Melega Miklós (szerk.): Remembering St Martin in his birth place (Szombathely, 2016)
P hysicist and botanist Carolus Clusius (1525-1609) from the Netherlands described his visit to Szombathely on 3rd April 1585 as follows. There is a well a bit further away, it is said to be the well in whose water St martin was immersed when he was christened. Next to the well there is a little church which is said to have been built at the place where martin’s parents once lived and where he was born. Sntering the church, you'll find a nearly regular stone square on the wall on the left hand side. On the left side of the shrine there is a little chapel with St martin's seated stone statue on its altar, rather small, but with a relatively large head compared with other the rest, boasting a trimmed beard and wearing a priest's or a doctor's hat.'1 During his journey in 1669 and 1670, induding a visit to the town of Szombathely located where the brook Fferint joins the brook Gyöngyös, the bnglish physi dan, Sduard Brown (1642- 1708) found the fads that Ovid died in Sabaria and that the inscription on the tombstone written by the poet of the Roman golden a^e himself remarkable enough to mention them in his diary. (The author has his doubts here since the story starts with the words ГПапу say and believe that J and he recorded the tombstone poem on the basis of hearsay only as they say here...’.)2 The fine details and the precision of the descriptions make the reports by the Anglican vicar Richard Fbcocke (1704-1765) and his nephew, Oeremiah milles (1714-1784) stand out from amone( other descriptions from the same period. Following the traditions of the Grand Tour, the two Publish gentlemen made a detour from Vienna to visit Szombathely in April 1757. Fbcocke's brief description of the town was published as early as in 1745Я In his diary ITlilles identified Szombathely with the ancient Sabaria and described its carved stone relics and ones with inscriptions. When writing about the history о the town, he also mentioned Ovid's tradition and Quirine’s death. He mentioned one of the chapels of the Domini cans’ church as St martin's birth place and quoted the chapel's inscription: Hic Natus est Sanctus tTlartinus’. Putting the Saint's birth to 535, he also pointed out major landmarks of his life such as the fact that his father was a tribune in Constantine the Great's army, that he was christened at the well in front of the church and his meeting with a nearly naked bedarf When staying in Szombathely about 100 years later marshall ГПаг- mont (1774-1852), Duke of Racjusa mentioned the antique findings and the wonderful cathedral only, but he found it important to point out that by the way, the town is the home town of St tTlartin, bishop of Tours.’5 Literature and notes 1 Carolus Clusius leírása Szombathely városáról 1585-ben. Közli Tóth öndre. Z.áűorhioi CaaÁNY Balázs. - Lapok Szombathely történetéből. 1999, 72. sz. 2. p. Panniculus Ser. C; 117) \ ‘ SzAmoTA István: Régi utazások magyar- országon és a Balkán félszigeten. 1504- 1717. Budapest, 1891. 311. p. (Olcsó Könyvtár; 290.) 3 Richard fbcocke: A description of the Sast, and some other countries. Vol. 2. London, 1745. (hereinafter: Fbcocke, 1745.) 244. p. 4 milles's travels. Original manuscript. British museum, manuscripts Add 15771 Vol. 8. (hereinafter: milles. ВГПГП) 17-26. fol. " Toth Ferenc A raguzai herceg Szombathelyen. - Vasi Szemle. 1999,5. sz. 611. p. 24 Remembering $t ttlartin in hís birth placc
