Martinmas & the oldest church in England
And why Martin of Tours won't be happy about my black pudding
Welcome back to Cary’s Almanac!
Before I launch into Martinmas, which falls on Monday 11th November this year, I have an announcement:
God, the Bible and Everything (in 60 minutes) is my new one-man ‘stand-up theology’ live show. Yes, it finally has a title and is available for booking for dates in 2025. It is an entertainingly rapid romp through scripture, from Adam to Zacchaeus, via Noah, Moses, David and Goliath. And Jesus, obviously.
I can’t say much more than that since I’m still writing it, drawing on my 25 years of professional comedy writing and performing experience (like this one at last year’s Keswick Convention). It’s going to be tried out and tested so that you can book the show confident that it will be funny, entertaining, edifying and a wonderful opportunity for the Kingdom of God.
To make an enquiry with zero commitment, either ‘reply to’ this email or contact me via my website and I will send you all the basic information you need.
Martinmas, celebrating the feast day of St Martin, coincides with Armistice Day on 11th November. Falling on the same day, the two dates could hardly be further apart in Christian history. St Martin died in 397 AD. The guns fell silent on the Western front 1521 years later in 1918.
Yet providence has linked them closely together. St Martin, originally from Hungary, is a patron saint of soldiers, along with ‘our own’ St George. Both Martin and George were soldiers in the Roman army. Like many on the Western Front, Martin was a conscript. Unhappy about this, he petitioned Emperor Julian claiming to be a soldier of Christ, and therefore not allowed to fight, one of the earlier ‘conscientious objectors’.
Animal Sacrifices
If Emperor Julian, half-brother of Constantine the Great, had ever received the petition, he would not have been looked upon it with favour. The emperor, known as Julian the Apostate, famously renounced his Christian faith in 361. He insisted on reviving the practice of animal sacrifices to pagan gods, as well as in the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem, which he attempted to rebuild. However, according to Roman historian Ammianus Marcellinus, workers were killed as “terrifying balls of flame kept bursting forth near the foundations of the Temple.”1 The project was brought to a halt.
Back to Martin
Unwilling to fight, Martin was imprisoned and then discharged. He pursued a life of devotion to Christ in Gaul, mentored by Hilary of Poiters, becoming a monk and then Bishop of Tours.
While there, Martin established a monastery called Marmoutier, which is still there. The order was extremely strict. Diets were severely limited. Martin lived on herbs and wild roots. Once he unwittingly poisoned himself eating hellebore, but was miraculously saved from death by prayer. Even in his own lifetime, Martin was known for miracles. It is said that some pagans agreed to chop down their sacred pine tree, but only if Martin would stand directly in its path. Naturally, God’s hand guided the tree so that Martin was missed.
Martin’s most famous miracle that you will see depicted in art is cutting his cloak in half to share with a beggar (above). The next morning, following a dream of Jesus in torn clothes, he awoke to find his own cloak restored. There are many more stories that could be told, thanks to Martin’s disciple and biographer, Sulpicius Severus who, let’s be honest, sounds like a character from Hogwarts.
When Martin died in 397, his fame continued to grow, his grave attracting pilgrims. This cult was amplified by members of the local Frankish royal family, one of whom ended up in Kent in the 6th Century. That would be Bertha, who married pagan King Aethelbert in 580 on the condition that she could continue to practise her Christian faith. Land was found – some say on the site of an old Roman church – and a chapel dedicated to St Martin was built. It is still there and in use today 1444 years later, making it the oldest church building still in use as a church in England.
Surrounded by pagan men of Kent, isolated in her faith, but comforted by the self-denying life of Martin, Bertha soon received reinforcements from Pope Gregory. Augustine arrived with his monks in 597. And the rest is Christian history.
Blood Month
The Feast of St Martin, or Martinmas, falls in what the Saxons called ‘Blotmonad’, meaning ‘Blood month’. Before the gospel took hold of England, animals would be slaughtered to the pagan gods. It would have warmed the cockles of Emperor Julian’s heart.
As England was Christianised, the slaughter continued. It was necessary rather than devotion. There was barely enough food for a human to survive a Saxon winter, let alone for a herd of pigs. Martinmas, then, was a time of preserving meat for the winter. What could not be stored, like the offal, was part of the feast. One can almost hear the abstemious St Martin turning in his grave.
The story of St Martin does not quite end here.
Martin Rides Again
In 1066, William of Normandy came a-conquering. In victory, he founded a monastery on the site of the Battle of Hastings, now known as Battle Abbey. And to whom was it dedicated? To the Holy Trinity, St. Mary and St. Martin. In fact, the first monks were from Martin’s own abbey at Marmoutier.
The church and monastery of St Martin of Battle were directly controlled by the King, sitting outside the jurisdiction of the local bishop. This put it on a level with Canterbury. In turn, this led to a serious dispute under Henry II, exacerbating relations between church and crown which led to the murder of Thomas Becket. But that is, quite literally, a story for another day, that day being 29th December.
It is hard to comprehend how Martin, born to pagan parents in Hungary, a reluctant Roman soldier, fanatical Frankish monk and bishop is inextricably linked with the foundation of Christian England in both 597 and 1066, but that’s Christian history for you. The gospel knows no bounds. When Jesus told his disciples to make disciples of all nations, the mission must have seemed impossible. In fact, the mission of the Church is unstoppable. That’s some comfort on a cold November night when our thoughts turn to the conscripted soldiers slaughtered like animals in the First World War.
Martin Meals
How should we remember the example of St Martin on 11th November? In Malta, children wake up to find bags they’ve left out overnight filled with fruit and nuts. I’d rather celebrate Martin’s memory with a meaty treaty offally feast. I’ll be having black pudding for breakfast. I’ve just bought some from the butcher’s.
But I can understand if you go with fruity granola. Martin would have liked that.
If you found this interesting, could you spread the word and share it with someone? Maybe send it to a church-y friend, or a not-so churchy one and start a conversation:
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Another sparkling edition! The Martinmas feasts were later I think solemnly introduced to make sure Christians didn't over-fast. Because that's a thing!