Fermin
Fermin (also Firmin, from Latin Firminus; Spanish Fermín) was a legendary holy man and martyr, traditionally venerated as the co-patron saint of Navarre, Spain. His death may be associated with either the Decian persecution (250) or Diocletianic Persecution (303). Although he is said to have lived in the third century, Fermin's legend is a creation of the ninth century. It probably originates in the diocese of Toulouse, which endeavoured to spread the devotion to Saint Fermin. If there was a historical Fermin he is wholly unknown and was probably no more than a name on a tombstone around which an edifying legend was crafted. According to the legend, a senator from Pamplona named Firmus was converted to Christianity by Honestus and persuaded Saturninus to come to Pamplona to baptise him. There the bishop preached to large crowds and baptised some 40,000 people over three days. Firmus's son, Firminus (Fermin), was entrusted to Honestus for his Christian education and at age 31 went to Toulouse to be consecrated by Saturninus's successor, Honoratus. Fermin then went to preach in northern Gaul, where he became associated with the city of Amiens. He was persecuted and ultimately martyred. Fermin's feast is celebrated in Pamplona with a series of festivities, the Sanfermines, including the famous Running of the Bulls. He is also venerated at Amiens. Legend Fermin is said to have been the son of Eugenia and Firmo, a Roman of senatorial rank in Pamplona in the 3rd century. Fermin was converted to Christianity by Honestus, a disciple of Saturnin. According to tradition, he was baptised by Saturninus (in Navarra "San Cernin") at the spot now known as the Pocico de San Cernin, the "Small Well of San Cernin", across from the facade of the church dedicated to St Cernin, which is built on the foundations of a pagan temple. Saturninus was the first bishop of Toulouse, where he was sent during the "consulate of Decius and Gratus" (AD 250). He was martyred (traditionally in 257 AD), significantly by being tied to a bull by his feet and dragged to his death, a martyrdom that is sometimes transferred to Fermin. In Toulouse, the earliest church, dedicated to Notre-Dame du Taur ("Our Lady of the Bull"), still exists, though rebuilt. Though the 11th century Basilica of Saint-Sernin, the largest surviving Romanesque structure in France, has superseded it, the church is said to be built where the bull stopped. More likely, it was built on a site previously dedicated to a pre-Christian sacred bull, perhaps the bull of Mithras. The street, which runs straight from the Capitole, is named not the Rue de Notre-Dame but the Rue du Taur. San Cernin (Saturninus) is the patron saint of Pamplona. Fermin was ordained a priest in Toulouse, according to the local legend, and returned to Pamplona as its first bishop. Some years later, he preached the gospel through Aquitania, Auvernia and Anjou, before settling in Amiens, France, where he was also named Bishop of Amiens. The local authorities in