The abbey church owed its renown to the relics which it housed, which made it one of the most visited pilgrimage sites in France for over 250 years. But Vezelay's fortunes did not continue unchecked. The discovery of other relics of Mary Magdalen, in southern France at the end of the 13th century, cast doubt on the authenticity of those claimed by Vezelay. Pilgrim traffic gradually dried up and the fairs lost their importance. Following the wars of religion, which saw Vezelay thorougly sacked by the Huguenots, the site was largely forgotten. The Revolution made a ruin of the church, and without the effort of Prosper Mérimée, the Inspector of Historic Monuments who promoted its retoration in 1840, it would be but a memory today.

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