Veste Regia Indutus: Representations of the Emperor in the Vita Martini

Sulpicius Severus’ Life of Saint Martin, a foundational text of Latin hagiography, presents the charismatic authority and wonder-working power of the monk-bishop of Tours. It is a life studded with cameo encounters with Roman emperors: with Julian, who challenges Martin’s God; with Magnus Maximus, who challenges Martin’s priestly authority; and with the ’emperor of the world’, Satan, who challenges Martin’s faith. The encounters take place in military, courtly and monastic contexts and are evocative not only ideologically, but also visually. Sulpicius Severus’ powerful images bring these meetings alive and reinforce the subversive potential of the stories. Martin humiliates each emperor by the superior power of his God and by his own superior, ascetic, virtue. The appearance of the devil is particularly intriguing, for it raises the question of what distinguishes secular rulers from Satan. Analyzing the historical references and the literary stylization of Martin’s meetings with the emperors, this paper suggests that the holy man’s spectacular countdowns with the sovereigns serve not only to advertise Sulpicius’ ascetic propaganda, but also his political philosophy. The function of the emperor in the Vita Martini is to demonstrate the necessity of a dramatic break with the world, to define the proper relationship between spiritual and secular power and to extol the superiority of spiritual authority over earthly sovereignty.