Formerly the date of the foundation of this abbey, attributed to the local saints Placidus and Sigisbert, was held to be 614. The tradition further states that this monastery was destroyed by the
Avars in 670, when the abbot and thirty monks were martyred. The abbey, dedicated to
Saint Martin of Tours, was then supposedly rebuilt by
Charles Martel and
Saint Pirmin about 711. The second and current view, based on more substantial research, is however that the foundation did not take place until the early 8th century. This is corroborated by archaeological investigation showing that the first traceable structure on the site was built in or about 700 and was destroyed in about 940, which is attributed to raiding
Saracens. The account of Sigisbert, as dramatised in the 12th century work, the "Passio Placidi", is that he was a wandering
Frankish monk, inspired by the ideals of
Columbanus and
Luxeuil, who set up a cell here, under the protection of Saint Martin. Placidus was a local magnate and landowner, who supported Sigisbert, and who was murdered by Victor, the
praeses ("president") of
Chur, in an attempt to prevent the loss of independence involved in the transfer of a large amount of land to the church. One of the earliest surviving documents relating to Disentis is the so-called "Testament of
Tello", Bishop of Chur, which is dated 765 and records the already very extensive properties owned by the monastery. The story of the "Passio Placidi" makes Tello the son of Viktor, and the properties a guilt offering for the murder of Placidus. Whether or not this is so, the abbey had certainly acquired a very large estate by this date. Tello bequeathed his extensive landed and movable wealth, which was concentrated in the lower
Surselva between Flims and Trun, to the Abbey. Cadi, the Sursilvan for "House of God" (Casa Dei), is the historical name of Disentis Abbey and its feudal territories.
Charlemagne visited the re-built abbey on his return journey from Rome in 800 and made many benefactions to it. It was a
"Reichskloster" (directly answerable to the Emperor and thus free from the claims of other territorial lords) from very early in its existence. Disentis' claim to imperial interest was its strategic position on the
Lukmanier Pass, which the Emperors
Otto I and
Frederick Barbarossa crossed during their journeys south. Successive abbots were able to capitalise on this to the advantage of the abbey, which received landholdings that extended as far as Lombardy, and which resulted in the establishment of a monastic state of considerable size. Udalric I (1031–55) was the first abbot to be made a prince of the empire, as were several others later; many of them also became bishops of the neighbouring sees. The subjects of Disentis Abbey first used their own seal in 1285. They had their own
Landammann (
mistral) from 1371.
Cadi became an autonomous commune (
cumin grond) of the
Grey League in 1401. From 1472, the
mistral was elected from a ticket of three candidates submitted by the abbot, from the 17th century in free elections. Until 1851, Cadi was divided into four jurisdictions (
courts): Disentis, Tujetsch, Brigels with Medel, and Trun with Sumvitg. In 1617 the abbey became a member of the recently formed
Swiss Congregation (now part of the
Benedictine Confederation). The buildings were refurbished in the
Baroque style between 1683 and 1704. The monastery church of St. Martin was built in 1712 and underwent restoration in 2016. ==Modern history==