History of the Franks

by Saint Bishop of Tours Gregory

27. Chilperic went to Paris the day before Easter was celebrated, and to avoid the curses contained in the compact between him and his brothers[DJ] that no one of them should enter Paris without the consent of the others, the relics of many saints were carried before him as he entered the city, and he spent Easter amid great mirth, and gave his son to be baptized, and Ragnemod, bishop of the city, received him from the holy font. Chilperic directed them to call him Theodoric.

[28. Marcus the referendary dies, first receiving the tonsure. 29. The piety of the nuns of Poitiers is described. As the result of a vision one of them acted as follows:]

When the maiden had had this vision she was contrite in heart and after a few days she asked the abbess to get ready a cell in which she could be shut. The abbess got it ready quickly and said: “Here is the cell. What more do you wish?” The maiden asked to be permitted to be shut in it. This was granted, and the nuns gathered with loud psalm-singing and the lamps were lighted and she was conducted to the place, the blessed Radegunda holding her hand. And so she said farewell to all and kissed each one and became a recluse. And the entrance by which she went in was walled up and she is there now spending her time in prayer and reading.

[30. The emperor Tiberius dies and Mauritius succeeds him.]

31. King Chilperic received legates from his nephew Childebert and among them the leader was Egidius, bishop of Rheims. On being brought before the king they presented their letter and said: “Our master your nephew begs you to keep with especial care the peace you have made with him since he cannot have peace with your brother, who took away his share of Marseilles[DK] after his father’s death and retains fugitives and is not willing to send them back. Therefore your nephew Childebert wishes to preserve unbroken the friendship which he now has with you.” Chilperic replied: “My brother has proven guilty in many particulars. For if my son Childebert would seek the path of reason, he would know at once that it was by my brother’s connivance that his father was killed.”[DL] Upon this bishop Egidius said: “If you would join with your nephew and he with you and take the field, due vengeance would be speedily visited on him.” When they had sworn to this agreement and exchanged hostages, they departed. Then relying on these promises Chilperic set the army of his kingdom in motion and went to Paris. And on encamping there he brought great expense to the inhabitants. And duke Berulf went with the people of Tours, Poitiers, Angers, and Nantes to the boundary of Bourges. And Desiderius and Bladast with all the army of their province hemmed in the territory of Bourges on the other side, completely devastating the country through which they came.[DM] And Chilperic ordered the army which had come to him to pass through the territory of Paris. And when they passed through, he passed also and went to the town of Melun, burning and wasting all. And although his nephew’s army did not come to him, still his dukes and legates were with him. Then he sent messengers to the dukes just mentioned and said: “Enter the territory of Bourges and go right to the city and demand the oath of fidelity in my name.” But the people of Bourges gathered at the town of Châteaumeillant to the number of fifteen thousand and there fought duke Desiderius, and there was great slaughter there so that more than seven thousand from each army fell. And the dukes went to the city with the people who were left, plundering and devastating all. And such marauding was done there as was never heard of in old times, so that no house nor vineyard nor tree was left, but they cut, burned, and subdued all. Moreover they carried the sacred utensils from the churches and burned the churches with fire. But king Gunthram went with an army against his brother, placing all his hope in the judgment of God. And one evening he sent his army and destroyed a great part of his brother’s army. In the morning legates went to and fro and they made peace, promising one another that each would pay for what he had done beyond the limit of the law whatever the bishops and leaders of the people should decide. And so they parted peaceably. And when king Chilperic could not keep his army from plundering he slew the count of Rouen with the sword and thus returned to Paris, leaving all the booty and giving up the captives. And the besiegers of Bourges, on receiving orders to return home, took with them so much plunder that all the district they left was believed to be emptied of men and domestic animals. The army of Desiderius and Bladast went through the land of Tours and burned, plundered, and slew, as is the custom with enemies, and they took captives, the most of whom they spoiled and afterwards let go. There followed upon this disaster a disease among domestic animals so that scarcely enough remained to make a start with, and it was strange if any one saw an ox or heifer. While this went on king Childebert remained with his army in one place. And one night the army mutinied and the lesser people raised a great murmur against bishop Egidius and the king’s dukes, and began to cry aloud and shout in public, saying: “Let those be thrust from the presence of the king who sell his kingdom, give over his cities to the dominion of another, and betray his people to the rule of another prince.” While they continued shouting such things the morning came, and they seized their armor and hastened to the king’s tent in order to seize the bishop and leaders and crush them by force and beat and wound them. On learning of this the bishop fled on horseback and hastened to his own city. And the people pursued him hurling stones and shouting abuse. And he was saved by the fact that they had no horses ready. The bishop outstripped his companions’ horses and hastened on alone so terrified that when one shoe dropped off he did not stop to put it on. And so he arrived at his city and shut himself within the walls of Rheims.

32. A few months earlier Leudast had come to Tours with the king’s command to take his wife back and dwell there. Moreover he brought me a letter signed by the bishops directing that he be admitted to the communion again. But since I saw no letter from the queen, on whose account especially he had been excommunicated, I put off admitting him and said: “When I receive the queen’s command then I will not delay to admit him.” Meantime I sent to her and she wrote back saying: “I was urged by many and could not help letting him go. But now I ask you not to be reconciled to him nor give him the holy bread from your hand until I consider more fully what I ought to do.” But when I read this letter over I was afraid he would be killed, and sending for his brother-in-law I made it known to him and asked that Leudast be careful until the queen should relent. But he received with suspicion the advice which I gave frankly in God’s sight, and since he was my enemy he refused to do what I ordered, and the proverb was fulfilled which I once heard an old man mention: “Always give good advice to friend and foe because the friend takes it and the foe despises it.” And so he despised this advice and went to the king, who was then at Melun with his army, and he entreated the people to beg the king to see him. So when all made entreaty the king gave him a hearing. Leudast threw himself at his feet and begged for pardon, and the king replied to him: “Be on guard yet for a little while until I see the queen and make arrangement as to how you are to return into favor with her.” But he was reckless and foolish and was confident because he had had a hearing before the king, and when the king returned to Paris he threw himself at the queen’s feet in the holy church on the Lord’s day and asked for pardon. But she was furious and cursed the sight of him and drove him away and said, bursting into tears: “I have no sons living to avenge the slander against me and I leave it to you, Lord Jesus, to avenge.” And she threw herself at the king’s feet and added: “Woe is me that I see my enemy and do not prevail over him.” Then Leudast was driven from the holy place and the mass was celebrated. The king and queen returned from the holy church and Leudast went to the square having no idea what was going to happen to him; he went around the traders’ houses, examined their costly wares, tested the weight of the silver articles and looked at various ornaments, saying: “I’ll buy this and this because I still have much gold and silver.” As he was saying this the queen’s servants came suddenly and wished to bind him with chains. But he drew his sword and struck one of them. Then in a rage they seized their swords and shields and rushed at him. And one of them dealt a stroke that took hair and skin off a great part of his head. And as he fled across the city bridge his foot slipped between two planks of the bridge and his leg was broken and he was taken. His hands were tied behind his back and he was put in prison. The king ordered the physicians to attend him in order that when cured of his wounds he might be executed with prolonged torture. He was taken to one of the estates of the fisc but his wounds putrefied and he was dying when the queen ordered him to be laid on the ground on his back. Then a great bar of iron was placed under his neck and they struck his throat with another. And so after living an always perfidious life he died a just death.

[33. List of prodigies. 34. Death of Chilperic’s infant son Theodoric.]

35. In the meantime the queen was told that the boy who had died had been taken away by evil arts and enchantments, and that Mummolus the prefect,[DN] whom the queen had long hated, had a share in the death of her son Theodoric. And it happened that while Mummolus was dining at home one from the king’s court complained that a boy whom he loved had been attacked by dysentery. And the prefect said to him: “I have an herb at hand a draught of which will soon cure a sufferer from dysentery no matter how desperate the case.” This was reported to the queen and she was the more enraged. Meantime she apprehended some women of Paris and plied them with tortures and strove to force them by blows to confess what they knew. And they admitted that they practised magic and testified that they had caused many to die, adding what I do not allow any one to believe: “We gave your son, O Queen, in exchange for Mummolus the prefect’s life.”[DO] Then the queen used severer torture on the women and caused some to be drowned and delivered others over to fire, and tied others to wheels where their bones were broken. And then she retired with the king to the villa of Compiègne and there disclosed to him what she had heard of the prefect. The king sent his men and ordered him summoned, and after examining him they loaded him with chains and subjected him to torture. He was hung to a beam with his hands tied behind his back and there asked what he knew of the evil arts, but he confessed nothing of what we have told above. Nevertheless he told how he had often received from these women ointments and potions to secure for him the favor of the king and queen. Now when released from torture, he called a reader and said to him: “Tell my master the king that I feel no ill effect of the tortures inflicted on me.” Hearing this the king said: “Is it not true that he practises evil arts if he has not been harmed by these tortures?” Then he was stretched on the wheel and beaten with triple thongs until his torturers were wearied out. Then they put splinters under his finger and toe nails. And when it had come to this, that the sword hung over him to cut his head off, the queen obtained his life; but a disgrace not less than death followed. Everything was taken from him and he was put on a rough wagon and sent to his birthplace, the city of Bordeaux. But on the way he had a stroke of apoplexy and was scarcely able to reach his destination. And not long after he died.

Then the queen took all the boy had owned, both garments and costly articles, whether of silk or wool, all she could find, and burned them. They say there were four wagon-loads. She had the things of gold and silver melted in a furnace that nothing might remain as it was to recall the sad memory of her son.

[36. Difficulties of Ætherius, bishop of Lisieux, with a dissolute priest and how he finally triumphed. 37. Abbot Lupentius is falsely accused, tortured, and murdered by Count Innocent. 38. Count Innocent becomes bishop of Rodez. 39. Sulpicius becomes bishop of Bourges. 40. Theological argument between Gregory and a Spanish legate. 41. Chilperic retires to Cambrai. 42. Childebert receives money from the emperor to drive the Lombards out of Italy but fails to do so. 43. Events in Spain. 44. List of prodigies.]