Fifty years have passed since the publication in Sources chretiennes (vols cxxxiii–cxxxv, 1967–9) of Jacques Fontaine's monumental three-volume edition and commentary on Sulpicius Severus’ late fourth-century vita of Martin of Tours, and it has been over thirty years since the appearance of Clare Stancliffe's definitive study, St. Martin and his hagiography: history and miracle in Sulpicius Severus (Oxford 1984). With many a nod to Fontaine, Stancliffe and other scholars of Martin, Philip Burton presents an exhaustive literary and historical commentary on this seminal work of Latin hagiography, as well as a new edition of the text and an English translation. The book falls neatly into three parts. The introduction (pp.1–81) offers a portrait of the life of Sulpicius Severus based primarily on his letters to Paulinus of Nola before turning to a summary of what the vita Martini can tell us about the historical Martin of Tours. Uncertainties about the dates of Martin's birth, death, military service and consecration as bishop abound, but Burton admirably marshals the prevailing views and refrains from pushing the scanty evidence too far. There follow discussions of the genre of hagiography and its relationship to other kinds of late antique literature, Christian and pagan; the use of biblical typology in the vita Martini; and a technical analysis of Sulpicius’ Latin style which, Burton argues, has notable affinities with the writings of Sallust. In his presentation of the Latin text of the Vita Martini (pp.81–129), Burton diverges very little from Fontaine's edition. His translation generally cleaves closely to the Latin, yet remains eminently readable.

The book closes with a lengthy chapter-by-chapter commentary on the vita (pp.132–259). There is a heavy emphasis in the commentary on issues related to the language of the work (sources, resonances, style, etc), but historical comments are not lacking. Burton's knowledge of ancient and late antique literature, Christian and pagan, Greek and Latin, as well as his command of Martinian historiography, are on full display in these pages, which are really the showcase of the volume. But it is impossible for even the most thorough scholar to note every relevant point of comparison. Take, for instance, the commentary to chapter xi, in which Martin confronts the ghost of a robber, whom locals mistook for a saint. While not a common motif in late ancient literature, this account of a supernatural encounter has parallels in Pliny the Younger's ep.vii.27 and, more importantly, in Constantius of Lyon's Vita sancti Germani 10, composed in the late fifth century. In Constantius’ account, Germanus, like Martin, evokes the name of the Lord to command an unquiet spirit to reveal its name and the reason for its unrest. While Burton is surely correct that Martin's evocation of the robber's ghost is unusual in the tradition of early Christian literature, the reuse of this motif by Constantius suggests that these saints were not in any danger of being exposed to censure for seeming to practise necromancy (p.205). Rather, these episodes served to demonstrate both their discernment and their God-given authority.

Burton has produced an exceptionally detailed linguistic and historical commentary on one of the most influential saints’ Lives in the Christian tradition. Burton's edition of the Latin text of the vita Martini only differs in minor ways from that of Fontaine, but his insights about Sulpicius’ language and his recapitulation of the last fifty years of scholarship makes his book a valuable starting place for anyone working on the cult of Martin. Unsurprisingly, the technical nature of much of the commentary limits the use of the book to scholars and advanced graduate students of late Latin and the history of Christianity. While Burton's translation of the vita Martini is useful to have on hand alongside the Latin text, the price of the volume prohibits it from superceding the two modern translations already available to students in much less expensive formats, that of F.R.Hoare updated by Thomas F.X.Noble and Thomas Head in Soldiers of Christ: saints and saints’ Lives from late antiquity to the early Middle Ages (Philadelphia, Pa 1995) and that of Carolinne White in Early Christian Lives (London 1998). We are indebted to Burton for producing such a rich and robust study and commentary on the vita Martini and for breathing new life into a late antique text that enjoyed unparalleled success throughout the Latin Middle Ages.