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
2. After this the Vandals left their own country and burst into the
Gauls under king Gunderic.[P] And when the Gauls had been thoroughly
laid waste they made for the Spains. The Suebi, that is, Alamanni,
following them, seized Gallicia.[Q] Not long after, a quarrel arose
between the two peoples, since they were neighbors. And when they had
gone armed to the battle, and were already at the point of fighting,
the king of the Alemanni said: “Why are all the people involved in
war? Let our people, I pray, not kill one another in battle, but
let two of our warriors go to the field in arms and fight with one
another. Then he whose champion wins shall hold the region without
strife.” To this all the people agreed, that the whole multitude
might not rush on the edge of the sword. In these days king Gunderic
had died and in his place Thrasamund held the kingdom. And in the
conflict of the champions the side of the Vandals was overcome, and,
his champion being slain, Thrasamund promised to depart, and so, when
he had made the necessary preparations for the journey, he removed
from the territories of Spain.
About the same time Thrasamund persecuted the Christians, and by
torture and different sorts of death tried to force all Spain to
consent to the perfidy of the Arian sect. And it so happened that a
certain maiden bound by religious vows was brought to trial. She was
very rich and of the senatorial nobility according to the ranking of
the world, and what is nobler than all this, strong in the catholic
faith and a blameless servant of Almighty God. And when she was
brought before the eyes of the king he first began to coax her with
kind words to be baptized again. And when she repelled his venomous
shaft by the armor of the faith, the king commanded that wealth be
taken from her who already in her heart possessed the kingdom of
paradise, and later that she should be tortured without hope of
this life. Why make a long story? After long examinations, after
losing the treasure of earthly riches, when she could not be forced
to attack the blessed Trinity she was led against her will to be
re-baptized. And when she was being forcibly immersed in that filthy
bath and was crying loudly; “I believe that the Father and the holy
Spirit are of one substance with the Son,” when she said this she
stained the water with a worthy ointment,[47] that is, she defiled it
with excrement. Then she was taken to the examination according to
the law, and after the needle, flame and claw, she was beheaded for
Christ the lord. After this the Vandals crossed the sea, the Alemanni
following as far as Tangier, and were dispersed throughout all Africa
and Mauretania.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account