Page 54 - Foy

A hundred miles or so to the northeast of Agen, perched on a cliff side
in a forested wilderness, stood another monastery called Conques.

Conques was to play an important role in the history of Saint FIDES.

Conques was built by a Frankish nobleman named DADON. He was
a brutal man even by the standards of his time. Late in his life DADON
was overcome by shame and remorse for the way he had lived. He

became a hermit and lived on roots and berries. He punished himself
by lacerating his own flesh.

The King of Aquitania, LOUIS the Pious, son of the great CHARLEMAGNE,
heard about DADON and one day came to pray with the hermit. The
King was impressed with DADON and when he left he gave DADON
money to build a monastery on the site of his rude dwelling.

DADON scooped away tons of dirt and rock from the mountainside to
form a shell-shaped ledge and there he built his monastery. On his
return the King was pleased and named the site Conques, a word
which comes from the Latin concha meaning shell.

The monks who later came to live at Conques had powerful patrons
but the monastery did not enjoy the fame the monks thought it should.
Few pilgrims were willing to make the dangerous journey through the
rugged ravines and mountains to reach Conques; there was little in
the whole area that would make it a popular place to visit.

The whole region was depressed and was the poorest in natural

resources in all of France. It was always that way before and was to
remain that way until an unlikely product of the area called Roquefort
cheese became popular in the 1800s.

The monks of Conques reasoned they needed something to attract

attention, something both physical and sacred. Something that
manifested holiness. They hatched a plan.

These scheming brothers sent a young, smooth-talking monk named
ARVISCUS to join the monastery at Agen. ARIVISCUS stayed at Agen for

Saint Foy 8