History of the FranksGregory, Bishop of Tours, Saint
History
History of the Franks
Gregory, Bishop of Tours, Saint
France -- Church history -- To 987; France -- History -- To 987; Franks -- History -- To 768
[FR]10. In the fifteenth year[FQ] of king Childebert which is the
twenty-ninth of Gunthram, while king Gunthram was hunting in the
Vosges forest he found traces of the killing of a buffalo. And when
he harshly demanded of the keeper of the forest who had dared to
do this in the king’s forest, the keeper named Chundo the king’s
chamberlain. Upon this he ordered Chundo to be arrested and taken
to Chalon loaded with chains. And when the two were confronted with
each other in the king’s presence and Chundo said that he had never
presumed to do what he was charged with, the king ordered a trial
by battle. Then the chamberlain offered his nephew to engage in the
fight in his place and both appeared on the field; the youth hurled
his lance at the keeper of the forest and pierced his foot; and he
presently fell on his back. The youth then drew the sword which hung
from his belt but while he sought to cut his fallen adversary’s
throat he himself received a dagger thrust in the belly. Both fell
dead. Seeing this Chundo started to run to Saint Marcellus’s church.
But the king shouted to seize him before he touched the sacred
threshold and he was caught and tied to a stake and stoned. After
this the king was very penitent at having shown himself so headlong
in anger as to kill hastily for a trifling guilt a man who was
faithful and useful to him.
[11. King Clothar is dangerously ill. 12. Ingytrude, abbess of a
convent attached to St. Martin’s church, dies, directing that her
disobedient daughter should not even be allowed to pray at her tomb.
13. One of Gregory’s priests is “infected with the malignant poison
of the Sadducean heresy.”[68] He is overcome in argument by Gregory.
14. Story of the drunken priest Theodulf who falls off the wall of
Angers and is killed.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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