San Martín del Camino
LeónCastilla y León
Hagiotoponym dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours (4th century), one of the most popular saints of medieval Europe, patron of soldiers, the poor and pilgrims. The complement del Camino distinguishes it from the dozens of peninsular San Martins and fixes its belonging to the Jacobean network.
Martin of Tours (316–397), a Roman legionary son of an officer, abandoned the military after his conversion and founded one of the first monastic communities of Gaul, at Marmoutier. The most famous scene of his iconography —that of the soldier who divides his military cloak with his sword to share it with a naked beggar— became a medieval emblem of Christian charity and gave him the status of patron of the poor. His tomb at Tours was among the principal European centres of pilgrimage before Santiago, and the Via Turonensis (road of Tours) was one of the four great French routes toward Compostela. The proliferation of San Martins in Castilian toponymy —hundreds— reflects that popularity. The Leonese one, documented from the 12th century, preserves the parish church of the saint with a fine Baroque altarpiece.
Evolution of the name
- Sanctus Martinus Latin 4th — 12th centuries
- San Martín del Camino medieval Castilian from the 12th century
Glossary
- Hagiotoponym
- A place name formed from a saint's name (from the Greek ἅγιος, hágios, "holy"). Frequent in the medieval Christian repopulation: Sansol (Sanctus Zoilus), Santander (Sancti Emeterii), Donostia (Done Sebastian).
Sources
- Diputación de León — Inventario de patrimonio jacobeo
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Camino Francés