Book Two

Powerful king Clovis [Aimon II.i. ] had four sons with queen Clotild: Theuderic, Chlodomer, Childebert, and Lothar. All four were kings, and they divided the kingdom into four parts. Theuderic made Metz his royal seat, Chlodomer Orleans, Lothar Soissons, and Childebert Paris, as his father had done. Since France had several kings in different "seats," and in different parts of the kingdom, we shall number among the kings of France only those who located their "seats" in Paris. With the kingdom divided into four parts, for a short time there were no wars. But the Danes, a people unable to live peacefully, arrived by sea, in the territory of king Theuderic, which they harried and partially laid waste. The king sent an army, led by Theudebert, one of his sons, against them. They joined battle, fought, and defeated the Danes, driving them from the country, capturing and imprisoning some of them [Readers of Beowulf may be interested to notice that Hygelac, mentioned by Gregory of Tours, and LHF, disappears from Aimon, and therefore from Primat]. When Theudebert had finished this exploit, he returned to his father.

Meanwhile, queen Clotild sent for her other three sons, king Chlodomer, king Childebert, and king Lothar, and spoke to them in this way: "The all powerful God, creator and ruler of the world, wishes that you may inherit the kingdom of your father; therefore, lovely sons, if I have deserved anything of you, I beg you to avenge the death of my father and my mother. I must take pleasure in the fact that I have born and raised those who might relieve my grief, but I must grieve for the death of their ancestors, who would have brought great honor to them had they lived. Now you should not despise and dishonor the cause of my complaint, for you have been deprived of the aid of such great friends, whom treason and envy have taken from you before you were born. Keep in mind what you may hope for from those who have done this to you; do you think that they will spare the grandchildren, who did not spare their own brothers? They killed them for a small part of the kingdom; do you think that they will be more considerate of you? If you are dead, they will have great hope to get your kingdom. Certainly, if you do not take vengeance for what they have done, they will kill you. If you are not moved by the fact that they killed your ancestors, at least have pity for the grief I felt at seeing my father killed, my mother drowned in a river, and my sister condemned to exile." When the queen had thus urged them to avenge the death of her father, they were deeply moved by their mother's grief; they assembled their army, and entered Burgundy with a great force to lay waste and destroy the land. King Gundobad, who had slain the mother and father of queen Clotild, was killed. He left two sons to inherit his kingdom; one was named Sigismund, and the other Godomar.

At this point, Sigismund had the church of Saint-Maurice d'Agaune built, at great expense, showing the great devotion he had to the martyr by enriching the place nobly with land and possessions. He had a convent for clerks built to serve Our Lord, since he was a man of good will, and a noble founder of churches. The cause of his great devotion to Saint Maurice was that he had had his own son killed, at the instigation of his wife, who, hated her stepchild. He was profoundly aware of the seriousness of the sin he had committed, and repented from his heart. Devoutly he prayed that the martyrs would intercede on his behalf with Our Lord and obtain pardon and pity for him. Then he prayed to Our Lord that if he did nothing against His will, he might be punished in this world for his sins, and that God would not wait until the day of judgement to take vengeance. Our Lord heard his prayer, for at this time the French entered his land. When he heard the news, he assembled his army, and went against them in battle. At the beginning of the battle, the French fought bitterly, as was their custom; the Burgundians were defeated, and turned their backs to flee. King Sigismund, seeing his men defeated, fled in the direction of the abbey of Saint Maurice of Chablis, in the hope that the martyr might protect him. King Chlodomer pursued and captured him, imprisoning him in the city of Orleans. At that time, Saint Avitus was the abbot of a monastery very near the city; he begged king Chlodomer not to kill a man of such nobility and great goodness. He did not wish to hear his prayer, but had him killed, along with his children, and thrown in a well. They were removed from the pit and carried to Saint Maurice de Gaune, where they were given honorable burial. They were undoubtedly saved, for the sick who come there and make offerings to God for the saint's soul are often cured of their infirmity.

King Chlodomer, who had him killed, did not take pleasure in his death very long, for, in the next year, he again entered Burgundy with a great army, to lay waste the land. King Godomar came to face him in battle, eager to avenge his brother's death; both sides fought well, but, in the end, the Burgundians were unable to stand up to the force of the French, and they abandoned themselves to flight. King Chlodomer, who was well armed, courageous, and eager for victory, pursued them more vigorously than he should have; he went deep into the ranks of his enemies, as far as his horse carried him. When they saw him all alone in their midst, and far from his own men, they threw darts and javelins from afar, for the pride of his bearing and countenance, and his reputation for courage frightened his enemies so much, that no one would approach near enough to strike him; seeing himself shut in among his enemies, with no aid or comfort on any side, he took his life in his own hands, turned towards his enemies, armed himself, and prepared to fight. When he considered retreating towards his own people or plunging in against his enemies, his sense of pride conquered all fear, and he decided that he would not turn back. He spurred on his horse, and struck the foremost of his adversaries, killing the first man he met. Soon he was surrounded, struck in the sides by spears and swords, and they killed him. He was a courageous and honorable knight, but not too sensible. He avenged his mother's wrongs as well as he could. When the French knew that their lord was dead, they did not flee, as other nations might have, but pursued the Burgundians, and killed a great part of them. When they had laid waste the country, they returned to France. King Lothar took into his care queen Guntheuc, his brother's widow, and queen Clotild took her grandchildren, Theudovald, Gunthar, and Chlodovald. She brought them up with the love and affection of a mother bringing up her own children.

II

An incidence (526 AD). In that time, the apostle John went to Constantinople [Aimon takes this from Liber Pontificalis, Duchesne I, 275-76]. He was a holy man, who received the task of governing the Holy Church after the death of the apostle Hormisdas. King Theodoric of Italy, of whom we have spoken several times, sent him to speak to the emperor Justinian. Justinian, a true cultivator of the faith of the Roman church, who punished heretics, had taken curacies away from priests who had been corrupted by this heresy, and had given them to those who guarded the true faith of the church of Rome, on the advice and counsel of the holy apostle John. For this reason king Theodoric, who had been corrupted by this vice, had sent him there, proclaiming, through John, that if the emperor did not give the churches over to the Arians, he would kill the people of Italy. The holy man, who was sick and enfeebled, set out on the sea, and arrived at Constantinople. The emperor and all the clergy came to meet him, and greeted him honorably, joyful at receiving the sovereign shepherd of the entire Holy Church. When he told the emperor the reason for his trip, and had received what he asked for, he crowned him as the vicar of Saint Peter. He took leave of the emperor, and returned to the city of Ravenna (526 AD). King Theodoric put him and those who had been with him, in prison, when he heard that the emperor had received them so honorably. He held him there so long, making him suffer from hunger and thirst and other discomforts so much that the holy man, like a true martyr, gave up his spirit to God. The noble men who had been with him were also martyred; some were burned, others tortured in various ways; among those killed were Simmachus and Boethius. Boethius was the great clerk who translated the splendid philosophy of Aristotle and other Greek philosophers into Latin, and was a good and true Christian, as is evident in the books in which he writes of consubstantiality and of the Holy Trinity. The art of dialectic, of arithmetic, of geometry, and of music, which he translated, show his great learning very clearly. Not long after this, king Theodoric received payment for this crime; 98 days after he had martyred the holy men, he died a sudden death [Aimon now borrows from Gregory the Great, Dialogues, IV.xxx]. A holy hermit, living on an island in the sea, called Lippari [an island north of Sicily], saw his soul at the point that it left his body, placed and stationed, as it seemed to him, between Symmachus and saint John the apostle, the men he had martyred, as you have heard; he saw that the soul of Theodoric was destroyed, and plunged into the forge of Vulcan, a place near the island where the hermit lived. It gets its name from the fact that the sea at that spot is as hot as water boiling in a cauldron. In such a way, Theodoric ended his life, though he had, at the beginning, been so splendid, giving every year to the Romans aid and comfort amounting to 6000 measures of wheat. At the end of his life he dissipated whatever he had done before, changing his virtues into vices. He had married Audofleda, the sister of Clovis the king of France; his sisters and their daughters had married princes of neighboring territories. All the nations and people that bordered on Italy were related to him. From this incident all princes should take example, and guard against angering Our Lord and his ministers, for whoever rashly provokes them, awaits the vengeance of Our Lord in life, or after death [this last sentence is Primat's own note].

III

An incident. In that time Justinus, who governed the empire of Constantinople, died [Aimon II.v, from Fredegar II.62]. After him, Justinian took over, in a manner we shall describe to you. Justinian had been in his time guardian of the archives and treasury of the emperor, and another man, whose named was Belisarius, had been master of the stables. These two had much to do with each other; for their great love of each other, they swore and promised that neither would ever have greater prestige than the other; whoever would become the greater noble would make his companion equal to him in riches and in honor. One day it happened that they were walking together in the street where prostitutes were stationed. They saw two young women born in the land of Amazonia, who had been taken and made captives. They were sisters, named Anthonia and Anthonina. Justinian took Anthonia and the other Antonina. One day it happened that around noon, Justinian was asleep under a tree, with Anthonia next to him. His head was inclined as he slept on the robe of his lover; an eagle came flying from above, trying very hard to protect itself from the heat of the sun. The girl, who was very wise, understood straightway what it signified; she awakened her lover, and spoke to him in this way: "Lovely, sweet friend, I beg you, when you become emperor, do not despise me and judge me unworthy of your bed and of your embraces." He replied that he could not become emperor. She replied that it would happen, and that she was certain of it; then she again begged that he grant her request. The young man agreed, and they exchanged rings in sign and in testimony of their agreement; then they separated. Belisarius made the same pledge of marriage to Anthonina, for he knew that he would be a greater noble if his companion Justinian became emperor.

Shortly afterwards, the emperor Justinus prepared a great armed expedition against the king of Persia; but while making preparations he caught an illness from which he died. The senate, and the entire army, not wishing to be without a leader, especially for such a task, elected Justinian by common accord. As soon as he was emperor, he took his army and marched against his enemies. There was a great battle; at the end they pursued the Persians and captured the king of Persia. When he had taken him, he sat him down next to him in the imperial see, and commanded him to give up all of the provinces that he had taken from the Romans. He replied that he give a name, and the emperor replied to him: "Daras." By this word he had founded a city in the very spot, whose name was Daras. Finally the king of Persia gave him all the land he had taken from the Roman Empire, although he did it unwillingly. In this way the emperor permitted him to return to Persia. The emperor returned in great glory to Constantinople; Anthonia, who had been his lover, as we have said, did not forget what she had to do. She took five gold coins, came to the palace, and gave two of them to the gate-keeper, and three to those who guarded the emperor's curtain, that they might allow her to plead her cause. When she came before the emperor, she began her argument in this way:

"As Scripture says: the honor of the king loves judgement, and scripture also testifies that the king who sits in judgement disperses all wrongdoing by his look; good emperor, understand these writings, for they apply to you. I have bravely undertaken to come here to move my cause. A young man in this city pledged that he would marry me; he took my ring, and I took his, as testimony to this. Therefore I have come to you to grant judgment and sentence in this case." The emperor replied: "If faith is kept," he said, "it will not be in vain." When the emperor had said this, she took out the ring that he had given her, saying: "Just emperor, see whose ring this is." He recognized very well that it was the ring he had given her, and he commanded that she be led into his chambers, dressed with imperial garments, and ever after be called Augusta. In response to this act, the senators and all the people were so outraged, that they began to cry out that it was a great shame that the emperor had made an empress of a deranged female slave from a foreign country. Caesar was so angry at such words that he had some of the senators killed; the other senators, and all the people were then so frightened that they no longer dared to speak of this.

IV

Belisarius took as his wife Anthonina, the sister of the empress, then the emperor sent him to Africa, making him patrician and defender of the country. He loved him with such great love that he seated him at his own table, and had him served with the same food he himself ate. He was much concerned to honor and to advance him. But envy, which has no concern with poverty, but with those whom she sees grow in honor and in wealth, whom she calumniates and slanders when she sees them enjoy good fortune, was very unhappy to see Belisarius grow prosperous. Therefore some treacherous men went to the emperor and told him that Belisarius intended to kill him and seize the empire. The emperor too easily believed what the traitors swore to him, and before finding out the truth, he sent him against the Vandals. These Vandals were a powerful, courageous, warlike people, who had several times vanquished the Roman forces, beating and humiliating the noblest, most renowned princes of Rome.

When Belisarius received this command, he went home sad and tearful. His wife Anthonina saw that his face was pale, without color, and damp with tears; she asked the cause of his sadness, and begged that he would tell her his secret trouble, so that she might know if she could help. He replied that it had to do with fighting, not with knitting and that he had greater need of advice from men than from women. Then Anthonina replied to him: "My faith in Jesus Christ is so strong, that I shall give you manly advice, if you tell me your true problem. For the apostle says that the faithless man will be saved by a woman of true belief " (ICor7.14). Anthonina was a good Christian of the Roman faith, but Belisarius was wrapped in the Arian heresy. Then he began to think a little, considering that sometimes one found sensible advice in the heart of a woman; although they are naturally weaker than men, it does not follow that they do not sometimes understand profound matters. So he told her that the emperor had commanded him to get ready to fight the Vandals, who were so courageous and strong that no one was able to best them. Anthonina answered him then quickly and cheerfully, like a woman who had just put aside all feminine fear and taken on the vigor of a man: "No one, she said, "as Scripture witnesses, puts hope in Our Lord without receiving aid and comfort from him; for this reason, my lord, I beg and advise you to abandon the error and blasphemy of heresy, and believe in him who is three and one, the sole God. Make a vow to the God of heaven, and I promise you that you will return a greater and more glorious conqueror than you were before." For the emperor Justinian, through Belisarius, had broken the self-esteem of many a proud nation. When he had promised to follow her advice, she said in response: "See to it that the beauty of your vow remains constant during the stress of battle. Don't we have 12,000 servants whom we maintain at our own expense? Don't you have 18,000 knights whom you have acquired, and who are yours by the dignity of your office and your authority?" "Yes," said Belisarius. "Then take," she said, "12,000 knights and 4000 servants, ride by land, and enter Africa swiftly; I will take 6000 knights and 8000 servants, and travel by sea to the island [Viard sees here a faulty reading of Aimon's navali evectione fines petam Libyae]. When it is time to assemble against our enemies, you will light great beacon fires; when we in our boats see this sign, we will do the same thing, as a sign to you. Then you will attack our enemies, and we shall do the same."

Belisarius agreed with this plan, and they quickly carried out their task as planned: The Vandals, aware that Belisarius and his people were coming by land, prepared to fight him; they left their wives and children in dwellings on the shore. They fought long and hard. As they were fighting so bitterly that neither side showed any sign of yielding to the other, an emissary came to the Vandals, announcing that their women and children had all been killed. Disembarking from their ships, Anthonina and her people had attacked them in their tents, putting to the sword everyone they found, women and children. When they heard this news, the Vandals immediately left the battlefield to return to their tents. Those who had come out of the ships and had seized the Vandal's tents and killed their occupants now drew themselves up in front of the tents and easily defeated the Vandals, who returned in scattered groups, some here, some there, like people with no leader and no direction. Thus they were all killed and defeated. The king, whose name was Childemes (Gelimer), escaped by fleeing, and only twelve Vandals with him. He set himself up in a fortified castle, which Belisarius besieged. When he saw himself beset, with no way out except into the hands of his enemies, he called Belisarius and told him that he would voluntarily surrender on the condition that he not be led before the emperor in irons and in fetters. Belisarius promised him that he would not be put in fetters and iron chains. When he surrendered, he was placed in a silver chain, and led back to Constantinople. Brought before the emperor, he was whipped, spit upon, and treated shamefully. Outraged at such treatment, he asked the emperor to give him the horse which he had before being captured, and then to let him fight alone against 12 of those who had treated him so badly; then the king would see his worthlessness, and their prowess. The emperor granted his request, arming 12 young men against him alone, and bringing them all together. The king of the Vandals pretended to run off, so that the others would pursue him; while fleeing, he threw darts behind his back, killing them all in this way, one after the other. The emperor, who valued very highly the king's prowess and courage, forgave him his wrath, and made him a patrician and defender of a country that bordered on the Persians; he waged and won many a battle there, and finally died in that region.

V

It is time to return to the order of our material, since we have interlaced, for certain reasons, incidents which do not exactly belong to this [history. Primat returns here to Aimon III.viii, and LHF XXIII especially; also Gregory III.x]. When king Chlodomer, the elder of the three brothers was killed, as you have heard, the other two brothers, Lothar and Childebert, assembled their armies and entered Burgundy to avenge the death of their brother. They drove king Godinair out, and took possession of the kingdom of Burgundy and put it under their authority. They had a brother named Theodoric, a bastard, whom powerful king Clovis had begotten upon a concubine. In this battle he refused to aid his brothers, because he had married the daughter of king Sigifraut (sic), who was the niece of king Godinaire.

When powerful king Clovis had killed king Alaric, as you have heard, he did not conquer his entire kingdom, but a country at the gate of Spain was taken and held by Amalric, one of Alaric's sons, after his father's death. Amalric, who remained in this section, sent by emissary a pledge of faith and alliance to king Lothar and to king Childebert, then asked them to send him their sister, because he wished to ally himself to them by marriage. The brothers willingly agreed, and sent their sister to him with the great honor befitting a woman born of such high lineage. When the woman had lived with him a while, he, who was cruel and perverse both by nature and by lineage, began to abuse her; he did not love and honor her as a queen nor as a high-born woman, and he spoke to her as though she were a chambermaid or a slave he had bought for money. And because he was corrupted and soiled by the Arian heresy, as his father had been, he despised her because she kept the holy faith of the church of Rome. When she went to the church of the good Christians, he delivered much verbal abuse. Sometimes it happened that he threw mud and trash in her face, or he had it thrown in her path as she walked to church, and stirred up the stink and the corruption of trash to trouble and to prevent the pure devotion of her prayer. But when the good woman had suffered so much that she could bear no more, she sent a tearful letter with one of her loyal servants to her brothers; this was the tenor of the letter: "Dear, sweet brothers, have pity and mercy on me, and deign to receive the cause of my need and of my sadness." King Childebert was in the city of Clermont in Auvergne which he had taken from his brother, when the emissary came to him. He was very skilled in conducting a war; as soon as he had gotten his army ready, he moved, without waiting for the aid of his brother. He entered Spain swiftly, and his brother-in-law Amalric, aware of his arrival, arrived from another direction, prepared to fight by sea and on land. By agreement of both parties, the battle was drawn up in a field, where they drew up their battle lines and fought long and hard. But at the end king Childebert, who had more men, put his enemies to flight; the Goths, who very terribly afraid of the lances and arms of the French, were not able to endure the shock of battle with them very long. They fled in several directions, some to refuge in the cities and in hidden places in the woods, others to the boats along the shore. The French cut off those fleeing towards the sea, and turned them back by force. In the midst of this defeat, Amalric fled, to protect his life, into a church, which was not Arian. Seeing him, a Frenchman spurred his horse after him, and, when he reached him, struck him with a lance so powerfully that the king fell dead. When king Childebert knew that Amalric was dead, he pursued his enemies until they were completely defeated, and then went on to the city of Toledo. The citizens, very frightened by his victory, gave the city up to him as soon as they were under siege; he took all the treasure and jewels which he found in the city. When he had rescued his sister, he returned to France, but on their return, she was brought to bed with an illness from which she died. King Childebert, who was very unhappy because of this, had her body prepared and put in a casket. At Paris, he had her placed next to her father, the great king Clovis, in the church of Saint Genevieve. Among the treasures brought by the king from Spain were found many rich vessels belonging to the ceremonies of the altar. There were 60 very rich and very precious golden chalices, 15 metal plaques, and 20 volumes of the New Testament. Some said that these had been the jewels of king Solomon, for they were of fine gold and adorned with very rich precious jewels, mounted and engraved. Unmoved by greed, the king would not keep them for himself, but he parceled them out among several churches, like a generous man.

VI

Thus the king took the city of Toledo, as you have heard, but as he conquered one country after another, he lost that which he thought had been his own. For when he brought his army to Spain, his brother, king Theodoric, retook the city of Clermont, which the king had taken from him. He killed or drove out all those whom he found in the garrison, then commanded that Munderic be killed, and everything he held be added to the royal fief. Munderic boasted that he was of Childebert's lineage, and that his kingdom ought by right to fall to him after the king's death. He did great harm to king Theodoric, for he went through the cities of Auvergne, assembling a great multitude of foot soldiers and peasants of the region, and equipped a very strong castle named Victri. The king besieged the castle, but when he saw that it was so strong and well equipped that he could not take it without a long siege, and without great harm to his forces, he called one of his men, whose name was Aregisel, and said to him: "Go call Monderic, and give him your word for security, that he will be off guard; advise him to come out of the castle in such a way that he may be killed." He obeyed the treacherous command of the king, went to Monderic, and deceived him with his word so well that he came out of the fortress. When Aregisel gave the sign to his people to kill him, he cried out in this way: "What are you doing? Why do you look at this man as though you had never seen him before?" After this word, they ran upon him; when he perceived the treachery that Aregisel had committed, he said to him: "Aregisel, because you have falsified your pledge to me, and have treacherously deceived me, no mortal eye will ever look upon you living from this time forth." Saying this, he approached him, drove the lance which he held between Aregisel's shoulders with such great force that it went completely through him, so that the iron point of the lance struck the earth. After the remarkable blow that he had made, he called out to those who were with him, and struck out against his enemies, nor did he cease killing and destroying as long as he was able to last. Archadius, who had delivered the city of Clermont to king [Theodoric Clermont was delivered to Childebert, according to Aimon, II.viii] fled to Bourges, which then belonged to king Childebert. His mother and his wife were sent into exile in the city of Cahors.

While these things were going on, king Childeric [Clovis, according to Aimon, and Gregory of Tours III.vii.] made peace with his brother, king Theodoric, and they assembled their armies and rode into the land of Thuringia, which is now called Lorraine. Hermanfrid, who had killed his own two brothers at the urging of his wife, was the king of the country. His heart was overweening, full of vain glory, because his wife Amalaberg was the daughter of king Theodoric of Italy, of whom we have spoken, and daughter of the sister of the great king Clovis. The queen was also very proud of her royal lineage. King Hermanfrid had a brother, named Berthar, whom she hated with a mortal hatred, as it appears, for she charged him with envying his lord his kingdom. She worked on the king so, that she fooled him into killing his brother in the prison in which he was at that time. She demanded that another of his brothers, whose name was Baderic, also be killed, so that he might not avenge his brother's death. By such malice the evil woman rid the country of two brothers-in-law whom she hated, under pretence of jealously guarding her husband's life and well-being. The wretch certainly was blind, thinking that she hated them because they had thought of killing him, while he himself gave no thought to the seriousness of the sin he committed by having his brothers and his companions of the realm killed, for no good reason. Certainly the mind of an evil person is so vile, that it is soon perverted by evil suggestions. When king Theuderic entered Thuringia, as we indicated earlier, king Hermanfrid opposed with with a large body of knights, and an innumerable body of troops. The Thuringians tried a trick, to harm their enemies, which turned out to be of little value; they dug a deep ditch which they covered with green grass, so that their enemies and their horses might fall into it when they came forward. But when the French perceived the trick, they were very disdainful; rushing upon their enemies, they brought them in a very short time to utter defeat. The Thuringians abandoned themselves to flight, when they could no longer endure the onslaught; the French pursued them to a river, which is called in their language .us on Unstrutt; .us off there they again drew up their forces and fought, compelling their enemies in every way to defend the passage, to prevent them from crossing the river. But the French, who were accustomed to winning, joined ranks tightly, and struck their enemies' bodies and shields with such power, that they compelled them to jump into the water, which was no surprise, since they were battling along the shore. So many Thuringians were killed, and the river so full of their bodies, that the French crossed over the bodies as though they were passing over a bridge to the other bank of the river. King Hermanfrid escaped with a few of his men, making his way into a fortress of a nearby city. King Theuderic commanded him to come to speak with him at a castle which is called Zulpich, giving him his pledge that he need fear no harm from him. One day it happened that, as they were walking and talking on top of the walls of the fortress, king Theuderic suddenly pushed him [Gregory is not as categorical in his accusation; Aimon and LHF form the basis here for Primat]. He fell in such a way that his head was completely smashed. Then the king commanded that his children be strangled. When these things had been done, the French took and held all the cities and castles of Thuringia, and drove the people back to the country from which they had come, for the French had held the entire region before these people came into the country. Saint Jerome mentions these people in his life of Saint Hilarion, describing them as strong and brave in spite of their small numbers. They live on the border of Saxony and Alemannia, which is now called old France.

VII

King Theuderic, who remained in Lorraine after conquering it, as you have heard, hated with a mortal hatred his brother Lothar, as is clear from what he did, for he built and prepared treacherous ambushes by means of which he might kill him. One day he summoned him to come to speak to him. First, he had a curtain stretched across a part of his palace, hiding armed knights behind it; then he commanded them to kill king Lothar as soon as he came before him. Unsuspecting, Lothar arrived, entered the palace, and saw the feet of armed men under the curtain. When he saw this, he was afraid, and left. He then had his own men armed, and ordered them to go before him. King Theuderic now perceived that his brother had detected the trick, to prevent any further discoveries, he called his brother, and treacherously pretended to be courteous to him. He gave him a beautiful silver salver, and thanked him very much for the aid and comfort he had given him against his enemies. for he had been at his side in the battle against king Hermanfrid.

VIII

After these events, king Lothar went back to Metz, the seat of his kingdom, bringing back with him his men, who did not know what had happened. King Theuderic, who regretted giving the gift to his brother, complained to his people that he had unaccountably lost his silver vessel. He called his son, Theudebert, and told him to go to his uncle at Metz, to bring back the salver that he had taken away. He did what his father ordered; he went to his uncle and brought it back without delay. After this, king Lothar went from his country to take care of things that have nothing to do with this history. When he returned, he brought with him Radegund, the daughter of king Berthar. This woman was then leading a holy life, brilliantly virtuous, in the city of Poitiers.

King Theuderic and king Lothar, brothers of the same father and mother, were of like natures, but were separated by discord and hate. They contrived many armed expeditions against each other, but then made peace with each other, and battles and wars between them and their armies were suspended. It was not long before the peace was broken by the perversity of some evil men, who enjoyed watching things go to pieces often. Therefore it happened that high-born hostages, given by each side to the other to guarantee the peace, were sold into slavery, among whom was the noble child Attalus, who was sold to a barbarian in the city of Treves. Attalus was the nephew of saint Gregory, the bishop of Langres, who was very upset about him. He sent his emissaries to Treves to speak to the man who held his nephew in slavery; this man was one of the noblest and richest men in the city. When they spoke to him about buying the child back, he replied in this way: "This child, who is of such noble birth, will never escape from me, not if I had ten pounds of gold for his ransom." They returned to their lord and told him the man's reply. Then, one of the cooks who prepared his food, came forward ; his name was Leo, and he said to the bishop: " Sir, let me go, and I will cook something that will free the child, with the help of God." The bishop willingly agreed. When Leo came to Treves, he went to a man of the country and told him to sell him to the noble with the child as his own slave, and he might keep for himself the price as a reward for this favor. The man willingly agreed, since it was to his advantage, for the price of this sale was 12 besants. The man who bought Leo asked him what was his trade, and he answered: "I am so good a cook, that no one is better than I." Then he commanded him to prepare a dinner that all of his friends, who would be eating with him on Sunday, would consider a miracle. Leo, who was very eager to perform the task well, made a dinner of rabbits so good that all those who tasted it said that they had never, even at the king's table, eaten such fine food, and so well prepared. For this accomplishment his master grew so fond of him that he made him master of his cellar and his home; and Leo served him as well and as diligently as he could. One year later, it happened that Leo went hunting in the woods where Attalus, the bishop's nephew, was guarding his master's horses. They turned their backs on one another, so that no one could see that they were speaking to each other, and Leo said to the child: "Attalus, it is now time to think about returning to our country. This evening when you return with the horses, take care not to fall asleep, so that you will be able to hear me call you." That evening it happened that Leo was accompanying his master's son-in-law to his home; he said: "Tell me, boy, if you have yet decided on what night you will return to your own country." And Leo replied, as though joking, although he was speaking the truth, that he was going that very night, if God would help him. The other replied: "Then I want my servants to keep watch more carefully than usual, so that you can't carry off anything from my home." A little after the first sleep, Leo went to the child and asked him if he had a sword. He said no. Then Leo went to the head of his master's bed and took his sword and buckler. The man in charge, who heard him clearly, asked what was going on: "I am," he said, "trying to wake Attalus to lead the horses to the pasture; he is so deep asleep that it seems to me he must have been drunk last night." The man in charge did not answer, thinking that this was as it should be, and Leo went to the child. When they had taken some necessary provisions, they mounted two horses, and rode three days and three nights without drinking or eating. They traveled until they came to a river named the Meuse. There they were temporarily held up and lost their horses; nevertheless, with considerable difficulty, they managed to get across. When they had crossed the river, they found a tree laden with fruit; they gathered some, and ate while riding. One night, as they were traveling, they heard the sound of horses running behind them. Then Leo said to the child: "Let's get down on the ground, so that we can't be seen." They hid behind the trunk of a tree which was near them, but first they drew their swords to defend themselves if necessary. Those who were riding after them stopped there to rest their horses. One of them said to another: "Let's hurry, for these thieves are escaping; certainly if I am able to find them, I shall hang one by the throat, and I'll kill the other with my sword." The speakers were the very masters they had escaped. Then they spurred their horses, and moved on. Leo and the child got back on the road, and traveled quickly enough to get to Rheims that same night. There a priest named Paulellus received them, and kept them in his home for two days, helping them to recover. Then they went to Langres, to bishop Gregory, who was overjoyed at their arrival. He gave land to Leo, his good servant, and freed him and his wife and children, as a reward for his good service.

IX

The good woman queen Clotild now lived in Paris, rearing her grandchildren, the sons of king Chlodomer, with love and affection. Childebert, who was king of Paris, was angry and envious when he saw that she held them so dear, because he thought that the love and affection that his mother should have expressed towards him were instead going into her love for them. Because of this jealousy he called upon his brother Lothar, the king of Metz; they consulted on how they might get at the children, to kill them. Evil men quickly find a way and an occasion to carry out their wickedness, and they sent to their mother, asking her to send their nephews, because they wanted to see them, and they wanted to see if they were old enough yet to take control of their lands, which they wished to deliver to them. She was overjoyed, because it seemed that her sons loved her grandchildren, and would help them. The children were given to the emissaries who had been sent by the kings. When they had left, and been brought to their uncles, other emissaries from her sons returned to the queen, bringing a sword and scissors. When she saw this, she asked what it meant. One of the emissaries, whose name was [Veridaires, a mistranslation of Aimon's veridarius, "courier" ] said to her: "Lady, your sons ask you to decide, and make a choice between two things: either your grandchildren will become clerics and be shorn with the scissors, or they will be killed with this sword; one of these two actions must be taken." When the queen heard this, she groaned and sighed, and then replied: "Ah! Pity is dead. It would be good for me to die with my children. Now the time has come that we need help to find a remedy against this evil. This is a new kind of torment, when uncles desire the death of their simple, innocent nephews. Certainly my grief is great, since I have given birth to homicidal sons, who murder their relatives, their own flesh. If they have killed other kin who have deserved it, to avenge their mother's grief, of those I do not speak, but of those whom they have no reason to hate and to despise; they wish to kill them to get their inheritance, and their father's kingdom. The children will die, bring profit to my sons, and grief to me. Alas, grieving woman that I am, what kind of progeny have I produced? Why did I offer my breasts to those who take from me the love that I have for my grandchildren? Ah, my children, I am the cause of your perdition. I urged your father to risk his life, leaving you orphaned. I have been a bad and wretched mother; now I would like to be a better grandmother. Seeing the end of my life approaching, I wanted to provide for my nephews, but now they want to kill those whom they should protect against all men, those for whom they should naturally feel pity and compassion. Sovereign God, do not place their souls among the damned, let them not be tormented with the pains of hell, but let them live in everlasting life." When the queen had finished her lament for her grandchildren, her voice broke while speaking, because she felt in her heart such great compassion and grief. When she had recovered, and renewed her spirit, she said: "Since it is now the case that I must choose one of two things offered me, whatever happens, I do not want them to become clerics." The good woman made this choice because she did not think for a moment that they would kill them, but she hoped that pity and nature would deter them from doing such a treacherous, criminal act. Although she knew how brutal Lothar could be, she could not believe that he would persist in his criminal acts to the point that he would murder his nephews. Things turned out otherwise, for the treacherous Lothar took the eldest of the children, threw him to the ground, stuck a knife in his ribs, and took his life and his kingdom from him. When the younger brother saw that his brother had been killed, he was terrified, and no wonder; in tears, he ran to king Childebert, clasped his legs, and pitifully cried out for help, begging him to calm his uncle's wrath toward him. Childebert was moved by pity, or pretended that he was, and he told his brother to calm the wrath of his heart by thinking of the bonds of kinship, letting the law of nature conquer the stirrings of wrath, and if he did this, he promised whatever reward he wished in exchange for this boon. King Lothar replied to him: "You, who proposed this act, why do you pretend to have pity for him? Cast him from you, or you will die in his place." Childebert, who feared his brother's brutality, was unable and unwilling to go against his brother's will; he cast off the child who was clinging to him. Lothar immediately stabbed him, killing him exactly as he had killed the other. Clodovald, the third child, who had seen his two brothers killed, was much more interested in saving his life than in claiming his kingdom; he escaped from danger with the aid of a good man [Where Aimon says prompta fidissimorum sibi famulorum ope usus, Primat reduces the cast], who had pity for him, and he later became a priest and a man of holy life and holy behavior. When he died, he was buried in the region of Paris, in a city named Nogent. The miracles which Our Lord later performed in his name are a sign that he is in eternal life. When the traitors had killed their nephews, that was not enough for them; they killed the tutors in the same way that they had killed the children, then he and his men mounted their horses [puis monta entre lui et sa gent, is, as Viard points out, a mistranslation of Aimon's ascenso equo ab eo recessit loco una cum suis] and left Paris. The holy queen Clotild tearfully took the bodies of her grandchildren, had them prepared and embalmed, then buried them next to their grandfather, the great king Clovis, in the church of Saint Peter, which is now called Saint Genevieve.

X

After these things were done, king Theodric arranged the marriage of his son Theodobert to Wisegard, the daughter of Wacon, the king of Lombardy. But since we have mentioned the Lombards here, we shall briefly relate here the origin of that nation, and take up some other things which have been recorded above. These people, who are called the Lombards, were first called Guime [In Aimon, Winnili]. They came from an island in Alemannia which is called Scadinave [Scandinavia in Aimon] in their language. They had two leaders, one of whom was named Ibor, and the other Maion [io in Aimon]. Looking for space in which to live, they entered Scoringua. But when they saw that this land was not fertile, and they could not defend it adequately, they went on to another, which is called Mauringua. There they appointed, from among their own people, a king named Agelmont, to rule over them. He was the son of Maion, one of the two princes who had previously ruled over them. King Agalmont ruled 30 years; after him, Lamis reigned, after Lamis Lehuz, after Lehuz Hildehoc, after Hildehoc Gudehoc received the kingdom. But after the battle that took place between Oadoacer and Feletheus, of which we spoke above, the Lombards left the land of Golland, and entered another, which was called Rugiland in their language, which means, in French, country of the Rugians, for the syllable land means "country" in French. When Gudehoc, their king, died, one of his sons, named Kaffo, ruled after him; after him Tato ruled. In the time of this king they abandoned the land of Rugiland, and came to live in a large, broad field, which is called, in the barbarian language, Fleth. While they were living there, Rudolph, the king of a people called Herulians, made an alliance with Tato, the king of the Lombards. The alliance lasted only a short time, because king Rudolph found out that the daughter of king Tato had had one of his brothers cruelly murdered. In response, Rudolph went into battle against him, but he and his people were defeated, and he was killed in the battle. In this battle, a miraculous event happened to his people, for they were so bewitched that they thought that the wheat growing in the fields were rivers, and when they raised their arms to swim, their enemies killed them very easily. Wasco, who was his nephew, the son of his brother, killed Tato, and seized his kingdom, becoming the eighth king of the Lombards. The daughter of king Wascon married Theodobert, the son of king Theodoric, as you have heard; but he left her soon after the death of his father, and took another, named Deuteria, born of Roman lineage.

After the death of the great king Clovis, the Goths invaded several countries that they had lost in his time; for this reason, king Theuderic sent Theudebert his son against them, to recover what they had taken from him. When he had led his army as far as a city called Beziers, he sent emissaries to the citizens of a castle named Cabriers, ordering them to give the castle up, and to open the gates. Lady Deuteria, whom we mentioned above, a wise woman, and of noble Roman lineage, who had come, together with her husband, to this castle, to guard against the enemies, told him that he might enter in safety, and he would be received in peace. When he approached the castle, she came out to meet him. He was struck with love when he saw how very beautiful she was. He took her, and abandoned Wisegard, the daughter of king Wascon of Lombardy, whom he had married.

XI

At this time, king Theuderic killed Sigivald, who was his relative, then secretly sent a message to Theudebert, telling him to kill Sigivald's son, who was with him in his army [imon II.xiv]. But when Theudebert received his father's orders, he did not want to carry them out, because he was the boy's godfather, and had held him at the baptismal font. When he had shown to the boy the letters that Theuderic had sent ordering his death, he told him to flee, and not to return until the king's death. He left for an unknown country, from which no news of him came. Then emissaries came to Theodobert, announcing that he father was seriously ill; when he heard this news, he left everything, including Deutheria, at the castle in Auvergne, and returned to France as quickly as possible. King Theodoric died of his illness, leaving this world after reigning 30 years. After his death, his son Theudebert took the kingdom; he was nothing like his father, for he was wise, restrained, and mild towards all of his people. God had given him still greater gifts, for he was just and a man of his word. King Childebert and king Lothar, his uncles, attempted to take his kingdom from him, and drive him from his land, but he handled them so gracefully and diplomatically that he received his kingdom in an orderly and peaceful fashion. Then he sent for Deuteria, whom he had left in the aforementioned castle, and he married her. King Childebert, who was always thinking of evil, understood very clearly that he would not be able to defeat king Theudebert or conquer him by force; he knew very well that it would be a more profitable thing for him to make a friendly alliance, than to try something that he could not bring off. Therefore he sent a message, asking him to come to him. When he arrived, Childebert made a great show of happiness, bestowing many ornaments and jewels upon him. When Givald [son of Sigivald, according to Aimon] heard that his godfather Theudobert was ruling in the place of his father, he returned to him. The king was very happy, and kissed him as his godson; he gave him his entire inheritance, and all the land that his father had held, together with the third part of all the possessions and appurtenances that he had received from his father. Deuteria, whom the king had just married, had a daughter by her first husband; she was fully grown, and her mother feared that her lord, king Theudobert would desire her. Because of this fear, she put her in a cart drawn by bulls that had not been tamed, and she was then tossed into the Meuse, on Deuteria's orders, at a village named Verdun. When king Theudebert, who was very civilized and well-mannered, knew what she had done, he left her, and took back Wisigard, to whom he had previously been engaged.

XII

In this place it is right for us to take up other events that fit the material of which we have just spoken. You have heard how Justinian, the emperor of Constantinople, hated Belisarius, and, on the advice of traitors, exiled him, and how he recovered favor by the battle he waged against the Vandals. Even though the emperor, before being chosen to govern the empire, had loved him more than any other man, he then hated him very much, and clearly without cause, since Belisarius always behaved well and loyally towards him. After he had beaten the Vandals, captured their king, and led him in chains before the emperor, he loved him so and had such confidence in him, that he became the emperor's principal advisor. The traitors were so unhappy about this that they plotted against him, fearing that his increasing power would be used to their detriment. Accordingly, they went to the emperor one day, pretended to be very solicitous about his honor and well-being, and spoke to him in this way: "Sir, in keeping with the oaths that we have taken, and especially because of the love that we feel for you, we advise you to avoid taking Belisarius' advice, and to be on your guard against him, because he awaits only the time and the place to kill you, and had we not prevented this from happening by clever dissimulation, he would have killed you already, seized the entire empire, and deprived it of its rightful lord." With such words [

Viard, p. 141, n. 1 points out that this speech seems to be original with Primat] and with such false representations, the treacherous servants and the greatest men of the palace spoke, and the emperor slowly grew to hate Belisarius in his heart, and he began to be suspicious of the great power and authority that he had in the palace. He commanded Belisarius to come before him, and ordered him to have nothing more to do with governing the empire. Belisarius returned to his home after he had been deprived of his office, intending to live henceforth without anxiety and without public responsibility. He never left his home without twelve (Aimon says 12,000) well-armed men from his own company leading the way, ready and well-equipped to defend him if need be. But, because it is is difficult to live prosperously without incurring envy, it was not enough for his enemies to have done what they had done, but their hate and envy grew daily. Some proposed and wished to kill him in his home. The traitors thought of an even greater crime; when they saw that they could not get the emperor to do everything they wished and thought, they thought that they would deprive him of his imperial dignity. Thus, when the emperor was on his way to the city theater one day to enjoy himself watching the games, those who wished to carry out the disloyalty they had conceived, having the time and the place to do it, attacked him in a hidden place, vilely snatched his crown from his head, and stripped him of the imperial purple; then they took another man, named Florian, led him to the theater, and there crowned him emperor, seating him on the imperial throne (532 AD). The theater is a public place where all the people assemble for the games. Justinian, who was thus deposed, quickly sent a well-spoken emissary to Belisarius, with words like these: "Belisarius, lovely, dear friend, I beg you to forget the shameful things that I have done to you, without cause, but keep in mind our ancient friendship, and the good things I have done for you, and help me if you can." Belisarius replied to him: "Had he permitted me to remain in power, in the position in which I had been, I would have helped him. Now he begs me in vain, because I have no power, having been deprived of the rights I should have. Nevertheless, I wish to obey Our Lord's commandement, which says that one should not render ill for ill. I shall prepare myself, and help him as best I can." Having said this, he took all his servants, and whatever he had of his retainers, armed them all in secret, and went to the theater where the faithless emperor was. When he was very close, he looked at the crowd of his enemies around the throne of Florien, their new emperor, turned towards his own men, and said to them: "Oh my good friends and my dear retainers, whom I have always found good and loyal, see here the day and the hour that I have always wanted, when we are able to take vengeance on our mortal enemies. See there the tyrant surrounded by the crowd of traitors who are in league with him, and who treacherously made him emperor. No one need fear that they who share the same evil will not die the same death. Therefore take the spear of justice in your right hands, and do what you see me doing." When he had thus urged his men to do well, he entered the theater and came before the emperor. Pretending for a moment to kneel before him, he took his sword and struck him so that his head flew off. His knights and his people now drew their swords and struck the traitors, striking left and right with such force that those who previously had been allied with their emperor thought more of fleeing than of defending themselves. Belisarius took the crown and the head of Florian, then came to Justinian and said to him: " Those who were envious of your well-being and of mine tried to sow hatred and discord between us, as a result of which you took my honor and position from me; when you had been stripped and deprived of my support, they were able to bring upon you the disgrace which they have now done. I did not set my heart on vengeance for the harm that you did to me, without cause, at their urging, but I have given you back the crown and the empire that they took from you. And because I kept in mind our old friendship, and the good things that you have done for me, I have rewarded you accordingly." Having said this, he put the crown on his head. After Justinian had been reestablished on the throne, he again made Belisarius patrician and seneschal of the entire empire; a short time later, he sent him to Italy against the Goths, who were doing great harm to the Romans.

XIII

At that time, the glorious confessor saint Benedict was alive [Aimon II.xvi. ] He lived 40 miles from Rome, in a place called Soublac. From there he came to Mount Cassino, where he lived in a dignified and holy manner, resplendent with many great virtues, as saint Gregory recounts [book 2 of Dialogues, PL LXVI, col. 125ff].

At that same time (536 AD), saint Agapitus, the apostle of Rome, went to Constantinople, to the emperor Justinian, who had fallen into heresy. The holy man led him back to the true faith of the church of Rome, condemning Anthimus, the patriarch of Constantinople, who had fallen into this heresy. The holy man did not return then to Rome, but died in the city of Constantinople. After him, Silverius held the holy see, whom Theodatus [Primat has Theodoses here, where Aimon has Theodatus, and, in some mss., Theodorus], the king of the Goths, appointed by force, without the knowledge, and without the assent of the emperor. He was so corrupted by money, that he ordered all those who did not consent to him to be put to the sword. But God very quickly took vengeance, for Silverius lived only two months after he did this. After him, another man, called Vitiges, was crowned. At this point, Belisarius came to Sicily; there he heard that the Goths had made a new king, so he quickly rode through Campania to Naples. He laid siege to the city, for the citizens would not open the gates; finally, he took it by force, and put to the sword all the Goths whom he found within it. Then he fought and defeated king Vitiges. Then he came to Rome, garrisoned the city, and left. Vitiges then gathered his forces after Belisarius' departure, and laid siege to Rome. The Romans held out so tenaciously, that no one could get in or out of the city. The Romans and all the people suffered so greatly from hunger, that they contracted many diseases. Belisarius, who had not remained, fought many a battle against his enemies, and won many a victory, driving them finally as far as the city of Ravenna.

A cleric named Vigilius, deacon and keeper of the archives of the Church, saw that the excommunication by saint Agapitus, the apostle of Rome, of the patriarch Anthimus, did not please the emperor and empress. He thought he could gain favor with them by encouraging what he thought would please them. Therefore he came to the empress, and said that she should tell the apostle Silverius, when he had received this message, to recall Anthimus the patriarch, and that he should be put back in his see. When saint Silverius had read the message, he began to groan loudly, and to sigh. He wrote this reply to the empress: "August Lady, even if I gain your ill-will, and even if this should happen to bring about the end of my earthly life, I shall not, may it please God, recall this man, who is corrupt and damned in heresy." The empress, who was very angry with this response, sent Vigilius, the cleric, who had pursued this task, to Belisarius, who was then in that region, and told him to contrive an occasion by means of which he might send into exile the apostle Silverius, putting Vigilius, who carried this message, in his place. The empress had done this because Vigilius had promised to recall Anthimus. When Belisarius received the letters, he was not happy with his orders, and he said: "I shall never go against the will of princes, but I shall carry out their commands against the wishes of my heart, but those who pursue this crime will not escape the vengeance of the judge who sees all things." False witnesses were then introduced against Saint Silverius, and they said that he wanted to deliver the city and prince Belisarius to the Goths, who were the enemies of the empire. Belisarius commanded him to go to Constantinople and present himself to the empress. He did as he was ordered. When he arrived at the palace, the empress questioned him in words like these: "Tell me, Silverius, how have we harmed you, that you wish to deliver us into the hands of our enemies?" As she spoke to him, a deacon named John took the mantle from his neck, and clothed him in the habit of a monk; then he was ordered into exile in the island of Ponza, and Vigilus, who had brought this about, became the Pope. Belisarius assembled his troops and fought against king Vitigus. in this battle, the king suffered a great defeat, in which most of his men were killed, and he himself taken and brought to Constantinople.

XIV

King Childebert, who had established the seat of his kingdom at Paris, commanded his nephew, king Theudebert, to prepare his army to help him against his brother, king Lothar [Aimon II.xviii; LHF XXV; Gregory III.xxviii. Primat followed LHF, Viard argues, reasoning from error involving combros]. Theudebert obeyed, and they joined their forces and made great preparations to harm king Lothar. An emissary came to their mother, the good queen Clotild, who was living in Paris, and told her that her sons were preparing great armies with great numbers of people, to destroy each other. The mother, understanding that her children were plotting such a crime in their hearts against each other, wishing to destroy themselves and their people, grieved deeply in her heart, as a mother would. She quickly went to Tours, to prostrate herself in prayer before before the body of lordly Saint Martin, sighing and pouring forth tears. She prayed to God and to the body of the saint in words like these: "Oh God, Jesus Christ, who joins together the discordant course of the elements in sacred conjunction, knit together in the bond of peace, according to natural law, the two brothers now torn asunder by the evil of discord. Sir, I beg you that I be spared the pain of having born and brought up children of such great brutality that they may not spare one another, nor recognize the bonds of kinship and friendship. They have killed their uncles, strangled their nephews [a contradiction of the earlier passage, where a knife was the instrument of murder], and, although they have committed many crimes, I never thought that their rage would lead them to forget their fraternal bond and love. Oh lord, powerful father, judge and author of nature, I beg you to establish peace and love between these blood brothers, and frighten with your power, all those who disturb peace and harmony." Our Lord heard the holy woman's prayer, and suddenly, in the part of the sky that was brightest and clearest, it began to thunder. King Lothar, who saw that he had not assembled enough forces to match those assembled by the two kings, became frightened, and fled to Orlenois, to a city named Combrons [mistranslating, along with Aimon, LHF's combros, "a pile of trees cut down"] until his brothers might be less angry with him, and until his army might grow and be strengthened by the people who were supposed to arrive, as well as by other aid that he was waiting for, from day to day. But the greatest hope he had was in the power of Our Lord. Then Our Lord clearly showed that he had listened to the prayers of their mother, for exactly where the two kings and their armies were positioned, a sudden clap of thunder sounded, which made such a frightening noise that the entire army was terrified. Then it began to rain profusely, while lightning and storms fell so densely and profusely, and the wind blew so strongly, that it scattered the tents and horses in different directions. The knights were unprotected against the rain, and against the blows of the storm, except for the shields with which they covered themselves. They all lay on the ground in great fear and in great devotion, praying to Our Lord to spare them, and not to take vengeance upon them for the sins they had committed. It was a greater miracle that in the part of the field in which Lothar's army was positioned, there was no wind, not a drop of water fell, and there was no sign of lightning or thunder. The two kings, who had come there to carry all before them, sent their emissary to king Lothar to ask for peace and permanent harmony. King Lothar willingly granted this to them; then the armies parted in friendship and in peace, and each went back to his own country. In this way the children were saved and protected, together with their people, from death, as a result of their mother's prayer, nor did Our Lord permit them to accomplish their criminal intentions. As a result, everyone who loved peace and harmony between the two brothers was happy.

At that time a vision came to Saint Germanus in his sleep. It seemed to him that an old man was offering him the keys to the city of Paris. He asked the old man what this meant, and he replied that he would know what it meant later. Then it happened that the bishop of Paris, whose name was Eusebius, died, as he was going to a meeting about church affairs with king Childebert. The meaning of the vision became clear in the election that followed, for saint Germanus was elected to the office of bishop.

XV

King Childebert, who had previously been in Spain for I don't know how many years, and had captured the city of Toledo, called upon his brother Lothar for help, for between the two of them they had previously established peace and friendship. He came to him, leading a large and powerful army, and together they rode as far as Saragossa, which means, "Caesar-Augustus." In this city, saint Vincent was martyred. The kings besieged the city, because the citizens would not open the gates. The assault was great and dangerous; those within put up an excellent defense. Finally, when the Spaniards saw the great siege surrounding the city, and they recognized the force and pride of the French, they wished to fight no longer, but placed all their hope in the mercy of Our Lord. They took the cross and the blessed water, and made a procession around the city walls, singing responses and litanies. The kings, when they first saw this, thought that the Spaniards were performing some kind of sorcery or witchcraft. They took one of the Spanish peasants and asked him what was the religion and the belief of the people inside the city, and why they were circling the city. The peasant replied that they were Christian, and that they were praying to Our Lord for help. "Go," said the kings, "to the bishop inside the city, and tell him to come, with a guarantee of safety, to speak with us." The good man went to the bishop and delivered the message. When the peasant came back before the kings, king Childebert spoke to him, saying: "Because you are Christian and believe in him who is the true God, we have decided that we shall spare you, if you will do what we ask." Then he turned his speech to the bishop and said to him: "Oh bishop, you who are prelate for this city, if you are willing to give us the relics of the good martyr saint Vincent, whose holy way of living shone in this city, and who was crowned with martyrdom, as Saint Germanus, the bishop of Paris, our city, has told us often, and as other reliable witnesses have testified, we shall remove the siege from your city, and let you live in peace." Unhesitatingly, the bishop brought them the stole and the vest of saint Vincent; the kings took it very devoutly, and raised the siege, as they had promised. After laying waste and pillaging the area they returned to France. King Childebert had an abbey founded outside the walls of Paris, under the disposition and direction of saint Germanus, in honor of the blessed martyr saint Vincent, which is now called Saint Germain de Prez. In this church he deposited the neck ornament and the vest of the glorious martyr, and a great part of the treasures that he had brought from Toledo, like chalices of gold, texts of the New Testament, and a beautifully crafted crucifix.

When Amalric, the brother-in-law of the two kings, was killed, as we have said, Theuda received the kingdom of Spain, as much as had been held by Amalric; when Theuda was killed, Theudegisel was king after him. One night, while Theudegisel was having an unusually good time eating dinner, his own people, who had plotted his death, extinguished the candles, and killed him sitting at dinner. After him, Agila was king (550-554), and he was also killed. The Goths had a criminal habit of killing their king if he displeased them even a bit.

While the two kings were still in Spain, king Theudebert, their nephew, son of king Theuderic their brother, entered Italy with a large army. He captured and made subject to tribute all the area from the Alps to the land along the shore. Then he returned to France, leaving behind in the country one of his princes, whose name was Bucelin, together with the majority of his army, to conquer lands he had not himself yet conquered, and especially to submit the kingdom of Sicily to his authority. Bucelin crossed the sea which divides the kingdom of Sicily from Apulia and Calabria, and succeeded in conquering a large part of the land. He captured and pillaged the cities and castles, sending to king Theudebert the spoils they had won from the different nations whom he had compelled to submit and pay tribute.

At that time, Belisarius, of whom we have spoken many times, went to Africa, on the orders of the emperor, against Wiltharic, the king of the Vandals, who were in revolt against the empire. Belisarius managed to capture him, by a trick I know nothing about, because the history says nothing about how he did it, and he had him killed. He compelled the Vandals who survived the killing to submit, as before, to the empire. When he learned that Bucelin and the French were in Italy, he made great haste to get to Rome [Narses, not Belisarius actually was involved in the expedition against Bucelin]. When he entered the city, he was received with great honor by the men and the women. At the altar of Saint Peter he offered, through the apostle Vigilius, a golden cross, weighing 100 pounds, adorned with rich, precious jewels. On the cross he had had inscribed the victories he had won over his enemies, then he returned to fight the French. He did not take them seriously when he saw how few of them there were. He was fooled by the small number, not realizing their great strength. He attacked them vigorously, and they responded with equal vigor. But a wise man, no matter how sure of himself he is, must never make light of his enemies; he should fear them. And because he held them in such low esteem, he took with him only a few of his own men. The Romans fought to protect their lives and their country, the French to gain glory and praise. And because they expected that their victory would be more glorious if they were able to beat the Romans, who had conquered the entire world, they swore at the beginning of the battle that they would die exactly where they stood in the field, rather than retreat a step. They fought long and hard, in various parts of the field, and the battled lasted a long time before anyone seemed to weaken. At the end, when the Romans saw that their lives were in danger, and they saw that their enemies were fighting so bitterly and so strongly, they began, little by little, to retreat from the battlefield, leaving Belisarius almost alone among his enemies. He defended himself nobly, as long as he could, but the French surrounded him on all sides, and the noble, loyal, powerful prince, who had won so many victories, and had captured and killed so many kings, was captured and killed. He was overcome and beaten, and lost his life and the glory of his name, by a small group of men, and by a captain, not of an emperor or a king, but of a French prince [Belisarius actually died in Constantinople, and not in Italy, in March of 566. Viard suggests a confusion here with Bucelin, who was killed in 554; see RHG II, p. 207, note c].

XVI

In the time of this prince, emissaries went from the city of Le Mans to Monte Cassino in Apulia; they were sent to saint Benedict, who had come there from his [hermitage. Aimon II. xxii. ] They asked and implored that he send to western regions some of his monks who were sufficiently devout in thought and behavior to initiate and teach those who might want to submit to the discipline and holy rule that he had put together and promulgated. The holy man, who was very pleased with this request, told saint Maur, his pupil and his disciple, whom he loved very much, to go to France to do what the emissaries were asking for. When he left, he declared that he would die, and told him that the time was near that he would leave this life. He indicated that he clearly wanted the precious relics of his body to be brought to the country to which he was sending his disciple, to whom he was joined in great love and affection. Saint Maur obeyed his father's command. When he was close to the city of Auxerre, he stopped at a monastery where saint Romains lived. Saint Romains [Acta sanct, jan I, pp. 1044-45] is the one who brought up saint Benedict, and first gave him the garment of religion. When saint Maur arrived, exactly on the Tuesday of the grievous week in which Jesus Christ's Last Supper is celebrated, the holy man was very glad to see him. After they had spoken together about many things, and he had eased his guest of the weariness brought on by his exertions, saint Maur announced to him the day on which the blessed father would pass on to everlasting joy. That very night, the eve of the vigil of Easter Day, on the 12th of the calends of April, it happened that saint Maur was carried away in spirit. He saw a path that led from the cell of saint Benedict up to the sky; the entire path was miraculously illuminated, and shone with the clarity of innumerable lamps. He was covered and adorned with silk, and he heard an angel tell him that the spirit of saint Benedict would mount to the heavens by this path. When saint Maur recovered, he began weeping copiously, partly for the joy that the vision had brought him, and partly for the pity that he felt for his father's death. He told the vision to saint Romain, so that he might share his joy. Our Lord's glory is made manifest in his saints, for he performs miracles for those who please him. He prepared the way to come to him for this noble father more than for other saints. For all of his life he had ordered and arranged the steps and degrees of virtues in his heart, in this valley of tears, that is, in this mortal life, and he showed the ladder of Jacob, by means of which the angels had been seen climbing and descending in holy conversations, to those who wished to follow the example he had set by his life and behavior. But because we speak with respect for the other saints, I do not call him a martyr, but an apostle; for his holy death, he was resplendent with divine brilliance, and dressed in marriage robes. However, one should not believe that the golden silk which adorns the path that leads to the kingdom that is without corruption was made and sewn by mortal hand. It is not surprising that the apostle of Our Lord, who had taught and preached on earth the new law of sacred religion, had such great glory at his death, since he shone so brightly with so many miracles while still dressed and wrapped in the corruption of the flesh. And had saint Gregory, who describes his life and miracles for us, not been a witness of unquestionable veracity, some people, perhaps, might not have believed his deeds. And although I pass over the miracles that he did while a child in the hermitage, and I pass over what a wise man said of him, that saint Martin, who was world-famous, never performed as many miracles as he, I shall not pass over the three kinds of miracles with which he shone, which had never, before his time, been heard of. The first was that he untied a peasant tied with very strong chains, merely by looking at him; the second was that he saw the entire world in a moment in a ray of sunlight; the third was that at his death, the path to the sky was made ready, adorned with burning lamps and with robes. We who have in our presence such a noble father and great patron, should be very careful and diligent to do well. No one should fear that he will not help us, nor that he will not untie the spiritual chains of our sins, with which our souls are tied, just as he untied the peasant bound with physical chains. The glorious saint Gregory, whose life and whose teaching shone in the holy church like fine gold, described for us the life and the miracles of the glorious confessor and apostle, saint Benedict.

XVII

In that time, saint Gregory, not the apostle, but someone else, was bishop of Langres [Aimon II.24]. And because we have mentioned him, it is right that we describe a castle where he often stayed, which is called Dijon. This castle rests on a plain, and was founded by an emperor named Aurelius, according to the old records. This castle is surrounded by square, chiselled stone walls, 15 feet thick and 50 feet high. The castle is also encircled by thirty-three towers, which enclose the walls, and are placed carefully, and correctly proportioned. The castle has four gates, which look out at the four parts of the sky, one towards the east, another towards the south, the third towards the west, and the fourth towards the north. The land around it is fertile and productive; on the south side, runs a river named the Ouche, abundant with all kinds of fish; on the northeast side, runs another river, which enters one of the gates of the castle and goes out another with such force that it turns the mills very easily. It is remarkable that a castle of such nobility does not carry the title of a city [in Gregory the distinction is between a town and a bishopric].

At this time queen Clothild became sick with an illness which led to her death. Old and full of days, she died in the city of Tours (c. 545). King Lothar and king Childebert had her body carried to Paris in a great procession, accompanied by many churchmen. They buried her in the church of Saint Peter at the side of her lord, the great king Clovis. In that same church lies the body of saint Genevieve.

Then saint Germanus, bishop of Paris, went into the territory of king Theudebert, to Chalon, on church business. The great man was so gracious and full of the Holy Spirit that the king granted his request before he had finished his petition. Prophetically, he told the king of his approaching death, and a few days later the king caught a fever on his arrival at Rheims. He passed from this world in the 13th year of his reign, as though the word of the holy man had come from the mouth of an angel. Before passing away, he gave to the citizens of Verdun 8000 sous, their yearly payment to him, to restore the city at the request of saint Desiderius, bishop of the city. This king was very considerate and kind in his word and responses to everyone. He loved saint Maur very much, permitting him to found an abbey in a part of his kingdom. This monastery is in Poitou, and is called Glanfeuil; he very generously granted to it considerable land and rents. After him, one of his sons, named Theudebald, reigned. He was generous to God and to his service; he loved the prelates and ministers of the church, but he was cruel to his people.

At this time, a miraculous sign appeared; a star entered the sky so swiftly that it struck the moon.

In this year a kind of tree called the elder bore grapes, and the flowers of the trees, which ordinarily bear elderberries, bore grapes.

In this year there was such a great frost that people could walk on the rivers; the birds were so weak with hunger and cold that they could be taken without effort from their nests, in one's hands.

King Theudebald married Walderada, the daughter of king Waco of Lombardy; she was the sister of Wisgard, his stepmother. He governed his kingdom eight years (d. 555), then he died. He left his wealth and his kingdom to his uncle, king Lothar, for the history speaks of no heir engendered by him. Those who read this history should not think that all the kings we have named were kings of France, but only those who had their seat of government in Paris, for they were all brothers and nephews descended of the same lineage, although their kingdoms were in other parts of France, as has been described above.

King Lothar had, by different wives, seven sons and a daughter, whose names were: Gunthar, Childeric, Charibert, Guntram, Sigibert, Chilperic, and Chramn, and the daughter was named Clothsind. By Aregund, the sister of Ingund, he engendered Chilperic, by another woman, named Chunsina, he had Chramn.

At this time the French hated Parthenius very much; he was very powerful in the palace during Theudebert's reign. The reason why he was so bitterly hated was that he levied heavy taxes and other exactions from the people when he was in power. He understood very well that he would not be able to remain alive among them, if he remained any longer (now that Theudebert was dead). Therefore he begged two bishops to accompany him as safe conduct to the city of Treves, and to pacify the people by their words and sermons. One night, while these bishops were escorting Parthenius, he began to cry out loudly in his sleep: "Harou! Harou! Help me, you who are around me!" Those who lay near him awoke, and asked what was wrong with him, and why he was shouting so. He replied that he had seen in his sleep Ausanius, who used to be one of his friends, and Papianilla, his own wife, whom he had killed in a fit of jealous suspicion, and they were calling to him, as though compelled, and they said: "Come before God to plead for us, because you killed us without cause." The bishops who were escorting Parthenius came to Treves, and found the people agitated and angry with him. They struggled to appease their anger, and did all they could to make them pardon Parthenius' malevolence towards them. But when they saw that their efforts were of no avail, they led him to a church, and put him in a box, covering him with fabrics and church vestments. The angry people of the city came, and searched everywhere they thought they could find him. As they were about to leave, bursting with rage at not being able to find him, one of the crowd began to shout: "Here is a box in which we have not searched for our enemy." At this, they all returned. When the box was opened, they found him inside. Viciously he was pulled and dragged out, tied to a column, and stoned until his head was completely broken. Thus ended the life of Parthenius, who had always been a wretch, full of the worst vices. He was a glutton, who, after having eaten, took aloes and other spices to empty his stomach quickly, to be able to eat again more quickly. He had another vile habit; he farted in public, openly and shamelessly.

XVIII

King Lothar had ordained that all churches give him a third part of their revenues. But this law was broken by the bishops who would not assent [The placement of the period is significant, since in Gregory the story involves St. Injuriosus as the leader of clerical resistance by no means universal].

The king prepared his army to fight against the Saxons, who had entered his country several times, and had done severe damage to the land. He fought against them at a river called the Weser; he defeated them, and then moved against the Thuringians, who are now called the Lorrains. Because they had fought against him, supporting his enemies, he laid waste their lands, and ravaged everything in his path. The Saxons, who had been defeated in the battle mentioned above, again prepared a force to renew the battle. The king returned with a great army ready to receive them. But because they saw the king's strength, and especially because they had been severely humiliated in the previous defeat, they asked the king for pity and pardon, promising that they would in the future amend their behavior towards him. Then they offered to give him half of all they owned, excepting their women and children, and they offered fine hostages as security for this agreement. The French spurned this offer, refusing it outright, telling them that they would never survive unless through battle. When the Saxons saw that they had to fight, they gathered their courage and laid aside despair. They fought so hard that they killed many French, so that only a few remained with the king, and those who had not been killed remained with him more to join the escape than to bring him help.

The king had a son named Chramn, whom we mentioned above. He was good-looking and tall, of unstable temperament, without equal for malice and treachery, courageous and always ready to fight. His father had granted him his power when he came of age and had sent him to Aquitaine to watch over the province. A man who could not control his emotions, he behaved not like the son of a king, but like a tyrant, for he was full of such great cruelty that he destroyed the land he was supposed to protect. The king, when he heard complaints about what Chramn was doing, sent an emissary to order him to return, because he wished to chastise him, and to check his pride and his madness. He did not want to return to his father, but instead went to Paris, to his uncle Childebert, having no intention of ever returning to his father. He tried every trick to break up relations between his relatives and his father, king Lothar, particularly working on king Childebert, his uncle, whom he had already persuaded to hate his brother, and to desire his death. Together Chramn and Childebert conspired against Lothar; Chramn swore on all the saints that he would be the mortal enemy, all the days of his life, of his father. They would have carried out the insane crime they had conceived in their hearts, had they been able to. But God prevented them, for king Childebert died first. After Chramn had made the alliance with his uncle, he returned to Aquitaine to carry out the malice he had begun, and to take and hold the land. King Lothar, who was very angry with what his son had done, could not go after him, because he was busy with raising an army against the Saxons; but he sent to Aquitaine an army, and two of his sons, Guntram and Charibert, who rode there swiftly, as far as Limousin. There they camped on a mountain called Black Mountain, and told their brother to give up the land that he had taken. He replied that he would do it willingly. But when they saw that he maliciously delayed, they approached nearer, and drew up their forces for battle. On his side, Chramn prepared to do the same thing; they would have committed this crime, had wind and storm not kept them apart. Meanwhile Chramn, full of malice, convinced his brothers, by sending men into their camp, that their father had been killed in fighting the Saxons. Thinking this to be true, they made preparations and left for Burgundy as quickly as possible. When he saw that they had left, Chramn rode after them, capturing the city of Chalon, and reaching the castle of Dijon. Some of the clerics in the town were very eager to know what the future would bring; they placed two books on the altar of the church, one was the gospels, and the other the letters of St. Paul. After praying to Our Lord, they opened the gospels and the first verse they found was this: Qui non audit verba mea assimilabitur viro stulto qui edificavit domum suam super arenam, etc... That is, "Who does not hear my words, who am the father, is like the stupid man who builds a house upon sand etc..." Then they opened the book of the epistles of Saint Paul; there the first verse they found was this: Cum dixerint pax et securitas, tunc repentinus veniet eis interitus. In French, this would be: "When they shall have said peace and security, then sudden death will come upon them." They understood that these passages applied specifically to Chramn. King Childebert, who believed that his brother king Lothar had been killed in battle against the Saxons, made an armed attack on Champagne la Renciene; he took booty, and burned and laid waste the country.

The enterprises and plans of Chramn were completely destroyed by the death of king Childebert, for a deadly illness took him off. He died old and full of days, having reigned 49 years. He was buried in the church of Saint Vincent, which he had founded, together with saint Germanus, the bishop of Paris. His kingdom and wealth became the property of king Lothar, his brother, for he had no bodily heir. At this time, the church had not yet been dedicated as Saint Vincent [the rest of this paragraph is printed as a footnote by Bouquet (p. 61), since it comes from another manuscript of Aimon than the one used as the basis for his edition]. King Lothar had it dedicated by saint Germanus in the presence of Ultrogotha the queen, who had been the wife of king Childebert; also present at this holy dedication were Chrotberga and Chrotsinda, Lothar's cousins, and many noble men. On that day, the king gave a large amount of land and income to the church, confirming the gifts with his royal seal.

XIX

(560) When Chramn saw that he had lost the aid and comfort of his uncle, king Childebert, who had died, he fled to little Britanny, to Conaber, who was king of that land, intending to enlist his aid to prepare an expedition against his father. King Conaber had married a very noble woman, whose name was Chalda [an error by Primat in translating Aimon; this woman was Chramn's wife], the daughter of Willecarius, the duke of Aquitaine. This duke was very frightened by king Lothar's words, because he had supported Chramn against him, and was consequently attacked by Lothar; he fled for safety to the monastery of St. Martin of Tours, just as another duke, whose name was Austrapius, had already done. Those who had been sent there by the king to take him thought they would draw him out of the monastery, but they were unable. Then they set fire to the monastery, and burned the church, with duke Guillercaire inside. The king, who wanted to make up for the damage he had done to Saint Martin, restored the church to a wealthier and more noble condition than before, and had it covered with tin very richly.

The king, who had grown very angry with his son, did not want to disguise the damage he had done, but summoned his army, and prepared his forces from all parts, then went to Britanny. Chramn, who had paid the Bretons and whatever other men he could find who would fight for him for pay, returned to fight him, bringing, to help him, Conaber the king of Britanny, and all his people. When the two armies had come to the field of battle, each tested and examined the hearts of his men. Chramn saw clearly that the Bretons whom he had hired for wages would keep their faith and their loyalty to him, according to the agreements they had made, and king Lothar, who would not pardon his son's evil intentions, saw that his men were capable and ready for battle. Then they determined to settle the affair by arms and battle. But the king, who was suspicious of the fickleness of fortune, made this prayer to God, sad and tearful that they were coming to battle: "God, Jesus Christ, who himself knows the hearts of men, I beg you to receive my prayers, and judge my cause rightly. I am certain that you, who see all things, know the crimes of my son Chramn, how he has forgotten all natural piety, and how he raised arms as a mortal enemy against the life of his father, and that what he could not do secretly and treacherously, he tried to accomplish openly and by arms; in his desire to take the life of an old man, he has no fear of destroying a great many people. And certainly I have given him strong hope of ruling after me, since I gave him, of my own free will, Aquitaine to rule. But he did not wish to wait until my life was over, but chose to win the kingdom by parricide, spilling the blood of his father. Dear God, look down from heaven, and judge rightly, according to the judgement you once made against Absalom, when he revolted against his father David. I am, it seems to me, the second David, if my faith be firm. He believed that the Redeemer of the world would come, and I believe that He has come, and that he will come at the day of judgement, to judge the entire world." Our Lord heard Lothar's prayer, for, when the battle was joined, and had lasted a long time, he conquered his enemies, and pursued them to their boats, which they had prepared and outfitted at the river bank; in case fortune went against them, and they were defeated, they could come to the boats for protection. In the course of the chase, most of the Bretons were killed. Chramn was caught, just as he was trying to lead his wife and daughters away from being captured. He was quickly led before his father, stretched on a bench, and tied tightly in a part of a little house (hut). The king had Chramn's wife and daughters placed with him, then set fire to the house. Thus Chramn, his wife and his daughters, and the house, all burned together. Such vengeance did the father take on the son who tried to kill him; he was punished without pity by his father's decision, because he himself was empty of all pity; I don't know whom he would have spared, if he wouldn't spare his own father.

In this year, two great swarms of grasshoppers moved through Auvergne and Limousin, and then came together in a great plain; there they fought a great battle, and so many died, that they lay piled in the fields like a small mountain.

In the time when Lothar held the kingdom of France, Aldoin governed the kingdom of Lombardy; a short time later he led the Lombards into Pannonia, which is now called Slavonia.

At this point Totilus was king of the Goths who lived in Italy after the death of king Vitigus. Totilus went to visit saint Benedict. The holy man rebuked him strongly for his brutality. Totilus promptly improved greatly, keeping in check the criminal brutality of his heart, corrected by the holy man's teaching. Benedict then said, in the spirit of prophecy, that he would cross the sea, enter the city of Rome, reign for nine years, and the tenth year would be the end of his life.

. XX

Pope Vigilius, who followed saint Silverius in the office, in the manner that we have described above, received letters from Antonia, the empress of Constantinople, whose purport was this: "Come to us, and carry out the promise that you made to us at the humble request of our father Anthimus, and recall him to the office of the patriarch, as he should be." When Pope Vigilius received these words, he wrote back: "Honored lady. I cannot do what you ask. I spoke at that time badly and foolishly; I shall never consent to recall to the office of patriarch a man broken and damned by heresy." When the empress had received this response, she sent to Rome the scribe Anthimus, and many armed knights, ordering them to take Pope Vigilius by force, which was against the laws and common rules of the empire, and to make him come by sea to Constantinople, into her presence, with no church offering protection for him, except the church of the apostles. When Anthimus arrived at Rome, he found Pope Vigilius singing mass in the monastery of Saint Cecelia, whose holiday was being celebrated that very day, the tenth calends of December (22 November, 545). When the good man had finished singing, and had distributed alms to the poor, Anthimus seized him, and quickly had him put in a boat, to bring him to Constantinople, in accordance with the empress' orders. The people of Rome accompanied him to the ship, and then asked for his blessing. Then, very quickly, the mariners raised sail and left the port. The Romans were very unhappy at this departure, and, in their hatred for Anthimus, they threw rocks and spears and whatever they could get a hold of, and they insulted him, saying to him: "May hunger and disease follow you all the days of your life. You have done evil to the Romans; may you find evil wherever you go." Some of the Roman clerics who loved him very much went with him, and were ordained in holy orders by him in Sicily, where he was brought to a city called Syracuse [Catania in Aimon and Liber Pontificalis]. Then he left the church in their hands, and made them return to Rome. The emperor and the clergy received him honorably, and he remained in the city for two years. Then the emperor asked him to recall Anthimus to the community of the holy church, as he had promised, and he showed him the hand by means of which he had guaranteed this promise. Eventually their conversation reached the point that the Pope said: "I thought that I had come to the fine leader of the imperial community, to the emperor and his honorable lady, but I find them more brutal than Diocletian and his wife Eleutheria ever were. But since Our Lord has seen fit to deliver me into your hands, as punishment for my sins, I shall suffer whatever torment you inflict upon me. I see clearly that God rewards me justly, but I have deserved even worse punishment for my sins. Vengeance has swiftly followed the sinful deed I did when Pope Silverius was ousted and sent into exile by me. I know very well that I may not escape the eyes of him who sees all; he takes vengeance for the machination I contrived against the holy man." Hearing these words, one of the ministers of the palace raised his hand and struck him in the face, saying: "Murderer, do you not know to whom you are speaking? Do you think that we have forgotten that you struck our notary, when you were clerk of the palace, with a mortal blow? And Hastarum, the son of a widow, to whom you married your niece, whom you had beaten to death with sticks; and the apostle Silverius, who was exiled by your efforts and advice." When Pope Vigilius heard this, he was afraid, and placed all of his hope in Our Lord; he fled into the church of Saint Euphemius, and clung to one of the columns of the altar. Men sent by the emperor tied a rope to his neck and dragged him from the church. Shamefully he was led and whipped through the city. In the evening he was put in prison, on short rations, and he was given each day only bread and water. Finally, the emperor had him released from prison, and gave leave to him and his clerics to return to Rome, at the request of Narses, one of the eunuchs at court. When the Pope reached Apulia, he fell ill in a city named Syracuse, from the travail he had undergone. There he died of a gallstone (7 June 555). His attendant ministers carried his body to Rome, where he was buried in Saint Marcel via Salaria. After him, another man, named Pelagius, became Pope.

XXI

(551) Totilus, the king of the Goths, went to Sicily. He took the land and laid it waste, then he returned to Rome and laid siege to it. The besieged Romans suffered so from hunger that they wanted to eat their children. They were so wearied and battered by battles and continual assaults, that they were unable to defend the city; Totilus and his people were well aware of their distress, broke the walls on the side facing Ostia, and entered the city. He intended to spare more citizens than he killed, therefore he had horns and trumpets blown all night when he entered the city, wishing to frighten the Romans by the sound of the trumpets into hiding in the churches and other places, to avoid being killed. He stayed with them a short period of time; they found in him more pity and paternal love than the brutality and criminality of a tyrant. His pity and his good disposition were the result of having been trained by saint Benedict, who had upbraided and chastized him for the cruel things he had done.

Some of the Roman senators, who were accustomed to worldly glory and praise, and then became the captive remnant of a deserted city, went to the emperor of Constantinople, humbly begging him to help them against the Goths, to whom they were in subjection and servitude. Caesar was very troubled by this news, and by the troubles which had unfortunately occurred in the Esperial kingdom (That is, in the kingdom of Italy, which was named after a star which is close to that region, or because of a king who reigned in that country, who was named Hesperus). He commanded Narses to go to that region to deliver the Romans from the subjection in which they found themselves. Narses was a eunuch, tha