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medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture I always thought the point of the Martin of Tours story was that he was wearing the huge Roman military cloak, half of which was large enough to keep the beggar warm but still left him enough to keep himself from freezing--the story makes the point that it was winter. Rhetorically, halving the cloak also fits well, because it permitted him to recognize his own cloak when Christ appeared to him in the dream--sort of like tearing a document in half so that by matching the two halves one can prove authenticity--though the story doesn't take it that far, still this could be seen as residing in the rhetorical penumbra of the legend. Besides, if Martin had not cut his cloak in half, it would have remained a capa rather than capella (I'm ready to be corrected if I've misinterpreted the etymology here) and think of the loss to all our Latinate languages: chapel, chaplain etc.! Dennis Martin >>> [log in to unmask] 01/09/03 08:21PM >>> medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture Much more generous with his clothing than some saints (Martin's half a cloak has always seemed chintzy to me), Marcian stripped himself of everything but his chasuble and gave it to the beggar. ********************************************************************** To join the list, send the message: join medieval-religion YOUR NAME to: [log in to unmask] To send a message to the list, address it to: [log in to unmask] To leave the list, send the message: leave medieval-religion to: [log in to unmask] In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to: [log in to unmask] For further information, visit our web site: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/medieval-religion.html