Les saints martyrs de Caunes-Minervois. Origine, identité et culte de leurs reliques

Abstract

The memory of the martyred saints Amand, Luce, Alexandre and Audalde is attached to the Benedictine abbey of Caunes-Minervois. The first historical mention concerning these saints is to be found in the cartulary of the abbey and dates 983. A few donations are mentioned by charters in the XIth century. Then documentation is lacking until 1391, at which date abbot Jean de Castelpers places order of a new reliquary to shelter the remains of the four martyred brothers. Did the cult of the Caunes martyrs remain vivacious during the four hundred years or was it to such a point at death’s door it was felt necessary to reactivate it in 1391 ?. The examination of the few documents narrating their legend and of painted fragments inside the abbey church direct the researches on one hand towards the creation of a cult by interpolating texts in the Xth-XIth centuries, on the other hand towards a solemn elevation of the relics in the XIVth century, maybe as part of a competition between nearby abbeys.