File(s) not publicly available
E00473: Gregory of Tours, in his Glory of the Martyrs (18), recounts the story of a man from Gaul who acquired in Jerusalem relics of *Mary (Mother of Christ, S00033), which, during his journey home, were unharmed by fire. Written in Latin in Tours (north-west Gaul), 580/594.
online resource
posted on 2015-05-07, 00:00 authored by pnowakowskiGregory of Tours, Glory of the Martyrs 18
Nam vidi ante hoc tempus hominem Iohannem nomine, qui a Galliis leprosus abierat, et in ipso loco, quo Dominum diximus baptizatum, aiebat se per annum integrum commoratum fuisse. Qui assiduae abluebatur in amne; sed redditus pristinae incolomitati, reformata in melius cute, sanatus est. Hic reliquias beatae Mariae ab Hierusolymis accipiens, revertebatur in patriam; sed prius Romam abire disposuit. Verum ubi altas Italiae solitudines est ingressus, incidit in latrones. Nec mora, spoliatur ab indumentis; et ipsa quoque capsa, in qua beata gestabat pignora, capitur. Exaestimantes enim inimici illi auri ibidem sestertias adgregatas, effracta clave, omnia rimantur intente. Sed cum nihil in eam pecuniae repperissent, extracta pignora in ignem proiciunt, caesoque homine, discesserunt. At ille semivivus exsurgens, ut vel cineres exustorum collegeret pignorum, invenit super carbones accensos inlaesas iacere reliquias; ipsumque lenteum, quo involutae erant, ita admiratur integrum, ut non putaretur prunis iniectum, sed eum ex aquis absconditum. Collegitque cuncta cum gaudio, et viam quam pergebat ingressus, usque ad Gallias pervenit incolomis. Multos enim vidimus, qui vel in Iordane vel in aquis Levidae urbis tincti, ab hoc fuerant morbo mundati.
'Previously I saw a man named Johannes who had departed from Gaul as a leper. He said that he had waited for an entire year at that spot where I said the Lord had been baptized. Frequently he washed himself in the river; when his skin was transformed for the better, he was cured and restored to his earlier health. From Jerusalem he received relics (reliquias) of the blessed Mary. He set out for his homeland but decided first to visit Rome. As soon as he entered the vast mountains of Italy, he met bandits. Immediately he was robbed of his clothing; even the reliquary (capsa) in which he carried the blessed relics (pignora) was seized. For these highwaymen thought that gold coins were in it, and after breaking the lock they closely examined everything. When they found no money in it, they took out the relics and threw them in a fire. After beating the man, they left. Although half-unconscious, the man got up to collect the ashes of the relics that had burned. He found the relics lying unburned on top of smoldering embers. He was astonished that the linen cloth in which the relics were wrapped was so spotless that one might think it had been not tossed on coals but soaked in water. Happily he gathered everything up and set out on the road he was travelling; he reached Gaul in safety. I have seen many people who bathed either in the Jordan river or in the springs of the city of Levida and were healed of this disease.'
Text: Krusch 1969, 49. Translation: Van Dam 2004, 18.
Nam vidi ante hoc tempus hominem Iohannem nomine, qui a Galliis leprosus abierat, et in ipso loco, quo Dominum diximus baptizatum, aiebat se per annum integrum commoratum fuisse. Qui assiduae abluebatur in amne; sed redditus pristinae incolomitati, reformata in melius cute, sanatus est. Hic reliquias beatae Mariae ab Hierusolymis accipiens, revertebatur in patriam; sed prius Romam abire disposuit. Verum ubi altas Italiae solitudines est ingressus, incidit in latrones. Nec mora, spoliatur ab indumentis; et ipsa quoque capsa, in qua beata gestabat pignora, capitur. Exaestimantes enim inimici illi auri ibidem sestertias adgregatas, effracta clave, omnia rimantur intente. Sed cum nihil in eam pecuniae repperissent, extracta pignora in ignem proiciunt, caesoque homine, discesserunt. At ille semivivus exsurgens, ut vel cineres exustorum collegeret pignorum, invenit super carbones accensos inlaesas iacere reliquias; ipsumque lenteum, quo involutae erant, ita admiratur integrum, ut non putaretur prunis iniectum, sed eum ex aquis absconditum. Collegitque cuncta cum gaudio, et viam quam pergebat ingressus, usque ad Gallias pervenit incolomis. Multos enim vidimus, qui vel in Iordane vel in aquis Levidae urbis tincti, ab hoc fuerant morbo mundati.
'Previously I saw a man named Johannes who had departed from Gaul as a leper. He said that he had waited for an entire year at that spot where I said the Lord had been baptized. Frequently he washed himself in the river; when his skin was transformed for the better, he was cured and restored to his earlier health. From Jerusalem he received relics (reliquias) of the blessed Mary. He set out for his homeland but decided first to visit Rome. As soon as he entered the vast mountains of Italy, he met bandits. Immediately he was robbed of his clothing; even the reliquary (capsa) in which he carried the blessed relics (pignora) was seized. For these highwaymen thought that gold coins were in it, and after breaking the lock they closely examined everything. When they found no money in it, they took out the relics and threw them in a fire. After beating the man, they left. Although half-unconscious, the man got up to collect the ashes of the relics that had burned. He found the relics lying unburned on top of smoldering embers. He was astonished that the linen cloth in which the relics were wrapped was so spotless that one might think it had been not tossed on coals but soaked in water. Happily he gathered everything up and set out on the road he was travelling; he reached Gaul in safety. I have seen many people who bathed either in the Jordan river or in the springs of the city of Levida and were healed of this disease.'
Text: Krusch 1969, 49. Translation: Van Dam 2004, 18.