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History of the Franks

St Gregory of Tours, tr. Dalton, 1927

Book 7, How Gundovald Was Raised on the Shield, and Concerning Rigunth, Daughter of King…

He himself made all haste to Mummolus, with whom he had entered into alliance two years before. Mummolus was at this time dwelling in the town of Avignon, with Gundovald, of whom I have spoken in an earlier book.¹ Gundovald, accompanied by the two dukes,² now set forth for the territory of Limoges, reached Brives-la-Gaillarde, where is the tomb of a holy man named Martin, a disciple, as they say, of our own Martin, and was there raised as king upon a shield.³ But when they turned to bear him round for the third time it is said that he was like to fall, and scarce might be held up by the hands of those standing about him. Thereafter he made a progress through the surrounding cities.

Rigunth had taken up her abode in the church of the blessed Mary at Toulouse, whither the wife of the aforesaid Ragnovald⁴ had fled from fear of Chilperic. Ragnovald now returned from Spain, and recovered his wife and property; he had gone into that country on an embassy by direction of King Guntram.

At this time the church of the above-named Martin at Brives was burned in so great a fire by the advancing enemy that the altar and the columns, made of different kinds of marble, were split and shattered in the flames: afterwards this church was restored by Bishop Ferreolus,⁵ so that it seemed never to have suffered damage. The inhabitants hold this holy Martin in the utmost wonder and veneration, for again and again they have proved his miraculous power.

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