Essai de reconstitution de l'histoire des armes miniatures de saint Michel depuis leur introduction au Mont jusqu'à leur disparition

The great occidental Michaelian sanctuary, the Benedictine abbey of Mont Saint Michel, has kept for a long time in its treasury a sword and a miniature shield which were supposed to have been bequeathed by the archangel himself. It is believed that these small weapons were put in the treasury during the mythic period of the canons (708-966) before disappearing in the French Revolution (1790). The study of the different stages of the written tradition relating to these remarkable relics allows us to specify the date of their introduction and evolution of their status to the Mont Saint Michel. It enables us to also re-determine the major role of the first text dedicated to them, Relatio de scuto et gladio S. Michaeli, written at the beginning of the 12th century by Baudri de Bourgueil.