The ''Miracula Martialis'' is a collection of

miracle A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divi ...

reports written in

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

. It is the earliest collection of miracles purportedly worked through the intervention of

Saint Martial Martial of Limoges (3rd century), whose name is also rendered as Marcial, Martialis, and Marcialis, and is also called "the Apostle of the Gauls" or "the Apostle of Aquitaine," was the first bishop of Limoges. Venerated as a Christian saint, Mar ...

, a 3rd-century

bishop of Limoges The Diocese of Limoges (Latin: ''Dioecesis Lemovicensis''; French: ''Diocèse de Limoges'') is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in France. The diocese comprises the '' départments'' of Haute-Vienne and Creuse. After the Concordat ...

, and a key piece of his then still growing

hagiography A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a preacher, priest, founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian ...

. It was initially compiled in the late 7th or early 8th century and expanded once shortly after 832 and again shortly after 854. The oldest miracles it records took place in the 7th century.

Auguste Molinier Auguste Molinier (30 September 185119 May 1904) was a French historian. Biography Born in Toulouse, Auguste Molinier was a student at the École Nationale des Chartes, which he left in 1873, and also at the École pratique des hautes études; an ...

, ''Les Sources de l'histoire de France: Des origines aux guerres d'Italie (1494)'', I. Époque primitive, mérovingiens et carolingiens (Paris: A. Picard et fils, 1901), p. 70
no. 206 (Miracula S. Martialis)
The ''Miracula'' is a potentially useful historical source for a very obscure period in

Aquitanian Aquitanian may refer to: *Aquitanian (stage), a geological age, the first stage of the Miocene Epoch *Aquitanian language, an ancient language spoken in the region later known as Gascony *Aquitani (or Aquitanians), were a people living in what is n ...

history. For example, the earliest section of the ''Miracula'', possibly from the late 7th century, offers a portrayal of the count of the palace

Ebroin Ebroin (died 680 or 681) was the Frankish mayor of the palace of Neustria on two occasions; firstly from 658 to his deposition in 673 and secondly from 675 to his death in 680 or 681. In a violent and despotic career, he strove to impose the ...

(died 680) at odds with that of the contemporary ''

Passio Leudegarii Leodegar of Poitiers (; ; 615 – October 2, 679 AD) was a martyred Burgundian Bishop of Autun. He was the son of Saint Sigrada and the brother of Saint Warinus. Leodegar was an opponent of Ebroin, the Frankish Mayor of the Palace of Neustria, ...

''. While the ''Passio'' is negative, the ''Miracula'' gives a positive account of Ebroin. The ''Miracula'' also gives a unique account of an event in 675: the Aquitanian official

Lupus Lupus, formally called systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), is an autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissue in many parts of the body. Symptoms vary among people and may be mild to severe. Common ...

attempted to make himself the king of an independent Aquitaine (''ad sedem regam se adstare'', "to stand himself on a royal seat").

Archibald R. Lewis Archibald Ross Lewis (August 25, 1914 – February 4, 1990) was an American historian, World War II Veteran, professor, and author. He wrote 14 books, and more than 100 articles. As a professor he taught at the University of South Carolina, Univer ...

, "The Dukes in the ''Regnum Francorum'', A.D. 550–751", ''Speculum'' 51.3 (1976), pp. 381–410, at 401.

Editions

*Full text in: :*''Catalogus codicum hagiographicorum latinorum Bibliothecae nationalis Parisiensis'', I (1889), 198–209. :*"Le livre des miracles de Saint-Martial, texte latin inédit du IX^e siècle", ed. François Arbellot, ''Bulletin de la Société archéologique et historique du Limousin'' 36 (1889), 339–375. *Extracts in:
''Ex Miraculis S. Martialis''
ed. Oswald Holder-Egger. MGH SS 15 (Hanover, 1887), 280–283.

References

{{reflist Christian hagiography 8th-century books in Latin 9th-century books in Latin