Martin (floruit 1200–1207) was the abbot of the Cistercian monastery of Pairis in Alsace, then part of the German kingdom in the Holy Roman Empire.
[2] He began his preaching tour in Basel Cathedral no later than September 1201,[2] when he was at Cîteaux to receive leave from the head of his order to go on crusade.
[2] When the leaders of the crusade considered assisting the Venetians in a siege of Zara, a Christian city belonging to King Emeric of Hungary, Martin requested the papal legate, Peter of Capua, to absolve him of his vow.
[6][7] According to Martin's eyewitness account, as relayed by Gunther, the crusaders besieged Zara reluctantly and without joy, but vigorously so as to induce its quick surrender and avoid excess bloodshed.
He may have been the representative of the contingent from Germany, or he may have joined the delegation on his own initiative in order to use his audience with the pope to renew his request to be released to return to his abbey.
When they received news of the planned diversion of the crusade to Constantinople to place Alexios IV on the Byzantine throne, they decided not to return to the main army.
On 8 November 1203, after the truce with the Ayyubids had been broken, Martin and Conrad of Schwarzenberg were sent to Constantinople to request assistance from the main army.
[14] According to Gunther, Martin obtained a piece of the True Cross, a trace of the blood of Jesus and relics from a long list of saints, but he does not distinguish between those taken from Constantinople or Acre.
[14] Martin embarked for his return voyage on 31 March 1205, sailing in the same convoy as Conrad of Krosigk, bishop of Halberstadt.