Zillis - St. Martin

In 831 an "ecclesia plebeia" is mentioned here, dedicated to Saint Martin. Excavations proved, that earlier churches did exist on the same spot from about 500 on. The church of today was erected in the early 12th century.

St. Martin is world famous for the painted ceiling inside, created by an unknown artist around 1109 to 1114. It is still almost complete. Only very few of these works have survived the times in Europe. The only such ceiling I have ever seen is in St. Michael, Hildesheim, Germany.

The ceiling here consists of 153 square panels (9 rows of 17 panels) of about 90 cm sides. They were painted upright and then inserted into the ceiling.

Actually the painting reads like a map. There is a kind of frame, as the 48 panels outer panels (apart from the corner fields) show scenes on water - an ocean. The corners have angels, that may symbolize the four winds (directions). The "inner" 105 panels depict scenes on "land". Here themes are the life of Jesus - and Saint Martin, whom the church is devoted to.

The "Temptation of Christ"

After being baptized, Jesus fasted for forty days and nights in the Desert.

Luke 4:1-13

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.
The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread." Jesus answered, "It is written: "Man shall not live on bread alone."
The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, "I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. If you worship me, it will all be yours." Jesus answered, "It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only."
The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down from here. For it is written: "He will command his angels concerning you
to guard you carefully; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone." 12 Jesus answered, "It is said: "Do not put the Lord your God to the test."
When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.

The "Exorcism of the Gerasene demoniac" (aka "The Miracle of the Swine")

Mark 5:1-13

They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes. And when he had stepped out of the boat, immediately a man out of the tombs with an unclean spirit met him. He lived among the tombs; and no one could restrain him any more, even with a chain; for he had often been restrained with shackles and chains, but the chains he wrenched apart, and the shackles he broke in pieces; and no one had the strength to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always howling and bruising himself with stones. When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and bowed down before him; and he shouted at the top of his voice, "What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me." For he had said to him, "Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!" Then Jesus asked him, "What is your name?" He replied, "My name is Legion; for we are many." He begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country. Now there on the hillside a great herd of swine was feeding; and the unclean spirits begged him, "Send us into the swine; let us enter them." So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the swine; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea, and were drowned in the sea.