E00540: Gregory of Tours, in his Glory of the Martyrs (41), quoting verses by Venantius Fortunatus, tells of a church and relics of *Laurence (deacon and martyr of Rome, S00037) in Brioni (Italy) where a wooden beam miraculously extended itself, and splinters from it had healing power; parts of it were saved from fire and transferred to Limoges (western Gaul) to *Aredius (monk of Limoges, ob. 591, S00302). Written in Latin in Tours (north-west Gaul), 580/594.

Gregory of Tours, Glory of the Martyrs 41

Templum erat in quodam loco beati Laurenti et reliquiis et nomine consecratum, quod per incuriam longinqui temporis valde detectum erat. Quod cum renovare loci incolae vellent, silvas adeunt, incisa levigataque ligna, trabes efficiunt, inpositisque plaustris ad locum exhibent. Quibus per humum ad ordiendum extensis, una brevior est reperta; statimque sacerdotis animum, qui haec insistebat, dolor maximus attigit, et flens valde, quid ageret, quo se verteret, ignorabat. Tunc intuens roborem breviorem, ait: "O Laurenti beatissime, appositus igni glorificate, semper pauperes fovens ac reficiens, cogita paupertatem meam, quia non est exiguitate nostrae facultas, qualiter hic alia exhibeatur". Ilico cunctis attonitis, trabes crevit in tanto spatio longitudinis, ut necesse esset, partem magnam incidi. De qua industria plebis, beneficia perdere nefas putans, credens eam manu martyris tactam ac prolongatam, partem quae superfuerat frustratim decerpens, diversas infirmitates saepe submovit. Quod Fortunatus presbiter his versibus prosecutus est:

'In one place there was a church that had been dedicated with the relics and the name of the blessed Laurentius. Through the neglect of many years its roof had completely collapsed. When the inhabitants of the region wished to repair it, they went into the forest, cut and planed trees, made beams, placed them on carts, and brought them to the shrine. Once the beams were laid out on the ground for alignment, one was found to be too short. Immediately the bishop who had promoted the project felt great grief in his heart; he wept loudly and did not know what to do or where to turn. As he looked at the oak beam that was too short, he said: '0 most blessed Laurentius, you who were glorified by being placed in a fire and who always cherish and assist the poor, consider my poverty, because my neediness has no resources for another [beam] to be brought here.' Suddenly, to the surprise of all, the beam grew to such a length that it was necessary for a long piece to be cut off. After this task the people thought it improper to lose this blessing; so, in the belief that this beam had been touched and lengthened by the hand of the martyr, they cut the leftover piece into little splinters and often drove off various illnesses [with these splinters]. The priest Fortunatus commemorated this event with these verses:'

Gregory then quotes lines 7-18 from Poem 9.14 by Venantius Fortunatus, which describe this same miracle of the beam that miraculously extendes itself (see E05755).

Multo plures exinde scripsit versiculos, quos ego praetermisi, hos tantum pro testimonio viri scribens. Acta sunt autem haec apud Brionas Italiae castrum. Nam vidi ego hominem, qui graviter dentium dolore laborans, acceptam de hoc ligno particulam a sacerdote, statim ut dentem attigit doloremque protenus caruit. Sed nec illud silendum putavi, quod reliquiae eius ab incendio hostilitatis ereptae, a quodam homine in Lemovicino delatae sunt. Qui cum saepius admoneretur per visum, ut easdem Aridio abbati deferret, nec iussionem impleret, ipse cum coniuge et omni familia aegrotare coepit. Tunc necessitate conpulsus, ut eas viro sancto detulit, mox sanitati restitutus abscessit.

'Fortunatus then wrote many more verses which I have omitted; I have recorded only these verses as the man's testimony. These events happened in Brioni (Brionae), a town in Italy. I saw a man who suffered from a painful toothache receive a splinter of this beam from a priest (a sacerdote); as soon as he touched it to his tooth, the pain was immediately gone. But I have decided that this must not be omitted, because after relics of this beam were saved from a fire set by the enemy [i.e. the devil] a man brought them to Limoges. Although this man was often warned by a dream to bring the relics to father Aredius, he did not obey the command, and he, his wife, and their entire family began to feel ill. Then, compelled by circumstances, he brought the relics to the holy man (viro sancto); soon he recovered his health and left.'

Text: Krusch 1969, 65-66. Translation: Van Dam 2004, 40-41, lightly modified.