E02138: Gregory of Tours, in his Histories (5.21), recounts a miracle, in 577/578, of water and wine at the tomb of *Martin (ascetic and bishop of Tours, ob. 397, S00050), in Tours (north-west Gaul). Later in his work he tells of the fall from grace, in 585, of Winnoc, one of the witnesses to the miracle. Written in Latin in Tours (north-west Gaul), 577/594.

Gregory of Tours, Histories (Historiae) 5.21

Under the year 577/578, Gregory records the arrival of Winnoc, a holy man from Brittany, whom he persuades to remain in Tours, and in whose presence a miracle occurs at the grave of Martin:

Tunc Winnocus Britto in summa abstinentia a Brittaniis venit Toronus, Hierusolimis accedere cupiens, nullum alium vestimentum nisi de pellibus ovium lana privatis habens; quem nos, quo facilius teneremus, quia nobis relegiosus valde videbatur, presbiterii gratia honoravimus. Inghitrudis autem relegiosa consuetudinem habebat, aquam de sepulchrum sancti Martini collegere. Qua aqua deficiente, rogat, vas cum vino ad beati tumulum deportari. Transacta autem nocte, eum exinde hoc presbitero praesenti adsumi mandavit; et ad se delatum, ait presbitero: 'Aufer hinc vino et unam tantum guttam de aqua benedicta, unde parum superest, effunde'. Quod cum fecisset, mirum dictu, vasculum, quod semeplenum erat, ad unius guttae discensum impletum est. Idem bis aut tertio vacuatum, per unam tantum guttam est impletum; quod non ambigetur, et in hoc beati Martini fuisse virtutem.

'At this time a Breton called Winnoch, who practised extreme abstinence, made his way from Brittany to Tours. His plan was to go on to Jerusalem. He wore no clothes except sheepskins from which the wool had been removed. He seemed to me to be a most pious man and in the hope of keeping him with me I ordained him as a priest. A certain religious called Ingitrude was in the habit of collecting the water from Saint Martin’s tomb. One day there was a shortage of water and Ingitrude asked that a jar of wine be carried to the tomb of the blessed man. As soon as the night had passed she ordered this wine to be brought to her at a moment when the priest [Winnoch] was standing near. The jar was placed before her and she said to the priest [Winnoch]: "Pour out some of the wine and replace it by a single drop of the holy water, for I still have a very small quantity left." Winnoch did as he was told. It is a remarkable fact that, as he added the single drop, the jar, which stood half empty, was filled to the brim. Ingitrude emptied the jar two or three times, and on each occasion it was replenished by the addition of a single drop of water. Let there be no doubt, this too was a miracle of the blessed Martin (quod non ambigetur, et in hoc beati Martini fuisse virtutem).'

Later in his Histories, at 8.34 describing the year 585, Gregory tells of the decline of Winnoc into alcoholism and madness:

Gregory of Tours, Histories (Historiae) 8.34

Et quia princeps tenebrarum mille habet artes nocendi, quid de reclausis ac Deo devotis nuper gestum fuerit, pandam. Vennocus Britto praesbiterii honore praeditus, cui in alio libro meminimus, tantae se abstinentiae dedicavit, ut indumentum de pellibus tantum uteretur, cybum de herbis agrestibus incoctis sumeret, vinum vero tantum vas ad os poneret, quod magis putaretur libare osculo quam haurire. Sed cum eidem devotorum largitas frequenter exhiberet vasa hoc plena licore, dedicit, quod peius est, extra modum haurire et in tantum dissolvi potione, ut plerumque ebrius cerneretur. Unde factum est, ut, invalescente temulentia, tempore procidente, a daemonio correptus, per inergiam vexaretur, in tantum ut, accepto cultro vel quodcumque genus teli sive lapidem aut fustem potuisset adrepere, post homines insano furore discurreret. Unde necessitas exigit, ut catenis vinctus costodiretur in cellula. In hac quoque damnatione per duorum annorum spatia debachans, spiritum exalavit.

'Since the Prince of Darkness has a thousand ways of doing us harm, I will relate what happened recently to certain hermits dedicated to God. In an earlier book I mentioned Winnoc the Breton, who was ordained a priest. The abstinence which he practised was so great that he wore only animal skins as clothing and as food ate only the uncooked herbs of the field. As far as wine was concerned, he would merely lift the cup to his mouth, appearing to touch it with his lip instead of drinking it. However, his followers were so open-handed in offering him goblets filled to the brim that he fell into the habit, which is a very bad one, of drinking immoderately, and he was often far gone in liquor that on more than one occasion he was obviously drunk. The result of this was that, as time passed, his intemperance became worse and worse. He was possessed by a devil, and he became so unbalanced that he would pick up a knife or whatever weapon he could lay his hands on, sometimes a stone, sometimes a stick, and chase after people in insane fury. There was nothing for it but to chain him up and lock him in his cell. Condemned to this fate, he continued to rave for a couple of years, and then he gave up the ghost.'

Text: Krusch and Levison 1951, 229 and 403. Translation: Thorpe 1974, 287-8 and 467-8, lightly modified.