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History of the Franks
St Gregory of Tours, tr. Dalton, 1927
Book 2, 2. Of the Vandals and the Persecution of Christians Under Them
After this the Vandals, quitting their homes, fell upon Gaul under the leadership of King Gunderic, and after ravaging it, attacked Spain. The Suevi, or Alamanni, followed, and seized Galicia. But soon afterwards a quarrel arose between the two peoples owing to their near neighbourhood. They had taken up arms and were marching to war, prepared for instant encounter, when the king of the Alamanni cried: ‘How long shall war overwhelm the whole people? Let not, I entreat, the hosts of both our nations perish; but let two champions come forth in arms into the field, and join issue alone. Then the king whose man conquers shall obtain the territory without a battle.’ To this all the people gave consent, that the whole multitude might not fall by the edge of the sword. In these days died King Gunderic, and Trasamund had the kingdom in his stead. In the single combat, the champion of the Vandals was overcome and fell, and after he was slain Trasamund gave his word that he would retire; he would withdraw from the confines of Spain as soon as he had made the preparations necessary for the march.
About the same period Trasamund began a persecution of the Christians, and by tortures and divers forms of death sought to compel all Spain to join the perfidious Arian sect. Whence it so fell out that a maiden vowed to God was brought to this inquisition. She was exceeding rich, distinguished, according to worldly rank, by belonging to a noble senatorial family; but she had a yet nobler distinction than all these things: she was strong in the Catholic faith, and served Almighty God without reproach. As soon as she was brought into the king’s presence, he began first enticing her by persuasive words to suffer herself to be re-baptized. When she turned his poisoned dart with the shield of faith, he commanded that all her possessions should be taken away; but she already deemed herself to possess the kingdom of heaven. Thereupon he ordered torture to be applied, to punish her beyond further hope of this present life. What more need be said? Though she was oft-times tortured, and stripped of her treasure of earthly riches, yet might not her resistance be broken, nor could she be forced to deny the Holy Trinity. She was then led still resisting to re-baptism. And while she was thrust by force into the font of foulness, crying out the while, ‘I believe that the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost are of one substance’, she dyed all the water with blood, besprinkling it with the uterine flux. Thereafter, subjected to a legal interrogation, stretched upon the horse, tortured by fire and the pincers, she was dedicated to Christ the Lord by beheading. The Vandals now crossed the strait, and spread through all Africa and Mauretania; they were followed by the Alamanni as far as Tangier.
But since in their time persecution of Christians became more violent, as was mentioned above, it seems fitting to recount some of the wrongs they wrought against the houses of God, and in what manner they were expelled from their kingdom. Upon the death of Trasamund, after his crimes committed against the saints of God, Huneric, who was of a yet more cruel nature, seized the kingdom and was elected by the Vandals to rule over them. The mind of man may not comprehend the number of Christians slain in his time for the most holy name of Christ. Africa is their witness, which bore them, and Christ’s own hand, crowning them with gems imperishable in splendour. I have read the Passions of some among them, from which I will relate certain events in order to fulfil my promise.