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History of the Franks
St Gregory of Tours, tr. Dalton, 1927
nb5
Prologue. Things of delight. The text has militiae, but deliciae gives more intelligible sense, unless militiae could be referred to the services which minister to luxury.
That which Orosius writes of the Carthaginians. The passage here cited is not to be found at the end of the fourth book, where Orosius describes the destruction of Carthage, but in ch. 8 of the fifth.
1. Duke Gundovald. One of Sigibert’s military commanders. Cf. IV. 47.
In secret, snatching him from imminent death. Fredegar (Chron. iii. 72) says that the boy Childebert was put in a bag (pera) and given through a window to a servitor, who rode with him to Metz, where he was acknowledged as his father’s successor. The child was accepted as king on 8th December 575, though his formal proclamation, as Gregory proceeds to state, took place on Christmas Day. The swift adoption of Childebert II was probably a political move on the part of the powerful Austrasian aristocracy. See Introduction, p. 116.
Her daughters. The elder was Ingund, who afterwards married Hermangild, son of the Visigothic king Leuvigild (cf. ch. 28 (38) below; VI. 29 (43); VIII. 21, 28). She converted Hermangild to Catholicism, and after his defeat and death took refuge with the Byzantine force still holding part of the country. She was on her way to Constantinople when she died in Africa, which probably means Carthage, capital of the Byzantine province, where travellers to and from the imperial city seem often to have stopped while on their way by sea. The younger daughter, Chlodosind, was betrothed to Recared, Hermangild’s younger brother, though not without the opposition of King Guntram, who never ceased to regard the Visigoths as responsible for the death of Ingund and Hermangild (IX. 16, 21, 25, 28).
2. Which is built of wooden planks. Wooden churches are frequently mentioned by Gregory. They are usually chapels or oratories, and of small size. Cf. Introduction, p. 320.
He would not try to part them. This appears to be the sense, though the Latin is not easily so construed, the words being: dicens: In quid voluntas Dei fuerit, ipse hos separare conaretur. We must suppose a negative omitted, for ipse conaretur can hardly refer to God. Were it so referred, Chilperic would in effect be made to say: ‘let God try to separate them if He can, it is not for me to do it.’
3. To warn them... destruction on both sides. The words are: mittens nuntios, ne sibi iniuriam facerent, et excidium de utroque evenerit exercitu. If Gregory were a correct writer, sibi would refer to the opponents of Chilperic, and the sense would be: warning them not to do themselves wilful mischief, since a battle would mean destruction for them no less than for him. But Gregory’s use of the reflexive pronoun is loose, and he probably intended sibi to refer to the king.
But not as a close prisoner. The words are libere custodiri. Cf. the next chapter.
Domain lands (villas a fisco). Country domains, with their dwelling-houses, belonging to the Crown. For grants of estates from the royal domain, cf. Introduction, p. 164.
Fixed the candle tight... until it burned out. The sentence runs: nudare eius tibias faciebat atque tamdiu [in his cereum comprimi] donec lumine privaretur. It has generally been assumed that a burning torch was pressed against the legs until it was put out; but cereum can only mean a candle, which would be extinguished at once by pressure. The context also shows that a slow torture is described.
Siggo the referendary. He is mentioned as cured of deafness by relics of S. Martin in V. S. M. iii. 17. The title was Byzantine and borrowed by the Franks. The referendaries were legal secretaries of the sovereign. The formula for the referendary under Theodoric the Ostrogoth ran as follows: Per eum nobis causarum ordines exponuntur, per eum interpellantium vota cognoscimus et ipsis responsa reddimus (Cassiodorus, Var. v. 17). Referendaries were admitted to intimacy with the king (vobiscum familiariter miscemus affatus). In Frankish times they kept the royal signet-ring with which diplomas were signed. For other holders of this office cf. ch. 45 below; VI. 20 (28); VIII. 39; IX. 23, 33, 38; X. 19; Fortunatus, Carm. vii. 22; ix. 12. Cf. also Introduction, p. 200.
His property in Soissons. Given him by Chilperic as a reward for entering his service, as in the case of Godin.
4. Guntram, then accused of the death of Theudebert. This was Guntram Boso, accused of having caused the death of Theudebert, Chilperic’s eldest son. Cf. below, ch. 14.
Whose power... had made crippled limbs straight. Literally, ‘paralytic limbs’.
The church house... put together by means of nails. For the church house, as residence of bishop or priest, see I. 44; IV. 36; and Introduction, p. 343. In the present case the plank house beyond the Loire can hardly have been Gregory’s residence; it probably belonged to a church standing across the river.
On its way to the holy basilica. The cathedral (ecclesia) was within the walls, the church (basilica) and monastery of S. Martin some distance away without them. Cf. II. 28 (38).
Preceded by his banners (precedentibus signis). Either Guntram’s military banners, or those belonging to the procession.
The cathedral. The procession naturally returned to the place from which it set out, and Guntram with it.
To oppress and mulct the citizens of Poitiers. Probably by announcing new taxes.
5. Felix, bishop of Nantes. Cf. IV. 4. The reputation of Felix stood high at Nantes, a city which he served well. Fortunatus was his friend, and esteemed him for his learning; a letter and several poems are addressed to the bishop (Carm. iii. 4-10; v. 8). In G. C., ch. 77, Gregory relates a story in evidence of the chastity of Felix. His adverse attitude elsewhere is evidently due to personal antagonism, not unnatural in view of the accusations made by Felix against his brother Peter.
A domain belonging to the Church (villam ecclesiae). i.e. part of the lands belonging to the see of Tours. For such Church estates see Introduction, p. 313.
The ships would never have brought thee oil... but only paper. To the port of Marseilles came the papyrus of Egypt. For the commerce of the Mediterranean at this time, cf. A. Marignan, Études sur la civ. française, i, p. 144.
The blessed Tetricus... dismissed the deacon Lampadius, who had served him in a position of trust. Tetricus, bishop of Langres, succeeded his father Gregory in the see in 536. Through Armentaria, a granddaughter of the latter, he was connected with Gregory of Tours. He died in 572. For Gregory’s brother Peter, whose death is recorded in this chapter, cf. Introduction, p. 5, and V. S. J., ch. 24.
He was granted to them by the king. For such exceptional procedure at episcopal elections, see Introduction, pp. 294-5. Monderic, or Munderic, should by his name be either a Frank or Burgundian. He was appointed bishop coadjutor with promise of succession.
The town of Tonnerre (Ternodorense castrum). A castrum was a township inferior in size and status to a city; the name may originally have been given because many of them were fortified places. For Tonnerre and its surrounding territory, or pagus, cf. Longnon, Géogr., p. 215.
In great hardship. The text has cum grandi exitu.
Nicetius (Nizier). Bishop of Lyons and great-uncle of Gregory of Tours. Cf. Introduction, p. 6.
In the township of Alais (Arisitensis vicus). This was a bishopric of short duration. If we accept the identification of vicus Arisitensis with Alais (Longnon, Géogr., pp. 538 ff.), the see was probably absorbed into the diocese of Nîmes after the annexation of Septimania by Pepin the Short (ibid., p. 543).
Siagrius. Bishop of Autun. This was the prelate for whom Brunhild asked the pallium from Gregory the Great. The pope obtained it for him, though not without hesitation, for he was not even a metropolitan. He bore the highest character; cf. the letter of Fortunatus to him (Opera, Pt. I, Bk. V, 4).
Dijon. Dijon is always described as a castrum (cf. above). It was not a city, or capital of a diocese (civitas), but ecclesiastically subordinate to Langres. For Dijon cf. III. 19; and see Longnon, Géogr., p. 210.
6. The books which I have endeavoured to compose. The reference is to Gregory’s Life of S. Martin in four books, entitled De virtutibus Sancti Martini Episcopi. The roundabout expression ‘endeavoured to compose’, if not an empty phrase, may have been suggested by his consciousness of literary shortcomings. Cf. Introduction, p. 20.
Had recourse to earthly remedies. For Gregory’s opinion with regard to medical science, and for the state of that science in his day, see Introduction, pp. 7, 415.
He consulted a Jew. The Jews probably formed an important element in the medical profession in Merovingian Gaul.
7. The blessed Senoch. Gregory wrote a short Life of Senoch (V. P., ch. xv), to which he here alludes; he also mentions him in G. C., ch. 25. Senoch practised extreme austerities, for which he was rebuked by Gregory, on the ground that they tended to spiritual arrogance. After this he was ordained priest, dying in 576, Gregory himself hastening to his death-bed.
Of the Theifali. A Gothic tribe settled in Poitou (cf. IV. 12 (18), and Introduction, p. 172-3. Tiffauges on the Sèvre is said to derive its name from them.
5 (8). The church in which he was buried. It has been mentioned above (p. 512) that this church, first dedicated to S. Vincent, was afterwards known by the name of Germanus, and the building now on the site is still called Saint-Germain-des-Prés. It had yet another name, being also called the Church of the Holy Cross (III. 29; and Fortunatus, Carm. ii. 14).
The book of his Life, composed by the priest Fortunatus. Still extant: see M. G. H., Auct. antiquiss. iv, pt. ii, p. 11. Gregory never alludes to Fortunatus as bishop, because the latter was only consecrated to the see of Poitiers after his death (cf. Introduction, p. 83 n. i).
9. The monastery of Méallet (Melitense monasterium). Méallet in Cantal, arrondissement and canton of Mauriac, appears to be the most probable site (Longnon, p. 504).
6 (11). Avitus, bishop of Clermont (d. about 594), had shared in the upbringing of Gregory. Cf. Introduction, p. 6. This story of the conversion en masse of Jews at Clermont so pleased Gregory that he asked the ever-ready Fortunatus to write a poem on the subject. The poem is to be read in his works (Carm. v. 5), with an epistolary prologue.
By the authority of prophets and kings (propheticae et regali auctoritate). An alternative reading is legali: ‘by authority of the Law and the prophets’.
The bishop offered prayer, &c. On Good Friday prayer was offered in churches for the conversion of the Jews.
Himself robed in white (cum albatis reliquis in albis et ipse procedit). Cf. II. 29 and note.
From the cathedral church to the basilica (de ecclesia ad basilicam). Cf. ch. 4 above. The position resembled that at Tours, a considerable distance separating the two churches. Cf. n. on p. 535. We do not know the titular saint of the basilica.
Nocturns on the holy eve of Pentecost. In the cathedral. Cf. X. 31.
Returned to Marseilles. The port at which they had landed in Gaul. These Jews did not, however, escape baptism even there, as we learn from a letter of Gregory the Great (Ep. i. 45).
12. Brachio. The word, as Gregory tells us in V. P. xii, signifies a young bear (German, Bärchen). Ménat is in Puy-de-Dôme. Brachio had founded monasteries both in Auvergne and Touraine (V. P., as above). For Duke Sigivald cf. III. 13, 16, 23. He was a relative of King Theuderic of Austrasia. He sent Brachio out to hunt wild boar. The boy in the course of the hunt came to the hut of the hermit Aemilianus, who converted him, and had him taught to read and learn the Psalms (V. P., as above).
7 (13). Mummolus, patrician of King Guntram. The aggressive proceedings of Chilperic had roused Guntram to active opposition, and he entrusted his successful general Mummolus (cf. IV. 41-6) with the defence of his interests. For the title of patrician, as borne by the governor of Provence, see IV. 29 (42).
Desiderius, Chilperic’s duke. Cf. ch. 29 (39). This untrustworthy servant of an untrustworthy master joined and deserted the pretender Gundovald, was pardoned by Guntram, and finally killed fighting the Visigoths at Carcassonne (VIII. 45).
8 (14). Aninsula. The text has Anni insula. The monastery, founded about 533, was named from the stream on the banks of which it was built (the Aninsula or Anisola = Anille, an affluent of the Braye). From the ninth century it was known by the name of its founder (S. Karilefus) as Saint-Calais, still borne by the small town of the department of the Sarthe which grew up round the abbey (Longnon, Géogr., p. 296).
Bread of oblation. Literally eulogiae, on which see above, p. 527, note to IV. 35.
Ragnemod, bishop of Paris (consecrated 577, d. 591), is here mentioned for the first time by Gregory, whose opinions he did not always share. Cf. 12 (18) below; VII. 4; and G. C., ch. 87. Cf. also V. S. M. ii. 12.
When we refused. Because the marriage of Merovech with his aunt Brunhild was forbidden by the canons, as being within the prohibited degrees.
Nicetius, husband of my niece. This niece, named Eustenia, was daughter of Justinus. Cf. Introduction, p. 6.
He brought all the possessions that he had with him (res quas secum habuit exhibuit). Exhibere has constantly the meaning ‘to bring’.
Leudast, then count of Tours. This man, an example of the worst kind of Merovingian count, was a thorn in Gregory’s side. See chs. 47-9 below. For his death see VI. 23 (32).
Marileif, the royal physician (archiater). Marileif of Poitiers was one of the physicians of King Chilperic (VII. 25). In X. 15 one Reoval is mentioned as archiater. For the position of doctors in Merovingian times, see Introduction, p. 418.
Got away into the cathedral. Here again the word ecclesia is used for the bishop’s church or cathedral, as opposed to basilica, used for the church of S. Martin. Cf. above, ch. 4, and II. 28 (38).
A certain woman having a gift of prophecy (habentem spiritum phytonis). The last word is derived from the Greek πύθων, to which is related Pythia, the name of the priestess uttering the responses of the Delphic Apollo. The form phytonissa is elsewhere used by Gregory.
An old man, full of days. This prophecy was soon falsified by events. Boso died a violent death (IX. 10).
May not be believed. After these words other texts insert John viii. 14, but not from the Vulgate.
When... these words were fulfilled. The fulfilment was not complete. Most of Chilperic’s sons died before him; but his youngest son, Lothar II, survived him.
As far as Jocundiacus. Longnon, though unable to point to a place of this name, considers that Iocundiacus domus can only have been corrupted into Jonzac, Jonzay, or Jonzé; he rejects the usual identification with Jouay, or Joué, a village half a mile south of Tours (Géogr. de la Gaule, &c., p. 274).
Because Guntram was accused... of the death of Theudebert. Though his consort Fredegund secretly rejoiced at the death of her eldest stepson, Chilperic, his father, had different feelings, and was eager to avenge his son’s death.
With a letter for the tomb of the holy Martin. …
Guntram readily swore on the altar-cloth, &c. (ambienter iurans, pallam altaris fidei iussorem dedit). Literally: ‘gave the altar-cloth as his security’. It was the custom to touch or lay hold of the altar-cloth or any other venerated object when taking an oath to prove innocence. Ambienter probably has some such meaning as ‘without hesitating’, and need hardly signify that Guntram walked round the altar, taking the solemn oath as he went. Cf. Forcellini, Lex, s. v.
But Merovech... placed three books upon the saint’s tomb. We have here an example of Sortes Biblicae, a divination by the Scriptures, after the manner of the Sortes Virgilianae. Other cases have already been mentioned (II. 37; IV. 16, 49). It was probably rare for the manuscripts of many books to be bound up together. Not only would a whole Bible have been of enormous bulk, but the manuscripts, partly Itala and partly Vulgate, were derived from different sources, while few churches, it may be supposed, possessed them all.
Opened (revolvit libram). The word revolvit belonged to the time when rolls were used, though in the sixth century codices or manuscripts in book form were almost universal.
By reason of their deceit. The text, which differs widely from the version of the Vulgate, begins as follows: Verum propter dolositatem posuisti eis mala; deiecisti eos, dum allevarentur...
The church of the holy Germanus. Near Auxerre. This church was dedicated to the earlier S. Germanus, bishop of Auxerre, who visited Britain in 418 and died at Ravenna in 448.
The Austrasians (Austrasii). This term is here first employed for the Eastern Franks, formerly known as Ripuarians.
9 (15). Lothar, &c. This chapter suddenly takes up the story broken off in IV. 28 (41). Lothar had in fact nothing to do with it, having died in 561.
In the place which he left void. This can only mean: ‘in the place left vacant by those Saxons who had gone with Alboin into Italy.’ Cf. IV. 29 (42).
And so the war ceased. Giesebrecht notes a passage in Widukind of Corvey, writen in 967 (Book I, ch. 14), in which this author says that in his time these immigrant Suevi (Swabians) had other laws than those of the Saxons. The region of Quedlinburg on the Bode was at a still later time known as Schwabengau.
11 (17). Magnachar. The text has Magnarius; but the usual form of the name is Magnachar rather than Magnar. The two men were Guntram’s brothers-in-law. The king had married Marcatrude, their sister, but had put her away in favour of her handmaid Austrechild, because she was accused of poisoning Gundobad, his son by Veneranda. Cf. IV. 18 (25), and ch. 20 below. Fredegar gives the names of Magnachar’s sons as Guntio and Wiolich. For Guntram’s matrimonial changes see IV. 25.
On the fourteenth day of the kalends of May. The tables of Victorius of Aquitaine for giving the date of Easter were adopted for Gaul at the Council of Orleans in 541; these tables were drawn up at the request of Pope Hilary (cf. Gregory’s Prologue to Book I). But many in Gaul still adhered to the older Roman tables, though contemporary Rome had adopted the tables of Dionysius.
Those springs in Spain. An account of these springs is given by Gregory in G. M., ch. 23. The place was Osset, or Osser, on the north side of the Baetis, opposite Seville; it was earlier known as Iulia Constantia. Here was probably what had been an ancient holy well, to which Christians added a cruciform marble basin, finally erecting a church over it. In Passion Week the basin was emptied and the doors of the church sealed. On Easter Day, when the doors were opened, the basin was found full. The coming of the water was a proof that the day was the true Easter. Cf. VI. 43 below; Gibbon, Decline and Fall, ch. 37; and Corblet in Revue de l’art chrétien, xxi, p. 179. The filling of the Spanish springs at the date accepted in Gaul and rejected by the Church in Spain was naturally regarded by Gregory as a triumph, a miraculous confirmation of the Gallican argument.
In G. C., ch. 68, Gregory mentions the springs of Osset in connexion with others at Embrun in Gaul, which in like manner rose ‘divinitus’.
Chinon (Cainon, Toronicum vicum). In VI. 13 Chinon is called Cainonense castrum, which would imply that it was a town of the second order, rather than a village. It is described in the same way in G. C., ch. 22. Cf. above, ch. 5.
The Stone Bridge (ad pontem quem Petrium vocant). This bridge was at Pompierre in the canton and arrondissement of Neufchâteau, Vosges; the point was only some fifteen kilometres from the diocese of Langres in Guntram’s dominions, and carried over the Mouzon the Roman road from Childebert’s capital of Metz to Chalon-sur-Saône, a principal residence of Guntram (Longnon, Géogr., p. 372).
Appoint a field of battle (campum praepararet ad bellum). This phrase resembles others used by Gregory, and suggests encounters resembling tourneys rather than battles resulting from tactics and strategy. Probably it is not to be taken literally.
Had circuses built at Soissons and Paris. In the earlier sixth century the spectacles and contests of the amphitheatre were still to be seen in Italy, and they are several times mentioned in the official letters of Theodoric, composed by Cassiodorus and known as the Variae. At Constantinople they were of course a chief preoccupation of Byzantine life. Procopius (De Bello Gothica, i. 13) says that in 541, after Witigis ceded Provence to the Franks, ‘the chiefs of the Germans’ struck coins ‘and presided in the circus at Arles’; the Ostrogoths must therefore have maintained them until this time. Probably in the north of Gaul the amphitheatre had not been kept up in the same way. Its re-establishment at this moment by Chilperic was itself a spectacular gesture of contempt for the rival princes who had just threatened him with war.
12 (18). Entrusted to him by Queen Brunhild. At the time when she was banished to Rouen, and was married to Merovech (ch. 2 above) by the bishop. Praetextatus, who had baptized Merovech, had espoused the interests of that prince’s bride. Fredegar (Chron. iii. 78) says that the bishop and Brunhild were conspiring against Chilperic. This is the point upon which the trial of Praetextatus turned.
The episcopal council. For such councils, summoned by the kings, see Introduction, p. 304. This Council of Paris was especially remarkable for the fact that the king appeared in person, almost playing the part of chief ‘counsel for the prosecution’.
The canons. These were canons of Gallican councils, not those of oecumenical councils. Cf. Introduction, p. 305.
A great murmur from the crowd of Franks without. The king’s voice, raised to a high pitch, was audible to the crowd (multitudo Francorum, cf. ch. 48 below) through the windows. Throughout the Merovingian period the Franks of Neustria, who were Salians and remembered Clovis, were more steadfast in loyalty to their royal house than the Austrasians or Burgundians, to whom the Salian tradition now meant but little. They were loyal even to a king like Chilperic, and to his widow Fredegund after his death.
What else could I do but make you presents... in return? From the valuable nature of certain presents (e.g. fine horses) we infer that the false witnesses belonged to the Frankish aristocracy. It is clear that the king was backed by the aristocratic party, a thing rarely seen in Austrasia.
To his lodging (ad metatum suum). Childebert I, Chilperic’s uncle, and Charibert his brother had occupied, when in Paris, the palace at the Roman Thermae (cf. Introduction, p. 406). Perhaps it was in this old palace that Chilperic had taken up his residence; the garden scene which follows makes this probable, though the word metatus suggests a temporary lodging.
In the sacristy (in secretario). The secretarium was often used for purposes not connected with the services of the church. For instance, the bishop would hold his court of law in the secretarium of his principal church. The difference between the secretarium and the salutatorium of a church is not always quite clear, both being used for many of the same things (Ducange). Paulinus speaks of secretaria in the plural: binas conchas quae maiori, in qua altare erat, adiungebantur. In one were kept the vestments and plate, in the other holy books were read (Ep. 12). According to Sulpicius Severus, S. Martin, like other bishops on occasion, lodged in the secretarium (Vita Beati Mart. 3). Persons taking sanctuary were accommodated in the salutatorium, as Eberulf (VII. 22).
Condemned to the vilest death. For the story of S. Martin and Maximus, see Sulpicius Severus, Vita, 20.
A dish (iuscellum). Literally, a dish of broth.
It belonged to my son Merovech. He means that the prince, his son by baptism, as husband of Brunhild, enjoyed rights with regard to her property, and that he would willingly have allowed his spiritual father to take what he chose.
Presumed apostolic canons. The apostolic canons properly so called were not used by the Church in Gaul, which enforced only those published by the Gallican synods. Chilperic made use of a genuine canon, No. 21 of the Collectio Dionysiana (Maassen, Quellen des canonischen Rechts, i, p. 439), but it had no real validity in Gaul. It is not correctly given by Gregory; it is concerned with theft, not with murder.
The hundred and eighth Psalm (Psalm 109 in the English Bible). Verse 8 of this Psalm contains the words: ‘and his bishopric let another take’, words applied by Peter to Judas Iscariot (Acts i. 20: Et episcopatum eius accipiat alter).
An island... over against the city of Coutances. Probably Jersey. The history of Praetextatus is continued in VII. 16 and VIII. 31.
It is not certain that Praetextatus was wholly innocent, though his chief fault may have been imprudence. Fredegar (iii. 78) declared him guilty without any reserve. Cf. Loebell, Gregor von Tours und seine Zeit, pp. 355 and 433.
The rest which followed it vanished. The description suggests Northern Lights or Aurora Borealis (cf. VI. 8 (14) 24 (33)).
The people of Thérouanne. The text has a Rabennensibus, but Tarabennensibus must be the true reading. Cf. Longnon, Géogr., p. 420.
Engaged in the spokes of a wheel (intextum rotae in sublime sustulerunt). The words describe one of the various tortures by means of wheels. For these, see J. Döpler, Theatrum poenarum et suppliciorum, ii (Leipzig, 1697), pp. 314 ff.
Count of the palace. The duties of this officer were judicial. He was the judge of the king’s court, where he was subordinate only to the king, should the latter be present. He could be sent as supreme judge into the provinces.
Bishop Egidius. This bishop of Reims was once in high favour with Sigibert and with the young Childebert II, his successor. He had consecrated Gregory, and is praised by Fortunatus in a laudatory poem (Carm. iii. 20) which celebrates his learning, eloquence, and good works. His subsequent career of intrigue with Neustria led to his degradation (X. 19).
13 (19). The people...chose Tiberius. The choice was really made by the Empress Sophia. Tiberius was created Caesar in the presence of the patriarch John on the 7th December 574, the mad Emperor Justin being also present, and, in a lucid interval, confessing his own failure as a monarch. Tiberius was by birth a Thracian, who had seen military service; he was a man of practical wisdom and organizing ability. He decided to strengthen popular influence in the State, remitting a whole year’s taxation; the reputation for liberality celebrated by Gregory may have arisen from such actions, more especially as his great expenditure, for which his successor suffered, gave rise to a tradition in Constantinople that he had discovered a treasure. He was crowned emperor in 578 and died in 582. See Gibbon, Decline and Fall, ch. xlv; and N. H. Baynes, in C. M. H. ii, pp. 272 ff.
Narses, the famous duke of Italy (dux Italiae). The celebrated commander through whose ability Justinian completed and established the conquest of Italy. The English reader may consult Gibbon, Decline and Fall, chs. xli-xlv; Bury, Hist. of the Later Roman Empire; and C. M. H. ii, chs. i (by Diehl) and vii (by Hartmann). For dux Italiae, cf. III. 32; IV. 9.
In a certain city. According to Paul the Deacon (Hist. Lang. ii. 11), this was in Italy. Gregory says: Italiam cum multis thesauris egressus, ad supra memoratam urbem advenit, and this agrees with his opinion. Other texts have Italia, and it seems more likely that the home of Narses was elsewhere. The story of the old man and his revelation of the secret seems to be confined to Gregory.
20. Bishop of Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux (Tricastinorum episcopo). For the civitas Tricastinorum see Longnon, Géogr., p. 439.
Their patriarch. Ruinart points out that this honorary title was also conferred on Priscus, successor of Nicetius.
To go before the pope of Rome (papam urbis Romae). For the relations of the popes to the Gallican Church in the sixth century, see Introduction, pp. 269, 354. This is not the only case of such an appeal mentioned by Gregory (cf. II. 1); it is noteworthy that it is made with the king’s consent, and that the pope seeks enforcement of his decision from the king.
All male children, &c. Cf. VI. 24. Theuderic, eldest son of Clovis, was the son of a concubine. Lothar II, who finally succeeded to the dominion of all Gaul, was born to Chilperic by Fredegund, once a servant of his first queen, Audovera. Such facts confirm Gregory’s argument against that of Sagittarius.
And lay down to feast anew (discumbebant). There are indications in Gregory that the Roman custom of reclining at meals may not have completely died out among Gallo-Romans (cf. note to III. 30). But the word may be conventionally used, and apply to sitting at table.
14 (21). Water from the tomb of the holy Martin. … Cf. V. S. M. ii. 51.
18 (25). Who was known as Industrius. Perhaps this was a nickname: ‘the zealous.’ Dracolen was Chilperic’s commander at Poitiers.
At the hands of the people. The word used is exercitus, but, as Giesebrecht suggests, this means not the army in being, but the body of free Franks present at the trial.
19 (26). The Saxons of the Bessin (Saxones Baiocassini). i.e. of the country about Bayeux, between that place and Nantes. This was a very early settlement of Saxons. Cf. X. 9 and Introduction, p. 172. See also Longnon, Géogr., pp. 174 and 238, and A. Jacobs, Géographie de Grégoire de Tours, p. 128.
Ordered the ban to be enforced... for not marching with the army. In this paragraph Gregory is referring to the dependents of the Church in his own diocese of Tours, who were traditionally exempt as dwellers under the protection of S. Martin. (Cf. VII. 29, 42.)
The nominal rule of the Frankish kingdoms was manhood service for freemen, and the penalty amounted to sixty pieces of gold.
20 (27). While others were appointed bishops of their cities. Aridius received the see of Gap, Emeritus that of Embrun. The word translated as ‘appointed’ is in the text obiurgati, which must be a scribe’s error.
21 (28). Many left their cities. Probably these were Gallo-Romans, on whom at this time the chief burden of taxation fell. Cf. VII. 15.
One amphora... for every half-acre (aripennis) of land. The aripennis formed a superficies, the sides of which were either 125 or 120 ft., and the contents 15,625 or 14,400 sq. ft.; it is therefore only approximately a half-acre. In the first century A.D. Columella considered that the iugerum, or Roman acre, should produce at least sixty amphorae of wine; but in the time of the Abbot Irmino of Saint-Germain-des-Prés (about A.D. 800) less was expected, and in Merovingian times we should certainly look for less. If, instead of the thirty amphorae of Columella, we guess twenty as a possible figure for the aripennis in Chilperic’s time, the king would be exacting 5 per cent., but all such calculations must be regarded as purely tentative: Loebell (Gregor von Tours und seine Zeit, p. 200 n.) estimated 10 per cent. For the aripennis, see B. Guérard, Le polyptyque de l’abbé Irminon (1844), i (Prolegomena), pp. 165 ff. For Merovingian land measures see P. Guilhiermoz, L’équivalente des anciennes mesures, and Bibl. de l’École des Chartes, lxxx (1919), p. 46.
Men from about his person (de latere suo personas). A few lines farther down they are described as regales missi, and were probably ex-officials or persons trained and qualified for office, kept at Court in readiness for special service. Cf. IV. 8 (13). Cf. Marculf, Formulae Merov. et Karolini aevi, in M. G. H., Legum, sect. v (Hanover, 1886), p. 69: Formula 39 in Bk. I, for an illustris ex nostro latere sent on an important mission to the provinces.
22 (29). Cornus (Cornutius vicus). This village, now improperly spelled Corps-Nuds, is in the canton of Janzé, arrondissement of Rennes. It is described as Cornutius in documents of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries (Longnon, Géogr., p. 308).
23 (30). The eighteenth year of his reign. A mistake. Justin reigned only thirteen years (565-78).
According to the custom of the city. That is, of Constantinople. The East Roman emperors received the homage of their subjects in the Hippodrome on succeeding to the throne (cf. VI 30).
The pope of the city (urbis papa). Gregory means the Patriarch of Constantinople.
With the consuls. i. e. persons of honorary consular rank, the consulship having been abolished by Justinian in 542. Cf. Bury, Later Roman Empire (1923), ii, p. 346.
Were brought to the emperor. This chapter about Tiberius was copied by Gregory from Paul the Deacon (Paul Warnefrid, deacon of Friuli) (De gestis Langobardorum, iii, chs. 11, 12). The events following the death of Justin and the accession of the Caesar, Tiberius, are related by Gibbon in his forty-fifth chapter from the Byzantine historians. The facts related by Paul and Gregory are in general confirmed.
24 (31). They promised to amend their ways. Fortunatus (Carm. iii. 5) praises Felix for this diplomatic success. For Felix, cf. IV. 4, 37; V. 5, 49; VI. 9 (16).
32. Swore that his daughter was without guilt. For such oaths, taken at the tombs of saints, cf. Introduction, p. 306.
They then made composition. i. e. paid a money fine in accordance with the Teutonic principle, by which every offence from murder to petty larceny might be compounded for according to a fixed scale. Cf. Introduction, p. 208.
25 (33). The Limagne. A region always famous for its fertility; it is a plain watered by the Allier, bounded on the west by the mountains of Auvergne, on the east by those of Forez. Cf. III. 9, where King Childebert I expresses his disappointment that the fog prevents him from seeing the rich and gracious valley of which he had heard so much. Many decades earlier Sidonius (Ep. iv. 21) had said that strangers, on seeing it, forgot their own country. Cf. Longnon, Géogr., p. 500.
Blood flowed forth at the breaking of the bread. This may refer to some such miracle as that of Bolsena in later times; but it may equally well refer to the use of bread at table.
26 (34). Internal pustules (corales pustulas). The word corales has been connected with cor, used in a general sense as ‘the inward parts’. Taranne, in his note to this passage, recalls the fact that in Old French the heart and all the intestinal region were collectively described as corailles (Translation of Gregory (1837), ad loc.). Another suggestion is that corales is derived from coralium, coral, and that the red colour of the pustules is described. Ducange has a further suggestion that coralis (from χῶρος) = regionarius.
The water of baptism. Cf. Fortunatus, as above:
Te veneranda tamen mox abluit unda lavacri,
Hinc licet abreptum lux tenet alma throno,
Vivis honore ergo, et cum Iudex venerit orbis,
Surrecturus eris fulgidus ore nitens.
Which had been brought from her own cities. The Merovingian queens received cities as Morgengabe, the gift of bridegroom to bride the morning after the wedding day. The king cast a straw upon his queen, reciting as he did it the names of the cities given to her. When Galswinth married Chilperic he bestowed on her five cities in this way, and doubtless the privy purse of Fredegund was provided for after the same fashion. Cf. IX. 20. For the Morgengabe see C. Galy, La famille à l’époque mérov., p. 120, and cf. IX. 20.
Gave up the ghost. The deaths of Chlodobert the elder, and Dagobert, the younger boy, are mourned by Fortunatus, in consolatory poems addressed to Chilperic and Fredegund (Carm. ix. 2 and 3). The two following short poems (4 and 5) are epitaphs for the two dead princes.
27 (35). In the spirit of Herod. Herod of Ascalon demanded that immediately the breath left his body, the foremost men among the Jews should be put to death (Josephus, Bell. Jud. i. 21).
Ordered the two doctors who had served her well to be slain with the sword. Marius of Aventicum in his Chronicle, year 531, gives their names as Donatus and Nicolaus (M. G. H., Auct. antiquiss. xi: Chron. Minora, ii (Berlin, 1894)); they were probably Gallo-Romans or Greeks. On the risks run by the physicians of Merovingian Courts, see Introduction, p. 419.
37. Martin, bishop of Galicia. This Martin, bishop of Braga, then in Suevic territory, was successful in converting the Suevi settled in Spain from Arianism to the orthodox faith. Fortunatus, like Gregory, bears witness to his learning in a letter and poem (Carm. v. 1). He died in 580.
Relics of the blessed Martin. i.e. Martin of Tours. Chararic, king of the Suevi, on the occasion of his son’s illness, had sent to Tours for relics of the renowned miracle-worker. In Book I of his Vita S. Martini, Gregory says that the great saint’s namesake landed in Galicia at the time when the ship containing the relics came into port.
The verses over the southern door in the church of the holy Martin. i.e. at Tours. The verses may be those given by Le Blant, Inscriptions chrétiennes de la Gaule antérieures au VIIIe siècle, i (1856), No. 172 on p. 233.
28 (38). King Leuvigild. This powerful king first ruled over Visigothic Spain in 568, his brother, Liuva or Leuva, governing the Visigothic territory in Gaul. On the death of his brother in 573 he became sole king. He conquered the Suevi, and destroyed their kingdom. We learn from Isidore of Seville that he instituted a reform of Visigothic law. His religious convictions do not appear to have been very strong, for he sometimes tolerated, at others persecuted the Catholics. In 580, at the council of Arian bishops at Toledo, he sought to establish a modus vivendi between Arians and Catholics. He died in 586 while hostilities with Guntram were in progress. Cf. Altamira in C. M. H. ii, ch. vi.
By her grandmother Goiswinth. Cf. IV. 25 (38); IX. 1. This queen, whose name is also written Godeswinth, was mother of Brunhild, who perhaps derived from her both her political ability and her tendency to hardness. According to John of Biclar (Chron., year 579), it was she who incited Hermangild to rebel: Hermenegildus, factione Gosuinthae reginae tirannidem assumens in Hispali civitate rebellione facta recluditur (M. G. H., Auct. antiquiss. xi: Chron. Minora, ii (Berlin, 1894)).
Plunged in the piscina. This probably means the large lavacrum in which the person baptized stood in the water. It is, however, possible to translate ‘pond’, with the meaning that Goiswinth intended to inflict humiliation on her stepdaughter. Gibbon (ch. 37) says: ‘thrown into a bason or fish-pond.’
Upon his baptism was renamed John. Literally: ‘when he received the chrism’ (dum chrismaretur). Cf. II. 22 (31) n., and IX. 15 n.
Hermangild was probably converted through the influence of Ingund, and by the teaching of Leander, bishop of Seville. Neither of the two Spanish authorities, Isidore of Seville or John of Biclar, record the conversion, which, however, is mentioned by Gregory the Great (Dialogues, iii. 31) and Paul the Deacon (Hist. Lang. iii. 21). After the prince’s conversion Leander withdrew to Constantinople, where he endeavoured to further Hermangild’s cause. His presence there coincided with that of Gregory the Great, then the pope’s apocrisiarius at the Byzantine Court.
Whose army was attacking Spain. Cf. IV. 8. Hostilities between the East Roman Empire and the Visigoths had lasted for years, and the Byzantine troops were still established in Spain. The Byzantine territory between Gibraltar and the Sucro (Yucar) was finally conquered by the Visigothic king Sisebut in 612. The East Roman Empire held the region from the Straits to the Algarves down to 629, when it was finally taken by King Svinthila (C. M. H., as above, pp. 173, 175).
Sent him into banishment. The story of Leuvigild and his sons is carried in this chapter down to 584. For further events, cf. VI. 18, 33, 40, 43.
29 (39). The forest of Cuise (Cocia, or Cotia, Silva) is to be identified with Compiègne, known as late as the sixteenth century as Cuise-lez-Compiègne (Longnon, Géogr., p. 154).
Dukes Desiderius and Bobo. Desiderius, a commander of Chilperic’s armies, is often mentioned in the History. Bobo was son of Mummolen (VI. 32 (45)).
Noisy. Noisy-le-Grand, on the left bank of the Marne, less than a mile south-west of Chelles (Longnon, Géogr., p. 360).
King Chilperic, deceived by this account (Quibus rex...inlusus). We should have expected the qualification: ‘feigning to be deceived.’
Chuppa, count of the stables (comes stabuli). The Count of the Stables, or Marshal, was an important officer at a Frankish Court. His duties were not confined to the care of the royal stables; he might also be sent on important State missions, or given military commands.
30 (41). Mir, king of Galicia. Mir, or Miron, king of the Suevi, who took the part of Hermangild, and died in 583. Cf. VI. 29 (43).
The Cher. The text has estorens, which should be Cales torrens.
Seven acres. The word used is iuga; probably Gregory means iugera. The Roman iugerum = about five-eighths of an English acre.
42. Maurilio. This bishop, generally called Maurilius, who was canonized, died on 16 March 583.
His own choice fell on Ursicinus. For the attempts made by dying bishops to influence the choice of their successors, see Introduction, p. 297.
32 (44). So did the law itself proclaim Him. The arguments of Chilperic recall those of the Sabellian heresy (cf. II. 34).
Hilary and Eusebius. i. e. Hilary of Poitiers (cf. I. 38), and Eusebius, bishop of Vercelli, d. 371 and canonized as a saint. For the literature regarding Eusebius, see U. Chevalier, Rép. des sources hist. du Moyen Âge: Bio-bibliogr., col. 1419. Miracles wrought by the power of Hilary and Eusebius are described by Gregory in G. M., chs. 2 and 3.
This heretical excursion of Chilperic’s is one of the episodes in his career which exhibit him as an inquiring nature anxious to sift things for itself. He did not see the necessity for distinguishing three Persons in God, and desired that in prayer the name of the Trinity should be omitted and only that of God should be used.
Sedulius. A Christian poet of the fifth century, often taken as a model by late Latin authors. Chilperic’s attempt at imitation is again mentioned by Gregory in VI. 33 (46). None of the verses written by Chilperic have been preserved; those addressed to S. Germanus, once conjecturally ascribed to him, and recorded by Aimoin (Hist. Franc. iii. 16), are believed since Mabillon (notes to the Benedictine Life of S. Germanus) to be by another hand. Brouwer and others have attributed them to Fortunatus, that ostensible admirer of the king’s poetic powers, who thus expresses himself on the subject:
Admirande mihi nimium Rex, cuius opime
Praelia robur agit, carmina lima polit (Carm. ix. 1).
He also added certain letters to our alphabet. This means to the Latin alphabet, for Chilperic, as a would-be man of culture, despised the Teutonic dialects. The attempt of Chilperic to increase the alphabet is mentioned by Aimoin, Hist. Franc. iii. 41. On the added letters and the forms under which they have been transcribed, see Ruinart’s note to this chapter (in his numeration 45), and Pfister in C. M. H. ii, p. 121. Chilperic’s new letters were soon abandoned, as were those introduced by Claudius into the Latin alphabet at a much earlier time (Tacitus, Ann. xi. 13, 14).
45. Flavius...referendary. Cf. Introduction, p. 200, and note to ch. 3 above.
46. He had placed his son in the household of Gogo, then governor of the king. In Merovingian times sons of families seeking advancement were sent to Court to live much in the same way as the pages of the later Middle Ages. According to the importance of their parents, they would be attached to the person either of the king himself, or of some high official. They were formally handed over or ‘commended’ to their new masters, becoming recognized members of their households. In the present case the king, Childebert II, was a minor, and had been placed by the aristocratic party in Austrasia under one of their number, Gogo, whose task it was to assert their influence at Court against that of the queen-mother, Brunhild. This queen was detested by the party, both as a ‘foreigner’ (a Visigoth) and as a masterful woman, known to favour the curbing of aristocratic influence and the enhancement of the royal power (cf. Introduction, pp. 70, 192). The governor (nutritor, nutricius) of the royal minor was therefore one of the most influential persons in the kingdom, and well able to advance the interests of his page’s father. Cf. VIII. 22.
Gogo was chosen by Sigibert to escort his bride, Brunhild, from Spain to Metz (Fortunatus, Carm. vi. 2), and befriended Fortunatus, who addressed a laudatory poem to him (Carm. vii. 1). He seems to have been a wise and kindly man of high character. His death is mentioned in VI. 1, below.
47. Offered... a free choice. The appointment of a count lay strictly with the king, who, however, sometimes held it politic to give the office to an acceptable person.
Aimeth to hand it over to the son of Sigibert. Tours really belonged de iure to Childebert II, son and heir of Sigibert, to whom it had fallen after the division of territory following Charibert’s death (Introduction, p. 144). There can be little doubt that Gregory desired the restoration of his city and diocese to the rightful owner, and that he had heartily disliked the usurpation by Chilperic after Sigibert’s death. But from this to overt action against the de facto king was a long step, and one which Gregory cannot be shown to have contemplated. Chilperic’s reception of Leudast reveals that capricious king in one of his better moods, in which he was apt to show common sense and a knowledge of human nature, though in this case accompanied by undignified violence.
48. Called Gracina. Another form is Cracina. This island has by some been identified with the Île de Ré; but etymology lends no colour to the suggestion, and the unknown island of Cracina was probably south of La Vendée. No modern name recalls the Latin one (Longnon, Géogr., pp. 565-6).
Summoned to service (ad servitium arcessitus). The lower staff of the royal villas or ‘palaces’ was recruited from the families of serfs on royal estates. Cf. especially VI. 32 (45).
Transferred from the pestle to the baker’s basket. The pestle and mortar were conspicuous features in the ancient kitchen, and remained so long after medieval times, as we are reminded by the numerous surviving examples and by representations of them in pictures of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The pestle was, therefore, as natural a symbol or emblem of the kitchen as the basket of the bakehouse.
In his gorget and shirt of mail (cum toracibus et loricis). If the phrase is not pleonastic there must be some distinction between the two words, hence the conjecture ‘gorget’. But we know nothing of a gorget among the Merovingians, and a single piece of body-armour may be intended. For the great costliness of defensive armour among the Merovingian Franks, cf. Introduction, p. 208. For the domus ecclesiae or ‘church house’, here the bishop’s residence, cf. I. 44; IV. 36; and Introduction, p. 343.
Lay or clerical. This passage shows that clergy might be present at the count’s court, as well as laymen.
Soldiers (milites). The word perhaps means no more than retainers bearing arms.
49. Simon Magus: i. e. the father of all simony (Acts viii. 18).
Duke Berulf and Count Eunomius. For the relative positions of a duke and a count see Introduction, p. 200. Berulf, who is frequently mentioned, is stated in VI. 22 (31) to have governed the territories of Tours, Poitiers, Angers, and Nantes. His loss of the dukedom is recorded in VIII. 26. A short poetical letter of Fortunatus to Berulf while the latter was still only count refers to an invitation to dinner, from which the poet anticipates satisfaction (Carm. vii. 15). For Eunomius, cf. ch. 47.
The church of the holy Médard. At Soissons, not far from Berny, where the prison would naturally be.
The bishops assembled at Berny. This council is celebrated by Fortunatus in a poem addressed to Chilperic, and containing a panegyric of Fredegund (Carm. ix. 1). He says nothing of the affair mentioned by Gregory.
Outside the building, there now rose a great uproar among the people. When we remember that the house was on the royal domain, this passage says something for the publicity of a Frankish inquiry. The crowd round the building could hear what passed and was permitted to express its opinion. It was doubtless composed of free Franks, not of the servants on the domain. Cf. ch. 12 (18) above.
The princess Rigunth. The word used is regina, the title being commonly given to king’s daughters, as rex to king’s sons. Rigunth’s misfortunes on her way to Spain to marry a Visigothic prince are related in VI. 32 (45), and in Book VII. A less amiable side to her character is suggested in IX. 34.
Racked with the rope and pulley (extensus ad trochleas). In this torture the prisoner was upright, while his arms were drawn above his head, bound to a rope running over a pulley fixed to the roof; heavy weights were fastened to his ankles. The torturer, drawing the other end of the rope over the pulley, suspended him above the ground. This torture was applied to S. Pontius (cf. Étienne Baluze, Miscellanea, vol. ii, pp. 137, 326). It continued to be practised through the later Middle Ages. A miniature illustrating its infliction may be seen in H. Yates Thompson, Illustrations from a Hundred Manuscripts, v, Pl. 40. For its application in the seventeenth century, see Kerckelycke, Historie van de Gheheele Werelt (Antwerp, 1699), iii, p. 391.
After his brothers had been slain. Gregory has already related (above, ch. 26 (34)) the death of Fredegund’s sons, and the murder of Chlodovech himself; the Council of Berny ought to have preceded these events in the book, as they did in historical order.
Withdrew to a house of his own (recessit ad propria). Perhaps better, ‘reverted to his true nature’.
From the rabble (ab Arvernis populis). Gregory was a native of Auvergne.
With the bishops of my province. The province of Tours, of which Gregory was metropolitan, included, among others, the dioceses of Le Mans, Rennes, Angers, and Nantes.
Bishop Felix. Of Nantes, who was no friend to Gregory; cf. above, ch. 5. He was therefore one of Gregory’s suffragans. If at the council of provincial bishops summoned by Gregory, he may even then have arranged to thwart his intentions with regard to Riculf.
The judge of the place. The count was the principal judge; but each of his vicarii, in his respective town, was ‘judge of the place’, and possibly even in the city the count may have left some of the judicial work to a vicarius; cf. IV. 12 (18). It is not stated definitely that Leudast went to the city of Bourges: the words are in Biturigo pergens, which might signify any place in the territory forming part of the civitas.
33 (50). The superstructure (supertegulum). The nature of this is not clear. Aimoin (Hist. Franc. iii. 24) says that ‘the Archbishop Gregory’ himself one night saw the angel of the Lord flying over the church, and heard him say: ‘Woe! woe! The Lord hath smitten Chilperic and all his sons, nor shall there be one of them now alive that shall possess his kingdom after him.’