Martin of Braga, Saint: Versus in Refectorio

These elegiac couplets by Martin of Braga, the sixth-century archbishop of the Suevic kingdom in Gallaecia, were written for the refectory of a monastery, probably his own foundation at Dumium near Braga. The poem tells the diner that he will find no gilded couches, no Tyrian purple, no fine plate or embossed cups, and none of the famous wines of Gaza, Chios or Falernum; whatever the slender table lacks is to be supplied by grace and thanksgiving.

The poem adapts the classical topic of the modest meal, familiar from Horace and Martial, to the austerity of monastic life. Its learned allusions to luxury goods and wines show the literary culture Martin brought to sixth-century Gallaecia, and it is one of the small group of inscriptional verses that survive from his hand. The poem’s gentle irony, listing the delights the guest will not find, gives it a charm unusual in the verse of the period.