Two inspired monks

Do you know the legend attributing the birth of Armagnac to two tipsy monks?

At the end of the 9th century two monks, Cloud and Clet, from the Abbey in Nogaro, were in charge of looking after the barrels of white wine abundantly produced from the vines on local hillsides.  The two accomplices, that were not as holy as they claimed, filled a small casserole with wine every week for their personal consumption at the expense of the cellar.  Every evening, hidden between the barrels and casks, they relished the precious nectar.

During an impromptu visit from the prior to the cellar, they didn’t have time to put a cover on the casserole and do away with their tumblers.  The prior was accompanied by a new bishop from Lectoure who was a wine connoisseur coming to taste the wine from the barrels.  However, the casserole intrigued the prior who interrogated the two monks as to what was in it.  To overcome the awkward situation, the two friends invented that the liquid was destined to assist the plucking of the poultry for that evening’s meal.

« What do you hope to accomplish with your work? His Grace isn’t going to dine in the middle of the night» asked the prior.

Beneath the eyes of the visitors, Cloud attached the casserole to the tripod and Clet lit the fire.  It was with a stumbling step after his third glass that the bishop left the cellar followed by the prior.  The two monks hid the beverage in an empty barrel and forgot it behind a pile of sticks.

Three years passed; the disastrous harvests with massive flooding drowned the vineyards and the cellar’s reserves gradually ran out.   When a new visit of the bishop was announced, they worked hard to find something to satisfy his holiness.

The keg was discovered and served without waiting for the bishop to bring it to his quivering nose. His eyes lit up.  Then he brought it to his lips and smiled « I would be in your debt if you could pass on the recipe for this ambrosia to my sommelier! »

The bishop sent for Cloud and Clet.  Once they were found, the two friends owned up : Armagnac was born !  At least that is what the legend tells us…

Extracted from the Truth of Legends (La vérité sur les légendes) by Francois Gécé in éditions Improbables, Albi 2009.