4. In these days Roccolenus being sent by Chilperic came to Tours with great boasting and pitching camp beyond the Loire he sent messengers to us that we ought to drag from the holy church Gunthram, who was at that time wanted for the death of Theodobert;[BW] if we would not do it he would give orders to burn the city with fire and all its suburbs. On hearing this we sent messengers to him saying that what he asked to have done had not been done from ancient time; moreover the holy church could not now be violated; if it should be, it would not be well for him or for the king who had given this command; let him rather stand in awe of the holiness of the bishop whose power only the day before had given strength to paralytic limbs. But he had no fear of such words and while he was dwelling in a house belonging to the church beyond the river Loire he tore down the house itself which had been built with nails. The people of Mans who had come on that occasion with him carried the nails[BX] off, filling their bags, and they destroyed the grain and laid everything waste. But while Roccolenus was engaged on this he was struck by God, and becoming saffron color[BZ] from the royal disease he sent harsh commands saying: “Unless you cast duke Gunthram out of the church to-day I will destroy every green thing around the city so that the country will be ready for the plow.”[55] Meantime the sacred day of Epiphany came and he began to be in greater and greater torture. Then after taking counsel with his people he crossed the river and approached the city. And when [the clergy] were hastening from the cathedral to the holy church[BY] singing psalms, he rode on horseback behind the cross, preceded by his standards. But when he entered the holy church his rage and threats cooled and going back to the cathedral he could take no food on that day. Then being very short of breath he departed for Poitiers. Now these were the days of holy Lent during which he often ate young rabbits. And after setting for the first of March the actions by which he meant to ruin and fine the citizens of Poitiers, he rendered up his life on the preceding day; and so his pride and insolence ceased.
5. At that time Felix, bishop of Nantes,[CA] wrote me a letter full of insults, writing also that my brother had been slain because he had killed a bishop, being himself greedy for the bishopric. But the reason Felix wrote this was because he wanted an estate belonging to the church. And when I would not give it he was full of rage and vented on me, as I have said, a thousand insults. I finally replied to him: “Remember the words of the prophet: ‘Woe unto them that join house to house, that lay field to field! They are not going to inhabit the earth alone, are they?’ I wish you had been bishop of Marseilles! For ships would never have brought oil or other goods there, but only paper that you might have greater opportunity for writing to defame honest men. It is the scarcity of paper that sets a limit to your wordiness.” He was a man of unlimited greed and boastfulness. Now I shall pass over these matters, not to appear like him, and merely tell how my brother passed from the light of day and how swift a vengeance the Lord visited upon his assassin. The blessed Tetricus,[56] bishop of the church of Langres, who was already growing old,[CB] expelled the deacon Lampadio from his place as procurator,[CC] and my brother[CD] in his desire to aid the poor men whom Lampadio had wickedly despoiled, joined in bringing about his humiliation and thus incurred his hatred. Meantime the blessed Tetricus had an apoplectic stroke. And when the poultices of the doctors did him no good, the clergy were disquieted, and seeing they were bereft of their shepherd they asked for Monderic. The king granted their request and he was given the tonsure and ordained bishop with the understanding that while the blessed Tetricus lived he should govern the town of Tonnerre as archpriest and dwell there, and when his predecessor died he should succeed him. But while he lived in the town he incurred the king’s anger. For it was charged against him that he had furnished supplies and made gifts to king Sigibert when he was marching against his brother Gunthram. And so he was dragged from the town and thrust off into exile on the bank of the Rhone in a certain tower that was very small and had lost its roof. Here he lived for nearly two years to his great hurt, and then through the intercession of the blessed bishop Nicetius he returned to Lyons and dwelt with him for two months. But since he could not prevail on the king to restore him to the place from which he had been expelled he fled in the night and passed over to Sigibert’s kingdom and was made bishop of the village of Arisitum[CE] with fifteen parishes more or less under him. These the Goths had held at first, and now Dalmatius, bishop of Rodez, judges them. When he went away the people of Langres again requested as bishop, Silvester, a kinsman of ours and of the blessed Tetricus. Now they asked for him at the instigation of my brother. Meantime the blessed Tetricus passed away and Silvester received the tonsure and was ordained priest and took the whole authority over the property of the church. And he made preparations to go and receive the blessing of the bishops at Lyons. While this was going on he was stricken by an attack of epilepsy, having been long a victim of the disease, and being more cruelly bereft of his senses than before he kept continually uttering a moaning cry for two days and on the third day breathed his last. After this Lampadius, who had lost his position and his means as is described above, united with Silvester’s son in hatred of Peter the deacon, plotting and asserting that his father had been killed by Peter’s evil arts. Now the son being young and light-minded was aroused against him, accusing him in public of murder. Upon hearing this Peter carried his case before the holy bishop Nicetius, my mother’s uncle, and went to Lyons and there in the presence of bishop Siagrius and many other bishops as well as secular princes he cleared himself by oath of ever having had any part in Silvester’s death. But two years later, being urged to it again by Lampadius, Silvester’s son followed Peter the deacon on the road and killed him with a lance wound. When the deed was done Peter was taken from that place and carried to the town of Dijon and buried beside the holy Gregory, our great-grandfather. But Silvester’s son fled and passed over to king Chilperic, leaving his property to the treasury of king Gunthram. And when he was wandering through distant parts because of the crime he had committed, and there was no safe place for him to dwell in, at length, I suppose, innocent blood called upon the divine power against him and when he was traveling in a certain place he drew his sword and slew a man who had done him no harm. And the man’s kinsmen, filled with grief at the death of their relative, roused the people, and drawing their swords they cut him in pieces and scattered him limb by limb. Such a fate did the wretch meet by God’s just judgment, so that he who slew an innocent kinsman should not himself live longer in guilt. Now this happened to him in the third year.
After Silvester’s death the people of Langres again demanded a bishop, and received Pappolus who had once been archdeacon at Autun. According to report he did many wicked deeds, which are omitted by us that we may not seem to be disparagers of our brethren. However, I shall not fail to mention what his end was. In the eighth year of his episcopate, while he was making the round of the parishes and domains of the church, one night as he slept the blessed Tetricus appeared to him with threatening face and said: “What are you doing here, Pappolus? Why do you pollute my see? Why do you invade my church? Why do you so scatter the flock that was put in my charge? Yield your place, leave the see, go far from this territory.” And so speaking he struck the rod he had in his hand sharply against Pappolus’ breast. Upon this Pappolus woke up and while he was thinking what this meant a sharp pang darted in that place and he was tortured with the keenest pain. He loathed food and drink and awaited the approach of death. Why more? He died on the third day with a rush of blood from the mouth. Then he was carried forth and buried at Langres. In his place the abbot Mummolus, called also Bonus, was made bishop. To him many give great praise: that he is chaste, sober, moderate, very ready for every goodness, a friend of justice and a zealous lover of charity. When he took the bishopric he perceived that Lampadius had taken much of the church property by fraud, and by spoiling the poor had gathered lands, vineyards and slaves, and he ordered him to be stripped of all and driven out from his presence. He now lives in the greatest want and gets his living by his own hands. Let this be enough on these matters.
6. In the same year as that mentioned above, that is, the year in which Sigibert died and Childebert his son began to reign, many miracles were done at the tomb of the blessed Martin[CF] which I have described in the books I have attempted to compose about these miracles. And though my speech is unpolished I have still not allowed the things that I saw with my own eyes or learned from trustworthy persons to pass unknown. Here I shall relate merely what happens to the heedless who after a miracle from heaven have sought for earthly cures, because his power is shown in the punishment of fools just as much as in the gracious working of cures. Leonastis, archdeacon of Bourges, lost his sight through cataracts that grew over his eyes. And when he altogether failed to recover it by going around among many physicians, he came to the church of St. Martin and remaining here for two or three months and fasting continuously he prayed to recover his sight. And when the festival came his eyes brightened and he began to see. He returned home and summoned a certain Jew and applied cupping glasses to his shoulders by the help of which he was to increase his eyesight. But as the blood flowed his blindness revived again. When this happened he again returned to the holy temple. And remaining there again a long time he did not succeed in recovering his sight. Which I think was refused because of his sin, according to the words of the Lord: “For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have abundance; but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that which he hath.” “Behold thou art made whole; sin no more lest a worse thing befall thee.” For he would have continued in health if he had not brought in the Jew in addition to the divine miracle. For such is the warning and reproof of the apostle, saying: “Be not yoked with unbelievers. For what fellowship have righteousness and iniquity? Or what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? Or what portion hath a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement hath a temple of God with idols? For you are a temple of the living God. Therefore come ye out from among them and be ye separate, saith the Lord.” Therefore let this case teach every Christian that when he has merit to receive heavenly medicine[CG] he should not seek after earthly help.
[7. Death of the priest Senoch, one “of the tribe of Theifali.” 8. Germanus, bishop of Paris, dies. As he is taken to be buried “his body bears heavily down on the street when the prisoners raise a cry and when they are released it is easily taken up again.” 9. The recluse Caluppa dies. 10. The recluse Patroclus dies. He was very abstemious and “always wore a hair shirt next his body.” “His eyes never grew dim.”]
11. And since our God always deigns to give glory to his bishops,[CH] I shall relate what happened to the Jews in Clermont this year. Although the blessed bishop Avitus often urged them to put aside the veil of the Mosaic law and interpret the Scriptures in their spiritual sense, and with pure hearts contemplate in the sacred writings Christ, son of the living God, promised on the authority of prophets and kings, there remained in their hearts, I will not now call it the veil which dimmed the light for Moses’ face, but a wall. The bishop prayed also that they should be converted to the Lord and that the veil of the letter should be torn from them, and one of them asked to be baptized on holy Easter, and being born again in God by the sacrament of baptism, in his white garments he joined the white-clad procession with the others. When the people were going in through the gate of the city one of the Jews, urged to it by the devil, poured stinking oil on the head of the converted Jew. And when all the people, horrified at this, wished to stone him, the bishop would not allow it. But on the blessed day on which the Lord ascends to heaven in glory after the redemption of man, when the bishop was walking in procession from the cathedral to the church singing psalms, a multitude of those who followed rushed upon the synagogue of the Jews and destroying it from the foundations they leveled it to the ground. On another day the bishop sent messengers to them saying: “I do not compel you by force to confess the Son of God, but nevertheless I preach him and I offer to your hearts the salt of wisdom. I am the shepherd put in charge of the Lord’s sheep, and as regards you, the true Shepherd who suffered for us said that he had other sheep which are not in his sheepfold but which should be brought in, so that there may be one flock and one shepherd. And therefore if you are willing to believe as I, be one flock with me as your guardian; but if not, depart from the place.” Now they continued a long time in turmoil and doubt and on the third day because of the prayers of the bishop, as I suppose, they met together and sent word to him saying; “We believe in Jesus, son of the living God, promised to us by the words of the prophets, and therefore we ask that we be purified by baptism and remain no longer in this guilt.” The bishop was rejoiced at the news and keeping watch through the night of holy pentecost went out to the baptistery beyond the walls and there the whole multitude prostrated themselves before him and begged for baptism. And he wept for joy, and cleansing all with water he anointed them with ointment and gathered them in the bosom of the mother church. Candles were lit, lamps burned brightly, the whole city was whitened with the white throng and the joy was as great as once Jerusalem saw when the holy spirit descended on the apostles. The baptized were more than five hundred. But those who refused baptism left that city and returned to Marseilles.
[12. The abbot Brachio, a Thuringian and formerly a hunter, dies. 13. Great battle between Chilperic’s duke, Desiderius, and Gunthram’s patrician, Mummolus. Desiderius is defeated.]
14. After this Merovech, who was kept in custody by his father, received the tonsure, and changing his garments for those which it is customary for the clergy to wear he was ordained priest and sent to the monastery at Mans called Anninsola [Saint-Calais] to be instructed in the duties of priests. Hearing this Gunthram Boso who was then living in the church of St. Martin, as we have stated, sent the subdeacon Rigulf to advise him secretly to take refuge in the church of St. Martin. And when Merovech was on his way, Galen his slave went to meet him from the other side. And since his escort was not a strong one he was rescued by Galen on the way, and covering his head and putting on secular clothes he took refuge in the temple of the blessed Martin. We were celebrating mass in the holy church when he entered, finding the door open. After the mass he asked us to give him the consecrated bread. Now there was with us at that time Ragnemodus, bishop of the see of Paris, who had succeeded the holy Germanus; and when we refused, Merovech began to raise a disturbance and to say that we did not rightly suspend him from the communion without the assent of our brethren. When he said this we examined the case in the light of canon law, and with the consent of the brother who was present he received the consecrated bread from us. I was afraid that if I suspended one from communion I would become a slayer of many. For he threatened to kill some of our people if he did not receive the communion from us. The country of Tours has sustained many disasters on this account. In these days Nicetius, my niece’s husband, went with our deacon to king Chilperic on business of his own, and he told the king of Merovech’s flight. On seeing them queen Fredegunda said: “They are spies and have come to learn what the king is doing, in order to know what to report to Merovech.” And she at once ordered them to be spoiled and thrust off into exile, from which they were released in the seventh month. Now Chilperic sent messengers to us saying: “Cast that apostate out of the church. If you don’t I will burn that whole country with fire.” And when we wrote back that it was impossible that what had not happened in the time of the heretics should now happen in Christian times, he set his army in motion and sent it toward this country.
In the second year of king Childebert, when Merovech saw that his father was set in this purpose, he proposed to take with him duke Gunthram and go to Brunhilda, saying: “Far be it from me that the church of the master Martin should submit to outrage on my account, or his country be put into captivity for me.” And going into the church and keeping watch he offered the things he had with him on the tomb of the blessed Martin, praying to the saint to help him and to grant him his favor so that he could take the kingdom. At that time count Leudast after setting many traps for him out of love for Fredegunda, at last craftily entrapped his slaves who had gone out into the country and slew them with the sword, and he desired to slay Merovech himself if he could find him in a suitable place. But Merovech followed Gunthram’s advice and, desiring to avenge himself, he ordered Marileif the chief physician to be seized as he was returning from the king’s presence, and after beating him most cruelly he took away the gold and silver and other valuables which he had with him and left him naked, and would have killed him if he had not escaped from the hands of those who were beating him and taken refuge in the church. And later we clothed him and having obtained his life sent him back to Poitiers. Now Merovech charged many crimes to his father and stepmother. But although they were partly true it was not acceptable to God I suppose that they should be made known through a son. This I learned to be so later on. For one day I was invited to dine with him and when we were sitting together he begged urgently that something be read for the instruction of his soul. So I opened the book of Solomon and took the first verse that came which contained the following: “The eye of him who looketh at his father askance, the ravens of the valleys shall pick it out.” Although he did not understand it, I believed that this verse had been given by the Lord. Then Gunthram sent a slave to a certain woman known to him from the time of king Charibert, who had a familiar spirit, in order that she should relate what was to happen. He asserted besides that she had foretold to him the time, not only the year but also the day and hour, at which king Charibert was to die. And she sent back this answer by the slaves: “King Chilperic will die this year and king Merovech will exclude his brothers and take the whole kingdom. And you shall hold the office of duke over all his kingdom for five years. But in the sixth year you shall win the honor of the bishop’s office, with the consent of the people, in a city which lies on the river Loire on its right bank,[CI] and you shall pass from this world old and full of days.” And when the slaves had come back and reported this to their master he was at once filled with vanity as if he were already sitting in the chair of the church of Tours, and he reported the words to me. But I laughed at his folly and said: “It is from God that this should be sought; what the devil promises is not to be believed.” He went off in confusion and I had a hearty laugh at the man who thought such things credible.[CJ] At length one night, when the watch was being kept in the church of the holy bishop and I had lain down and fallen asleep on my bed, I saw an angel flying through the air. And when he passed the holy church he cried in a loud voice: “Alas. Alas. God has stricken Chilperic and all his sons and there shall remain no one of those who came forth from his loins to rule his kingdom forever.”[CK] He had at this time four sons by different wives, not to speak of daughters. And when this was fulfilled later on, then I saw clearly that what the soothsayers promised was false. Now while these men were staying in the church of St. Martin, queen Fredegunda who already favored Gunthram Boso secretly for the death of Theodobert, sent to him saying: “If you can cast Merovech forth from the church so that he will be killed you shall receive a great gift from me.” And he thought the assassins were close at hand and said to Merovech: “Why are we so spiritless and timid as to sit here and hide sluggishly around the church? Let our horses be brought and let us take hawks and hunt with dogs and enjoy the hunting[CL] and the open views.” He was acting cunningly to get Merovech away from the holy church. Now Gunthram otherwise was a very good man but he was too ready for perjury, and he never took an oath to any of his friends but that he broke it forthwith. They went out, as we have said, from the church and went as far as the house of Jocundiacus near the city; but Merovech was harmed by no one. And as Gunthram was at that time wanted for the killing of Theodobert, as we have said, king Chilperic sent a letter all written out to the tomb of St. Martin which contained the request that the blessed Martin would write back to him whether it was permissible to drag Gunthram from his church or not. And the deacon Baudegisil, who brought the letter, sent to the holy tomb a clean sheet of paper along with the one he had brought. And after waiting three days and getting no answer he returned to Chilperic. And he sent others to exact an oath of Gunthram not to leave the church without his knowledge. Gunthram took the oath eagerly and gave an altarcloth as pledge that he would never go thence without the king’s command. Now Merovech did not believe the sorcerers but placed three books on the saint’s tomb, namely, Psalms, Kings and the Gospels, and keeping watch the whole night he prayed the blessed confessor to reveal to him what was coming and whether he could be king or not, in order that he might know by evidence from the Lord. After this he continued three days in fasting, watching and prayer, and going to the blessed grave a second time he opened the book of Kings. And the first verse on the page which he opened was this: “Because you have forsaken the Lord your God and have gone after other gods and have not done right in his sight, therefore the Lord your God has betrayed you into the hands of your enemies.”
And this verse was found in the Psalms: “But thou hast brought evils upon them because of their deceitfulness; thou hast hurled them down when they were lifted up. How have they been brought to desolation? They have suddenly failed and perished because of their iniquities.” And in the Gospels this was found: “Ye know that after two days the passover cometh and the Son of man is delivered up to be crucified.”