Bishop Gregory of Tours (Gaul) began to collect the miracles connected to Martin, his predecessor in bishopric, at the very beginning of his episcopacy. Martin`s power is usually revealed at his tomb in Tours, and Gregory owed his high rank among Gallic bishops largely to his position as the custodian of Saint Martin`s sanctuary. Additionally, Gregory presents the recording of Martin`s miraculous activity as fulfilment of a vow; this vow was the result of no fewer than three visions in which he received the divine commandment to do so, and the promise he had made to his mother. Eventually, Gregory composed four books collecting Martin`s miracles. By cross-reference with other works by Gregory, Raymond Van Dam claimed that the first book – which gathers only the miracles that took place before Gregory`s episcopacy – was completed by 576, the second book was finished by 581, and the third by 588; the fourth book seems to continue up until Gregory`s own death in 594 (Van Dam 1993: 142-146, 199).

Recently, Giselle de Nie prepared a new edition of "The Miracles", which is based on the earlier editions by Ruinart, Bordier, and Krusch. She also normalised the spelling and punctuation, and provided a new translation "that stays as close as possible to the author`s train of thought" (de Nie 2015: xxv).