Saint Fermin of Amiens (also
Firmin, from Latin,
Firminus; in
SpanishSpanish or Castilian is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that originated in northern Spain and gradually spread in the Kingdom of Castile, evolving into the principal language of government and trade in the Iberian peninsula...
,
Fermín; in
BasqueBasque is the ancestral language of the Basque people, who inhabit the Basque Country, a region spanning an area in northeastern Spain and southwestern France. It is the mother tongue of approximately one fifth of Basques, 632,000 out of nearly 3,000,000...
,
Fermin) is one of many locally venerated Catholic saints. Fermin is the co-patron of Navarra, where his feast, the '
San FermínThe festival of San Fermín in the city of Pamplona , is a deeply rooted celebration held annually from 12:00, 6 July, when the opening of the fiesta is marked by setting off the pyrotechnic chupinazo, to midnight 14 July, with the singing of the Pobre de Mí...
' in the capital
PamplonaPamplona is the capital city of Navarre, Spain and of the former kingdom of Navarre.The city is famous worldwide for the San Fermín festival, from July 7 to 14, in which the running of the bulls or encierro is one of the main attractions...
, is forever associated with the
Encierro or 'Running of the Bulls' made famous by
Ernest HemingwayErnest Miller Hemingway was an American writer and journalist. He was part of the 1920s expatriate community in Paris, and one of the veterans of World War I later known as "the Lost Generation." He received the Pulitzer Prize in 1953 for The Old Man and the Sea, and the Nobel Prize in Literature...
. Fermin was long venerated also at
AmiensAmiens is a city and commune in northern France, north of Paris. It is the capital of the Somme department in Picardie.-History:The Paleolithic culture named Acheulean was named for its first identified site, in Saint-Acheul, a suburb of Amiens...
, where he met martyrdom.
Fermin is said to have been the son of a Roman of senatorial rank in Pamplona in the 3rd century, who was converted to Christianity by
Saint HonestusSaint Honestus was, according to Christian tradition, a disciple of Saturninus of Toulouse and a native of Nîmes. Saturninus and Honestus evangelized in Spain, and Honestus was martyred at Pampeluna during the persecutions of Aurelian...
, a disciple of
Saint SaturninusSaint Saturnin of Toulouse , with a feast day entered for November 29, was one of the "Apostles to the Gauls" sent out during the consulate of Decius and Gratus to Christianize Gaul after the persecutions under Emperor Decius had all but dissolved the small Christian communities...
.
Saint Fermin of Amiens (also
Firmin, from Latin,
Firminus; in
SpanishSpanish or Castilian is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that originated in northern Spain and gradually spread in the Kingdom of Castile, evolving into the principal language of government and trade in the Iberian peninsula...
,
Fermín; in
BasqueBasque is the ancestral language of the Basque people, who inhabit the Basque Country, a region spanning an area in northeastern Spain and southwestern France. It is the mother tongue of approximately one fifth of Basques, 632,000 out of nearly 3,000,000...
,
Fermin) is one of many locally venerated Catholic saints. Fermin is the co-patron of Navarra, where his feast, the '
San FermínThe festival of San Fermín in the city of Pamplona , is a deeply rooted celebration held annually from 12:00, 6 July, when the opening of the fiesta is marked by setting off the pyrotechnic chupinazo, to midnight 14 July, with the singing of the Pobre de Mí...
' in the capital
PamplonaPamplona is the capital city of Navarre, Spain and of the former kingdom of Navarre.The city is famous worldwide for the San Fermín festival, from July 7 to 14, in which the running of the bulls or encierro is one of the main attractions...
, is forever associated with the
Encierro or 'Running of the Bulls' made famous by
Ernest HemingwayErnest Miller Hemingway was an American writer and journalist. He was part of the 1920s expatriate community in Paris, and one of the veterans of World War I later known as "the Lost Generation." He received the Pulitzer Prize in 1953 for The Old Man and the Sea, and the Nobel Prize in Literature...
. Fermin was long venerated also at
AmiensAmiens is a city and commune in northern France, north of Paris. It is the capital of the Somme department in Picardie.-History:The Paleolithic culture named Acheulean was named for its first identified site, in Saint-Acheul, a suburb of Amiens...
, where he met martyrdom.
Life
Fermin is said to have been the son of a Roman of senatorial rank in Pamplona in the 3rd century, who was converted to Christianity by
Saint HonestusSaint Honestus was, according to Christian tradition, a disciple of Saturninus of Toulouse and a native of Nîmes. Saturninus and Honestus evangelized in Spain, and Honestus was martyred at Pampeluna during the persecutions of Aurelian...
, a disciple of
Saint SaturninusSaint Saturnin of Toulouse , with a feast day entered for November 29, was one of the "Apostles to the Gauls" sent out during the consulate of Decius and Gratus to Christianize Gaul after the persecutions under Emperor Decius had all but dissolved the small Christian communities...
. According to tradition, he was baptised by Saturninus (in Navarra "San Cernin") at the spot now known as the
Pocico de San Cernin, the "Small Well of San Cernin", across from the facade of the church dedicated to St Cernin, which is built on the foundations of a pagan temple.>
Saturninus (in France "Saint Saturnin") was the first bishop of Toulouse, where he was sent during the "consulate of Decius and Gratus" (AD 250). He was
martyrA martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce a belief, usually religious.-Meaning:...
ed (traditionally in 257 AD), significantly by being tied to a
bullCattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
by his feet and dragged to his death, a martyrdom that is sometimes transferred to Fermin and relocated at Pamplona. In Toulouse, the earliest church dedicated to
Notre-Dame du Taur ("Our Lady of the Bull") still exists, though rebuilt; though the 11th century
BasilicaThe Latin word basilica , was originally used to describe a Roman public building , usually located in the forum of a Roman town. In Hellenistic cities, public basilicas appeared in the 2nd century BC.Basilicas were also used for religious purposes...
of Saint Sernin, the largest surviving
RomanesqueRomanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe, characterised by semi-circular arches, and evolving into the Gothic style, characterised by pointed arches, beginning in the 12th century...
structure in France, has superseded it, the church is said to be built where the bull stopped, but more credibly must in fact be on a site previously dedicated to a pre-Christian
sacred bullAppearances of the Bull in mythology and worship are widespread in the ancient world. It is the subject of various cultural and religious incarnations, as well as modern mentions in new age cultures.- Paleolithic findings :...
, perhaps the bull of Mithras. The street, which runs straight from the Capitole, is named, not the
Rue de Notre-Dame, but the
Rue du Taur.
Fermin was ordained a priest in Toulouse, according to the local legend, and returned to Pamplona as its first bishop. On a later voyage preaching the
gospelA gospel is a writing that describes the life of Jesus. The word is primarily used to refer to the four canonical texts: the Gospel of Matthew, Gospel of Mark, Gospel of Luke and Gospel of John, probably written between AD 65 and 80...
, Fermin was
beheadedDecapitation is the separation of the head of an animal from its body. Beheading typically refers to the act of intentional decapitation, e.g., as a means of murder or execution; it may be accomplished, for example, with an axe, sword, knife, wire, or by means of a guillotine...
in
AmiensAmiens is a city and commune in northern France, north of Paris. It is the capital of the Somme department in Picardie.-History:The Paleolithic culture named Acheulean was named for its first identified site, in Saint-Acheul, a suburb of Amiens...
, France.> He died on September 25, AD 303.
Veneration
Besides Pamplona, San Fermín is venerated in other places in
NavarreNavarre is a region in northern Spain, constituting one of its autonomous communities - the "Chartered Community of Navarre" .-History:...
, such as
LesakaLesaka is a town and municipality located in the province and autonomous community of Navarre, in Spain.-External links:*...
, in the fiesta called the
Regata del Bidasoa. In the village of San Fermín de Aldapa, the martyrdom of Saint Fermin is still commemorated on September 25. On the preceding Thursday to Sunday there are numerous festivities there, in the Navarrería and near the Cathedral. Celebrations begin with a firework rocket set off by a youngster from the Navarrería, who has been given the title of the little mayor. As at Pamplona, the celebrations have a special closing ceremony called
Pobre de Mí (
Poor Me).
When certain relics of the saint were brought back to Pamplona in 1196, the city decided to mark the occasion with an annual event. Over the centuries, the saint's festival, the ancient annual fair and the running of the bulls and subsequent bullfights have all melded together.
The cult of St Firmin was of great religious and economic importance to Amiens during the Middle Ages and into modern times. Legends grew up to explain the discovery of the saint's relics, most of which were held at
AmiensAmiens is a city and commune in northern France, north of Paris. It is the capital of the Somme department in Picardie.-History:The Paleolithic culture named Acheulean was named for its first identified site, in Saint-Acheul, a suburb of Amiens...
. He is represented in a number of major works of art in
Amiens CathedralThe Cathedral of Our Lady of Amiens , or simply Amiens Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic cathedral and seat of the Bishop of Amiens, Jean-Luc Marie Maurice Louis Bouilleret. The cathedral is the tallest complete cathedral in France, with the greatest interior volume...
.
Saint Firmin in Anglo-Saxon England
There is a mysterious well of an otherwise unknown "Saint Farmin" at
BowesBowes is a village in County Durham, England. Located in the Pennine hills, it is situated close to Barnard Castle. It is built around the medieval Bowes Castle.-Civic history:...
,
YorkshireYorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the British Isles. Because of its great size, functions were increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have been subject to periodic reform. Throughout these changes, Yorkshire has continued to be recognised as...
,
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The existence of a monastery named after a Saint Firmin in
North CrawleyNorth Crawley is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Milton Keynes and ceremonial Buckinghamshire, England. It is located near the border with Bedfordshire, about three and a half miles east of Newport Pagnell....
was recorded in the
Domesday BookThe Domesday Book is the record of the great survey of England completed in 1086, executed for William I of England, or William the Conqueror...
(i.149a); there was a holy well in the churchyard, and unauthorized pilgrimages there were suppressed in 1298. The church at
ThurlbyThurlby is called Thurlby by Bourne when there is a need to distinguish between it and Thurlby by Lincoln or the hamlet of Thurlby in the parish of Bilsby, in the Lincolnshire Marsh....
, Lincs is dedicated to St Firmin. The only other St. Firmin in England rested at
Thorney, CambridgeshireThorney is a village about 8 miles east of Peterborough in the City of Peterborough unitary authority, England, on the A47. Historically it was part of the Isle of Ely, which was considered part of Cambridgeshire but was transferred into the former county of Huntingdon and Peterborough and...
. These occurrences point towards possible veneration of Firmin in Anglo-Saxon
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
Gallery
The funeral monument of Adrien de Henencourt, head of the chapter of
Amiens CathedralThe Cathedral of Our Lady of Amiens , or simply Amiens Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic cathedral and seat of the Bishop of Amiens, Jean-Luc Marie Maurice Louis Bouilleret. The cathedral is the tallest complete cathedral in France, with the greatest interior volume...
in the early 16th century, depicts not only the life and martyrdom of the saint, but also the posthumous history of his body, in a series of polychrome reliefs and statuary.