In the 6th century, Gregory of Tours mentioned the story of the martyrdom of Saint Privat, the first bishop of Gévaudan. He came to evangelize the region in the 3rd century and was taken prisoner by the Alemanni. Refusing to give orders to the Gabales (inhabitants of Gévaudan) to surrender, he was tortured to death. Saint Privat's relics rest in the Sainte-Thècle crypt beneath the current Notre-Dame-et-Saint-Privat cathedral in Mende. The saint's ordeal ended on a small hill next to the Vabre district and known today as the Colline du Bourreau (Hill of the Executioner).