Martial of Limoges (3rd century), whose name is also rendered as Marcial, Martialis, and Marcialis, and is also called "the Apostle of the Gauls" or "the Apostle of Aquitaine," was the first bishop of Limoges. A medieval hymn, tentatively attributed to Venantius Fortunatus, suggests that he was of highborn Jewish origin.
According to Gregory of Tours, during the time of the Emperors Decius Pope Fabian sent out seven bishops from Rome to Gaul to preach the Gospel: Gatien to Tours, Trophimus to Arles, Paul to Narbonne, Saturnin to Toulouse, Denis to Paris, Austromoine to Clermont, and Martial to Limoges. According to the Golden Legend, when Martial first went to Limoges as a missionary, he visited the temple, where the priests beat him before having him imprisoned. During his morning prayers the following day, a great light surrounded him and the bars and chains burst open, releasing Martial and resulting in the prison guards requesting to be baptised by him. He succeeded in converting the inhabitants to Christianity, and his memory has always been venerated there.
The Abbey of Saint-Martial, one of the great pilgrimage churches of western Christianity, was so thoroughly razed in the 19th century, that only the scattered manuscripts of its library remain. Some of said manuscripts had been bought for Louis XV and have come to the Bibliothèque Nationale de France. The original crypt was exhumed in 1966–1970. Twelve Romanesque carved capitals were discovered built into the foundations of a barn and purchased in 1994 for the Museum of the Bishopric of Limoges.
Hagiography
thumb|150px|left|Saint Martial cures the son of Arnulfus.
The Miracula Martialis, an account of 7th-, 8th- and 9th-century miracles, was written shortly after 854.
The influx of pilgrims to the abbey where the historical Martial lay buried encouraged the creation of an elaborate hagiography during the 10th century. As the hagiography grew, Martial was moved back in time: now, sent into Gaul by Peter himself, he is said to have evangelized not only the Province of Limoges but all of Aquitaine. He performed many miracles, among others the raising of a dead man to life, by touching him with a rod that Peter had given him. Martial was particularly honored in Bordeaux, where his pastoral staff was kept in the Basilica Saint-Seurin and used in processions to invoke his aid during outbreaks of pestilence. He is a popular saint throughout Limousin. He is also venerated in Italy, where Colle di Val d'Elsa Cathedral is dedicated to him.
Aside from ergotism, he is generally invoked against epidemics; As a patron saint of places, Limoges, Avignon, and Cahors all enjoy his patronage.
was used for deliberations during conclaves. , a Gothic church in Avignon, was completed in 1402.
In Brazilian folklore, he is celebrated with bonfires on the day of his liturgical feast which closes the Festas Juninas in Maranhão. In São Luís, in 2007, a monument was erected in his honor, given the popularity of his festivities, held in the city since 1928, and which annually gather thousands of people, in the Festejo de São Pedro e São Marçal, with the celebrations of the bumba-meu-boi.