of Sion. The actual site of the martyrdom (or of the cache of bones) was pointed out to pilgrims as the "true place" the vrai lieu, a name it still carries, as Verroliez, according to local etymology. In 515, the basilica became the center of a monastery built on land donated by Sigismund of Burgundy, the first king of the Burgundians to convert from Arianism to Trinitarian Christianity. His personal conversion was not pressed upon his Burgundian nobles. With the cooperation of the Catholic bishops, Sigismund set out to remake the existing hospice and community that already ministered to pilgrims around the shrine. The result was a unique development in its time: a monastery created ex nihilo under patronage, rather than one that developed organically around the person of a revered monk. Between 515 and 521, Sigismund lavishly endowed his royal foundation, and he transferred monks from other Burgundian monasteries, to ensure that a constant liturgy was kept. The liturgy, known as the laus perennis "perpetual praise" of relays of choirs, was an innovation for Western Europe, imported from Constantinople; it was distinctive to the abbey of St. Maurice and the practice spread widely from there. St. Maurice's Abbey at Agaunum was the chief abbey of the Burgundian kingdom. In the 10th century, the Saracens of Fraxinet established an outpost near the abbey to control the Alpine passes. In 961, the relics of Maurice and the martyrs were conveyed to the new cathedral being erected at Magdeburg by Emperor Otto I but the abbey has continued to flourish. References External links Agaunum, Catholic Encyclopedia William B. Sweetser, Jr, "From Diocletian to Lenin and Beyond: The Continuing Witness of St. Maurice" Official home page of Saint Maurice Photos: St. Maurice's Abbey, Abbey Icon, Decoration of Abbey Church Further reading Antonini, Alexandra. "Aux origines du pèlerinage de Saint-Maurice d'Agaune". In: Espace ecclésial et liturgique au Moyen Âge. Lyon: Maison de l'Orient et de la Méditerranée Jean Pouilloux, 2010. pp. 327-330. (Travaux de la Maison de l'Orient et de la Méditerranée, 53) www.persee.fr/doc/mom_1955-4982_2010_act_53_1_3149 Besson M. "La date de fondation de l'abbaye de Saint-Maurice en Valais". In: Revue d'histoire de l'Église de France, tome 1, n°1, 1910. pp. 50-55. [DOI: https://doi.org/10.3406/rhef.1910.1904]; www.persee.fr/doc/rhef_0300-9505_1910_num_1_1_1904 O'Reilly, Donald F. "The Theban Legion of St. Maurice." Vigiliae Christianae 32, no. 3 (1978): 195-207. doi:10.2307/1582882. Roman towns and cities in Switzerland History of Valais