dioceses of France, where special prayers were offered to the patron saint. When the armistice was signed on Saint Martin's Day, 11 November 1918, the French people saw it was a sign of his intercession in the affairs of France.{{sfn|Brennan|1997|pp=499–501}}