Book of Days Tales

Today is the feast day of St Martin of Tours (316 – 397), one of the best known and best loved of the Christian saints. Countless holy places, towns, institutions, and geographic locations are named for him, and he is patron of many (including Buenos Aires).  In popular lore he is remembered primarily for his act of dividing his military cloak in half so that he could give half to a freezing beggar.  His life is recorded in a special volume by his contemporary Sulpicius Severus, although this is not a biography in the conventional sense.

The story comes from Sulpicius Severus:

Accordingly, at a certain period, when he had nothing except his arms and his simple military dress, in the middle of winter, a winter which had shown itself more severe than ordinary, so that the extreme cold was proving fatal to many, he happened to meet at the gate of the city of Amiens a poor man destitute of clothing. He was entreating those that passed by to have compassion upon him, but all passed the wretched man without notice, when Martin, that man full of God, recognized that a being to whom others showed no pity, was, in that respect, left to him. Yet, what should he do? He had nothing except the cloak in which he was clad, for he had already parted with the rest of his garments for similar purposes. Taking, therefore, his sword with which he was girt, he divided his cloak into two equal parts, and gave one part to the poor man, while he again clothed himself with the remainder. Upon this, some of the by-standers laughed, because he was now an unsightly object, and stood out as but partly dressed. Many, however, who were of sounder understanding, groaned deeply because they themselves had done nothing similar. They especially felt this, because, being possessed of more than Martin, they could have clothed the poor man without reducing themselves to nakedness. In the following night, when Martin had resigned himself to sleep, he had a vision of Christ arrayed in that part of his cloak with which he had clothed the poor man. He contemplated the Lord with the greatest attention, and was told to own as his the robe which he had given. Ere long, he heard Jesus saying with a clear voice to the multitude of angels standing round — “Martin, who is still but a catechumen, clothed me with this robe.”

Martinmas marks an important turning point in the agricultural year.  In pre-industrial Europe roughly 80% of the population (depending on region) lived and worked on the land, directly or indirectly.  Therefore, the agricultural cycle dominated life. Martinmas closed the arable year – harvests were in and the winter wheat had been planted. It also closed the pastoral year, for the most part.  Sheep could winter over, and cows still needed to be milked.  But, the bulk of animals were slaughtered because they could not be fed over the winter, and because the year was designed such that new animals were born in the spring, raised over the summer and early autumn, and so were mature by Martinmas.  Farm workers often ended their annual contracts at Martinmas because there was not enough work for them over winter.  They would, therefore be paid off. If you put all of this together you have a festive day ripe for celebration.  People had money and free time; barns were full and fresh meat abounded.

In many rural areas of Europe farm workers ate meat on special occasions only.  The commonest meat for Martinmas across Europe is goose.  The legend has it that the goose celebrates the fact that when Martin was elected bishop of Tours he was anxious to avoid the job and so hid in a barn.  But the geese there, by their noise, gave his location away.  However, the obvious agricultural explanation for the choice is that geese were sent to market at this time of year. I already covered goose for Michaelmas (29 Sept), so I will refer to another tradition – Martinmas beef.

Martinmas beef is really just another version of corned beef, and can be made in many ways.  In England sweet spices predominate.  I have a cheaters’ version which I have used over the years which works well.  I poach a corned beef in the usual manner, but I add cloves, allspice, and mace to the poaching water instead of the usual pickling spices.  You will be surprised at how richly flavorful the result is.  I also poach potatoes in the water towards the end.  I then use a little roux to thicken some of the poaching water to make a gravy.  Mashed winter squash with nutmeg makes a good side dish.

You can also make a baked version if you prefer. In which case set the beef in an oven casserole with diced onion, cloves, allspice, and mace.  Pour over a cup each of white wine and white wine vinegar.  Bake, covered, at 300°F/150°C for about 3 hours.  Thicken the juices to make a gravy and serve with potatoes and carrots (or winter vegetable of your choice).