At the Battle of Vouillé in 507, Avitus, taken prisoner by the Franks, converted to Christianity. When freed, he had a dream that he should return to his homeland, and walk in the local woods until he received a sign. He rested in a cave next to a spring, looking out towards a hill, the Mount Dauriac (the site of the present village), where a pagan temple had been built. He recited a prayer and the pagan temple collapsed. Avitus then became a thaumaturge and healer. At his death in 570, he was celebrated like a saint. Monks came to settle near the cave, where he had built an oratory.