Built in the first half of the 12th century, the abbey was an important place of pilgrimage in the Middle Ages. We’ll see why... Lord of Beaugency Simon I founded the primitive abbey. A lord miraculously cured from the leprosy in 580, the day where people excavated in Amiens (Picardy) some saints’ relics.
Bones of saint Firmin, Fuscien, Gentien and Victoric. What? A good fortune, do you say? Not sure! In fact, those remains exhaled a sweet smell. A smell which spread far away, not only in Picardy but as far as Beaugency. That was how Simon was cured.
Simon learned people found the relics, the day of his quick recovery… he made the link and rushed in Amiens to thank God, he gave his fortune to the city’s chapter and claimed he was saint Firmin’s vassal. So, they kept the 4 martyr’s relics in the two cities, Amiens and Beaugency!