Medieval Music, Legend, and the Cult of St Martin : The Local Foundations of a Universal Saint

The cult of St Martin of Tours was one of the most successful saintly cults in medieval Europe. Yossi Maurey's study is the first to explore the music and liturgy of the cult and to address how Martin came to inspire a lively folkloric tradition and numerous works of art.

St Martin of Tours was a protector saint of numerous French kings. His was one of the most successful saintly cults in medieval Europe, and the city of Tours functioned as a religious metropolis, drawing pilgrims from all over the continent. Until now, little has been known about how St Martin came to inspire such a lively folkloric tradition, numerous works of art, and the establishment of thousands of churches and numerous confraternities. In this book, Yossi Maurey addresses these questions by focusing on the church dedicated to the saint in Tours, which acted as the crucible for Martin''s cult. Maurey explores the music and liturgy of the cult - the most effective means of its dissemination - to reveal its enormous diffusion and impact. Building a more concrete picture of how saints'' cults operated and shaped medieval realities, this book also provides new insights into the interactions between contemporary religion, art and politics.