(Redirected from Martin of Dumes)
Image of St Martin of Braga in a 10th century manuscript.
Saint 'Martin of Dumio' (c.
520 –
580) was an archbishop of
Braga in
Portugal, a
monastic founder, and an ecclesiastical author. Born in
Pannonia, he made a pilgrimage to the
Holy Land, where he became a monk. While there, Martin met some pilgrims from
Hispania who convinced him to return with them to
Gallaecia (modern
Galicia) in order to convert the
Suevi, most of whom were either
pagans or
Arians.
He arrived in Galicia in 550 and founded several monasteries, including the famous one at Dumium (modern
Dumio), from which he takes his name. In May 561, at the provincial First
Council of Braga, he signed the minutes as bishop of
Dumio. At some later date, Martin was elevated to the archdiocese of Braga and presided over the Second Council of Braga (573). Under his watch, most of the populace was converted to
Catholicism. For this, he was canonised and his feast day is
20 March. According to the famous
Frankish bishop
Gregory of Tours (''Historia Francorum'', V.37-38), Martin was ''plenus virtutibus'' (full of virtue) and ''in tantum se litteris imbuit ut nulli secundus sui temporis haberetur'' (second to none in learning).
His masterpiece is a short treatise entitled ''Formula vitae honestae'' about the four cardinal virtues.
Sources
★
★
''Opera omnia''. complete bibliography