On my bike ride last week, I was checking out a path new to me when I kept coming across bornes (road markers) like this one. Here is a close up of another one:
So as soon as I returned home I of course searched the internet to find out what these are all about. It turns out that part of my bike route followed a pilgrimage route in honor of Saint Martin of Tours (a city to the west of Amboise). The "D st M" stands for Doyenné Saint Martin which I would roughly translate to mean the area of his Catholic church jurisdiction (district) as bishop of Tours. The bornes are modern creations based on ancient Roman bornes in use at the time of Saint Martin. This part of the route is a tiny part of an enormous network of walking routes throughout Europe reflecting Martin's journeys.
Martin of Tours is often referred to as the patron saint of beggars. You can read the story on Wikipedia here. And here is a link to a web site, alas only in French, that provides participants with maps and guides on this section of the route.
Finally, I couldn't resist borrowing today's title from one of my favorite movies that has absolutely nothing to do with this subject !
what pretty markers...i like the natural stone look!
ReplyDeleteYeah, they're pretty true to the old ones.
DeleteInteresting details about these 'bornes'. By the way you are dreaming to get a chip under your skin with your secret swiss account number ? But I hope you will not wake up on a shore and no more know who you are !!! I saw this movie last year in hospital , a good ' divertissement' and Matt Damon is a great performer.
ReplyDeleteTess
Hmmm. That depends on whether I would have to go through what he did to get inside and get the money (and other stuff). Probably not if I had to do what Jason did ! Anyway, I generally know that if Matt is in a movie it's going to be good... with a few exceptions. My all time favorite MD movie is Good Will Hunting. I hope at least you're able to keep up with movies and books while you're recuperating.
DeleteHow very cool to come across these markers of times gone by Stuart and yes Matt Damon makes a tres bon Jason Bourne :)
ReplyDeleteIt was fun trying to figure out the history of 'em.
DeleteFascinating! I think that's the first time I've come across that term.
ReplyDeleteYeah, me too. It's very cool to know there is this huge network of walking trails throughout Europe... and that one of them goes through Amboise.
DeleteOui, c'est fascinant et une excellente idée !
ReplyDeleteOui. J'espère qu'un jour je peux suivre cette piste plus loin.
DeleteI never saw the movie, but it was one of the last Ludlum books I read. Back in the day, I read them all, starting at the beginning with The Scarlatti Inheritance and working my way through to The Parsifal Mosaic, the one just after The Bourne Identity. And then I stopped. I don't know why, but I never went back. And that's more than you wanted to know!
ReplyDeleteOh I highly recommend the movie (the first in the series)... you are welcome to borrow my DVD !
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