E04465: Gregory of Tours, in his Miracles of Martin (4.29), recounts how a merchant from Trier told Agnes, abbess of Poitiers, about his miraculous journey from Metz to Trier (both north-east Gaul) along the Moselle River with the help of *Martin (ascetic and bishop of Tours, ob. 397, S00050); AD 570/589. Written in Latin in Tours (north-west Gaul), 591/594.

Gregory of Tours, Miracles of Martin (Libri de virtutibus sancti Martini episcopi) 4.29

Agnes, the abbess of the nuns at Poitiers, told Gregory about a miracle that was told to her by a merchant from Trier, while she was in Metz. The story, though opening in the third person, rapidly switches to the first person, as though told by the merchant himself.

Dicit mihi, si aliquando ad basilicam beati Martini Turonus occurrissem. Dixi, quod, quomodo in Austria ambularem, sic ibi me praesentassem. Dicit mihi, quale beneficium domni Martini senserat. Dum Mettis salem negotiasset et ad pontem Mettis adplicuisset, dicit: 'Domne Martine, me et puricellos quos habeo et navicellam meam tibi conmendo'.

Inter hoc recubantes in nave, omnes condormivimus. Mane excitans me cum puricellis quos mecum habebam, invenimus nos ante portam Trevericam, nescientes, quomodo venissemus, qui nos adhuc Mettis credebamus consistere; qua ratione aut navigatum est aut volatum; sola conmendatione beati Martini nec fluvium sensimus et Mosellae tumescentes undas naufragas evitamus, et, quod satis est, inter saxa nocturno tempore praeterimus incolomes, non nauta vigile, non vento flante, non remo ducente'.

'He asked me if I had ever gone to the church of the blessed Martin at Tours. I said that I visited there whenever I was traveling in Austrasia. He told me about the great blessing he had experienced from lord Martin. While he was trading salt at Metz and was docked at the bridge at Metz, he said: ‘Lord Martin, I commend to you myself, the young servants that I have, and my small boat.’

Then I and my servants lay down in the boat and all fell asleep. In the morning when I and my servants awoke, we found ourselves in front of the gate of Trier. Since we thought that we were still tied up at Metz, we did not know how we had arrived, whether we had sailed there or flown. Simply through the commendation of the blessed Martin we did not feel the river, and we avoided the swelling waves of the Moselle River that cause wrecks; it is truly [amazing] that we safely passed by the rocks during the night even though no boatman was on watch, no wind was blowing, and no oar was steering.'

Text: Krusch 1969, 206. Translation: Van Dam 1993, 296, lightly modified (de Nie 2015, 821-823).