Objet de trésor et mémoire projective: le vase "de saint Martin", onques faict par mains d'omme terrien

The treasure of the Abbey of Saint-Maurice d'Agaune has a sard vase from the P Century BC, which legendary tradition attributes to being a gift of Saint Martin. The legend dates back to a little after the middle of the 12(th) Century and, in all likelihood, was created at the Abbey of Saint-Maurice, at a critical moment of spiritual renewal for the Abbey, which led to the reorganization of the Abbey's memory. At Saint-Maurice, this involved both legal documents, which were "falsified", and individual pieces in its treasury for which prestigious donors were invented: by calling on "founders" or "patrons" from the distant past, the Abbey could acquire a longer history and so carry on as a sacred site.