42. Eunius, who was also named Mummulus, was made patrician by king Gunthram. I think that certain details should be given as to the beginning of his military service. He was a son of Peonius and native of the city of Auxerre. Peonius governed this town as count. And when he had sent gifts to the king by his son to secure reappointment, the son gave his father’s presents and asked for his father’s office, and took his place when he should have helped him. From this start he gradually rose and attained a greater prominence. And upon the invasion of the Gauls by the Lombards the patrician Amatus, who had lately succeeded Celsus, went against them and engaged in battle, but was defeated and slain. And it is said that the slaughter of the Burgundians by the Lombards was so great on that occasion that the slain could not be counted. And the Lombards loaded with plunder departed again for Italy. And upon their departure Eunius, also named Mummulus, was summoned by the king and raised to the high office of patrician. When the Lombards made a second inroad into the Gauls and came as far as Mustiæ Calmes near the city of Embrun, Mummulus set his army in motion and came to that place with the Burgundians. He surrounded the Lombards with his army and made an abattis and attacked them in pathless woods, and killing many took a number of captives whom he sent to the king. The king ordered them to be kept under guard in various places through the country, but a few in one way or another escaped and took the news to their native land. There were present in this battle Salonius and Sagittarius, brothers and bishops, who armed themselves not with the cross of heaven but with the worldly helmet and coat of mail, and, what is worse, are reported to have killed many with their own hands. This was Mummulus’ first victory. Then the Saxons, who had entered Italy with the Lombards, made a second expedition into the Gauls, and pitched camp in the territory of Riez, that is, near the village of Estoublon, scattering from there among the villages belonging to neighboring cities, taking booty, leading off captives and laying all waste. When Mummolus learned of this he set his army in motion and attacked them, killing many thousands, and he did not cease to cut them down until evening when night made an end. For he had taken them off their guard when they expected nothing of what happened. In the morning the Saxons marshaled their army and made ready for battle, but messengers passed from one army to the other and they made peace. They gave presents to Mummolus, and surrendered all the plunder of the region with the captives, and departed[BN] after taking oath that they would return to the Gauls in obedience to the kings and as allies to the Franks. And so the Saxons returned to Italy, and taking their wives and little ones and all their possessions undertook the return journey into the Gauls with the intention of presenting themselves to king Sigibert and establishing themselves again in the district which they had left. They formed two wedges [cunios] as they call them; and one came by way of Nice and the other by Embrun, keeping in fact to the road they had come the previous year, and the two divisions united in the territory of Avignon. It was then harvest time, and that country had its crops chiefly in the open fields and the inhabitants had not stored any of them. When the Saxons came they divided the crops among them and gathered and threshed the grain and used it, leaving nothing to those who had done the work. But after the harvest had been used up and they came to the shore of the river Rhone in order to cross the torrent and present themselves in the kingdom of king Sigibert, Mummolus met them and said: “You shall not cross this torrent. Behold, you have devastated the land of my lord the king, you have gathered the crops, plundered the herds, burned the houses, cut down the olive groves and vineyards. You shall not go up unless you first satisfy those whom you have left in want; otherwise you shall not escape my hands, but I shall draw my sword against you and your wives and little ones and avenge the wrong done to my lord king Gunthram.” Then they were very much afraid and gave many thousand pieces of coined gold as a ransom, and were allowed to cross, and thus they came to Clermont. It was then springtime. They brought there pieces of bronze engraved like gold, and any one seeing them would have no doubt that it was gold tested and weighed; for it was colored by some device or other. And a good many were deceived by the false appearance and gave gold and received bronze and became poor. And they went on to king Sigibert and were settled in the land they had left.

[43. Albinus, governor of Provence, seizes archdeacon Virgilius on Christmas day in the church for failing to punish his men; Albinus is fined. 44. Three Lombard chiefs invade Gaul but are defeated and driven back into Italy by Mummolus. 45. Mummolus recovers Tours and Poitiers for Sigibert from Chilperic.]

46. As I am about to speak of the death of Andarchius, it seems best to tell first of his birth and native place. He was a slave of the senator Felix as they say, and being assigned to attend his young master he entered with him upon the study of letters and became distinguished for his learning. For he was fully instructed in the works of Virgil, the books of the Theodosian law, and the art of calculation. Being puffed up with such knowledge he began to hold his masters in contempt, and devoted himself to the service of duke Lupus when he went to the city of Marseilles by order of king Sigibert. When Lupus left Marseilles he told Andarchius to go with him and secured for him the favor of king Sigibert and put him at his service. And Sigibert sent him to various places and gave him an opportunity for military service. Being held in a sort of honor[BO] because of this he came to Clermont and there entered into friendship with Ursus, a citizen of the city. Then being of an ambitious temper he wished to be betrothed to Ursus’ daughter, and concealed a coat of mail, as they tell, in a chest in which documents used to be kept, and said to Ursus’ wife: “I give in your care a multitude of gold pieces, more than sixteen thousand, which I have placed in this chest, and it shall be yours if you will cause your daughter to be betrothed to me.” [BP]“To what do you not drive the hearts of men, accursed greed for gold?” The woman believed him without reserve and in her husband’s absence agreed to betroth the girl to him. He went back to the king and brought an order to the judge of the place[BQ] commanding him to marry this girl, saying: “I paid the earnest money at the betrothal.” But Ursus denied it saying: “I do not know who you are and I have none of your property.” When the quarrel continued and grew hotter Andarchius had Ursus summoned to the presence of the king. And coming to the village of Braine he found another man named Ursus whom he caused to be taken secretly to the altar and to swear and say: “By this holy place and the relics of the blessed martyrs I will not delay in paying you the sixteen thousand solidi, since I am not to give my daughter in marriage to you.” Now witnesses were standing in the sanctuary listening secretly to what was said but not seeing the person who spoke. Then Andarchius soothed Ursus with gentle words and caused him to return to his native place without seeing the king. After this he made an oath and when Ursus went away he produced before the king a document containing the oath and said: “Such and such is the writing I have from Ursus, and therefore I request an order from your glory that he give his daughter to me in marriage. Otherwise let me have authority to take his possessions until I receive sixteen thousand solidi and am satisfied in this case.” Then he received the order and returned to Clermont and showed the judge the king’s order. Ursus retired into the territory of Velay. And when his property was turned over to Andarchius he also went to Velay, and going into one of Ursus’ houses he bade them prepare supper for him and heat water for bathing. And when the slaves of the household did not obey their new master, he beat some with clubs, others with switches, and struck some on the head, drawing blood. The whole household was in confusion but the supper was prepared; he bathed in hot water, became drunk with wine and stretched himself on his couch. He had only seven slaves with him. And when they were sound asleep, weighed down by drowsiness not less than by wine, the household was gathered together, and Ursus closed the doors of the house which were made of wooden boards. He took the keys and tore down the stacks of grain near by and heaped piles of the grain which was then in the sheaf around and above the house until it was seen that the house was entirely covered. Then he set fire to it in different places and when the burning timbers of the building were falling on the luckless ones they awoke and began to shout but there was no one to listen to them and the whole house was burned and the fire consumed all alike. Ursus fled in fear to the church of St. Julian, and after making presents to the king he received again a good title to his property.

[47. Civil war between Chilperic and Sigibert. “There was at that time a worse outcry among the churches than in the time of Diocletian’s persecution.” 48. The wickedness of the people of Gaul as compared with earlier times; the plundering of the monastery of Latta. 49. The civil war is continued. Sigibert forces Chilperic to restore his cities. 50. Chilperic shuts himself up in Tournai.]

51. In that year lightning[BR] was seen to traverse the sky as once we saw before the death of Clothar. Now Sigibert took the cities this side of Paris and marched as far as Rouen, wishing to destroy these same cities with his army. But he was prevented from doing so by his own people. He returned thence and entered Paris. And there Brunhilda came to him with her children. Then the Franks who had once looked to the older Childebert, sent an embassy to Sigibert that if he would come to them they would abandon Chilperic and make him king over them. On hearing this he sent men to besiege his brother in the city mentioned above, and he himself purposed to hasten thither. And the holy bishop Germanus said to him: “If you go and do not purpose to kill your brother you shall return alive and victorious; but if you have another purpose in mind you shall die. For thus said the Lord through Solomon: ‘You who prepare a pit for your brother shall fall into it.’” But because of his wickedness he failed to pay heed. And when he came to the village named Vitry, all the army was gathered about him, and they placed him on a shield and made him king over them. Then two slaves who had been placed under a charm by Queen Fredegunda, carrying strong knives with poisoned blades—​of the sort commonly called scramasaxi—​approached him on some pretext and stabbed him one on each side. He cried aloud and fell and died in a short time. At the same time Charigysel, his chamberlain, was slain and Sigila who came from the land of the Goths was seriously wounded. He was afterwards seized by King Chilperic and met a cruel death, every joint being burned with white-hot irons and his limbs being torn one from the other. Charigysel was both fickle and avaricious. He had risen from a lowly place and become great with the king by flattery. He was a man who grasped other men’s property,[BS] and was a breaker of wills, and the end of his life was such that he did not succeed in making his own will when death threatened, he who had so often destroyed the wills of others.

Chilperic was in suspense and did not know whether he should escape or perish, when messengers came to him to tell of his brother’s death. Then he left Tournai with his wife and children and clothed Sigibert and buried him in the village of Lambres. Whence he was later transferred to Soissons to the church of the holy Medard which he had built, and was buried there by the side of his father Clothar. He died in the fourteenth year of his reign, the fortieth of his life. From the death of Theodobert the elder to that of Sigibert twenty-nine years are included, and there were eighteen days between his death and that of his nephew Theodobert. Upon the death of Sigibert, Childebert his son reigned in his place.

From the beginning to the flood there were 2242 years; from the flood to Abraham 942 years; from Abraham to the going out of the children of Israel from Egypt 462 years; from the going of the children of Israel from Egypt to the building of the temple of Solomon 480 years; from the building of the temple to its desolation and the migration to Babylon 390 years; from the migration to the passion of the Lord 668 years; from the passion of the Lord to the death of St. Martin 412 years; from the death of St. Martin to the death of King Clovis 112 years; from the death of King Clovis to the death of Theodobert 37 years; from the death of Theodobert to the death of Sigibert 29 years. Which make a total of 5774 years.

Here ends the Fourth Book.

FOOTNOTES:

[54] Sidonius Apollinaris.