Martin of Tours
Christian saint · Religious Figures · Lived 316 to 397 · aged 81
Martin of Tours is read about 1,420 times a day, in 77 languages.
A typical day, 30 days to 15 October 2026
The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 390 days, one point a day.
Something wrong?A Roman cavalryman who sliced his cloak in half with a sword to cover a freezing beggar - the gesture that made Martin of Tours a saint and turned his tomb into one of medieval Europe's most-visited pilgrimage sites.
A life in dates
Also in Deutsch
Photos 8
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About this person
Born in Pannonia, Martin converted to Christianity young but served in the Roman cavalry in Gaul before leaving military life prior to 361. He became a disciple of Hilary of Poitiers and founded the monastery at Ligugé. Consecrated Bishop of Tours in 371, he worked to stamp out what remained of Gallo-Roman religion in the region. His contemporary, the hagiographer Sulpicius Severus, recorded his life and secured the cloak story for posterity. His shrine in Tours became a major waypoint for pilgrims heading to Santiago de Compostela.
Religious Figures born in the 310s 4
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