Quirinus’ relics were
translated around 875 to the abbey church of
Malmedy during the reign of
Charles the Bald, and Malmedy became the centre of his cult. Thus, he is sometimes venerated separately as
St. Quirinus of Malmedy, and gained much more importance than his alleged companions Nicasius and Scubiculus. Quirinus' relics were officially confirmed as authentic by Abbot Poppo of Stavelot. They are contained inside a wooden ossuary chest at the foot of a statue on the left of the nave. Malmedy had been a branch of
Stavelot, but between 1065 and 1071 became independent from this monastery. As a result, it needed as a strong heavenly intercessor as its patron saint in order to compete with Stavelot's:
Saint Remaclus. Malmedy thus devised Quirinus’ legend, which was copied from other
hagiographies and incorporating common
tropes (fighting a dragon,
cephalophoric elements, etc.), as well as elements from the lives of
other saints of the same name. Quirinus came to be invoked against
drought, fever, bad weather, and demons, and farmers of the
Münsterland invoked his aid against diseases affecting their
cattle. Quirinus’ popularity is evidenced by the number of surnames in Central and Western Europe derived from his name, which include Quirini, Querings, Kehry, Kiry, Kuhrig, Koenrig, Crines, Krines, Krings, Kreugs, Cryns, Creins, Kreins, Krainz, Kircher, Kreine and Grein. == References ==