Vase of Soissons

[1] Because Gregory wrote his account more than a century after the vase was said to have been destroyed, it is difficult if not impossible to distinguish myth from history.

According to Gregory, the vase was of marvelous size and beauty and was stolen (together with other holy ornaments) from a church in the pillage that followed the Battle of Soissons of 486, a battle won by the Frankish king Clovis I, who at that time had not yet converted to Christianity.

[2] Saint Remigius, the bishop of Reims, sent messengers to Clovis, begging that if the church might not recover any other of the holy vessels, at least this one might be restored.

"[2] This anecdote was a staple of French primary school history manuals during the Third Republic (1875–1940) and until the 1960s.

The actual quote attributed to Clovis by Remigius was usually reformulated as a more catchy "Souviens-toi du vase de Soissons !"