33. Now there was in these days in the city of Paris a woman who said to the inhabitants: “O flee from the city and know that it must be burned with fire.” And when she was ridiculed by many for saying this on the evidence of lots[EL] and because of some idle dream or at the urging of a mid-day demon, she replied: “It is not as you say, for I say truly that I saw in a vision a man all illumined coming from the church of St. Vincent, holding a torch in his hand and setting fire to the houses of the merchants one after another.” Then the third night after the woman made this prophecy, at twilight a certain citizen took a light and went into his store-house and took oil and other necessary things and went out, leaving the light close by the cask of oil. This was the house next the gate which is towards the south. From this light the house caught fire and burned, and from it others began to catch. Then the fire threatened the prisoners, but the blessed Germanus appeared to them and broke the posts and chains by which they were bound and opened the prison door and allowed all the prisoners to go safe. They went forth and took refuge in the church of St. Vincent in which is the blessed bishop’s tomb. Now when the flame was carried hither and thither through the whole city by the high wind and the fire had the complete mastery, it began to approach another gate where there was an oratory of the blessed Martin which had been placed there because he had there cured a case of leprosy with a kiss. The man who had built it of interwoven branches, trusting in God and confident of the blessed Martin’s power, took refuge within its walls with his property saying: “I believe and have faith that he who has so often mastered fire and at this place by a kiss made a leper’s skin clean, will keep the fire from here.” When the fire came near great masses of flame swept along but when they touched the wall of the oratory they were extinguished at once. But the people kept calling to the man and woman: “Run if you wish to save yourselves. For a mass of fire is rushing on you; see, ashes and coals are falling around you like a heavy rain. Leave the oratory or you will be burned in the fire.” But they kept on praying and were never moved by these words. And the woman, who was armed with the strongest faith in the power of the blessed bishop, never moved from the window through which the flames sometimes entered. And so great was the power of the blessed bishop that he not only saved this oratory together with his follower’s house but he did not permit the flames to injure the other houses which were around. There the fire ceased which had broken out on one side of the bridge. And on the other side it burned all so completely that only the river stopped it. However, the churches with the houses attached to them were not burned. It was said that this city had been as it were consecrated in ancient times[EM] so that not only fire could not