Martin

St Martin by Christopher Whall, c. 1916
Photo © Martin Crampin

Click to show suggested citation for this record

Martin Crampin and David Parsons (eds), The Cult of the Saints in Wales, University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies, Aberystwyth, (2023)
https://saints.wales/saint/28 (accessed 19 May 2024)

bishop of Tours

Feast Day: 11 November

Feast celebrated on 11 November, but in the east on 12 November.

More information

Texts

Places

Some thirteen places with historical Martin place-names and/or dedications have been noted. seven of which pre-date 1600. St Martin's (Shrophire), near Oswestry, Marstow (Herefordshire, Lann Martin in the Book of Llandaff), St Martin in Haverfordwest (Pembrokeshire), and Llanmartin (Monmouthshire), are uncomplicated place-name instances. Clarbeston (Pembrokeshire) has a clear early record of the dedication (and consistent later records). The Church of St Martin in Caerphilly (Glamorgan), was originally a chapel of Eglwys Ilan and is not recorded until the sixteenth century, though it is likely enough that it is older. Finally Castlemartin (Pembrokeshire) is associated with St Martin in its first record, from the thirteenth century, though this may possibly be creative thinking: the name may originally have been secular.

The later-recorded associations are a mixed bag. Eglwysbach (Denbighshire) has a consistent Martin dedication from the early eighteenth century onwards. At Cwmyoy (Monmouthshire), Pen-y-clawdd (Monmouthshire) and Laugharne (Carmarthen), however, there is alternation in the record between Martin and Michael. At Laugharne there is a 13th-century record of a Michael church and so Martin may be an error, though it is possible that Martin was the dedication of a separate, or rebuilt, church ⁠– there is a suggestion (which needs following up) that it may belong to a building of the later fourteenth century. Merthyr (Carmarthen) is a notorious problem, and the Martin dedication is suspicious despite the feast-date of 11 November recorded by Browne Willis. Finally, Llanfartin (Pembrokeshire) is a late-recorded place-name with no clear association with a known earlier church or chapel ⁠– it might instead be a secular llwyn name.

Church
Dedication

Well

Placename

Landscape
feature

Modern

Text

3. Church of St Martin of Tours, Clarbeston, (Dedication) Details

4. Church of St Martin, Eglwysbach, (Dedication) Details

9. Church of St Martin, Caerphilly, (Dedication) Details

10. Church of St Martin, Cwmyoy, (Dedication) Details

11. Church of St Martin, Pen-y-clawdd, (Dedication) Details

12. Church of St Martin, Haverfordwest, (Dedication) Details

13. Church of St Martin, St Martin's, (Dedication) Details

14. Church of St Martin, Laugharne, (Dedication) Details

15. Church of St Martin, Llanmartin, (Dedication) Details

17. Church of St Michael and All Angels, Castlemartin, (Dedication) Details

1. St Martin's, St Martin's, (Placename) Details

2. Castlemartin, Castlemartin, (Placename) Details

18. Llanmartin, Llanmartin, (Placename) Details

19. Marstow, Marstow, (Placename) Details

Online sources

The Catholic Encyclopedia

Saints in Scottish Place-Names

Images

There are no known medieval images of Martin in Wales. The saint was depicted in numerous stained glass windows in the twentieth century, and more occasionally in later nineteenth-century windows, such as in the east window of the Church of St Martin, Haverfordwest. In most of these instances, Martin is depicted as a soldier, and because of his military associations he was frequently chosen as a subject for First World War memorial windows, usually as a standing figure together with other saints. Other memorials sometimes included images of Martin, often when commemorating military men, but most of these were also made in the first quarter of the twentieth century.

In some instances, Martin is shown in the act of dividing his cloak for the beggar, the best-known incident from his life, which is also symbolic of charity, a popular theme for memorial windows. A two-light window at Llandyfriog couples the scene with a further one of Martin kneeling before the risen Christ. Occasionally Martin is depicted in other guises. At the Church of St Peblig in Caernarfon, Martin is depicted as a French royal figure, alongside George, in a window by Christopher Whall commissioned in memory of Morys Wynne-Jones of Treiorwerth, Anglesey, who was killed in action in Belgium in 1914. At the Church of All Saints, Deganwy, Martin is shown with the patron saint of Wales, David, with both saints dressed as bishops, in a memorial window made in 1934 by the Liverpool artist H. Gustave Hiller.

Banners and images of the saint are sometimes found at churches dedicated to him. For example, at the Church of St Martin, Roath, Cardiff, a wooden relief of the saint dividing his cloak was given in 1957 following the refurbishing of the interior after devastating war damage. Late examples of the saint dividing his cloak are found in chancel windows at the Church of St Hilary, Killay, made in 1977 by Celtic Studios, and at the Church of St Mary, Talbenny, made in 1978 by Frank Roper.

View images of Martin on the Stained Glass in Wales website