E07782: Gregory of Tours, in his Histories (8.34), describes how a boy named Anatolius who became a hermit was possessed by a demon. He came to Tours and was cured by the power of *Martin (ascetic and bishop of Tours, ob. 397, S00050), but the possession began again when he left. Written in Latin in Tours (north-west Gaul),586/594.

Gregory of Tours, Histories (Historiae) 8.34

A boy from Bordeaux called Anatolius, who was the slave (famulus) of a merchant, wished to become a hermit. For a long time the merchant refused to agree to his wishes, but eventually agreed, and Anatolius began to live in a small, walled-in cell attached to an ancient crypt.

In hac cellola puer ingreditur, in hac per octo aut eo amplius annos commoratus, tenui cybo potuque contentus, vigiliis orationibusquae vacabat. Post haec pavore validum perpessus, clamare coepit, intrinsecus se torqueri. Unde factum est, ut, adiuvante ei, ut credo, diabolicae partis militia, amotis quadris quibus conclusus tenebatur, eliderit parietem in terram, conlidens palmas et clamans, se a sanctis Dei peruri. Cumque diutissime in hac insania teneretur et sancti Martini crebrius confiteretur nomen ac diceret, se potius ab eo quam a sanctis aliis cruciare, Thoronus adducitui. Sed malus spiritus, credo, ob virtutem adque magnitudinem sancti conpraessus, nequaquam hominem mutelavit. Nam in loco ipso per anni curriculum degens, cum nihil male pateretur, regressus est, sed rursus quae caruerat incurrit.

'The boy entered this cell and there he remained for eight years or more, content with very little food and drink, and spending all his time in vigils and prayers. A great panic then seized him and he began to shout that he was being tortured internally. The next thing which happened, or so I believe, was that, with the help of some of Satan’s legions, he moved the squared stones which formed his prison, knocked down the wall, and then clapped his hands together and shouted that he was being burned through and through by the holy men of God. He suffered from this madness for a long time, calling frequently on the name of Saint Martin and saying that he was being tortured more by that Saint than by the others. As a result he was brought to Tours. There the evil spirit was unable to harm him: in my opinion it was held in check by the miraculous power of Saint Martin. He stayed in Tours for about a year without suffering further harm and then went home, but the trouble from which he had recovered soon began again.'


Text: Krusch and Levison 1951, 403-404. Translation: Thorpe 1974, 468-9.